Can You Lose Weight Eating Eggs?

When some people think of eggs and fitness, they think of fitness advice from the ’70s which led to people drinking raw eggs.

Well, that’s not good advice, for a couple of reasons.

That doesn’t mean eggs are bad for fitness, though!

In fact, eggs are some of my favorite fitness-related foods. They’re nutritious and full of protein.

But are they good for weight loss in particular?

Let’s find out!

Can You Lose Weight by Eating Eggs?

As most fitness professionals will tell you, you need to eat right to lose weight.

“Not eating” doesn’t count!

Sure, there are supplements which can help, such as Hydroxycut Platinum and Xenadrine Ultimate.

But supplements and even a good workout regime, such as this beginner’s PPL split, can only take you so far. You need to eat the right food to lose weight.

But, do eggs count as “the right food?”

Rather than wasting your time dilly-dallying around the point, I’m just going to come out and answer the question:

Eating eggs is a good way to lose weight.

For quite a while, official advice was to minimize your egg consumption because of cholesterol fears.

However, dietary cholesterol has low-to-no effect on your body’s cholesterol levels. Eggs are even potentially good for your heart and can protect against heart disease and stroke!

Recent research is starting to figure out the healthy effects of eggs, compared to other potential foods.

So, eggs are rightly back in vogue for fitness. But even better, they’re good for people looking to lose weight.

7 Reasons Why Eggs are Great for Weight Loss

Eggs, when part of a proper diet, are good for weight loss.

Why?

Because they pack a huge bundle of benefits into a small, lightly-armored package.

Eggs are:

1. Low in calories
2. High in protein
3. Nutritious
4. Good for your heart
5. Filling
6. Cheap
7. Potential metabolism boosters

I’m sure you knew eggs were good sources of protein, but them being good for your heart and metabolism may come as a shock to some people.

Not you, though. I know how smart you are!

Want to know more? Here’s an explanation of those 7 benefits.

Eggs are Low in Calories

Eggs contain only 70-80 calories.

You consume that many calories merely by looking at a candy bar.

That’s not entirely a joke either; looking at or even thinking about food can cause a “cephalic phase insulin response” that stores glucose in preparation for consuming that food!

Do note, however, that it’s easy to dump a lot of calories onto your plate when cooking eggs.

Frying them in oil will add a lot of calories, so make sure to use healthy oil.

Adding meat and cheese to omelets will cause the number of calories to increase rapidly, so be cautious and consider focusing more on veggies.

But the eggs themselves are very low in calories.

Eggs are High in Protein

Eggs are basically chicken seeds. Chicks are mostly protein. So, eggs contain the protein required to make a healthy chick!

Each egg contains about 6 grams of protein.

This is in addition to the 5 grams of fats, but those fats aren’t unhealthy rancid oils. They’re good for making a body (‘cause they’re there to make a body).

Remember, your cells contain lots of lipids, which are fats your body uses structurally.

Those proteins, by the way, are high-quality.

Not all protein is made equal. By that, I mean not all protein is utilized by your body equally.

Whey protein is the most bioavailable source of protein available. Eggs are a close second, in front of milk, fish, beef, and even chicken.

So, those 6 grams of protein will go further in your body than 8 grams of lean chicken breast, letting you consume fewer calories while staying healthy.

Eggs are Nutritious

Protein and fats are not the only healthy bits kept in eggs.

Remember, eggs contain everything to make a healthy baby chick. They’re loaded with body-building vitamins and minerals, again allowing you to cut on calories without worrying about micronutrients.

Also, eggs contain nutrients you don’t often think about, such as choline.

Choline is used by your body to build cell membranes and to ensure healthy neurotransmitters in your brain.

It’s also used in your body’s fat metabolization process.

You want to burn fat efficiently, right?

Eggs are Good for your Heart

So, there are several types of cholesterol in your body.

Most people talk about LDL and HDL, which aren’t actually cholesterol. They’re lipoproteins which transport your cholesterol.

• LDL is called the “bad” cholesterol because high levels are linked to heart disease.
• HDL is called the “good” cholesterol because high levels are linked to, drumroll please, reduced risk of heart disease.
  

  Eggs are good for your taste buds, too

Eggs can boost your HDL levels.

LDL is further split into small and large LDL. People with heart disease tend to have smaller LDL than people without.

Eggs have been shown to help change LDL density from small and dense to the less-risky large LDL.

Eggs, especially ones from pastured hens, also contain omega-3 fatty acids, which are known to reduce blood triglycerides.

High triglyceride levels are associated with heart disease.

So, eggs can raise your HDL, can transform small LDLs into large LDLs, and can lower your blood triglyceride levels.

That’s a triple whammy of heart health!

Eggs are Filling

Protein and fat are the two most-satisfying macronutrients.

Those are also the only two macronutrients in eggs.

There’s something called the satiety index. Eggs rank very highly here,

People who cut out their high-carb breakfast and eat eggs instead not only cut calories for breakfast but tend to consume fewer calories for over a day afterward!

Eggs are Cheap

This one’s easy.

Some health foods are very expensive. Eggs are one of the cheapest foods you can buy.

Healthier eggs from pastured chickens are more expensive, but that doesn’t make them expensive.

Why spend more money on pastured eggs?

Even animals are healthier when they consume a healthier diet. Chickens are omnivores who scrounge around and eat everything from grass seeds to bugs.

I’ve even seen them eat a frog!

They aren’t as healthy when they eat nothing but grains.

If you’re eating eggs to be healthy, you should eat eggs from healthy chickens.

Eggs May Boost Your Metabolism

Can eggs really boost your metabolism?

Yes, they can, but I’m not going to lie to you.

It’s not a huge effect.

Every little bit helps, though. Right?

See, there’s something called the thermic effect.

Your body has to burn some calories to even digest food. Of the macronutrients, protein has the highest thermic effect.

And we all know eggs are high in protein.

How Many Eggs Should You Eat a Day?

Recent knowledge gains in the nutrition world have shaken up dietary recommendations.

However, the current recommended amount of eggs to eat in a day is:

3

Research has shown that eating 2 or 3 eggs per day is beneficial to one’s health, including when you are trying to lose weight.

I wouldn’t sweat eating more occasionally, but I wouldn’t gorge on a half-dozen omelet either.

Best Ways to Prepare Eggs for Weight Loss

When you’re trying to lose weight, you need to watch the calories in what you eat.

Eggs are low in calories. However, many ways of cooking eggs add tons of calories through cooking oil and dairy!

So, try these oil-free methods of preparing your eggs!

Baked

It’s pretty easy to bake your eggs, though I wouldn’t recommend cracking them directly onto the cooking rack.

Why not trying them in an avocado?

Boiling

Boiled eggs are great for snacking on the go.

Everyone has a different way to boil their eggs. Here’s my method:

1. Add several eggs to a pot
2. Add enough cold water to just cover the eggs
3. Bring the water to a boil
4. Remove the pot from the heat and cover
5. Let sit until your eggs are cooked to the level you want
6. Transfer the eggs to a bowl filled with water and ice, which halts the cooking

Now they’re ready to peel and eat! You can store them in the fridge for several days if you want to eat them later.

Let them sit covered:

• 4 minutes for runny soft-boiled eggs
• 6 minutes for medium-boiled eggs
• 8 minutes for moderately firm hard-boiled eggs
• 10 minutes for firm hard-boiled eggs

You may have to adjust the time a minute or two for larger or smaller eggs.

Poaching

Poached eggs are cooked gently, without oil. This makes them a healthy weight-loss food.

Though most people poach eggs on the stove, you can easily make poached eggs with a silicone egg poacher.

Scrambled

Scrambling eggs often involves adding milk, cheese, and cooking oil. That’s not great for losing weight!

Try making scrambled eggs without any of those high-calorie additives. Just salt and pepper.

You’ll have to make it in a non-stick pan or in the microwave (ADD LINK).

Frying (Without Oil!)

Yes, you can fry eggs sunny-side up without oil!

You NEED a non-stick pan for this, as well as a lid.

1. Heat the pan to a lower temperature than you would with oil
2. Crack the eggs into the pan and add salt and pepper if desired
3. Cover
4. Let the eggs steam themselves until completely cooked
5. Enjoy!

Conclusion

The chicken egg is one of my favorite fitness foods.

It’s good for people looking to put on muscle. It’s also good for people looking to burn fat.

Eggs contain high-quality protein, healthy fats, and many vitamins and minerals.

They are even heart-healthy, especially when cooked without oil.

Replace your morning bagel with a couple of eggs tomorrow, and you’ll feel fuller throughout the day!

FAQs

Is it OK to eat eggs every day?

Eggs are low in calories and high in nutrients.

So, if your goal is to lose weight, then don’t cut out the eggs.

In fact, replace your morning bagel with eggs.

They are okay to eat every day unless you have an egg intolerance.

Note that there is evidence this advice doesn’t apply to people with diabetes.

For diabetics, daily egg consumption is associated with greater risk of heart disease, not less.

Are hard boiled eggs good for losing weight?

Hard boiling eggs is the lowest-calorie way to eat eggs, so it’s potentially the best way to eat eggs while losing weight.

But!

If you hate eating hard-boiled eggs, then they’re not good for weight loss.

Sticking to your diet is the hardest part of dieting, so if you need to eat eggs another way to get them into your diet, that’s perfectly okay.

What is the healthiest way to eat eggs?

Cook ’em.

Don’t drink raw eggs.

If you do, you may contract salmonella.

Also, raw egg whites have less bioavailable protein and can inhibit biotin absorption, though you would need to eat a lot!.

The healthiest way to eat eggs is to cook the whites. Don’t throw out the yolks. Eat them too!

Cooking the eggs in fats such as oil will add calories, so if you’re cutting weight, you need to use less or no oil to cook your eggs.

What’s healthier: scrambled or over easy?

Some people prefer scrambled eggs and other people prefer them over easy.

Personally, my favorite eggs are sunny-side up.

So long as the whites are cooked through and the yolk has reached 160 degrees, there’s no real difference in health between scrambled and over easy eggs.

The difference comes in the additives. Frying them will add calories from oil. Scrambled eggs often contain calorie-dense cheese.

Those may muck up your weight loss plans, so what you add to your eggs is more important than how you cook them!