A lot of people, especially those on low-carb and keto diets, do 5 Days of Egg Fast to break their weight loss stall. Surprisingly, it works for a majority of them if we are to believe what they report on social networks and forums. I haven’t been able to find any real scientific explanation to why it works but have my thoughts (that might change in the future if I get more clues).
What’s an Egg Fast?
Basically, on an Egg Fast, you only eat eggs, healthy fats, and full-fat cheese for 3 to 5 days in a row. You are supposed to eat at least 6 eggs a day, and 1 Tbsp of fat for each egg consumed. The number of ounces of cheese eaten should not exceed the number of eggs eaten on each day.
If you follow these simple guidelines, you get macronutrients nicely balanced out at the end of the day: Extremely low carb, high fat, and moderate protein. That’s what the keto diet is all about, except that on Egg Fast, there’s practically no fiber intake (no greens, seeds, nuts, etc.). Because of this, in my personal opinion, the diet should be kept short-term. Additionally, I think magnesium, potassium, and vitamin supplements should be taken daily. And plenty of water drunk (10 cups a day, at least). But I am no doctor, so take my advice as an opinion.
So, why does the diet work? I think, most of all, one gets rid of plenty of water on Egg Fast. But people keep reporting successful weight loss or weight maintenance for a prolonged period, following the fast. So, it is possible there’s some hormonal stuff going on in the background, which influences the body’s metabolism. Or the other way around. Anyhow, I’ll be quite glad once I get to read some research on this (if ever).
Egg Fast rules
In case you haven’t been familiar with Egg Fast, I’m listing the rules that one should supposedly follow on the diet if they want to break their stall:
- One has to eat eggs as the main source of fat and protein.
- Per each egg consumed, one should eat 1 Tbsp of healthy fat.
- An egg should be eaten no later than 30 min after waking.
- Meals should be eaten every 3 hours, but no later than every 5 hours.
- One should eat on the schedule, at least one egg, even if not hungry.
- One can eat 1 ounce of cheese (full fat) per egg consumed.
- At least 6 eggs a day should be consumed.
- One should have the last egg at least 3 hours before bedtime.
- Diet soda is permitted up to 3 cans a day.
- Spices and hot sauces are permitted but should be kept at a minimum. Sauces should be low carb.
- Low carb sweeteners are allowed.
I have no idea, who’s come up with the rules. Moreover, every source has them listed a tiny bit differently, but the basics are staying the same. Anyways, they do make sense in a way if you consider the macronutrient outcome at the end of the day.
Is Egg Fast Healthy?
First of all, egg fast goes on for max 5 days and it shouldn’t do harm to a healthy person as long as they get enough energy in to go through the day. Second, eggs are a very nutritious food so I wouldn’t worry about getting in wrong micronutrients in those 5 days. Last but not totally least, you might want to consider the freshness of the eggs you buy and keep in the fridge. If nothing else, just to avoid any unpleasant consequence of a rotten egg that has been sitting around for too long.
My 5-day experiment
I’ve decided to try the Egg Fast myself. One of the reasons being that I like little food challenges. 😉 The other reason is that I’ve noticed my body puffing up since I started lifting heavier again. I know it’s what usually happens at first when one changes their workout routine but still gets on my nerves. Plus, I’ve been consuming too much keto treats lately. Additionally, I think I’ve even been going way over my ideal daily calorie intake (though I still have no idea what my ideal actually is, honestly), and I think that doesn’t help getting rid of puffiness. Long story short, I wanted to lose a couple of pounds of the excess water and see how my body responds to the diet.
I’ve decided to go on a 5-day Egg Fast (instead of just 3), but with one of the above rules broken (or ignored). I love working out in a fasted state in the mornings, so during the fast I will just consume green tea with a little bit of coconut oil and guarana every morning. It’s not bulletproof green tea, but it’s been my morning pre-workout routine for quite a while now, and I like it, so I’ll stick to it.
What I find quite interesting, is the rule about consuming diet soda. Ok, diet sodas, they’re low carb, sugar-free, and all that. But, if I were forming the rules, I would limit all the artificial sweetener and/or sugar alcohols (even erythritol) consumption to one snack per day at the most. That is because, for a lot of us, they cause fake hunger or even cravings. I don’t drink diet soda often myself, but I guess they have the same effect (or not?) as sugar-free sweets. My explanation is that the brain gets the sweet taste but not the serotonin release after the intake, that is why it just wants more. But I won’t turn all scientific just now. Still, need to start writing the science section of this blog.
So, on to my 5 days on the Egg Fast. I’ll be writing about my well-being, losing pounds (or not), workouts, and especially the meals, plus the amount of eggs/fat/cheese consumed. Most of the recipes are taken from other blogs, and I’ll direct you to them as I go.
I won’t plan ahead too much. I’ll take my time to choose and try out as many Egg Fast recipes as possible. It’s going to be a week of working from home, and this gives me an opportunity to get familiar with some of the meals (keto recipes) I could make in advance on extra busy weeks.
If you wish, you can use this diary as a source for your Egg Fast meal plan. Or take it just as an interesting read from a fit person who’s using the fast as an experiment rather than a way to lose a significant amount of weight. Of course, if you’re on your own fat loss journey, my diary can still come in handy in practice. Hopefully! 🙂
Read about my Day 1. Or jump to Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, or Day 5. Note: You can find out about the overall egg-fast outcome at the end of my Day 5 post. Enjoy!
Get more helpful resources on the egg fast :
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Hi I drink hot water with lemon and chia seeds sprinkled in How do you feel about that during fast? Also any idea if you can add mushrooms to eggs ie in omelettes?
Thankyou
I see no problem in doing all that.
Good evening
Can i do EF and drink
Chicken Bouillon
Thanks for your time
[email protected]
I guess it would be good for electrolytes, but I would watch the salt intake. I’m not sure how salty the chicken bouillon is. Too much salt might cause your body to retain water which could counterbalance the water loss you would normally see on an EF. But that is just my guess.
It works because not only is it keto, there is an abundance of choline in the egg yolks which helps the liver function and heal.
hi…it says 6 per day..n other foods?
Instead of cheese I add cod or pollock liver or pate from it. We also have like pollock liver-and-caviar pate… I’d rather stay away from cheese.
for non-USA keto-goers, 1 ounce is 28 (±30) grammes cheese per egg
Confused about the egg diet. You eat an egg with a piece of cheese. Get that part, but do you also add fat like mayonnaise or butter or is the cheese considered the “fat”?
You don’t really need all the cheese but you do need the healthy fats on the egg fast diet. Hope this makes it clear that yes, you also add fat.
Hi,
Egg Fasting diet can be for more than 5 days?
I think you can extend it for a couple of days more if you wish but I wouldn’t recommend going over a week.
so what were your results??? I will start with a 3 day egg fast and I think it will be easy for me since I love eggs but not sure I can last 5 days…maybe the week before my beach vacation i will do the 5 day lol
Hey. I started already fit, so was down around 2 – 3 pounds max each time. Mostly water loss.
Good luck, 5 days pass by in no time! 😉
Hi
I want to start the egg diet.but for me if I eat egg I will get gastric.so I am planning to take eggs like 3eggs for 3times.
For this diet is to okay to take almonds Nd nuts .
Please consult your health care practitioner if you have health issues.
You are not supposed to eat nuts for the three or five days while doing the diet.
I need my coffe in the morning. Can I have my bulletproof coffee on this diet?
Yes, have your coffee! 🙂
Conflicting things I’m seeing……do I need to eat an egg within 30 minutes of waking or within the first 5 hours of the day?
Hi, Julee. Eating an egg within the first 30 minutes of waking is an arbitrary rule of the egg fast. I never followed it, though. I guess it’s there to keep you from getting too big an appetite in the morning.
If you wait for 5 hours, that is already intermittent fasting, I would guess. Do what feels best for you, I personally like to exercise fasted in the morning and eat later.
Hello I need to know what else we can eat with the eggs, like snacks.. and can they be cooked anyway? Only 6 a day?
Hi, Denise. Everything is described in “the rules” of egg fast within this post. Of course, you can cook the eggs, why not. 6 is a minimum, not a maximum. You should eat according to your daily calorie needs. Snack on high-fat cheese. That is what egg fast is about. Nobody forbids you doing any other way but see if you can go 3 days with only eggs and fats (and cheese) and what happens. If you don’t feel well, don’t do it.
Hi. I was wondering about adding a tbsp or less of pesto to baked eggs with butter and cheese?
Hi, Christa,
Whatever suits you best. Do check the nutrient info, though. Pesto usually contains pine nuts which contain around 4g carbs per ounce. I don’t think there should be a considerable amount of carbs in a T of pesto, to be honest.
Are miracle noodles allowed on an egg fast? I can’t seem to find any information on it.
Hi, Kristin.
Miracle noodles contain a whole bunch of soluble fiber. The point of egg fast is to consume moderate protein and high fats that come with eggs and healthy clean fat, and to not consume much fiber for 3 to 5 days. That is why you can see a quick water loss and weight loss. Any other way is not considered to be egg fast anymore. But none of us is here to tell you what is actually allowed or not allowed to consume.
Hi,
Are the Keto Snacks are allowed during egg fast? How about blak breakfast tea?
Hi,
Egg fast is about eggs and fats and some cheese which you can call a keto snack. You can modify it as you wish and see if it works for you. Unsweetened black tea shouldn’t be a problem.
I wanna start an egg fast but m worried that the fat to be consumed with it will make my more fatty than I am already.
Hi, Imran. Maybe try focusing on getting in more protein with a couple of more eggs and minus a couple of Tbsp fat than the “rules” say. Do what feels OK and doable for you and see what happens. Happy New Year to you and yours!
I need coffee bad everyday….I use half and half and stevia..will that hurt me????
I don’t think that should hurt! I think it hurts when someone restricts themselves too much from what they enjoy for too long. So a little half and half in coffee should be fine. But if you can survive without half and half for 5 days straight, to really get those carbs close to zero, that would be for you to decide. All the best.
hi planning to do egg fast. i take collagen every day and plan to continue label doesn’t say how many carbs, 10 grams protein, 40 calories. i also take prebiothrive, a prebiotic supplement.30 cals,1 net gram carbs, 7 grams fiber. would appreciate your thoughts/comments…any thoughts on having a tablespoon of full fat or extra fat yogurt (i make my own) instead of cheese?
Hi, Shirley.
I wouldn’t panic about any of these. I, myself, never go off supplements that I’m on before an egg fast.
If you consider that a T of your homemade yogurt is low in carbs, do it. I do, however, think that the egg fast is a lot about being psychologically (presuming you are physically in a good health) capable of restricting food variety for 5 days straight. When one starts taking things more freely, it is just not the same anymore. But if it works for you, I don’t see a problem. When I undergo a protocol like this one, or sometimes AIP protocol, I don’t allow any exceptions; For me, the fun is in feeling like a winner at the end of the “fasting” period, when I can say: ” I did it!” instead of “I kind of did it” or “I did it but … had diet sodas there and some carrots there and some beefsteak the other day …” Not that there’s anything wrong with any of these, it is just the good feeling of being highly disciplined for a few days. It’s what works for me.
First of all, feel healthy and strong before trying, and don’t undereat. In the end, it is mainly about taking in close to 0 carbs and moderate protein for all the excess water to flush out of your body. With added exercise, we can probably talk about fat loss, too …
thanks- i make yogurt with fairlife milk or half and half so it is lower carb than regular greek yogurt. it is lower carb than cream cheese and i think a bit healthier and less expensive for me.
i understand and agree on the discipline thing. thanks again.
You are welcome, Shirley.
All the best to you and Yours!
Would it be ok to consume the Kirkland Almond Milk? They are 0 net carbs (1 gm carb with 1 gm fiber)?
Sure, no problem.