W hen I first started researching egg fasts, I came across the website ibreatheimhungry.com. This site has a lot of information about egg fasts. The writer said she lost 7 pounds in 5 days.. And I was like, okay.. I need to try this myself. So … here it goes.
In her blog post, she mentioned Choline. I did some research on this myself and indeed, this nutrient is vital for our cells to function properly. Not only our cells – but Choline is so important for your liver. Just one egg yolk contains about 115 mg of Choline.
But what exactly is Choline:
Choline was discovered in 1862 by Adolph Strecker, a chemist who began to grow awareness about the nutritional significance of the unique compound found in the yolk of an egg. It is an essential water-soluble nutrient that is grouped with the B-Vitamin complex. Now, this isn’t a vitamin per se, but this organic compound is required for basic cellular structure, nutrient transport and metabolism.
As stated previously, Choline is needed for nutrient transport. Choline properly transports fat from the liver to cells throughout the body. Choline keeps the liver clear from fat build-up. Too much fat in the liver can cause harm to your body including fatty liver disease, liver damage or liver failure.
Other benefits of Choline are:
- Forms DNA and cell structures
- Supports the central nervous system
- Helps protect memory and loss of brain function
- Can help with exercise performance and muscle function
- May help maintain heart health
- Supports a healthy pregnancy {I don’t recommend egg fasting [or fasting in general] while pregnant.. But it probably is a good idea to include eggs into your diet for the added benefits}
- Important for children’s growth and development
Choline isn’t the only ingredient here that makes this fast work. Add in Casein that you find in cheese and Methionine that you find in egg whites and you have a triple play in your liver. Methionine has a fat-dissolving effect and reduces the fat deposits in the liver, and Casein supplies the body with amino acids, calcium and phosphorous. And ladies – Methionine is also good for nail strength and hair growth!
Essentially, by doing an egg fast, you are supplying your liver with everything it needs to rid itself {and the body} of excess fat.
The research sounds good so I thought I would give this a go. Now.. just to get something out in the open here. I am not a huge fan of eggs. Scrambled eggs are fine, I guess, but other than that… I don’t care for them. So why in the world would I do an egg fast you ask?
Well.. I’ve done a few water fasts. The longest being 4 days. I really wanted to try for 5 days, but after day 2 I was like.. I just want to eat dinner with my family.. Dinner is 100% family time and the only way I can make it through the fast is to ostracize myself until all of the food is put away. And I don’t enjoy doing that.
My experiment with the egg fast is .. is it easier for me to do a water fast and just be hungry on occasion and stare at my family eating dinner … or is it easier for me to suck it up and eat something that I don’t really care for.. But at least I won’t be hungry, and I can eat dinner with them? Either way.. I have to do something to break the stall. I’m between 13-18 pounds away from my goal weight because my current weight keeps fluctuating. And it has been for about a month.
My meal plan and experience is posted below:
Day 1:
Weigh in: 141.6
Breakfast:
- BPC with 1 egg, 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp mct powder {Yes… I add a raw egg to my Bulletproof Coffee. And I’m not going to lie.. it sounds absolutely disgusting, but it actually isn’t bad. You can’t even taste the egg. I added a little bit of Truvia to make it a little sweeter. You have to add the raw egg after you have blended everything else.. and while the blender is on.}
- 1 scrambled egg
Snack:
- 1 scrambled egg with 1 tbsp of butter
- 1 cheese stick
Lunch:
- 4 deviled egg halves, with 2 tbsp mayo and 1 tbsp spicy brown mustard
- 2 cheese sticks
Snack:
- 1 scrambled egg with 1 tbsp of butter
- 1 cheese stick
Dinner:
- Egg salad (approx 1 egg’s worth) 1 tbsp mayo, some Frank’s Red Hot and paprika
- 1 scrambled egg with 1 tbsp butter
- 1 cheese stick
116 oz water
Weigh in before bed: 144 – increase of 2.4 pounds {which is expected at night.}
Day 1 notes: After day 1 I am not sure that I can keep this up for 4 more days. I mean.. I don’t like eggs that much. And it’s the only thing I can eat. That goodness I can have a few ounces of cheese. That saved me at lunch. The deviled eggs are not my thing. Tomorrow I’m going to stick to scrambled eggs because at least I know I can eat those with out any problems. This is the last week of school too {I’m a teacher}. I think I planned this out perfectly because I more so will be ready for the school year to be over – and I will be focused on that more than the eggs… at least right now that’s what I think.
Day 2:
Weigh in: 141.6 {same as my starting weight… definitely disappointed, but I’m going to keep this up.}
Breakfast:
- BPC with 1 egg, 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp mct powder {today I added a little cinnamon instead of the Truvia. I prefer the cinnamon.}
- 1 scrambled egg with a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese
Snack:
- 1 scrambled egg with 1 tbsp of butter and a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese
Lunch:
- 2 scrambled eggs with 2 tbsp of butter and a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese
Dinner:
- 2 scrambled eggs with 2 tbsp of butter and a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese
108 oz water
Weigh in before bed: 141.8 – increase of .2 pounds {much better than yesterday.}
Day 2 notes: So my morning started off MUCH better today than it did yesterday. The eggs tasted better {thankfully.. as of last night I was really worried about this} and I was able to down my breakfast, snack, and lunch. My afternoon got really hectic out of nowhere, so my afternoon snack did not happen. Along with grocery shopping, laundry, and some other things that I needed to get done. I don’t have any eggs for tomorrow.. so I may have to modify this fast and eat all 8 of my eggs tomorrow after work. I hope that doesn’t mess me up.. but sometimes life happens and you have to roll with it.
Day 3:
Weigh in: 140.2 {Only down 1.4, but I’ll take it. I was definitely hoping for a bigger loss by day 3, but maybe I’ll be surprised at the end of this.}
Breakfast:
- BPC with 1 egg, 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp mct powder {with cinnamon.}
- 1 scrambled egg with a sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese
Dinner:
- 4 egg and cheese omelette
44 oz water
Weigh in before bed: 140.4 – increase of .2 pounds
Day 3 notes: Today has been bad.. I have hardly eaten anything.. doing an egg fast you are supposed to eat every 3 hours. Due to the unexpected events that yesterday brought, I was not able to get to the store so I knew I wouldn’t have any eggs until after work. I 100% should have way more water, but I didn’t.. and at the end of the night I couldn’t chug 64 oz. I’m not expecting much of a loss tomorrow. But we will see..
Day 4:
Weigh in: 139.6 {Only down 2 pounds total… and this is the lowest weight I’ve been since starting. I’ve been fluctuating between 139 and 142.. I was really hoping this would break my stall. I still have today and tomorrow… so hopefully things start to change.}
Breakfast:
- BPC with 1 egg, 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp mct powder {with cinnamon.}
Dinner:
- BPC with 2 eggs, 1 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp mct powder {with cinnamon.}
Day 4 was it for me… this just isn’t my thing. The weight loss isn’t happening the way it has for others and eggs just.. they aren’t my thing to begin with anyway. As I mentioned earlier, I have tried a few water fasts and those have been much more successful. A 48 hour water fast for me allows me to drop a couple pounds, and keep it off. Four days of eating eggs gave me around the same results as a 48 water fast. Being fat adapted, I don’t really get hungry, so the last few days of the egg fast {along with just things getting in the way} I wasn’t hungry and I didn’t want to eat if I wasn’t hungry, especially eggs. And because I don’t really get hungry, a 48 hour water fast isn’t difficult for me. I think I will stick to water fasts to help break stalls in the future. This wasn’t for me – but just because it didn’t work for me, doesn’t mean it won’t work for you. Try it out yourself! I’d love to hear about your results 🙂
NUTRITIONAL DISCLAIMER