Eggs for losing weight
![Weight loss happens when your daily calorie intake is less than the calories you use during your day. Eggs help in any weight loss plan.](https://images.medicinenet.com/images/article/main_image/hard-boiled-eggs-nutrition-cholesterol-yolks-diet.jpg?output-quality=75)
Losing weight is a goal for many people with obesity and overweight. Weight loss happens when your daily calorie intake is less than the calories you use during your day. Many types of food are promoted and prohibited by diet plans. People on weight loss plans worry about the calories in an egg. While you cannot lose weight simply by eating eggs, they're a great protein source in any diet.
Eggs are an excellent food at any time of the day. They have health and nutrition benefits for everyone, but they especially help people trying to lose weight. Eggs are a protein food. They provide several other nutrients of value, too.
Proteins are considered valuable for weight loss efforts. Proteins are more satisfying than fats and carbohydrates. Eating eggs will not magically remove your belly fat and extra weight, but by keeping you from feeling hungry for longer, eggs contribute to your weight loss success.
Eating a high-protein diet is one strategy for losing weight. Such diets provide 25% of total calories from protein, 30% of total calories from fat, and 45% from carbohydrates. Eggs can be a valuable part of such a diet plan as they provide complete proteins without too many calories.
A snack with two boiled eggs will provide you with 12 grams of protein and only 150 calories. You can add some vegetables to provide dietary fiber and bulk to your meal without increasing its energy content. The protein will keep you feeling full for a long time and keep you from cheating on your diet.
Egg nutrition facts
Most eggs are chicken eggs and come in various sizes, usually 45 to 70 grams. When you have an egg snack or meal, you'll typically use two or three eggs. Eggs provide you with several nutrients. A 100-gram portion of eggs contains:
- Energy: 143 calories
- Protein: 12.6 grams
- Total lipid (fat): 9.51 grams
- Calcium: 56 milligrams
- Carbohydrate: 0.72 grams
- Fiber, total dietary: 0 grams
Eggs have small amounts of minerals like iron, magnesium, zinc, selenium, phosphorus, and potassium. They're also a good source of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, and E) and the B group of vitamins. Eggs provide no dietary fiber. Proteins in eggs are complete proteins containing all the essential amino acids.
Fats in eggs were once considered a problem, but most fats are monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which are healthy. Only about a third are saturated fatty acids, which are nutrients of concern. Eggs have little trans fat.
A lot of nutritional information changes based on how you cook your eggs. Boiled eggs have much the same nutrients as mentioned above. The nutritional value of fried eggs, scrambled eggs, or omelets changes according to your cooking medium. A gram of fat converts to 9 calories in the body, so each teaspoonful of oil or butter adds 50 calories to your meal.
Should you eat the yolk?
The yolk has been unpopular for a while now. People order egg-white omelets, believing them to be safe for health. But the yolk of an egg has essential nutrients, and you shouldn't discard it.
An average-sized egg yolk has 6 grams of fat. Most of this is unsaturated fat. Only a small proportion is saturated fat which is dangerous for heart health. The yolk also contains vitamins A, D, and E. These are fat-soluble vitamins, and the fats in the egg yolk help to absorb them.
Egg white contains protein, of course, but so does the yolk. Eating the whole egg gives you the full benefit of the nutritional value of eggs. If you are eating eggs to lose weight, you need the total amount of protein to maintain satiety for longer. A two-egg snack or meal will keep you full for much longer than a snack with high levels of carbohydrates.
Why should you try to lose weight?
Overweight and obesity happen for many reasons. They increase your risk for several severe disorders:
- Hypertension (high blood pressure)
- Dyslipidemia (unhealthy levels of LDL cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and triglycerides)
- Heart disease
- Type 2 diabetes
- Stroke
- Cancer
- Gall bladder disease
- Depression, anxiety, and other mental health problems
- Osteoarthritis
Overweight people have 27% more doctor visits, 46% more hospitalization expenses, and spend 80% more on prescription drugs than people of healthy weight. People with obesity are also more likely to die (higher all-cause mortality). Getting to and maintaining a healthy weight is good for overall physical and mental health.
Can you lose weight by eating eggs?
Eggs help in any weight loss plan. They're a good source of protein, and a meal or snack based on eggs provides satiety. You feel full for longer and can space out your meals. Eggs rank high in protein quality, digestibility, and utilization by the human body and provide long-lasting satiety. Satiety contributes to the success of any diet.
Though eggs are healthy, they cannot melt your belly fat and reduce your weight. They're not a miraculous remedy for overweight and obesity. No single food can create weight loss for you. You need a plan to have a negative energy balance to achieve weight loss.
Aim for an energy intake target that is about 30% less than your requirement. The suggestion for women is 1,200 to 1,500 calories a day. Men should aim for 1,500 to 1,800 calories a day. Your doctor or dietician will advise you based on your body weight and physical activity level. The recommendation is a diet with a 30% energy deficit.
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SLIDESHOW
Foods That Aren't as Healthy as You Think See SlideshowWill eggs melt belly fat?
Belly fat is stored surplus fat from your food. After providing energy for your daily activities and your body's functions, any surplus food is converted to stored energy. Sugars are converted to glycogen and stored in the liver and muscles. Fat is stored as triglycerides in fatty tissue. Regularly consuming more calories and fats than your body needs can cause weight gain and belly fat accumulation.
As you might have guessed, eggs won't melt your belly fat. You need to reverse the accumulation by reducing your calorie intake to below your body's needs. Once you achieve this negative calorie balance, stored fat from your body will be used by your body for generating energy. You'll see your belly fat reduce and vanish.
Is a diet plan enough for weight loss?
Energy consumed and energy expended are the two determinants of weight loss (or gain). While you can lose weight simply by reducing your eating, losing weight usually requires a calorie-restricted diet and physical activities to keep your heart, bones, and muscles strong.
A weight loss plan based only on dietary restrictions is seldom successful for long. While you will lose weight initially, you need physical activity to prevent the weight loss from slowing and reversing. To lose weight and keep it off, you must include aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities in your weight loss strategy.
Physical activity has several other benefits for your health:
- Helps reduce your blood pressure if it is high
- Improves mobility and reduces the pain of arthritis
- Reduces your risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and some types of cancer
- Improves your mood and helps you overcome depression and anxiety
- Reduces your risk of osteoporosis and falls
Eggs, exercise, and more for weight loss
There are no easy solutions to obesity and being overweight. You need a plan, advice from your doctor and dietician, and common sense and determination to lose weight and belly fat. Some strategies to help you succeed:
A careful diet plan
Include lots of eggs and other protein foods, but eat vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, and other healthy food. Aim for a calorie deficit of 30%. Keep your saturated fat intake to less than 10% of your calories, and be very cautious about sugar consumption.
Physical activity
Ask your doctor before starting an exercise program. Aim for 150 minutes a week of aerobic exercise and muscle-strengthening activities at least twice a week.
Adequate good-quality sleep
Insufficient sleep is known to be associated with obesity. Adults should have seven to eight hours of sleep each night.
Talk to your doctor
If you're not losing weight despite regular exercise and strictly following your diet, you should consult your doctor. Unsuspected conditions like hypothyroidism and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) may be causing your stubborn weight problem. Some prescription medicines also cause weight gain. Stress and depression can also cause you to gain weight.
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Health Solutions From Our Sponsors
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: "Health Effects of Overweight and Obesity," "Physical Activity for a Healthy Weight."
Eggs Canada: "Egg Nutrition."
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute: "Overweight and Obesity: Causes and Risk Factors," Overweight and Obesity. Treatment."
Nemours Children's Health: "Is It Possible to Lose Weight Without Exercising?"
Nutrition and Metabolism: "A high-protein diet for reducing body fat: mechanisms and possible caveats."
US Department of Agriculture: "Egg, whole, raw, fresh."
US Department of Health and Human Services: "Managing Overweight and Obesity in Adults."
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