I Tried the Egg Diet and Was Surprised by the Results

I study integrative and clinical nutrition and I decided to try out a very popular trend right now, whose advocates promise amazing weight loss results: The egg diet.

My diet plan was a little different from the original. The original has breakfast of three boiled eggs and green tea; lunch of three boiled eggs, an apple, and green tea; an optional afternoon snack of an apple; and dinner of oatmeal and green tea.

But I altered my diet plan to: Two to three meals a day each consisting of two to three eggs, plus I would incorporate miso soup, seafood and fish, vegetables, berries and other fruit, and nuts.

In my view, the original diet makes three main mistakes. The first mistake is counterintuitive considering it's based on eating eggs—there is simply not enough protein intake.

Six medium eggs only contain around 36g of protein, and a typical bowl of oatmeal contains about 5g. But for a sedentary adult, the daily protein intake should be at least 0.8g per kilogram of weight, according to the Mayo Clinic.

So, if you weigh, for example, 165lbs, then you should consume at least 60g of protein per day, and if you exercise, you have to consume even more. You literally have to eat 10 large eggs to get 60g of protein.

I only need 40g of protein, but I still bought some shrimps to add a little variety, and because they are a great source of low-calorie protein.

A second mistake I noticed in the original diet was drinking tea. But tea, as well as coffee, contains tannins, which studies show can block the absorption of iron. So I don't recommend drinking tea together with your meal. Just drink it separately, or with food that contains a negligible amount of iron.

But eggs do contain a decent amount of iron, so it's better to avoid consuming them at the same time as coffee or tea together, especially if you are a woman.

Women need more iron than men, and many women have a deficiency. Take me as an example: I had terrible anemia before, and still to this day I struggle with iron deficiency.

And a third mistake I see in the original diet is a massive calorie deficit. Cutting so drastically may help you lose weight initially, but over a longer period of time it'll slow your metabolism, and with insufficient protein will also lead to muscle loss.

My Starting Weight and Measurements

My starting weight was 50.55kg (111lbs).

I was already quite a skinny girl with some stubborn fat on my sides. So for me, losing even 1kg (2.2lbs) would be a huge achievement because it is basically 2 percent of my body weight. After all, the skinnier you are, the more difficult it gets to lose weight.

My initial waist measurement was 64.5cm. My legs were about 50cm, and the measurement around those stubborn fatty areas above my hips was 80cm.

Three Days of the Egg Diet

On day one of my diet plan, my first meal was around 400 calories and had three eggs, blueberries, two oranges, two mangosteens, miso soup, and some vegetables.

My second was around 800 calories and included three eggs, shrimp, vegetables, miso soup, blueberries, two oranges, mixed nuts, and some soy milk.

I felt very full that evening as I went to sleep. I didn't think I'd lose any weight because of how full I felt, though I was excited to check the scales the following day.

When I weighed in the next morning on day two, I had lost 0.35kg (0.6lbs).

I only had a shot of espresso and didn't consume anything else during the day. By 4:30pm, I still felt energetic and wasn't too hungry.

For my first meal, I ate salmon sashimi, three eggs, cherries, a mangosteen, and an orange, coming in at 465 calories for what I ate—I could only manage half, I felt so full.

The second meal of the day came in at 850 calories. I had three eggs and more salmon, and I made a healthy microwave cupcake with dragonfruit, an egg, and half a banana, topped off with more fruit, nuts, and oats. I also had some dragonfruit and banana with yoghurt, and a few tamarillos.

Again, as I went to bed on the second day, I felt satiated. I wasn't full in between the meals like before, and I got hungry. But before sleeping I felt, again, like I'd eaten too much. It was weird and not like a diet.

The next morning, on day three, I weighed myself again: I was now down by 1.2kg (2.6lbs).

For my first meal, I had three eggs, shrimp, some greens, lemon, garlic, chillis, green onions, almonds, and some blackberries with coconut milk topped off with nuts and oats. Altogether, it came in at around 660 calories.

And for my second meal, I had the same again, though with more nuts, which took the calorie count up to 900.

Once again, before bed, I felt full and satiated. But I'd also had quite a few more calories than the other days, so I wasn't expecting to see more weight loss in the morning. I ate a lot of nuts.

When I weighed in the following morning, I was surprised. More weight had come off, taking me to a total loss of 1.7kg (3.7lbs) for those three days on my version of the egg diet.

My waist circumference decreased by 3cm and my sides by 5cm, but there was no change to my legs.

The Importance of Food Variety

Every day, I tried to eat a variety of food, and this is because we need to enrich our gut microbiome. But what I noticed in other videos about the egg diet is that many people would only eat eggs and apples day after day. This is a poor diet.

Instead of apples, you can switch to berries, which have a higher load of antioxidants and at the same time, they're less calorific and less sugary. Adding some lemon, veggies, and greens won't make you fat.

Be creative with your food choices. Enjoy your meals.

Another tip: eat slowly and chew your food very, very well. This was my mistake before. I did not chew properly, and then my organs had to do all the work after I had a meal.

Remember: The stomach doesn't have teeth, but your mouth does. So chew your food properly and take your time; you won't feel heavy after a meal and you'll feel more satiated.

Would I recommend this diet to anyone? I guess I would, though still paying attention to the protein intake, which makes you feel satiated. But I would certainly recommend adding more variety to the diet, like I did.

Aina Tea vlogs on her YouTube channel about life in China.

All views expressed are the author's own.

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