EGG FAST
Fasting is a practice that has been done for thousands of years in all traditions around the world both for health reasons and religious reasons.
Fasting means abstaining from all or some kinds of foods.
In these modern days fasting has also become a popular way for people to lose weight.
The egg fast is not suitable for people with medical conditions, religious restrictions, egg allergies, people having eating disorders or for those who are pregnant.
An egg fast is a short term diet plan that was developed by blogger JImmy Moore in 2010.
There are important rules to follow in an egg fast.
The egg fast program must never be done for more than 5 days, as it may lead to health risks of constipation and nutritional deficiencies.
I personally have tried the fast only for 3 days. It is important to drink plenty of water during the egg fast. The amount of eggs to consume is at least 6 whole eggs per day. You must consume 1 tablespoon of butter per egg. Also you have to take 1 ounce of full fat cheese per egg consumed. You must eat this combination of egg-based meals every 3-5 hours. You must eat a meal even if you are not hungry. And you must stop eating three hours before bedtime.
These are the basic rules and I made a few modifications for myself to avoid constipation and nutrient deficiency by taking my vitamin and mineral supplements and fibre powder during the egg fast.
Although the egg fast will help reduce your weight you will gain weight if you start eating more carbs again, it is important to maintain a low carb diet after the egg fast to maintain your health.
The egg fast diet involves eating mainly eggs, cheese and butter. It is a restricted ketogenic diet. A ketogenic diet is high in fat, low in carbs and moderate in proteins.
A ketogenic diet helps the body to enter the metabolic state of ketosis, where the body starts using fats (ketones) as a source of energy rather than glucose.
So the egg fast is a classic short term ketogenic diet program that can help kick start the body to enter ketosis before beginning a ketogenic diet.
I have tried an egg fast for just 3 days last year and it helped my body to get into ketosis and also helped me lose weight. I am again on another round of egg fast this week.
The egg fast helped me get into a ketogenic diet because it made the body have no access to glucose which is its prefered fuel source, so then the body compensated by making ketones out of fat and used them as fuel. There are ketosis tester kits that also help to know the level of ketones in your body.
Ketones are energy fuels for our brain, heart, skeletal muscles. Research studies show that our brain is mostly made up of fat and hence the brain prefers ketone more than glucose for its energy. Ketosis helps to keep you less hungry, more energetic, and prevents muscle loss.
Ketogenic diets help to curb hunger, they help weight loss, they remove most of the excess fat from the abdominal cavity.
If you test your blood while you are on a ketogenic diet, you will notice that your triglyceride levels have dropped drastically and you have increased levels of good HDL (good cholesterol), your blood sugar reduces, blood pressure is lower, it boosts your heart health. I experienced all these changes after I started my ketogenic diet. I am on the ketogenic diet of high fat, low carb and moderate protein for more than a year now. It was the best decision I made for my health. I also continue to do intermittent fasting. Keto diet combined with intermittent fasting has become my lifestyle now. I came out of severe diabetic condition and inflammation. I do not take any medication now. I walk without difficulty and am able to be energetic and active throughout the day.
Premlatha Rajkumar
Wellness and Food 