A 3-Day Keto Egg Fast Can Help You Revive a Weight Loss Slump

The ketogenic diet has helped countless people lose weight and achieve better overall health. However, like most diets, it’s common for individuals to find themselves hitting a wall and plateauing before they’ve shed quite as many pounds as they’d hoped. Instead of giving up, just grab an extra carton of eggs from the grocery store. 

Eggs are not only a super-nutritious meal option while on a regular keto diet, but can help boost your body back into a state of ketosis with a three to five day egg fast. Considering whole eggs contain plenty of protein, zinc, iron, vitamin D, healthy fats, and other essential vitamins and minerals, focusing all of your meals on them for a short period can be a perfect low-carb way to hit reset on your diet — if you do it right.

What is the keto egg fast?

The strict meal plan is suggested for anyone who has hit a wall with their keto weight loss and is looking for a way to jumpstart back into ketosis. In practice, this fast lasts three to five days with the individual exclusively eating eggs with other healthy fats like butter and cheese. Spices and coconut oil are fine to add in, too. Healthline lists the original rules as laid out by blogger Jimmy Moore back in 2010:

• Whole eggs (yolks and whites) are the main source of fat and protein.
• You must consume 1 Tbsp. (15 grams) of butter or healthy fat per egg consumed.
• You must eat a whole egg within 30 minutes of waking up.
• You must eat an egg-based meal every three to five hours, even if you’re not hungry.
• You can eat up to 1 oz. (28 grams) of full-fat cheese per egg consumed.
• You must eat at least six whole eggs per day.
• Eggs should be local, pastured eggs whenever possible.
• You should stop eating three hours before bedtime.

Of course, you’re free to modify those rules as best fits your health needs. A sample of daily meals might include scrambled eggs with cheddar or cream cheese for breakfast, egg salad for lunch, hard boiled eggs to snack on, and an omelette for dinner. Yep, it’s a lot of eggs. 

Tisa, the blogger behind My Sweet Keto, documented her own results while on the fast for five days. She used a slightly modified version and was able to lose about 2 pounds, but found herself seriously craving some leafy greens by the time she was finished with the fifth day. “At the end of the egg-fast, I regained around 1 pound eating a normal keto diet. This makes me believe that at least 1 pound of rapid weight loss during the egg fast was water loss.” Luckily, shedding some water weight was exactly her intention when going into the fast.

Is the keto egg fast safe?

As with any restrictive diet, you should absolutely check with your doctor or medical professional before diving into this fast. You should also be sure to only follow the fast for no longer than five days. After that, you run the risk of depriving your body of other much-needed nutrients. As healthy as eggs are, you simply cannot survive on them alone long term before issues (like constipation) start making things complicated again.

The experts at Healthline also caution against individuals with diabetes, eating disorders, high cholesterol, or those who have had their gallbladder removed from partaking in this fast. Again, talk to your doctor and follow their advice before planning three to five days’ worth of eggy dishes. 

If all goes well, you’ll hopefully be looking forward to dropping a few more pounds, plus an overall decrease in your appetite causing you to crave extra cheat meals and treats. We just hope you really, really like eggs if you plan on giving this fast a try. That said, you can also use it as an opportunity to brush up on some new keto-friendly egg recipes you’ve been meaning to try. Condiments like hot sauce and mayo are allowed on the fast in moderation, so you might want to try adding both to an egg scramble for a surprisingly luxurious meal.

Here’s hoping for some egg-cellent results!

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