Eggs back on the menu for weight loss

2 mins to read

Once thought of as a dietary disaster, the humble egg is now seen as a weight loss superfood. Online weight loss coach Andrew Cate helps to unscramble the latest findings.

Everyday health

Why eggs are good for weight control?
Eggs are a convenient, affordable and nutritious source of protein and nutrients. One egg contains around 6.5 grams of protein and approximately 300 kilojoules (70 calories).

Eggs contain a wide range of nutrients, such as iron, and vitamins A, B, E and D. Eggs are also high in iodine, which is essential for healthy thyroid function, helping produce the hormones that keep your metabolic rate firing.

Unfortunately, regular consumption of eggs has been discouraged in the past due to concerns about cholesterol and heart health. Yet recent research has suggested that moderate egg consumption does not contribute to the risk of heart disease or stroke. This is great news for people trying to manage their body fat levels.

The high protein content in eggs helps to fill you up and potentially reduce food cravings, making it easier to stick to a reduced kilojoule eating plan. Recent research has investigated just how much influence eggs have in helping to reduce your kilojoule intake.

The research
A study reported in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition recruited 30 overweight subjects to compare the effects of eating eggs or a bagel based breakfast. Both of the breakfast meals had a similar weight and kilojoule content. Subjects who ate the eggs for breakfast consumed significantly less kilojoules at lunch compared to the bagel breakfast eaters.

The researcher suggested that this reduced kilojoule intake was not compensated for at least 24 hours after the egg breakfast. Using a satiety rating scale, the researchers also discovered that the egg breakfast led to a significantly greater increase in satiety afterwards compared to those who ate the bagel breakfast.

It seems that eggs could almost be called Mother Nature’s “appetite suppressant”, because eating eggs at breakfast reduces feelings of hunger and helps people to eat fewer kilojoules at their next meal. In fact, kilojoule intake for the entire day following the egg breakfast remained 13 percent lower (by 1104 kilojoules) compared to the bagel breakfast.

Adding more eggs to your diet to boost weight loss
Including eggs for breakfast can be great way to add variety to your diet and help to reduce your kilojoule intake to accelerate weight loss. Below are some practical suggestions on how to eat eggs and still minimize your kilojoule intake.

The lowest kilojoule ways to have eggs are boiled or poached, or scrambled made with skim milk and minimal oil, butter or cream.
Be wary of the company that eggs keep at breakfast. Avoid bacon, breakfast sausages, hash browns, heavily buttered toast and Hollandaise sauce to keep your fat and kilojoule intake under control.
A warm breakfast gives you a great excuse to add more vegetables and legumes to your diet, such as baked beans, grilled tomato, grilled mushroom, steamed spinach and steamed asparagus. You can also add a wide array of chopped vegetables to a breakfast omelete.
If you have toast with your eggs, choose low gylcemic index breads that are minimally processed, such as whole grain, rye and sour dough.
Minimise or eliminate the fatty spreads that you have on toast, such as butter or margarine. Use a little avocado or a runny yolk for added moisture.
Eggs don’t just have to be for breakfast. Hard boiled eggs can be used in salads or on cracker bread with tomato and pepper as a snack. You can also mash a hard boiled egg with canned fish, low fat ricotta cheese and grated carrot for a tasty sandwich filling.
Eggs yolks do contain some saturated fat and cholesterol, so limit your intake to 5-6 a week if you have high blood cholesterol, or any existing concerns about your heart health.
One possible explanation for the satiating affect of eggs is that they contain quality proteins. When seeking to have a high protein breakfast other than eggs, look for quality sources of protein, such as Blackmores Superfruit smoothies.

References available on request