I'll admit, even I was pretty intrigued when one of the ladies sent me this diet.
'Lose 14 lbs in a week', claims 'the egg' diet
And given that I'm always banging on about protein being the key to weight loss, I'm going to tell you that eating eggs probably isn’t a bad idea for you.
Cheap, versatile and a great source of protein, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals.
They're pretty much nature's vitamin tablet.
But here’s the thing with most of the “[insert magic food here]' diets…
They’re nothing more than rigid, cookie-cutter meal plans that you’d do well to stick to for a week
^^^ which last time I checked, probably isn’t going to get you feeling in control of your relationship with food and weight loss
Which is what you really want, right?
I mean, the last thing I want to see is anxiety or stress about what you can or can't eat because it's not on a magical meal plan.
Anyway..here's 'the egg' diet:
“Day 1 Breakfast 1 slice dry toast and grilled tomatoes
Lunch Fresh fruit (any amount)
Dinner 2 hard boiled eggs, salad, grapefruit
Day 2 Breakfast Grapefruit, 1 boiled egg
Lunch Roast chicken (any amount) & tomatoes
Dinner Grilled steak and salad
Day 3 Breakfast Grapefruit, 1 boiled egg
Lunch 2 boiled eggs and tomatoes
Dinner 2 Grilled lamb chops, celery & cucumber
Day 4 Breakfast 2 slices dry toast, 2 poached eggs
Lunch fresh fruit (any amount)
Dinner 2 hard boiled eggs, salad, grapefruit
Day 5 Breakfast 1 slice dry toast, 2 poached eggs
Lunch 2 poached eggs & tomatoes
Dinner Fresh or tinned fish and salad
Day 6 Breakfast 1 boiled egg, 1 glass grapefruit juice
Lunch Fresh fruit (any amount)
Dinner Roast chicken, cabbage, carrots
Day 7 Breakfast 2 scrambled eggs, grilled tomatoes
Lunch 2 Poached eggs& spinach
Dinner Grilled steak & salad
NOTE
Abstain from anything not mentioned.
Eat only what is shown or do without.
No substitutions allowed.
No eating between meals
No alcohol
No butter milk or fat
Drinks = black tea, black coffee, lemon tea, grapefruit juice, tonic, soda or water only
Salad = lettuce, cucumber, tomatoes and celery only”
And here’s the part that really made me chuckle:
“DO NOT DIET FOR MORE THAN ONE WEEK AT A TIME”
Which sounds a bit like:
Restrict all your favourite foods (and wine)..THEN..Celebrate by going out and binging on all the foods you just gave up.
Now, I have NO problem with this diet if you can do it. Even for a week as a kickstart. But the fact they give you no 'after-after' plan is what worries me.
I see that as the problem to why MOST diets end up with you piling the weight back on.
It’s not all doom and gloom, though.
Because THIS diet does encourage quite a bit of protein (something nearly that nearly all the ladies feel better from after I work with them)
In terms of hunger, skin, nails, hair, energy, recovery, weight loss, fitness and muscle tone.
But at the same time…
Before hopping on the latest diet craze.
Just take a minute to answer the following questions:
* How long could you do this diet for?
^^^ particularly given that they suggest you don’t diet on it for more than a week…
* What will you do after this diet?
^^^ Do you have an after plan? Can you see yourself doing this in 3 months time?
* What are you going to do if you have a social event?
^^^ Ask for an egg, maybe? Not the most egg-citing meal out, ay? (That's me trying to tell a joke)
* How will you feel if you go off the diet at this social event?
^^^ Would it make you feel like you failed? Would you feel guilty? Even if you just swapped the eggs for say chicken, beef or fish?
* What will you do if you stop losing weight?
^^^ Do you know how you could break through periods of stubborn fat loss?
The reason I ask is because banning foods not only makes you more vulnerable to a deficiency
^^^ Which may make you feel tried, sluggish and demotivated
But I also tend to see it result in mild symptoms of an eating disorder.
* That guilt of eating a ‘bad’ food that was ‘banished’ from the meal plan.
* The worry of what might happen.
^^^ ‘Will I gain the 14lbs back tomorrow when I step on the scale?’
It begins to take over our life.
Makes us stressed.
We end up blaming ourselves for ‘failing’ on yet another diet and feeling pretty rubbish.
Which is completely against why you made a decision to improve your health.
With your 'why' being:
To be fitter, healthier, and feel great, right?
Which is exactly why a nutritional strategy should be something you can do for more than a week 😉
Speak soon,
Matt 'shell shocked' Fruci