5 Day Keto Egg Fast: How to start, what to eat and how to transition back
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If you’ve been eating Keto or Low Carb for a while and following others people’s journey’s on Social Media you might have heard of people doing egg fasts.
In my almost 4 years on Keto I’ve done 2 egg fasts. One to break a weight loss stall and one to detox and reset after Thanksgiving and eating (too) many snacks for my blog post comparisons.
I’m going to walk through (click on title to skip to a section):
Why consider an egg fast or any fasting?
How to start an egg fast
Meal Plan for an egg fast and simple egg fast recipe ideas
STOP! Slow transition out of the egg fast and back to your usual diet
My results throughout my last 5-day egg fast
Challenges you may encounter and lessons I’ve learned
Ready? Let’s jump straight in.
1. Why consider an egg fast or any fasting?
In general, fasting allows your body to fully process the food and fuel you’ve given it. From slowly digesting to resting before receiving more. Without knowing it, you already fast. The time between your last meal or foods of the day to breakfast is a fast in itself. That’s also why our morning meal is called “breakfast”. Because you “break” your fast with it.
In recent years, Intermittent Fasting has gained in popularity
Rather than not eating during 10-12 hours over night you extend it to 16 hours without eating and eat your meals in the remaining 8 hour window.
For me that means I have my last meal and food for the day around 6.30pm and then the next day my first food around noon. I only eat lunch and dinner and try to avoid any snacks.
This kind of fasting focuses on hours of eating though while the egg fast is different.
The egg fast - as the name implies - focuses on WHAT you eat rather then WHEN you eat. And you guessed it, when doing an egg fast you will be eating a lot of eggs. Along with fats - more about what you eat to follow below!
Why would you temporarily only eat eggs and fats?
By eating this way you’re basically going ZERO carbs. With Keto you usually try to stay under 20-25g net carbs to get into Ketosis. More on Keto in the Keto 101 section.
During the egg fast you’re at zero if you keep it strict. That means you get into Ketosis fast and also into Deep Ketosis.
This is great to reset after maybe having gone off track for a while or to relearn and recalibrate how much you eat of what. Going ZERO carb will also reduce inflammation in your body, release water weight and after a few days also lead to weightloss which can be great to break a stall!
If you have food sensitivities you can also use the transition period to slowly reintroduce different foods and observe how your body reacts.
2. How to start an Egg Fast
Let me start by saying that you will find many different versions of egg fasts online. What they all have in common is that for a certain amount of days you will eat only eggs and fasts. Where they differ is with how many eggs, fat, in what time frame, what condiments are permitted, if sweeteners are ok etc.
This is an overview of how I chose to do my latest egg fast
Results can be found in section 5 (spoiler alert: It was a bigger success than I had anticipated!)
Duration: 3-5 days
What to eat:
6-10 eggs / day that are the primary source of protein
1 Tablespoon of fat per egg: butter, mayonnaise, oil
Max 3oz of cheese / day (think cream cheese, cheddar, mozzarella etc - none shredded to avoid hidden carbs)
Seasoning is fine as long as it has no sugar
No sweeteners
When to eat:
Continue with intermittent fasting and 2 meals a day
If hungry in between meals: Eat an egg or make tea / drink water
Drinking:
96oz+ of water / day
No alcohol
Once you’ve decided on what version of the egg fast you want to do I suggest the following steps:
Decide how long you want to do it for
For my first egg fast I had planned to do 3 days and ended up doing 4. For my second I decided I would do 5 and stuck to that.
Decide when you want to start
Check your calendar and find consecutive days where there are no plans to eat out and where you can see yourself eating this way
Also plan for 4-5 days of transition time where you still will not be eating ‘normal’
Find friends or people to do it with
This was one of my learnings after my first egg fast. For my first egg fast I did it alone. It was fine but once I did my 2nd with a group of people I realized how much better it is. A friend, @thatketosis (she’s amazing! You should follow her if you’re on Instagram) was the one who nudged a few of us to do it with her. She - and eventually we all - shared recipes, different versions of egg fasts and supported each other through a Group Chat.
Go shopping
For my version of the egg fast I only had to buy eggs, butter, cheese and cream cheese
3. Meal Plan for an egg fast and simple egg fast recipe ideas
This is what I ate during my 5 days of egg fast:
Don’t forget to also drink a LOT of water and make sure to have enough salt
Day 1:
Lunch: Scramble of 2 egg whites (left over from previous day) and 3 full eggs cooked in 4 Tbsp of butter - like pancakes.
Afternoon: Thermos of Licorice Root Tea
Dinner: Chaffles made of 3 eggs, 2 Tbsp of butter, 1oz hand shredded cheddar and 1oz Queso with different spices + 1oz Pavé (brie-like) cheese as dessert
Day 2:
Lunch: 3 hard boiled eggs mashed with 3 Tbsp of Mayonnaise into an egg salad
Dinner: 3 hard boiled eggs mashed with 3 Tbsp of Mayonnaise into an egg salad + 1oz Pavé (brie-like) cheese + 1oz Sharp Cheddar and 1/8th of egg loaf (recipe below)
Day 3:
Lunch: 1/4 egg loaf with 1 soft boiled egg
Afternoon: Thermos of Licorice Root Tea
Dinner: Egg Shake (Recipe below) + 1 hard boiled egg with mayo + 1oz sharp Cheddar
Day 4:
Lunch: 1 hard boiled egg with 3 Tbsp Mayo mixed as salad + 2 soft boiled eggs with salt
Dinner: 1 hard boiled egg with 3 Tbsp Mayo mixed as salad + 2 soft boiled eggs + 2oz Pavé cheese (see pic below)
Day 5:
OMAD = One Meal A Day -> Dinner: 4 soft boiled eggs, 1 hard boiled egg with 3 Tbsp Mayo mixed as salad + 2oz Pavé cheese + 1oz Sharp Cheddar
Chaffles:
There are many recipes for Chaffles out there. I like to keep it simple and mix 1 egg with 1/2 cup of cheese and seasoning to your liking. Butter your chaffle / waffle maker. Cook the mix until crunchy and enjoy.
Egg loaf recipe - from Pinterest:
Mix 8 eggs with 8oz cream cheese, Stick of butter, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and pour into a 9x13 dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon and if you do sweeteners, add your favorite Keto friendly syrup. If it’s too salty, reduce cream cheese and sub with heavy cream instead. Bake on 350 for 40min or until set.
Egg Shake - from Pinterest:
Mix 1oz cream cheese, 1oz Heavy cream, 2 eggs and 2 Tbsp Vanilla or Cinnamon to liking. Optionally add coffee to it.
Other ways to eat eggs and recipe ideas during an egg fast:
Deviled eggs
Poached eggs
If you’re craving crunch you could also make cheese chips or buy ones if the ingredients permit
Folio wraps are made of cheese as well allowing you to make egg tacos or wraps
Check pinterest for recipes of egg fast breadsticks, egg drop soups, egg bagels and more!
4. STOP! Slow transition out of the egg fast and back to your usual diet
One of my biggest learnings after my first egg fast was that you SHOULD NOT go back to eating your regular diet right away. Give yourself 3-5 days for a slow transition.
What does it mean to do a slow transition?
For me it meant reintroducing other foods one by one, starting with easily digestible ones.
This is what I ate on the first day after my egg fast:
Lunch: 3oz Chicken Thighs cooked in 2 Tbsp Butter with an omelet made of 2oz Spinach, 2 egg whites, 2 Tbsp of Heavy Cream and 1oz of Queso
Dinner: 4oz Chicken Thighs cooked in 2 Tbsp Butter with seasoning and a creamy cheese spinach mix with 2oz Spinach, 2 Tbsp of Heavy Cream and 1oz of Queso
New additions were Chicken and Spinach. I was also mindful to thoroughly chew my food to make it easier to digest.
On day 2 I added zucchini and kept the rest similar. On day 3 I added asparagus.
I consciously stayed away from bloating foods like broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts for another 4-5 days and also waited with reintroducing beef and pork for 4-5 more days.
Why transition slowly?
Our bodies are really fascinating. Even if you only eat differently for a few days, your body will adjust. During the egg fast, it gets used to only digesting protein and fat and to do this in very limited consistencies and textures. If you were to go back to a full, regular meal right after fasting for 3-5 days you highly likely would encounter cramps and either constipation or diarrhea.
I learned this the hard way after my first egg fast where I thought it would be a great idea to have some pork belly on the first day after my fast and I ended up feeling miserable for 2 days.
Another reason is that you want to maintain the weight you lost during the fast. A slow transition means you’re giving your body a chance to continue to regulate itself and keep hte pounds off without reacting through inflammation right away.
5. My results throughout my last 5-day egg fast
I like to track things, so here is my detailed account with regards to weightloss, level of Ketosis as well as how I felt when eating the above.
Weight lost during the egg fast
I have a Renpho SmartScale that I adore which was my trusted companion throughout this fast. Use code KETOANYWHERE10 to save 10% on one. They are only between $25-35 and measure weight, water, muscles and much more!
I do not usually weigh myself daily, but will do so for science ;) Here are the results of the daily weigh ins during the fast, transition and 5 days after finishing transition.
During the egg fast I lost 5.5 lbs. As you can see, during transition there was some fluctuation but overall, further weight loss which I personally attribute to me focusing on mindful eating and chewing every bite thoroughly before swalling.
When comparing Day 1 to ‘5 days later’, which amounts to a total of 15 days, I lost 6.4 lbs.
For someone who has been struggling with losing weight, that is pretty awesome!
Level of Ketosis during the egg fast
Since doing research for another blog posts on exogenous Ketones (supplements that help you get into Ketosis) I’ve been more curious about what levels my body gravitates around and what the deepest level of Ketosis is that I can get into.
During the research and Ketones self-study I found that I tend to be between 1 - 1.4 which means a moderate level of Ketosis. Even when taking supplements, I never went above 1.4.
So of course I was VERY curious to see what levels I would get during this Zero carb egg fast which was an extra motivation for me to stay away from all sweeteners.
I measure with my Keto-Mojo - which is a blood based measuring device that syncs to their app and also calculates a Glucose-Ketone-Index. You can get 15% off your Starter Kit purchase when buying through this link.
Here are the results!
What do we see here?
First, I mentioned above that the highest level of Ketosis I’ve ever measured myself at was 1.4. During the egg fast, I hit a level of 4.4!!! . 4.4 on Day 4 and then 4.3 on Day 5. That is a massive shift to my usual levels!
Looking at the GKI - Glucose Ketone Index - you can see that I went from 4.1 to 0.9 which indicates the deepest level of Ketosis someone can be in. My body was definitely forced into burning fat for fuel - because of the lack of available carbs - which in turn led to weightloss!
6. Challenges you may encounter and lessons I’ve learned
Were my egg fasts success for me? YES! Were they easy? No!
Here are a few further insights into my experience that may be helpful in helping you decide if you want to give it a go
MINDSET: Mentally, I believe you have to be in a decent place to do this. You don’t have to be at your best but you should also not be at your lowest. Restricting what you eat might take a mental toll which you do not want to risk if you’re already not doing well
ENERGY: Theoretically, all the research, studies and findings say that being in a deep leve of Ketosis will make sure feel full of energy. For me, this was not the case. I was very tired in the evenings during the egg fast. I usually go to bed around 1am because I’m a night owl and get really creative in the evening. During the egg fast there were two nights where I crashed at 9. I wasn’t upset as I know 9pm is a much healthier bedtime than 1am especially when you then get up between 6-7am but still. I want to mention it in case you do not have the option to go to bed earlier.
DIGESTION: It was interesting to see in my group chat how every ‘body’ takes to this change in eating habits differently. For some, the first few days were like their bodies were flushing everything out. For others it was the opposite and they didn’t go number 2 until the transition period. And for some againl everything stayed the same.
OTHERS NOT ON THE EGG FAST: I’m used to being surrounded by food I can’t eat. My husband and 2 kids are carbi-vores and I’ve managed through that for my almost 4 years on Keto. During the egg fast that does NOT get easier. You smell the other food and while Days 1-3 were easy, when you hit Day 4 and 5 it’s hard enough to keep eating eggs and fat without having to prepare other meals.
HUNGER: When reading my meal plan above you might have been thinking “no way is that enough food not to be hungry anymore”. You’ll be surprised. The fat really fills you up as do the eggs. Theoretically you can do 6-10 eggs on the egg fast. I like big portions and yet usually stayed at 6 because I was FULL.
STAY STRONG: This goes back to ‘Mindset’ a little. For the first 1-3 days you’ll do fine. You’ll experiment with recipes. Joke around. Feel confident. Around Day 4 that might shift. My best advice “Stay stong. Suck it up. Eat your eggs and fats and pull through!”. By Day 5 I was so over it that I decided to skip lunch and just do dinner. But I stayed on track and on the first transition day I was SO excited to finally be eating a vegetable and some meat again!
WEIGHT & MEASUREMENTS: While I focused on weightloss I would recommend also taking before and after pictures and if you can, measurements. That will show you even more how inflammation and bloating reduces.
DRINK UP: Use the egg fast to get into the habit of drinking A LOT. If needed, get yourself one of those 1 Gallon water bottles on Amazon and set yourself the goal to have it empty by end of day! Also, do not underestimate the power of a pretty cup. If you feel like taking it with you everywhere, you will drink more!
LESS STRICT: I went strict by saying ‘no’ to sweeteners which meant also no sauces. Others in the group did the fast with sweeteners and had success as well.
That’s it! If you decide to go for it, I’d love to hear your learnings, successes and challenges. If you need help finding people to do an egg fast with, send me a message on Instagram, TikTok or Email and I’ll happily help get a group of people together for you!
If you feel like you may need more individual help, check out the Keto Anywhere Coaching offering that’s more like talking to a friend!
Keto on!
Céline
Founder of Keto Anywhere