Weight Loss Central

Many other factors are involved, including the type of saturated fat,
individual genetics, current health status, exercise and the big
picture of what else is consumed in the rest of the diet.

Research Says Eggs Are Not Evil

Recent research has been showing that the cholesterol in eggs is
handled by most people’s bodies in a way that doesn’t cause heart
disease and that dietary cholesterol does not necessarily translate
to increased blood cholesterol or an unfavorable ratio of HDL to LDL
cholesterol.

After a recent study published in The Journal Of Nutrition, Dr. Robert
Nicolosi at the University of Massachusetts said, “Our data shows that
eating an egg a day is not a factor for raising cholesterol.”

A study reported at the 2006 experimental biology meeting in San
Francisco made similar findings. The researchers discovered that
when people ate three or more eggs per day, the amount of low density
lipoprotein (LDL) in their bloodstream did in fact increase as
previously reported.

However they also found that the subjects actually made bigger LDL
particles which were less likely to enter artery walls and build up
as artery-clogging plaque.

As a result of these and similar findings, head researcher Christine
Green said that a growing body of scientific evidence suggests that
eggs should not be considered a “dietary evil.”

Whole Eggs Have “Super-Food” Qualities

Whole eggs have a lot going for them nutritionally speaking. The egg
yolks contain a highly bioavailable source of lutein and zeaxanthin
which are carotenoids that protect against cataracts and macular
degeneration.

Eggs are a great source of high biological value, complete protein and
the protein is split almost evenly between the yolk and the white. One
large egg contains 6.3 grams of protein with 3.5 grams in the white
and 2.8 grams in the yolk.

Although whole eggs appear to have been exonerated, it still may not be
wise to suggest that anyone can eat eggs in unlimited quantities, for
both health and body composition reasons.

Dr. Udo Erasumus in his book, Fats That Heal, Fats That Kill, said that
in 70% of the affluent populations of the world, increased cholesterol
consumption decreases cholesterol production in the body through a
regulating feedback system that protects them. The other 30% of the
population may not have adequate feedback, and are wise to limit their
dietary
cholesterol consumption.

Unlimited egg consumption is also not wise from a caloric perspective. In a fat burning program, you need to consider calories as well as nutritional value and health impact.

Whole Eggs And Fat Loss

Whole eggs are not low calorie foods - they’re
fairly calorie dense, while egg whites are extremely low in calories,
which is why egg whites are one of the top choices for lean protein on
fat loss and
bodybuilding diets.

Now that this news about the health value of whole eggs is starting
to become more widely circulated, bodybuilders and fitness enthusiasts
have been criticized for their long held practice of throwing away the
egg yolks.

However, In all my years of training and consulting, even back
in the late 1980’s, and 1990’s I’ve never thrown away
all my yolks.

My menu plans typically contain one or two whole eggs with 8-12 egg
whites. I know that’s a lot, but that’s a man-sized
bodybuilder meal. For non-bodybuilders or people with lower calorie
needs, it might be one whole egg and 3-6 whites.

Why do I do this? Because this provides the high protein without so
many calories.

Take a look at this egg white - egg yolk comparison:

3 whole large eggs: 225 calories, 18.9 g protein, 15 g fat

8 egg whites & 1 whole egg: 211 calories, 34.3 g protein, 5 g fat

Do you see what was accomplished here? I didn’t remove egg
yolks because I’m afraid of cholesterol. I removed most of
the egg yolks because I was on a calorie budget and I was
on a higher protein diet and I wanted more protein with fewer calories. Make sense?

Another reason that bodybuilders use liquid egg whites
so often is for convenience. They can pour them from the carton right into the
fry pan and they don’t have to do all that shell cracking and
egg white separating.

Let me leave you with a funny story.
 

Whole Eggs - “Better Than Steroids?”

When I started bodybuilding as a teenager, I latched onto the
teachings of a bodybuilding guru trainer from North Hollywood
named Vince Gironda.

Gironda trained all the top movie stars back in his day including
Erik Estrada, Clint Eastwood, Tommy Chong, Carl “Apollo Creed”
Weathers and too many others to mention.

He was also the Trainer of bodybuilding champions such as Larry
Scott, the First Mr. Olympia, and believe it or not, he was Arnold’s first trainer when Joe Weider sent the budding young
star to America from Austria.

Gironda had been saying from day one (back in the 1950’s and 1960’s) that the whole egg was
“nature’s perfect food” and he compared them to “natural steroids.”

On some of his low carb “muscle definition” diets, he said
you could eat as many whole eggs as you wanted and even scramble
them in butter. He said that he had some of his champion bodybuilders
on up to three dozen eggs a day!

I didn’t really understand what a ketogenic diet was at the time,
but being an obedient, guru-following teenage bodybuilder, desperate for muscle, I did what he said. I ate up
to 3 dozen whole eggs a day for months on end.

Well, there was no miraculous steroid-like effect, and I didn’t
drop dead of a heart attack either.

One thing I did notice is that I DID NOT LOSE FAT like Gironda said I would.

The reason should be obvious: three dozen whole eggs is 2700 calories
(more if you use extra large or jumbo eggs). I was at nearly
maintenance calories from the eggs alone, and eggs weren’t the
only thing I was eating.

Gironda, like many other low carb gurus, did not place any
restrictions on calories, only on foods. Gironda was a genius, years
ahead of his time, but this was the flaw in his program. Even on low
carb diets, you STILL need a caloric deficit to lose body fat.

Thus, my approach changed and I started removing yolks to keep
me more easily within my caloric deficit without losing the quality
protein… but I never cut all the yolks because of their
nutritional value.

To this day, I still keep one or two yolks in my
omelettes and scrambles… sometimes more, as long as it
fits in my calorie budget.

Get crackin!

Tom Venuto

Fat Loss Coach

www.BurnTheFat.com

P.S. One last thing. Keep in mind that the
quality of the egg is only as good as the quality of the bird it came
from. This is why many health experts recommend free range eggs and/or
omega-3 eggs.

P.P.S. For more information about fat burning nutrition, visit: www.BurnTheFat.com

Tom Venuto is a
natural bodybuilder, certified
strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and a certified personal
trainer (CPT). Tom is the author of “Burn the Fat, Feed The
Muscle,” which teaches you how to get lean without drugs or
supplements using methods of the world’s best bodybuilders and fitness
models. Learn how to get rid of stubborn fat and increase your
metabolism by visiting: www.burnthefat.com