How Many Eggs per Day Can Someone Eat on a Keto Diet? Eggspert Advice

Changing up your eating habits with the keto diet can mean giving up some of your favorite foods. If you’re one of those people who eat eggs every day with their breakfast, you may find yourself wondering: do I have to give up eggs? Just how many eggs per day can someone eat on a keto diet?

Our keto eggsperts look into how many eggs a person should be eating on a keto diet, the benefits of eggs, and some of the side effects of too many eggs – both on a keto diet and in general.

In This Article

How Many Eggs Can You Eat on Keto?

Well, if you’re well aware of your calorie count and keeping track of your macros, then ideally, you can eat just as many eggs as you could possibly want.

If losing weight is one of the primary reasons you started keto in the first place, you’ll want to make sure you’re not consuming too many calories. If you want to make eggs the major component of your diet, consider consuming fewer calories elsewhere.

Are Eggs Keto?

Egg lovers can rejoice. Eggs are ideal for the keto diet. In fact, eggs feature very heavily in many keto recipes, and for a good reason! Some people even recommend going on a keto egg fast – that’s how good eggs are for the keto diet. They’re not just keto-friendly, they’re keto-recommended! Unless, of course, you put them in high-sugar foods and drinks like eggnog.

Eggs have amazing macronutrients – they have just the right amount of fat, protein, and carbs for your typical keto diet. They give your body the energy it needs to function properly.

When breaking down the nutrients of an egg, you’ll find that a single egg has almost 6 grams of fat, 6 grams of protein, and less than 1 gram of carbs.

Benefits of Eggs

Eggs aren’t just great for keto. Even if you’re still on the fence about wanting to start a ketogenic diet, there are plenty of reasons to add a couple of eggs to your day-to-day meal planning. Here are some of the main health benefits of eggs.

#1 Nutritious

When you crack into an egg and pour those delicious yellow egg yolks into the pan, you’re getting an amazing, highly nutritious meal. Eggs are a great source of some very hard-to-get nutrients, like vitamin D and B 12.

They’re also a complete source of protein, with all of the amino acids that our bodies need. Hard-boiled eggs, sunny side up, scrambled, you name it. These eggs are delicious and nutritious.

#2 “Good” cholesterol

You’ve heard of “good” and “bad” cholesterol intake. Well, eggs are a great source of “good” cholesterol. Eggs boost your high-density lipoden (HDL) levels, much like other good cholesterol foods, such as whole grains.

Those boosted HDL levels help your body remove “bad” cholesterol from our body. If you’re trying to get your cholesterol under control, then some delicious poached eggs might just do the trick.

#3 Affordable

For some people, weight loss and eating keto might feel a little out of reach because of how much cooking, time, money, and energy can be spent just trying to feed yourself every single meal. Eggs are a great, affordable answer to people’s ketogenic diet struggles.

Eggs are fairly easy to produce, even local, pastured eggs, which are where the best eggs are found. If you need a quick, cheap, and easy meal, some protein-packed egg wraps are just the thing.

#4 Healthy for your heart

Everyone wants to know how to best prevent heart issues. Turns out, a delicious egg diet might be ideal. Eggs are incredibly rich in several different proteins that are amazing for your heart health. Eggs should be incorporated into the rest of your healthy lifestyle in order to see the benefits.

However, there have been studies done that show that people who eat eggs – at least one egg per day – have less risk of heart disease and stroke and burn fat, which causes many of these problems.

Side Effects of Eating Too Many Eggs

While eggs are definitely keto and a great source of healthy fat, you might get some pretty yucky side effects if you make eggs your entire keto diet. Let’s take a look at the not so pretty side of eating more eggs than you need per day.

#1 Bloated stomach

Eggs are a great tool to lose weight because they make you feel fuller. An unintended side effect of that is that eggs can give you a bloated stomach.

If you find that this is happening to you, try taking a break from eggs for a few days.

#2 Allergies

Egg allergies are one of the most common types of allergies. And, unfortunately, allergies can form pretty much at any point in time. If you’re eating a lot of eggs, it could trigger an allergic reaction, such as skin reddening or a rash.

#3 Protein overload

Even though protein intake is one of the top reasons to enjoy an egg, if you eat too many, then you might have too much protein in your system. This can kick you out of ketosis and make it harder to lose weight.

A Word From Nutritionist

High fat intake with lots of healthy fats and a focus on eating low-carb is the basis of a good keto diet. Eggs are a great way to get that low carb count while still having a moderate amount of protein and a high fat count.

Of course, you don’t want to eat only eggs when you take up the keto lifestyle. However, if you’re a big fan of eggs, you won’t be hard-pressed to find keto cooking that incorporates a large egg in the recipe. Fried eggs, egg salad, egg burritos… you name it, keto can do it.

Of course, if you are eating more eggs than other foods, you may find yourself facing some nutritional deficiencies. Make sure that you’re incorporating other healthy fats, essential nutrient options, and keto-friendly foods into your diet, along with fresh fruits and vegetables.

Conclusion

A low-carb diet like keto can feel limiting at first, especially if you have to give up some of your favorite foods. Thankfully for people who eat a lot of eggs, your favorite food is safe – without compromising your weight loss!

The carbohydrate intake with eggs is so small it’s almost negligible, while the fat and protein are just right, helping provide many weight loss benefits.

There are also many benefits to eating your favorite egg dish that are specifically unique to egg yolk. Keep an eye out for side effects, but for the most part, you don’t have to stop eating eggs on a ketogenic diet to burn belly fat.

Written by

Thalia Oosthuizen

Thalia has always wanted to be a writer, starting her first local newspaper at the age of 11. She also has enjoyed a passion for health and fitness since a young age, playing many sports through her schooling career, and still enjoys biking, running, and swimming today. She studied English Language at University for 3 years, developing a passion for spelling, grammar, and research. She now has over 10 years of experience writing, proofreading, and editing, and has paired this with her love for health and fitness by writing health content.

Fact checked by Rosmy Barrios, MD