Steak and Eggs Diet: Worth it?
Steak and Eggs Diet: Introduction
The steak and eggs diet.
What is it?
Is a steak diet a good idea?
Are the steak and eggs diet results worth it?
Is it safe to consistently follow an "eat meat and eggs diet"?
Would a meat and fruit diet be a better idea?
As a personal trainer and weight loss coach, you're about to find my experienced answer to all these questions and more - so hold on tight and let's get started!
Steak and Eggs Diet: Where Did it Start, and What is it?
Well, according to peopleschoicebeefjerky.com, New Yorker and famous bodybuilder, Vince Gironda created the steak and eggs diet in the 1950s.
The diet is high in protein, moderate to high fat, and low in carbohydrates and fibre. It was created for weight loss.
While it sounds similar to a ketogenic or carnivore diet, this steak diet differs slightly because it also seems to include a carbohydrate refeed.
With "seems" being the word specifically used because different sources give slightly different rules for carbohydrate consumption on the steak and eggs diet, e.g.:
Some sources say carbohydrates as part of a single meal every fifth or sixth day.
Others say you can have carbohydrates with every meal on the "refeed day".
And finally, some sources say you can't have any carbohydrates.
All of this confusion is a red flag. Although, for the sake of this article, we'll be going for a single carbohydrate meal every fifth day because this is what the creator, Vince Gironda, had seemingly chosen.
And below are some more meat and eggs diet rules.
Steak and Eggs Diet: Rules of the Steak and Eggs Diet
Only eat steak and eggs (obviously, ha)
But for more context, every meal should contain 4-6 eggs and 0.75 to 1.5 lbs of steak. However, feel free to play with portion sizes depending on satiety levels.
Eat two meals daily so that you can skip the dinner or breakfast steak.
Which also means there's an intermittent fasting element attached to it.
Again, eat a carb meal every fourth or fifth day.
Only drink water and black coffee.
Cook meals with butter if necessary.
Eat until you're "comfortably" full.
Anyway, enough about what the steak and eggs diet is and its rules, let's get started with the pros and cons.
Steak and Eggs Diet: Pros of Steak and Eggs Diet
So, what are the pros of the steak and eggs diet? Well, the pros that stand out the most are below.
It's Super High in Protein.
Because one thing I can confidently tell you from working online with different people worldwide is that most people have a low protein intake. However, that will not be an issue on this meat and eggs diet - considering you're eating protein sources 98% of the time.
It's Straightforward to Follow.
It's common for many people, potentially you included, to give up on your fitness journey after just a few days - this may be down to you overcomplicating your approach.
Although a nutrition plan where you only need to eat meat and eggs 98% of the time could potentially be a lot easier to stick with long-term as you never need to choose what to eat, and therefore, will never suffer from decision fatigue.
It Could Work for Weight Loss, Which is What it was Intended for.
Not because steak and eggs are magical, but because they can leave you more likely to be in a calorie deficit. Mainly because protein is hugely filling and hard to overeat.
Top this off with the fact you're only eating two meals a day and only until you're "full". The chances of you being in a calorie deficit, and achieving steak and eggs diet results, are pretty high.
Overall, these are all decent - although the biggest question is, do the pros and steak and eggs diet results outweigh the cons?
Let's find out.
Steak and Eggs Diet: Cons of Steak and Eggs Diet
Physiology is Calling
Basic physiology is the point that stands out amongst this steak diet and perhaps needs covering most.
This is a diet designed specifically for weight loss, although, for example, I could tell you to eat a diet of:
Just salmon and edamame
Up until the point you were comfortably full
Just two meals a day
And you could lose weight.
Mainly because both salmon and edamame have decent amounts of protein, as mentioned before, higher protein foods are more difficult to overeat. Again, this steak diet isn't magical in any way.
Most importantly - how sustainable is it to only ever eat two different foods 98% of the time? It won't be sustainable for most people, and potentially you included, and with sustainability being the most crucial component in any weight loss approach, this is something you'd do well to bear in mind.
Steak and Egg Testosterone
Another claim by the steak and eggs diet gurus is that this meat and eggs diet increases testosterone because steak and eggs are high in saturated fat, and saturated fat can lead to increased testosterone.
This isn't an inaccurate statement, but it's missing some context - so let's get this straight.
Although there's no denying that eating saturated fat can help with testosterone levels, it's very noticeable that a lot of the pages that promote this meat and eggs diet fail to mention two things:
Testosterone levels will drop when you get lean, so there can be a point where it does become too much - although this will entirely depend on your starting point and how long you do it for.
You can overeat saturated fat. This could easily happen when you only ever eat red meat - although it'll also depend on the type of steak you buy and your portion sizes.
Plus, do you know what else is good for testosterone? Some fruit and vegetables, which is something this dietary approach doesn't include.
Potentially a better alternative would be to follow an egg, meat and fruit diet? Although regardless, this does bring me nicely onto my next section.
Steak and Eggs Diet: A Prime Example of the Fitness Industry
This steak diet approach is a fine example of the fitness industry and how it can often run on a pendulum of extremes.
A lot of things are either:
"Good or bad."
"Right or wrong."
"Healthy or unhealthy."
"You can or can't have that."
"A meat and fruit diet."
"A meat and eggs diet."
And to be frank, it's an exhausting mentality. Nor does it do anything for you long-term.
The most important lesson you can learn regarding your nutrition and fitness is that; You can have everything in moderation and still make significant progress.
Because just like many of the other 1,000s of diets you can find online - the steak and eggs diet doesn't teach you anything.
Regardless of the steak and eggs diet results that come with it or the "egg testosterone" that it's tempting you with.
For example:
What happens when the steak diet is over?
What do you do next?
Do you go back to doing what you were doing before? Although the issue is that what you were doing before obviously wasn't working for you.
As someone who's never been a fan of telling people exactly what to do but instead more a fan of educating folks, such as yourself, on nutrition to help your decision-making process. Here are a few questions you'd do well to ask yourself before embarking on a new nutrition approach, including this steak and eggs diet:
Can you be 85-95% consistent with this for at least six months?
Will this nutrition approach make you miserable, e.g. does it force you to cut out your favourite foods or food groups?
Once this nutrition approach is over and I reach my desired goal, what happens next?
The answer to the first question should be yes.
The second answer should be no.
And for the final answer - the nutrition approach should equip you with some long-term knowledge whilst following it so that you can have some confidence in what to do next, and if your answers don't match, then it's time to consider a new approach.
Note:
If you want to lose weight and are unsure how to go about it, click here to watch the first video of my 'Weight loss vlog series', where I talk you through my plan and how I will lose weight over the coming months. Remember to subscribe to the channel as well!
Steak and Eggs Diet: My Opinion
Overall, the "eat meat and eggs diet" reportedly working super well for weight loss will mostly be just an anecdote.
Can it work for weight loss? Yes, because it'll likely leave you in a calorie deficit as you nearly always just eat meat and eggs.
Is it a good idea for most people out there? No, for example, even as an omnivore, I certainly couldn't just eat meat and eggs 98% of the time - and I know many others who would struggle too.
Although if you do feel like this "just eat eggs and steak diet" could work for you, then great - go for it, and to play Devil's advocate, I've also heard the intent was to make it simple for people intimidated by complicated diet formulas - so I can acknowledge that.
But it's hard to shrug off the fact that:
There's 0 education that comes with following the steak and eggs diet.
Suppose you've been struggling with your weight for many years. In that case, it's better to understand what calories are, what a calorie deficit is, why protein is essential for weight loss etc., which you can do by grabbing my free "nutrition for fat loss guide" by clicking here.
The fact that no fruit and vegetables are included is also worrying. Because yes, eggs and steak have lots of vitamins and minerals, but eating fruits and vegetables is essential, too, as they correlate with almost every positive health effect.
Fruit and vegetables also help bring in all the fibre you wouldn't get from the steak and eggs diet.
It's reported that a diet that's very high in red meat can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and certain cancers.
No, that isn't to say you should instead turn this into a "meat and fruit diet" - it's more to say that you can enjoy everything in moderation.
Personally, I'm not a fan of it.
Steak and Eggs Diet: Ending
Otherwise, that's it for today.
I know you may not have needed to be told not just to eat meat and eggs, but perhaps you still felt curious about the steak diet and if there was something to it.
If you have any questions about this, email me at leo@kairos.online with the words "steak and eggs diet article", followed up with whatever it is you want to speak about!
Speak soon,
Leo
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