If you’re fitness-obsessed like me, you’ve probably had about enough of the word “protein.” The macronutrient is having a moment, and eggs seem to be the star of the show. With 6 grams of protein per egg, eating eggs every day can have benefits for appetite control and energy.
As I have gotten older, I have become more mindful of my diet and switched sugary breakfasts for more balanced options, but even those healthy changes still left me hungry. I decided to try eggs for breakfast every day for an entire month to see if they would help me feel fuller and more energized.
Breakfast is the first source of energy your body gets every day. Starting your day with eggs, which are packed with vitamins, minerals, and high-quality protein, means giving your body the nutritious boost it needs to get going. Consuming more eggs can also help prevent protein and nutrient deficiencies.
For those who are vitamin D deficient, like myself and most of my family, egg yolks are also a source of vitamin D. Vitamin D deficiency is common, especially in people living in major cities like New York, where sunlight may be harder to come by, especially during colder months.
One large egg has the following nutrients:
- Calories: 71.5
- Fat: 4.76 grams (g), or 6.1% of the Daily Value (DV)
- Sodium: 71 milligrams (mg), or 3.1% of the DV
- Carbohydrates: 0.36 g, or 0.1% of the DV
- Fiber: 0 g, or 0% of the DV
- Added sugars: 0 g, or 0% of the DV
- Protein: 6.3 g, or 12.6% of the DV
Eating eggs every day has benefits, but there are still risks that come with eating too many eggs, such as:
- Allergic reactions: Egg allergies are one of the most common food allergies among children, but up to 70% go on to outgrow the allergy. People who remain allergic to eggs should avoid eggs and foods made with them.
- Food poisoning: Always cook eggs thoroughly. Undercooked or raw eggs can put you at risk for salmonellosis. This infection with Salmonella bacteria can cause severe digestive symptoms.
- High cholesterol: Eating more than 1–2 eggs daily can put you at risk for high cholesterol, especially if it runs in your family. Pairing egg whites with other nutrient-dense foods like whole grains and nuts may be ideal if you are at risk.
My dad and grandparents have high cholesterol, so I do not think eating eggs every single day is ideal for me. Having them every couple of days and opting for egg whites occasionally could help me get those nutrients without the risks.
Destine Mason / Health
Breakfast is the meal I use to get myself excited for the day, especially when I work from the office and need to wake up earlier.
For this experiment, I stuck to eating about two eggs per day. I also chose to eat my eggs for breakfast, which meant having them within an hour or two of waking up—between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m.
Most days, I scrambled my eggs in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil, added spinach to the pan, and ate them alongside two frozen biscuits I cooked in the oven. On other days, I ate my spinach-scrambled eggs as a sandwich between a wheat roll, or I had a simple fried egg seasoned with some black pepper and a pinch of salt.
I went into this challenge hoping my egg breakfast would help me feel more satiated and energized throughout the day, and it did, to a degree.
Starting my day with protein helped me feel full longer, which made me more focused and less distracted by tiredness during long days of work and dance. Interestingly, I also noticed I was drinking more water with my meals.
However, I didn’t see any major differences in my energy levels by the end of the day. After 5 p.m., I still felt mentally exhausted. Nevertheless, I refrained from grabbing any quick sugar fixes.
The real change came from revamping my breakfast routine. Eating eggs every morning encouraged me to be more intentional about my meals, and my balanced breakfast—full of protein, healthy fats, carbohydrates, and other nutrients—helped me start the day on a good note.
Cooking at home also allowed me to control how my food was prepared. For example, I added my own seasoning to manage sodium intake.
Destine Mason / Health
Eating eggs every morning was a way to break up the monotony in my morning routine. It gave me something to look forward to with different breakfast combinations. While I cannot give eggs all the credit for my boosted energy levels, I think they had an effect.
I plan to keep making myself a hearty breakfast in the morning, though I probably won’t continue to eat eggs every day. Overall, I realized that little acts of self-care like this can help you make it through a taxing workday.
