Last Updated on March 19, 2024

A balanced diet is a prerequisite for getting effective performance from sports. Eating right before and after your workout greatly affects how quickly the desired results will be achieved.

One of the foods that you can’t do without in sports nutrition is the egg. It is a source of protein and other substances useful for the body. In this article we will give answers to the most interesting questions regarding the use of eggs for bodybuilding.

Can I Eat Eggs Before or After a Workout?

The main goals of exercising in the gym are losing weight or gaining muscle mass. The composition and characteristics of the meal are determined in accordance with the type of training and the desired result. However, there are general rules that need to be adhered to while observing the sports nutrition regimen.

• Eating complex carbohydrates and proteins before exercise is essential for effective performance and results.
• It is advisable to take food no later than 2 hours before exercising in the gym.
• Fatty and heavy meals before exercise are excluded.

Eggs are a source of high quality protein needed to maintain strength and muscle growth. It is better to eat an egg white omelet before training: this is a light food that will give you a boost of energy and will not leave heaviness in the stomach.

It is better not to eat for an hour immediately after playing sports: at this time, the body is intensively working – active fat burning and muscle growth. However, due to intense physical activity, the body needs to replenish energy – through foods rich in protein. This means that an hour after training, eggs are not only possible, but also necessary. Quantity – no more than 2-3 pieces.

In what form is it better to use the product? Ideally, you can cook boiled eggs after your workout, but you can make an omelet or fried eggs with a little vegetable oil.

Many fitness trainers recommend training on an empty stomach: physical activity slows down digestion. In addition, eating right before exercise can decrease stamina during exercise and may cause heartburn.

Benefits of Eggs for Bodybuilding

How did such a simple and familiar product – an egg – deserve such a respectful attitude of fitness and bodybuilding specialists? The fact is that this product has the highest biological value, equal to one. This means that the egg contains all the nutrients and amino acids that the human body needs for life.

Nutritional value of eggs (per 100g)
Calories	157 kcal
Protein	12,7g
Fats	11,5g
Carbohydrates	0,7g
Vitamins, mg
A	0,25
B1	0,07
B2	0,44
B5	1,3
B6	0,14
B9	0,007
B12	0,0052
D	0,022
E	0,006
H	0,0202
K	0,0003
PP	3,6
Trace elements, mg
Iron	2,5
Iodine	0,02
Manganese	0,029
Molybdenum	0, 006
Cooper	0,083
Selenium	0, 0317
Zinc	1,11
Chromium	0,004
Fluorine	0,055

Advantages of Eggs for Bodybuilding Diet

Eggs are one of the best post-workout foods. The benefits for the body from their use are impressive:

• well absorbed by the body – by 98%;
• have a ratio of protein to carbohydrates of about 10: 1, which contributes to a set of lean muscle mass;
• have a high level of polyunsaturated fatty acids that promote cell growth and regulate hormonal balance;
• contain lecithin – a component of nerve fibers and brain, a powerful hepatoprotector;
• the presence of vitamin D and phosphorus helps to strengthen bone tissue;
• lutein and zeaxanthin, which are in the yolk, prevent eye diseases;
• contain cholesterol, which is involved in the synthesis of testosterone.

The notion that bodybuilders should only eat protein after training because the yolk contains fats is wrong. In fact, in addition to fat, the yolk contains most of the vitamins and other nutrients, and saturated fat, which is harmful to the body, contains only 1.6 g (only 2% is absorbed!

Contraindications

Despite the important role of eggs in our diet, this product can be harmful to the body under certain conditions. What are the negative effects of this product?

• With excessive consumption of eggs, the liver suffers, and harmful cholesterol accumulates in the body, which contributes to the development of atherosclerosis.
• An untreated egg can cause a serious illness – salmonellosis.
• For the survival of chickens kept in poor conditions, antibiotics are added to the feed, which are then deposited in the eggs. This reduces a person’s immunity, his susceptibility to drugs.
• Poor quality chicken feed contributes to the accumulation of nitrates in eggs, which negatively affect the human body.
• Egg is a common food allergy.

It is not recommended to eat eggs for allergy sufferers. People with diabetes mellitus, cholecystitis, obesity, high cholesterol should significantly limit the use of the product, and include them in the diet only on the recommendation of a doctor.

How Many Eggs Can i Eat a Day?

If a person is healthy, you can even eat eggs, only you need to do it correctly, focusing on the norms recommended by nutritionists for various categories of people. An adult can eat 1-2 eggs a day with interruptions without harm to health (no more than 7-8 eggs per week). The bodybuilder needs much more: strenuous physical activity contributes to intensive digestion of food.

The rate of egg consumption by people involved in sports depends on the specifics of the diet, age, body weight, and type of activity. The average daily rate is 3-5 eggs. A bodybuilder needs to eat up to 10 pieces a day to build muscle mass. During drying, you need to limit yourself only to protein – no more than 20 g (1 protein) daily.

Can You Eat Raw Eggs?

Many bodybuilders choose to include raw eggs in their meals. On the one hand, this is reasonable: thermally unprocessed eggs are digested more slowly, which means that more calories are burned, moreover, healthy substances are stored in raw eggs in full. However, drinking raw eggs is recommended only if you are confident in their quality and manufacturer. Otherwise, it can threaten salmonellosis. In addition, boiled protein is fully absorbed, while raw protein is only half absorbed.

How Do Eggs Help with Weight Loss?

The egg is not only one of the health benefits, but also the best weight loss products. This feature is due to their special properties.

1. Low calories (about 78 in one egg) corresponds to the main principle of weight loss – reducing the calorie intake of food.
2. The high protein content gives a feeling of fullness: you want to eat less.
3. Egg white, rich in amino acids that stimulate metabolism, which is very important for the process of losing weight.
4. Eggs have a “thermogenic effect”: they contain a lot of protein, it takes a lot of energy to break it down, and as a result, calories are actively burned.

The best time to eat eggs is in the morning. Scientists have shown that if a person eats an egg for breakfast, they consume fewer calories during the day than when they eat breakfast, for example, a croissant with the same energy value!

How to Choose Eggs?

High-quality chicken eggs should have a clean shell of a uniform structure, without cracks, and correspond in weight and size to each other. The category is marked on the shell:

• «D» – dietary egg, with a shelf life of no more than 7 days;
• «T» – table egg, stored up to 25 days.

The next marking sign is the type of egg, depending on its weight. An egg of the highest category “H” weighs 75g or more; selected “S” – from 65 to 75g; next comes the egg of the 1st category eventivalentiniani.net (55-65g); 2 (45-55g); 3 – from 35 to 45g. For those wishing to lose weight, it is important to know that the larger the egg, the higher its calorie content. In a select variety, for example, there are 85 of them.

The most important indicator of the quality of eggs is their freshness. There are several ways to determine this parameter.

1. Bring the egg to your ear and shake it: stale creates a sound – gurgling.
2. Pay attention to the shell – for a fresh egg, it is dull, for an stale one it can be glossy.
3. The most common way is to dip the product in water. Fully “drowned” egg no more than three days, floating on the surface – more than a week.
4. The white of a freshly broken egg does not spread, has a uniform structure and a light color.

Some manufacturers enrich their feed with special mixtures to increase the content of trace elements in the egg, such as iodine or selenium. Then there are special designations on the packaging.

What is The Better Way to Eat Eggs?

As noted, many bodybuilders prefer to drink raw eggs. But it is better to boil or fry them: this way the protein necessary for muscle growth is better absorbed, and the chance of getting a “bonus” in the form of salmonellosis is minimized. You need to cook the eggs for at least 7-8 minutes so that the yolk is completely cooked and becomes firm. The best option is hard-boiled eggs: frying requires fat, which will increase the number of calories and cholesterol.

How to Hard Boil Eggs?

The traditional way to boil a hard-boiled egg is to lower the egg in boiling salted water and cook from the moment of boiling for 8 minutes. Experienced chefs give another tip: cook eggs at a low temperature. To do this, the egg is placed in cold salted water, brought to a boil, then the fire is reduced and boiled for 12-15 minutes. With this method of preparation, the water temperature does not exceed 85 C. As a result, the yolk has a pleasant dense texture, without the “rubber” effect, and the protein is even and homogeneous.

Salt is added in the calculation of 2 tbsp. spoons per liter of water. This is necessary not only to prevent cracking of the egg, but also for faster protein coagulation.

Quail Eggs

Quail eggs are a decent alternative to chicken eggs. Firstly, they are suitable for those who are allergic to the latter. Secondly, they are in no way inferior, and in some ways they are superior to the usual chicken eggs. So what are the benefits of this product?

• They are not susceptible to salmonella contamination: they can be eaten raw and even with shells.
• They contain lysozyme – a substance that kills bacteria, therefore they do not become contaminated or become infected.
• They are low in calories.
• They contain 2.3 times more vitamins, 5 times more potassium and phosphorus, 4 times more iron than chicken eggs.
• They increase the level of hemoglobin and stimulate potency.

Quail eggs are drunk raw or boiled for 30 seconds. During the period of intense physical activity, men are recommended to eat 10-15 eggs a day, women – 6-7. Half of the norm is for breakfast, the other half for the last meal. After a month, you need to take a break for 2-3 weeks.