The Cucumber & Egg Diet
The cucumber and egg diet is highly restrictive, but purported to be effective for weight loss. As the name implies, the diet suggests consuming only eggs and cucumbers.
The cucumber and egg diet is highly restrictive, but purported to be effective for weight loss. As the name implies, the diet suggests consuming only eggs and cucumbers. Although limiting yourself to these two foods may aid in weight loss because of the low-calorie intake, it can be unhealthy due to the lack of variety and insufficient calorie intake. Consult a doctor before beginning any weight-loss plan.
Eggs
Eggs can be healthy as part of a balanced diet, as they are rich in protein and provide unsaturated fats. Each egg contains 70 calories, with 4.5 g of fat, 1 g of carbohydrates and 6 g of protein. Most of the fat in eggs, 3 g, is unsaturated, which is considered healthier than saturated fat that may increase your cholesterol levels.
Cucumbers
Cucumbers are lower in calories than eggs and do not provide significant levels of essential fatty acids or protein. One 301-gram cucumber contains 45 calories, with less than .5 g of fat, 2 g of protein and about 11 g of carbohydrates.
Benefits
Because you need to be in a caloric deficit to lose weight, limiting your diet to just two foods may help you drop pounds. Due to the low-calorie content of eggs and cucumbers, it would be difficult to exceed your daily calorie needs. To consume 1,500 calories, which is 500 fewer than the daily recommended calorie intake, you would need to eat a dozen eggs and 15 cucumbers weighing 301 g each. In addition, such a diet would be relatively low in carbohydrates, and according to research from the July 2008 issue of the "New England Journal of Medicine," low-carbohydrate diets may be more effective than low-fat diets.
Disadvantages
A cucumber and egg diet is inadvisable for a variety of reasons. Such a limited diet would deprive your body of a wide array of vitamins and minerals, as both eggs and cucumbers are relatively low in most minerals and vitamins. In addition, because eggs and cucumbers are low in calories, it would be difficult to consume an adequate amount of calories to avoid a starvation diet. To consume enough calories to function, you would have to eat large quantities of eggs each day, which can be unhealthy due to the saturated fat. You should limit your weekly egg intake to seven, according to the Boston Glove.