Friends, about 3 months ago I became really interested in the steak and eggs diet.
I read about how eating only steak and eggs works wonders for fat loss on multiple blogs so I started researching more about the steak and eggs diet and that’s when I learned about Vince Gironda.
Vince Gironda was a professional body builder in the 50s and the creator of the steak and eggs diet.
Vince Gironda was very successful, famous, and ripped, therefore he popularized the diet. He swore by the diet and advocated it to his fellow bodybuilders.
I decided to give the steak and eggs a try for because I knew it would work and because I love challenges.
I knew it would work really well because I would be in a state of ketosis (I previously tried the keto with great success), it would be like the keto diet on steroid (not literal steroids). The question on my mind was just how good would it work?
I love pushing my limits, both physically and mentally. It is through challenges where we grow the most.
We become great not by doing what is easy but by doing what is hard, and achieving a great physique is no different.
I said fuck it, I am going to eat only steak and eggs for 45 days straight.
My results after being on the steak and eggs diet for 45 days
I sort of let myself go and ate whatever I wanted for about 6 weeks prior to starting the steak and eggs diet and put on a decent amount of fat, especially on my belly.
I did that for 2 reasons, I knew it was going to be challenging to eat only steak and eggs for 45 days in a row so I wanted to eat all the foods that I love, and because I was pretty damn lean to start with.
I wanted to experiment with this diet (as well as give myself an excuse to eat some junk food) and I needed some fat to start with before I can lose some.
The results were amazing. The results were nothing short of stunning, I lost a shit ton of fat for such a short time frame.
I lost a total of 21 pounds, 6 pounds in the first week.
I am physically in the best shape of my life. The best part is that I didn’t lose any muscle mass or strength whatsoever.
It’s worth mentioning that I was 100% natural during the diet, I have never taken steroids in my life. I have taken SARMs in the past as I have done 3 cycles of Ostarine, however, it has been about 6 months since I was last on Ostarine.
If your priority is fat loss with minimal muscle loss, there is no better diet on earth.
Besides the insane amount of fat loss, the steak and eggs diet many other benefits.
Other benefits that I noticed from the steak and eggs diet:
- My energy levels increased significantly
- I had more libido
- My joints felt stronger
- After the second week the pain from my chronic tennis elbow completely disappeared
- My mood improved
- I had more mental clarity
My daily routine
I actually deviated from the exact diet plan that Vince Gironda created, which includes carbs day every 5th day.
Not me, I wanted to go hardcore. I went 45 days straight eating ONLY steak and eggs.
I mean, it is called the steak and eggs diet so god dammit that’s all I was going to eat, and that is all I ate.
The cut I ate most was the ribeye. It is the tastiest cut of meat and also has the perfect macros at about 30% protein and 70% fat.
I lightly salted my eggs and steaks.
I ate twice a day, usually I ate at 2 pm and at 8 pm. I never ate breakfast. I was essentially intermittent fasting since I ate both meals within an 8-hour time frame.
On average I ate 4 – 6 whole eggs and 1.5 lbs of red meat (usually alternating between a ribeye and ny strip ) every day.
I want to add I lifted heavy and I lifted often. I hit the gym at least 5 times per week. The only cardio I got in was playing basketball a couple times a week for a couple hours each session.
Who should go on the steak and eggs diet?
Anyone want who want to lose fat and lose it fast. If you want to lose those annoying love handles say bye because they are going to melt in a hurry.
Also, this diet is good for anyone looking to detox, especially for all you heavy carb eaters. Being absent of carbs will regulate your blood sugar and lower your inflammation, your joints and tendons will feel much better.
If you want to obtain a ripped physique this diet is definitely for you, as long as you are hitting the weights often during your diet.
Is the steak and eggs diet healthy?
To be honest, I am not completely sure but the research and the results people are claiming seem promising (I will get back to you with a better answer as I am currently investigating this and I will soon go on a carnivore diet long term).
There are a lot of steak and eggs advocates now a days claiming that a diet of strictly steak and eggs in the healthiest option for everyone.
The truth of the matter is that most of these people have only been on the carnivore diet for a short amount of time, so to claim that it is 100% healthy would be a little disingenuous and Only freedom Matters is the opposite of disingenuous.
However, what we do know for sure is that for a short period of time, eating steak and eggs is completely healthy. Lots of people are doing the diet or a similar carnivore diet and are getting blood work done. The blood results are pretty promising for short term steak and eggs dieters.
However, we don’t have ample study results for people who have been solely carnivorous for long periods of time, such as 20 or 30 years.
It is for that reason I caution everyone who wants to do the steak and eggs or similar heavy carnivorous diets.
Conclusion: perfect short term diet to lose a lot of fat and lean up.
Why is the steak and eggs diet so effective for losing fat?
The number 1 reason why it is so effective for losing fat is because consuming no carbohydrates will put your body in a state of ketosis.
Your body normally uses the carbs you eat as its primary fuel source, however when you are in ketosis your body will use your fat reserves (love handles) as its fuel source.
Also, your diet will consist of lots of protein which is known to speed up your metabolism. A faster metabolism allows you to burn more calories throughout the day.
But wont eating a lot of fat make me fat?
Negative, eating a diet high in fat does the opposite.
It is only when you eat lots of carbs alongside lots of fat will you gain fat.
Remember, it is safe to eat a diet that is either high in protein and high in carbs, or high in protein and high in fat. Just remember fats and carbs don’t go together.
Here are the benefits of healthy fats.
Will I be deficient in any vitamins or minerals eating only steak and eggs?
You will not. Steak and eggs are super foods. They both are loaded in essential minerals and vitamins.
Take a look at their nutritional value (obtained from Nutrition Advance):
Vitamins and Minerals in 100g Steak (% RDA)
- Vitamin B12: 63%
- Zinc: 50%
- Selenium: 28%
- Phosphorus: 24%
- Niacin: 19%
- Iron: 16%
- Vitamin B6: 16%
- Vitamin B2: 11%
- Potassium: 8%
- Vitamin B1: 6%
- Magnesium: 6%
Vitamins and Minerals in Three Eggs (% RDA)
- Selenium: 66%
- Vitamin B2: 42%
- Vitamin B12: 33%
- Phosphorus: 30%
- Vitamin A: 21%
- Folate: 18%
- Iron: 15%
- Zinc: 12%
- Vitamin B6: 12%
- Vitamin D: 12%
- Calcium: 9%
If you worry about the lack of vitamin C, don’t. vitamin C is only needed by the body when you eat carbs, which you won’t on steak and eggs diet.
As you can see, these supper foods have everything that you need, so you should worry.
If you are still paranoid and just can’t stop thinking that you lacking in nutrition, you can do what I did and take the best multi-vitamins on the market.
Conclusion
If you want to be a mean lean ripped machine, the steak and eggs diet is the diet to be on.
The first week will be the most difficult part as you might experience no carb withdrawal. You will experience flu like symptoms as your body is adapting to using fat for energy instead of carbohydrates, just push through that first difficult week and you’ll be good to go.
If you decide to try this diet out for yourself feel free to post your results in the comment section below.
If you really want to take your results to the next level & get ripped quickly check out Ostarine (MK-2866)
Ostarine is a SARM ( Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator) which is a very powerful substance which works similar to anabolic steroids but without the nasty side effects.
Check out the articles below for more information on Ostarine & SARMs.
Dean says
Failed a couple of times on this diet in the past, and quit after a few days, back on it again and more successfully this time.
I can also recommend gradually phasing carbs out over a week or so if it’s too brutal a change for you. Helped me quite a bit as the first time I tried, felt pretty weak and tired. Phasing out carbs bit by bit every day worked a lot better this time around.
Matt Aquino says
Mr. Freeman,
Hello, I am interested in starting the steak and eggs diet, but had a few questions:
Regarding the carb cycling, if I am working out M,T,W, and TH, does that mean F would be my carb day? Do I workout on the carb day or just eat? If on Friday, would that imply I go back to the steak and eggs and continue working out Sat and Sun?
I know you didnt do the carbs, but curious as to how the program works. Thank you very much! Great blog!
Jack Freeman says
Hi Matt, if you are going to take in any carbs, than forget the steak and eggs diet. Steak n eggs means only eating that. If I do eat carbs I do it on leg day.
Ray McShane says
how do u handle not eating until 2pm and what time do u wake up?
Jack Freeman says
Ray, I get up around 7 am. For me it just takes a couple weeks to get used to eating very few meals.
Ray McShane says
a couple weeks? by thennits back to normal diet 😆
Ray McShane says
how did you make it to 2pm without eating a and what time did you wake up?
Chris Howard says
Ray, a couple known tricks for prolonging food intake is to drink black coffee and carbonated water (sparkling water) if/when a hunger pain arrives.
Also, it’s important to understand that hunger come in waves that last 15 to 20 minutes. During that time keep yourself busy so your mind isn’t dwelling on food.
Last, if you can only make it to, say, 9AM before feeling like your going to die of hunger then make an unbreakable deal with yourself that you’re going to wait until 10AM. Do that for 2 weeks ish. Once you’re used to eating at 10 make the same deal for 11AM. Then it’s rinse/repeat for as far as you want to push the fast.
I hope that helps!
Joanne McGinniss says
Hi! Thank you for your post! Silly question but how much steak did you eat a day? Super lean to do this!
Can you use seasoning ie pepper sal?
Also can I do it 3 meals a day? Instead of fasting if so what would the amount be per day?
Well written thank you so much!
Jack Freeman says
Hi Joanne, you’re welcome. I eat about 2 pounds of steak a day when I’m doing this diet, and you can definitely use seasoning as long as it doesn’t have any calories. You can do 3 meals a day, just use the same amount as you would for 2 times a day, so you would be eating the same amount, just smaller meals.
Liza says
Hi,
I don’t understand the difference between steak and egg diet and the carnivore diet? Is it just the complete exclusion of dairy? Thank you
Jack Freeman says
Hey, yes exactly
Hani says
Great. So 2 lbs per day, in other words which is like 1 kg of steak per day so 500 grams per meal.
Ok, what about the Eggs. You said 4 – 6 eggs. That’s per day, correct? This means 3 eggs per meal? Yes.
So around 500 grams of steak and 3 eggs per meal twice a day. Correct?
What about the amount if butter you use to cook the eggs or steak, how much we need to use to maintain being in far burning
James Van Steenburgh says
I’m guessing coffee is ok as long as it’s without cream? (I don’t use sugar)
Jack Freeman says
Hi James, yes coffee is fine as long as its without cream
James says
Thanks. And is it ok to eat eggs between the 2 main meals? Or is it better to just isolate eating to the 2 meals?
Jack Freeman says
I personally don’t believe it matters
Eric says
Can i take a pre workout before working out on this diet
Jack Freeman says
Hi Eric, there are no problems taking a pre-workout with this diet.
Bob says
Hi. Interesting article no doubt. I have tried this diet before and it for sure works and energy is very good on it. For me, though, I would actually get red marks on my face. Not pimples but almost like a small rash. Wonder if it was due to all the fat in the diet or perhaps messing with hormones. The funny thing is I found the diet very easy and I had very little problems getting on it or off it. I would take just a tiny piece of bread on the side. I lost a good deal of weight on it too.
I do have a question. Is it possible to replace the eggs with something else like, Avocados or if you or anyone else can suggest something else? Thanks.
Bob says
PS. I don’t mean all the time in terms of replacing the eggs. I just meant maybe like 2 or 3 days per week with avocados, or again, perhaps something else you can recommend. Thank you!
Lex says
Avios are a good source of fat but not protein for this diet to be effective you got to hammer the eggs daily
Hani says
What about the steak, does it have to be steak always or can be sometimes replaced by ground beef or chicken?
Lex says
I’m in this diet now and I’m trying to get as close to the way garronda did it which was just over 30 eggs a day . This is tough for me so I’ve started mixing whole powdered eggs into my whey protein. I think 5g of the powder is equal to one egg so I throw a couple of scoops in with the whey twice a day it’s quick and easy and the taste isn’t too bad
zeke says
Found your blog by accident through this post. Your blog and style kinda reminds me of the late victor pride. Great to know i have another blog to follow for now. I like your style of writing and type of content.
Jack Freeman says
Thanks Zeke, appreciate the kind words
johnny says
hey if i would drink protein shakes would it affect the weight loss? cause in trying to do the diet to gain muscle and still loose my stomach fat and man tities
Jack Freeman says
No need for it as diet is already high in protein
Jonny says
Hey if I drink protein shakes during the diet will it do anything? Gain weight or still build gain muscle cause during the diet I still wanna gain muscle and work out by using like a bench press, sit-ups and push-ups cause I wanna do the diet to loose my stomach fat and my man tities😂
lex says
I lost a tremendous amount of fat and gained serious muscles in 60 days on this diet . After lockdown I looked disgusting I was fat and skinny at the same time . So I got stuck in I did the steak and eggs diet but I also did take whey because after a while the steak and eggs did get to me a bit so to get in more protein I drank whey . Garronda did this too . If you going to train at home I’d suggest total body workouts with minimal rest between sets . Clean and press , squats push-ups even box jumps onto the bench . Get your heart rate up and concentrate on burning as much fat as possible once you start loosing fat your muscles will automatically start showing . This is how I did it and I’d say I’m probable sitting at 12% body fat and I’m hovering around the 78-80kg mark
Justin says
How does alcohol affect the diet? I like a few beers on the weekend but can go without them for a while as i also enjoy vodka sodas with lemon juice. Also wondering if I can occasionally switch steak for chicken breast?
Jack Freeman says
Hi Justin, I would’t drink alcohol as the point is to only take in fats and protein. However if you have a couple drinks every once in a while you should be okay. Chicken breast is too lean as it’s low in fats.
Seth says
Yes it affects it but if you get straight liquor your okay. No southern comfort or any other mixer liquor. Having carbs will ruin the diet. Have straight vodka mixed with sparkling flavored water. You will get very drunk since your in ketosis so be careful
Amy says
Is it okay to drink Diet Coke on this diet? Thank you for the information.
Jack Freeman says
Hi Amy, yes it is
cathrin Hogbin says
I want to try this diet but I am afraid once you get off it that I would have a massive weight gain
Jack Freeman says
It’s all about discipline!
zach says
with this diet did you also drink protein shakes?
Jack Freeman says
No
Zach says
hey, how did you cook ur eggs and steak?
Jack Freeman says
grilled medium well and for the eggs, sunny side up over medium
Shawn says
Can make the steak in oven? Only like steak well done. Also, can scramble the eggs?
Jack Freeman says
Shawn, yes to both
Hani says
How much butter you used for the eggs and how much for the steak to prepare them?
Thnx
Dan says
Hi Jack,
Thank you for this information! Not to change things much, but would a chuck roast work in place of steak? I’m just thinking of less cooking that’s all. Easy to make one up ahead of time and I really like them. I don’t mean all the time, I just mean can you use this cut in addition to steaks.
Thanks
Jack Freeman says
Dan, you’re welcome. yea that is fine.
Joel says
Hello, I know it’s called steak and egg diet, but did you not take any supplements? Protein shakes??
Jack Freeman says
Joel, only a multi-vitamin
Adam Nunez says
Hey so I am 21 years old and will be 22 in about a month. I currently weigh 295lbs and really want to get down to 191lbs to enlist in the Navy. I have been looking for a diet and this one really caught my eye. I really want try it but I’m afraid of the affect it would have on my cholesterol.
Jack Freeman says
Hi Adam, do it for a couple months and you’ll be 100% fine. Your cholesterol will barely change since you will be losing fat.
Teresa says
Is this good for women too?
Jack Freeman says
Yes Teresa, for a short term Fat-loss diet it works wonders.
Lmar says
I am just wondering when would I be doing weight lifting on this diet since I am only eating 2 meals.
Weight lifting with heavy ass weights on an empty stomach is not something I would do since I go to gym in the mornings before work.
Maybe I should have my meal 1 before gym?
And then my last meal at dinner?
Well I lose strength on my lifts with no carbs?
Jack Freeman says
Hi Lmar, you might lose some strength in the beginning but do to the extra protein you should lose that much. If you do trying cutting down the reps and increase the weight. As far as lifting on an empty stomach, if that doesn’t work for you go shortly after eating. If your stomach is too full and makes you uncomfortable go about 1 hour after eating.
Joel Anderson says
Hello my name is Joel. I’m 35 and I live in South Carolina. I actually found this diet by accident also . I started today. I hope to see some results. Thanks for posting
OSBR says
All hype.
Ron says
You’re just to big of a bitch to do it
Michael says
I’m guessing you haven’t bothered to research the stories of thousands of people who have had insanely positive results from this diet.
Jack Freeman says
Are you lost? This article IS about my positive results.
Sean says
Hey! Great post. I’m just wondering what you cooked this stuff in? Did you use butter? I’ve been doing a similar diet, mostly carnivore, with lots of butter and my digestion is suffering. I’m going to eliminate butter. I can’t find Raw, grass fed around me so I use Kerry Gold. Just wondering what fats you used to cook in, if any. Cheers
Jack Freeman says
Thanks Sean. I used mostly butter. Have you tried olive oil? That might work better for you. You should also increase your water intake in my opinion. If you still have trouble I would try eating some organ meat as that will help.
Charles says
I lost 11 pounds in 4weeks, but jacked up my cholesterol levels to 350…just can’t win!
Jack Freeman says
Where you on anabolic steroids?
Claudio Gutierrez says
I did steak and eggs from Monday to Friday with the intention of Saturday being my cheat day. I lost about 6 lbs during that time and I understand that it is mostly water weight. During my cheat day, I had a loaded baked potato, vegetables, cheese, salads, and a lot of wine… Today is Sunday and I am back on the steak and eggs diet. I weighed myself and I’m back to what I weighed last Sunday.
Am I doing anything wrong?
Jack Freeman says
Hi Claudio, you probably lost around 4 pounds of water weight. In my opinion your cheat day might of wiped out the caloric deficit you had for the week. My advice is to go hard without a cheat day for an entire month.
Claudio says
Man, but that’s so difficult! hahaha But yes, I should probably forget about a cheat day…
Honestly, eating steak and eggs every day is grueling, I’m disappointed my cheat day wiped off my progress…
Jack Freeman says
You can switch it up when it comes to steak and you’ll feel better. Mix it up with Ribeyes, Tbones, etc. Just make sure they are fatty cuts. Once after a couple weeks you wont even crave other foods.
Matthew says
I went from 320 lbs to 190 lbs in about 7 months with the steak and eggs diet. When from feeling like a worn-out middle age man to feeling like a teenager again. I look and feel amazing compared to what I was previously.
Jack Freeman says
Matthew, good stuff! Are you still on the steak and eggs diet?
Matthew says
Still got about 5 to 10 lbs trying to loose, so mostly still on that diet. Having slightly more diversity in diet now but to be honest i feel so great eating steak & eggs that it’s not too compelling to stop. It’s been about 8 months now and i still truly enjoy cooking & eating each steak. I kinda turned it into a zen-routine, trying to continue to perfect my cooking techniques. I regularly have asparagus, avocados and blackberries since they are also low-carb. Not sure what my diet will be once I loose the rest of my fat. Been doing lots of cardio and weightlifting too. I truly wish I found this diet years ago. All my previous attempts to diet left me feeling unsatisfied or deprived, which would always end in failure. However eating a thick juicy ribeye twice a day is extremely satisfying. I actually found this diet by accident… January 1st I weighed myself at 320 lbs prior going to Las Vegas for a week long conference. While there I ate steak and eggs almost every meal because the 70’s throwback greasy spoon diner next to my hotel had very cheap specials for steak & eggs. When I returned home I was afraid to weigh myself, fearing that eating steak all week was indulgent. To my surprise I had actually lost 10 lbs instead of gaining anything. So I did some googling and found your article describing how the steak and egg diet is an actual thing. So I kept rolling with it and have completely transformed my life this year. After about a month and a half of this diet I felt like I was loosing muscle mass too, so I began weightlifting to help retain and tone my muscles, and cardio to help boost the fat burning. I was previously pretty strong, since I do construction type work, but was in pretty poor shape otherwise. Now I am in as great of shape as I was in when I was 20 even though I am 41 now. I figure my future diet can be more diverse and if i ever notice a few extra pounds creeping in I can just revert to steak for a few weeks to maintain.
Jack Freeman says
Wow interesting story, glad it’s working for you. I’m actually going to be publishing an in-depth article on losing fat while retaining muscle so stay tuned!
gaha says
Vitamin C is only needed by the body when you eat carbs. Please, substantiate your claim!
Jack Freeman says
Have you never heard of people who have gone on no-carb diets who got scurvy?
Jack Freeman says
It might be more susceptible to certain people or even rare, but only a fool wouldn’t spend the extra $10 to be safe.
WhiteMaleSurvival says
Yesterday I have done some reseaerch on Ketosis because thats what happens if you eat mostly fat and protein.
You need to eat 60% fat and 40% protein.
If you don’t do that you will be hungry.
I ate around 1KG of Meat and 300g of butter and I was still hungry as I weigh 80KG and I am 1,80m tall. I need around 3500 calories per day.
I bought Bio eggs, milk and butter but not bio meat and ate it all raw and it did cost me 25Euros.
With bio meat it would cost me 50€ for 1,5 days.
This diet is very expensive and I will stop eating like that because I cannot afford to pay around 1000 Euros per month to eat healthy.
How it has affected my physique?
Yesterday I felt like complete shit, because I didn’t eat enough and simply because eating raw meat and tons of butter is disgusting.
It’s like eating jelly with a weird taste.
It hasn’t changed my physique as I simply haven’t done it long enough.
I will go back to eating cooked meat, eggs and butter.
That is cheaper.
I will thoroughly test the raw meat diet when I can afford to spend 1000€ per month on bio meat, eggs and butter.
Rosco says
Go fuc yourself with your bio butter…
Stop complaining and get to work…
WhiteMaleSurvival says
Shit, I thought Frank Zane looks good but Vince makes him look pathetic.
Vince looks like a god, perfect, no ridiculous bull form like the roided apes today.
Did you try the raw meat, raw eggs and butter diet yet?
I am doing it with supermarket meat, bio eggs and bio butter and it is still expensive for me.
I have a godlike focus, a lot of energy and after I ate I feel like no weight has been added to me as when I ate Carbohydrates.
My guess: Because it is raw you need much less energy to digest it.
Music also strangely sounds better…
I guess you get some dopamine from it because you will get way more nutrients this way because you ain’t killing the bacteria and the enzymes and the creatine the zink and all that stuff that makes you strong & energetic.
Furthermore: Meat with salt and pepper on the meat & it will taste awesome.
Eating the butter to the steak and drinking eggs needs some getting used to, but it only requires 3-4 days (at least for me).
Jack Freeman says
WhiteMaleSurvivor, I have not tried it, although I am kind of interested. Hoe much meat do you eat? How has it effected your physique?
Brian says
As a guy interested in doing this? Do you have progress pics? I’ve been pondering this…. I just found out I have low t at the beginning of the year. Trying red growth, I lift a lot, I sleep well…. figure it might be food. I’m currently 210 at 6’1 I’ve always wanted to be 185 and think it is time to get this done
Jack Freeman says
Brian, unfortunately I don’t. I mistakenly forgot to take pictures prior to starting the diet. I was only slightly overweight for about 6 weeks and prior to that I have been lean all year round for years. I do plan on redoing the diet in about 6 months, I will put on some weight and take before pictures next time around.
You will definitely get to 185 lbs if you stick to meat only, I can assure you that. The hard part is staying on the diet. As for the low T, depending on how low it is you most likely will need more than just a diet change, you should probably look into gettingg TRT. I would definitively prioritize getting the low T fixed over everything else.