How Many Calories Are In One Egg? Egg Nutrition Facts
Updated 29.08.2012
In this post I will answer the question on how many calories in an egg.
Eggs are natures’ treasure trove for protein and smart fats. Especially organic, or free-range omega 3 eggs are an extremely valuable, nutritious food.
When on a calorie restricted diet, the following might be helpful to know:
Calories per egg by size
Short answer:
- A small egg contains 54 calories.
- A medium egg contains 63 calories.
- A large egg contains 72 calories.
And now for the longer, more detailed answer…
How Many Calories in a Chicken Egg?
Calories in an egg can be quite important for those on a fat loss diet. Sometimes counting calories may be necessary, and then you’ll need the information on how many kilo calories in your food per 100 gram, or per each serving, as in the case of an egg.
For general calorie guidelines, check out my post on How Many Calories should I eat per day?
There’s only about 0.6 – 1 gram carbohydrates in a large egg. That makes them the perfect low carb food.How much fat in an egg? The fat content ranges in between 5 and 6 gram.And how much protein? About 6-7 gram for one large egg.
Should you want the comprehensive answer, you can find that over on my good colleague Kris’ blog right here: How much protein in an egg?
If you lift weights or otherwise exercise, you might want to up the protein in your diet somewhat, and eggs are an awesome –and above all natural– way to do that. So if protein shakes are just not your thing, try adding some eggs instead.
Quick weight loss and muscle building tip: try one hard boiled egg every hour…nothing else! This is not a long term thing, of course, but in the short term it can help melt the fat fast and it’s reportedly highly anabolic! (muscle building!)
I’ve done this myself quite a few times and must say that hunger is really not a problem. The protein intake is not so very high with this approach: if you calculate about 7 gram per egg on average, you get about 110 gram/day.
BUT this is highest quality protein, and it definitely seems to be enough.
The Fats are SMART!
Macro and micro nutrients in egg
The nutritional value of eggs is huge: they got very high choline, which is good for the brain and the liver, plus it’s anti-inflammatory!
Know the term egghead? No, that probably has nothing to do with it. 
But the fats in eggs are smart fats: extremely healthy and only good for you.
Is it good or bad cholesterol in eggs?
The myth that eggs are bad because they contain cholesterol has long since been debunked.
Eggs DO contain cholesterol, but they have HDL cholesterol, and this is one of the good guys… actually a MAJOR Good Guy!
HDL is good for your heart, and will help boost testosterone in men.
Eggs also have vitamin D3, vitamin B12, and a whole bunch of minerals: iron, selenium, magnesium, zinc and iodine amongst others. AND they’re high in the amino acid tryptophan, which is great for healthy sleep!
If you’re into fitness, you’ll know that these micro nutrients rule! They are amongst the most important out there…
A little personal experience: I’m on a pretty low-cal diet myself at the moment, and I was thinking how to increase my natural protein intake without adding too many calories?
Then I got it: egg whites!
In case you were wondering, there’s only about 18 calories in one large egg white! It follows that the egg yolk then has around 54 calories. The protein content of the egg white is about 4 grams on average, give or take.
Generally speaking it’s best to have eggs whole, including the valuable egg yolk, since that’s where all the smart fats are. But having the whites only is a great way to save a lot of calories, while getting some top-quality natural protein.
That’s of course when you boil them. Calories in a fried egg, can be much higher: if you for example fry them in a bunch of oil, the calorie count is increased dramatically.
Whole Egg nutrition facts, the extended version:
- Raw eggs, one cup: 347 calories
- 1 egg, small: 54 calories
- 1 egg, medium: 63 calories
- 1 egg, large: 72 calories
- 1 egg, extra large: 80 calories
- 1 egg, jumbo: 90 calories
Long story short: eggs should be a main staple of your diet, they’re good for you, plain and simple.
And especially egg whites are a high protein, ultra-low calorie food.
BTW, here’s the nutrition and supplementation page, with links to my best posts on the topic.
Mark
12 Comments
Leave a Reply
Love eggs. As you said, they are brain food because they contain essential fatty acids – specifically DHA, which makes up 60% of the brain and nervous system.
Yebbs: eggs are SMART!
Thanks Tony!
Mark
This fact about egg is more helpful,i like it. Thanks.
Welcome!
Mark
Hi Mark,
I’m a first time poster.
Great info on eggs, you provide a one stop source for great egg nutritional info.
Kelly
PS. The website is looking really good. You must be thinking of naming you first-born “Rusty”.
Kelly Fitzsimmons recently posted..How to Lose Weight Fast – Ninja Style
Heya Kelly,
thanks.
I like your theme, pretty neat, quite cute!
Rusty Moore of Fitnessblackbook.com is a good friend who has helped out a lot over the years, and I truly appreciate him and his support and help for others in the area.
Are you a member of his Master Mind Group?
Mark
Hi Mark,
Not sure if I’m a member or not (I did register at his training site) but I’ve been watching his videos and I’m a big fan of his products.
I don’t see a contact email on here, if you wouldn’t mind firing me an email at contact@weightlossninja.org, i’d love to pick your brain a bit.
Feel free to edit and/or delete this reply. thanks
My contact is mark@tsmethod.com, it’s on my about page.
Rusty is one of a kind you might say, at least one of very few: he’s good and trustworthy. Rarity online nowadays:
http://saltydroid.info/frank-kern-in-scamworld/
Mark
Like you said, I think eggs have to be one of the BEST foods if you’re looking to build muscle. However, I think it’s important to make sure that you don’t ‘overdo’ it with eggs like some people do.
Sure, they might be packed with protein and healthy fats but just like anything, they need to be consumed in moderation.
Josh recently posted..Is Eating Raw Eggs Safe?
Great post. I know a lot of bodybuilders out there opt for egg whites but to me, it just seems a waste. As you mentioned, all of the nutrition and a good amount of the protein is in the yolk of the egg, so what’s the point in throwing it in the bin. Just don’t have eggs every day!
Also, here in the UK there is no egg white option such as Eggbeaters like in the US, so we’re stuck if we just want to each egg whites!
Joshua Hardwick recently posted..Is Coffee Fattening?
Maybe I compltely missed it~ But can you tell me how many calories are in 1 MEDIUM egg WHITE? And how many grams of protein per medium egg white?
Thanks!
Great site!
Heya Thanks for the heads up Tenessa!
I had the calories for the egg white (18 calories), but I had missed the protein content (4 grams on average).
Thanks again and if you find anything else missing anywhere please don’t be shy and let me know: I really appreciate it, honestly!
Mark