I do both. My typical breakfast is one whole egg, mixed with 1/3 cup Eggbeaters and scrambled (I also have oatmeal with it -- breakfast of champions !) My reasoning is that I get the nutrition of the whole egg and then pump up the protein by adding additional whites.
I go for whole and real foods if possible, so I'd go for real eggs personally, unless you are vegan/don't consume eggs for ethical reasons. Then things like scrambled eggs would be kind of out, but you could use egg replacers for baking (like Ener-G).
I really don't think that eggs are as bad as they're made out to be. They're wholesome, packed with nutrition, and taste delicious. Everything in moderation. Of course, NOT frying them in tons of oil always helps too. ^-^
I prefer eating whole eggs- I'm not a fan of egg whites only. I don't eat too many eggs though- like 2-4 a week so I feel okay doing that. If I were to eat eggs daily I might do something like 1 egg + 1-2 egg whites.
I'm in the eggbeaters camp. I eat 1 cup of eggbeaters with 1 oz. of feta cheese pretty much every day at 4 pm. Cooked, of course. I know they are pretty unnatural, but I like the protein, I am old enough to need to take care about cholesterol, and the equivalent 4 eggs would be 280 cals instead of 120cals. I was never a big egg eater person, was just looking for a high protein, low cal min-meal to hold me from 1pm until dinner at 7 pm, which is too long for me to wait without something to eat.
I think both options are good choices, maybe just personal preference for one over the other. For me, sometimes the trade off of "processed" versus "whole" foods is preferable to my overall plan until I lose more weight. After that, while trying to maintain, I don't think those extra calories will be as problematic as they are right now.
Whatever you choose, it will likely be a good choice. Not like hmm, eggs or a candy bar :-)
Because I'm vegan, I don't eat real eggs, so my egg "substitutes" involve tofu(for tofu scramble or tofu breakfast sammiches), garbanzo beans, and/or garbanzo bean flour(known as besan, I use it to make besan omelets and as an ingredient for vegan French toast). Very tasty and healthy too, especially since most of those recipes involve a LOT of added veggies that never found their way into meals I used to have with real eggs.
Real eggs. My normal scramble has either one or two omega-3 eggs and then four egg whites. I hate eggbeaters, the taste revolts me, so I just separate my eggs. No biggie.
I use real eggs, and eat them at a 1 whole egg to 1 or 2 egg white ratio (I don't like yolk that much, and this gives me some good fat and protein while keeping calories lower).
I'm sure I've read a thread here where someone smarter than me did the math, and it's cheaper to buy real eggs and toss the yolks than to buy the carton of egg substitute. That's another reason I stick with whole eggs.
I don't know why I never thought about mixing them. One real egg, and a egg beater serving. Or since I'm eating eggs every morning (I dont know, just sounds good every day!) I might have real eggs on day and substitutes the next. I think I will do that. My cholesterol was 198 when it was last checked. Technically not high but close enogh for me. And my mother's side has a serious issue with familar cholesterol.
I used to be a vegetarian for a few years, and my cholesterol was 160! I also went vegan for about a year, I went back to eating meat and animal products when I got pregnant. But I have been considering going back because it was the healthiest I ever was.