How Much Fat Should I Eat To Lose Weight, Be Healthy And Perform At My Best?

Nico Valla // Nutrition

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October 9  

By the end of today's article you'll know exactly how much fat to eat. If you're asking ''how much fat should I eat to lose weight and be healthy?'' then you've probably come accross a number of conflicting answers already.

The frustrating reality is that much of what you read online is ''truthiness''. It feels real because people with good intenetions spout misinformation after learining a small amount about a topic, gaining exponenetially more confidence (read about the Dunning-Kruger effect), and forming clear cut dogmatic views that reassure the consumer or reader that their information is the truth.

Put another way, if you were to ask someone ''how much fat should I eat?'' and they replied, ''it depends''. That answer is not as reassuring or convincing as a clear cut ''25% of your calories should come from fat''.

Unfortunately much of the information you see online about how much fat to eat - or in fact in any area of health and fitness - is based information based on feelings, beliefs not facts, and most dangerously dogmatic beliefs.

The world of health and nutrition is a minefield. That's why in today's article we'll objectively explore the macronutrient ''fat'.

By the end of this article you will be able to make an informed decision about how much fat you need to eat in order to lose weight, improve health, and perform well in all areas of your life.

It is worth noting that fat is just one of the three macronutrients you need to consider. So if you're asking how much fat we should be eating, you may also want to ask how much protein we should be eating

How Much Fat Should I Eat To Lose Weight?

Of the three macronutrients - protein, carbohydrates and fat - we’ve covered protein, now let’s dive into fat. This article will look at fat and provide you with a full understanding of this energy dense and largely musunderstood macronutrient.

Is Fat Good For You?

Our acceptance of fats has come a long way in recent years, and this has been mainly driven by a wide array of research supporting their place in a healthy diet. In just a few short years the majority of us, including fitness professionals and athletes, can usually come to some agreement that certain fat in sufficient amounts can benefit body composition and health. (1) (2) (3)

Just like we have learnt with carbohydrates, it is the amount and specific type of fat we should eat that needs to be understood. (4)

Health authorities are accepting this change too, and we are being encouraged to increase our daily intakes in place of refined carbohydrates. Yet, of all the macronutrients, fat still seems to be the least understood, and many still associate fat-containing foods with weight gain, shame and in some cases, fear!

This is to be expected, with widespread marketing of low-fat products, low-fat diets that seem to be commonplace nowadays. A lot less attention is directed toward the widespread evidence that supports, nay recommends a regular intake of fats in a healthy diet. Therefore, it’s important to understand the basic chemistry of fat, its key functions, how it is metabolized and to understand the latest research.

Another term for fat is ‘lipids’, which provides a collective name to a wide variety of water-insoluble chemicals, including all fats and oils in the diet and body.

Similar to protein and carbohydrates, fat is made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen, but the main difference is that the ratio of oxygen to the other molecules is lower. This results in fat being a more concentrated source of energy for the body and 1 gram of fat provides around 9 calories (compared to 4 kcal per gram for protein and carbohydrates).

Fat Types


Fat, or lipids, can be broken down further, so let’s examine the various fat types and their definitions:

TRIACYLGLYCEROL OR TRIGLYCERIDES (TG’S)

The TG’s are a glycerol ‘backbone’ molecule composed of three fatty acid chains. This is the most nutritionally significant fat as they are the main source of ingested fat and provide the majority of energy derived from dietary lipids. 1 gram of TG’s provides 9 kcal per gram of energy.

GLYCEROL (OR GLYCERIN)

A three-carbon molecule that is part of the large TG’s molecule (serves as the backbone). Glycerol by itself is a three carbon ‘sugar’ that when released from storage, can be recycled in the liver for the creation of new blood sugar. This process is known as ‘gluconeogenesis’. 

FATTY ACIDS

There are three major types of fatty acids. Their molecular bonds and the number of hydrogen atoms they contain distinguish these three types from one another.

Fat may be saturated, mono-unsaturated (possessing one carbon-carbon double bond) or polyunsaturated (having two or more carbon-carbon double bonds).

We can then break this down even further:

All About Saturated, Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated Fats

Saturated Fat

Saturated fat is a lipid that consists of triglycerides containing only saturated fatty acids. This means all available carbon atoms are occupied (saturated) by the hydrogen atom, unlike unsaturated fat. This makes them the most stable and least likely to turn into free radicals when exposed to heat, oxygen or light. This is why it is suggested to cook with these types of fats, so think grass fed butters or coconut oil. (5)

While nutrition labels regularly combine the various saturated fatty acids, they do appear in different proportions among food groups. Lauric and myristic acids are most commonly found in ‘tropical’ oils or dairy products. Saturated fat in meat, eggs and nuts is primarily the triglycerides of palmitic and stearic acids.

The table below shows the saturated fat profile of common foods with fatty acids as percentage of total fat: 

FOOD

LAURIC ACID

MYRISTIC ACID

PALMITIC ACID

STEARIC ACID

Coconut Oil

47%

18% 

9%

3%

Butter

3%

11%

29%

13%

Cashews

2%

1%

10%

7%

Palm Oil

0.1%

1%

44%

5%

Soybean Oil

0%

0%

11%

4%

Salmon

0%

1%

29%

3%

Ground Beef

0%

4%

26%

15%

Egg Yolks

0%

0.3%

27%

10%

Dark Chocolate

0%

1%

34%

43%

Polyunsaturated Fat

Polyunsaturated fat are triglycerides in which the hydrocarbon tails constitutes polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA’s) i.e. fatty acids possessing more than a single carbon-carbon double bond.

‘Unsaturated’ refers to the fact that the molecules contain less than the maximum amount of hydrogen, thus making them more unstable compared to saturated fats. These are usually liquid at room temperature.

From what we eat, we get two types of polyunsaturated fatty acids, linolenic acid (omega 3 fatty acid) and linoleic acid (omega 6 fatty acid).

Monounsaturated Fat

Monounsaturated fats are triglycerides that have one single carbon-carbon double bond in the fatty acid chain, and all the other carbon atoms are single bonded.

Monounsaturated fat has a higher melting point than polyunsaturated fatty acids and a lower melting point than saturated fatty acids. They are also liquids at room temperature and semi solid or solid when kept cold.

 
What Foods Are High In Fat? 

Below you will find a table of high fat foods that their respective fat composition:

HIGH FAT FOOD

SATURATED FAT

MONO-UNSATURATED FAT

POLY-UNSATURATED Fat

COOKING OILS

Canola Oil

8

64

28

Corn Oil

13

24

59

Olive Oil

7

78

15

Sunflower Oil

11

78

11

Soybean Oil

15

24

58

Peanut Oil

11

71

18

Rice Bran Oil

25

38

37

Coconut Oil

86

13

1

DAIRY PRODUCTS

Cheese, regular

64

29

3

Cheese, light

60

30

0

Milk, whole

62

28

4

Milk, 2%

62

30

0

Ice Cream, gourmet

62

29

4

Ice Cream, Light

62

29

4

MEATS

Beef

33

38

5

Ground Sirloin

38

44

4

Pork Chop

35

44

8

Ham

35

49

16

Chicken Breast

29

34

21

Chicken

34

23

30

Turkey Breast

30

20

30

Turkey Drumstick

32

22

30

Fish, Orange roughy

23

15

46

Salmon

28

33

28

Hot dog, Beef

42

48

5

Hot dog, Turkey

28

40

22

Burger, fast food

36

44

6

Cheeseburger, fast food 

43

40

Chicken Sandwich

20

39

32

Grilled Chicken Sandwich

26

42

20

Sausage, Polish

37

46

11

Sausage, Turkey

28

40

22

Pizza, Sausage

41

32

20

Pizza, Cheese

60

28

5

NUTS

Almonds dry roasted 

9

65

21

Cashews dry roasted

20

59

17

Macadamia dry roasted

15

79

2

Peanut dry roasted

14

50

31

Pecans dry roasted

8

62

25

Flaxseeds, ground

8

23

65

Sesame seeds

14

38

44

Soybeans

14

22

57

Sunflower seeds

11

19

66

SWEET AND BAKED GOODS

Chocolate bar 

59

33

3

Fruit chews

14

44

38

Cookie, oatmeal raisin

22

47

27

Cookie, chocolate chip

35

42

18

Cake, yellow

60

25

10

Pastry, Danish

50

31

14

FATS ADDED DURING COOKING OR AT THE TABLE

Butter, stick 

63

29

3

Butter, whipped

62

29

4

Margarine, stick

18

39

39

Margarine, tub

16

33

49

Margarine, light tub

19

46

33

Lard

39

45

11

Shortening

25

45

26

Chicken Fat

30

45

21

Beef fat

41

43

3

Dressing, blue cheese

16

54

25

Dressing, light Italian

14

24

58

Are Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil And Trans Fats Harmful?


Hydrogenated fats are chemically classified as unsaturated fatty acids, yet behave more like saturated fatty acids in the body.

The term ‘hydrogenated’ means manufacturers infuse the chemical structure of the fat with extra hydrogen to bond to the carbon atom. This makes the fat solid at room temperature which essentially makes it a man-made saturated fat.

Unlike processed saturated fats, hydrogenated fats are poisonous to the body. When consumed, these fats replace normal saturated fat in the cell membrane, and sometimes the essential fatty acids as well.

Hydrogenated fats have been linked to increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers and obesity. This is because they are pro-inflammatory in the body, reducing levels of good cholesterol (HDL) and increasing the bad (LDL & VLDL). (6) (7) (8) (9) 

Is Cholesterol Really Bad For You?

Cholesterol is another group of lipids that receives a lot of bad publicity. Cholesterol is a complicated topic and will therefore be addressed in a separate article.

Cholesterol is important as it is necessary for controlling hormones and cell function. However, it is not essential to receive it through our diets, as the liver can synthesize it internally. (10) (11) (12) 

Why Eating The Right Amount Of Fat Is Important

Fat is an energy source

Fat is the most energy dense macronutrient and it is also easily stored and transported within the body. The body can store unlimited amounts of fat, and excess carbohydrates and protein can be converted into fat, but they cannot be made from fat. It therefore serves as an excellent energy reserve. (13)

Fat Forms The Major Componenet Of Cell Membranes

Cell membranes, the outer walls of the cells, are partly composed of a specific type of fat called phospholipids.

Fat Insulates The Body

Fat not only insulates the body from extremes of temperature, but fat can also protect vital organs by providing a cushion layer in cold environments.

Fat Is An Appetite Suppressant

Eating more fat greatly increases satiety levels, making it difficult to overeat when compared with a high-carbohydrate diet. Therefore, you can eat less yet feel more satisfied in the process.

Despite fats containing over twice as many calories (9kcal per gram) compared to protein and carbohydrates (4kcal per gram), they will keep you much fuller for longer, and you will not need to each as much per sitting. (14) (15)

Fat Is A Key Player In Managing Inflammation


Fat that is typically found in fish contains the essential omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, which are known to provide a number of health and performance benefits due to their highly anti-inflammatory properties.

From a health perspective these fatty acids appear to reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, while from a performance aspect they can help to prevent muscle breakdown, enhance joint healing, improve brain function and achieve greater fat loss. (16) (17) (18)

Reducing inflammation within the body is one of the best things you can do when seeking optimal body composition and health. It ensures you are working with the body, and not against it. 

Fat Can Improve The Hormonal Profile

It has now been proven that dietary cholesterol, such as that from fat, has little to no effect on cholesterol levels in the blood. In fact, quite the opposite can occur as a range of healthy fats can actually serve to improve our good cholesterol readings (HDL) (19) (20) (21) (22)

The benefits are clear and even the health authorities are accepting that monounsaturated fats can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, and that essential fatty acids (Omega 3 & 6) are required for life itself.

Even the once vilified saturated fat is now being re-classified as ‘not so bad after all’, which is great as it’s necessary for proper cell membrane function.

Fat Is High In Micronutrients

 Many fats contain high levels of fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E and K. These vitamins are typically seen to be lacking within a low fat diet, yet are essential for maintaining good health and performance. Fat is also required to properly digest and assimilate these fat-soluble vitamins. (23) (24)

Fat is required for optimal cell function, and is a structurally integral part of every single cell membrane within the body.

Fat Metabolism

When we eat fats they are metabolized into short, medium and long chain fatty acids and glycerol.

Fats, due to being insoluble in water, require an aqueous environment. Excess fat is stored as triglycerides and can be found in the muscles, liver or adipose tissues to serve as energy for another time.

Below is a summary of how the body uses these metabolized fatty acids and the benefits associated with them:

Short Chain Fatty Acids

These have 4 to 6 carbon atoms and they’re always from saturated fat. They are also antimicrobial and serve as a great source of energy as the body can easily break them down. These fatty acids do not need bile salts to emulsify them as they can be directly absorbed from the small intestine and directed to the liver for energy conversion. Butter is an example of a short chain fatty acid.


Medium Chain Fatty Acids


These have 8-12 carbon atoms and also serve as great sources of energy while having an anti viral and anti microbial property. Coconut oil is a perfect example. These fats are often used as supplements in sports and athletics as they are rapidly absorbed and are not stored as fat.

Long Chain Fatty Acids

 

These have 14 to 18 carbon atoms and just like other fats, regular consumption seems to bring numerous health benefits. Beef, cocoa powder and chocolate are example of long chain fatty acids.


Very Long Chain Fatty Acids


These have 20-24 carbon atoms. These are usually sources of unsaturated fats like EPA and DHA. Vegetable oils, nuts and avocados are perfect examples.


How Much Fat Do I Need For Health, Performance And Ideal Body Composition?

Just as with protein and carbs, there are a number of potential factors that will determine the ideal amount of fats in a person’s diet.

There’s no clear definition of exactly how much fat should make up someone’s diet, as what might be right for one person may not be for the next.

An individual’s optimal intake depends on age, gender, body composition, activity levels, personal preference, food culture and current metabolic health.

When looking at the metabolic processes and their ability to supply energy, it is very clear that fat is an essential component of everyone’s diet.

These factors will determine what percentage of dietary fat is required, but we can also look at the current research to help us in making our decisions.

The ''Average'' Fat Intake

For a healthy individual seeking a balanced macro nutrient diet, no more than 25-30% of daily caloric requirements should come from healthy fat.

This can be broken down into the three different types:

• 30% of these should be consumed from monounsaturated fat
• 30% of these should come from polyunsaturated fat (omega 3 & 6)
• No more than 30% should be from saturated fat
•. Hydrogenated (trans) fat should be avoided at all costs (and is illegal in many countries)

This means an intake for a typical 2500kcal diet would equal 83g of dietary fat per day.

How Much Fat Should I Eat To Lose Fat?

Since most of my clients (an most people in fact) want to lose weight, let's take a look at how much fat to eat in order to lose weight. When fat loss or ''weight loss'' is the goal, we have typically seen recommendations for reducing fat intake when seeking fat loss. (25) It is worth remembering though that irrespective of your fat intake, even if you reduce your fat intake, if you don't create a negative energy balance you will not lose weight.

Recent studies have shown that a ‘higher-fat, low-carbohydrate’ may promote faster rates of weight loss than a ‘higher-carbohydrate, low-fat’.

If fat intake is well monitored and from mostly unsaturated sources, this weight loss can be accompanied by improved risk factors for conditions like cardiovascular disease and diabetes. (26) (27) (28)

IMPORTANT: The ketogenic diet (Very low-carbohydrate diet, high-fat) has become a very popular weight loss approach in recent years.

This may provide benefits to you, however, it is important to ensure you are consuming 70-80% of your fat from unsaturated, wholefood sources.

Many companies and ”coaches” have been exposed for providing keto plans populated with streaky bacon at breakfast, fatty beef burgers at lunch and more red meat at dinner. This will increase your saturated fat intake and risk of high cholesterol!

In the end, nutrient density is a very important consideration when considering how much fat you should eat, and should be considered alongside addressing calorie balance, sustainability (ketosis is notoriouslydifficult to a) achieve and b)maintain).

How Much Fat Should I Eat In Order To Be Healthy?

A key component of what makes good nutrition is whether it promoted health. With this in mind, many of my clients focus on eating the right amount of fat for health, and in tern this leads to looking and feeling better as they improve health and perfomance.

Aside from body composition, there has also been a narrative perpetuated that we need to avoid dietary fat as it may be linked to cardiovascular diseases by raising bad (LDL) cholesterol in the blood. This further led to the increased adoption of a low-fat, high carbohydrate diet, despite emerging research consistently contending these ideas.

The hard, inconvenient truth is that different people thrive following different approaches, and one is not the “Be All End All”. In fact, many individuals enjoy and thrive when following a lower-carbohydrate, higher-fat diet, once fat intake is not excessively high and from wholefood sources.

A lower-carbohydrate diet can provide many benefits for the following groups of individuals:

• Overweight or obese
• Type II diabetics
• Those with metabolic syndrome

From a health perspective, here’s what we see from a higher-fat, lower-carbohydrate approach:

• Blood sugar and insulin sensitivity improvements(29) (30)
• Triglycerides tend to go down (31) (32) – as long as fat sources are healthy
• Small, dense LDL (bad) cholesterol goes down (33) (34)
• HDL (good) cholesterol goes up (35)
• Blood pressure improves significantly (36)

Summary Of Optimal Fat Intake For Weight Loss, Health And Performance

You should now understand the importance of fat in the human diet, how it is metabolized, how to measure quality, assess daily intake for various populations, compare the types of fat and de bunk some of the myths that surround it.


References And Further Reading

1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16391215
2. http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=202339
3. http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=377969
4. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20888548

5 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1745-4506.2001.tb00028.x/pdf
6. http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0753332202002536?via=sd
7. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19022225
8. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/83/6/S1505.short
9. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2166702/
10. http://atvb.ahajournals.org/content/18/3/441.full
11. http://jn.nutrition.org/content/133/1/78.full
12. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/998550
13. http://jn.nutrition.org/content/132/3/329.full.pdf+html
14. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17228046
15. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8696422
16. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19439458
17. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892194/
18. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19099589
19. http://atvb.ahajournals.org/content/18/3/441.full
20. http://jn.nutrition.org/content/133/1/78.full
21. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/early/2010/01/13/ajcn.2009.27725.abstract
22. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1386252
23. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC444260/
24. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/70/2/247.short
25. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20888548
26. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2012.01021.x/abstract
27. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/86/2/276.full
28. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16391215
29. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11010-007-9448-z
30. http://www.nutritionandmetabolism.com/content/5/1/10
31. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2892194/
32. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/87/3/567.long
33. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/83/5/1025.long
34. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11745-008-3274-2
35. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/90/1/23.long
36. http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=205916
37. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 20"
38. "Feinberg School > Nutrition > Nutrition Fact Sheet: Lipids"

About the Author

I believe you can achieve success in your health, fitness, relationships and career, in a way that is unique to you.

As a business owner, teacher and dad with three children I understand how hard keeping healthy can be. We’re in this together, and I want you to know I am here to help you.

Having been a personal trainer and nutrition coach since 2008, as well as navigating parenthood since 2015, this past few years I have had the opportunity to help hundreds of clients improve their self-confidence, self-image, stop feeling judged when they walk into a room.

I believe you can solve all these problems and start making these changes a reality this year, and I'm looking forward to helping you!

Nico Valla

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