How Important is Fat?

[Simon Rest]

Hi Jordan, firstly, thanks for putting up with our stupid questions - I have learned a great deal from this forum - and secondly I'm sorry if this has been previously discussed but I couldn't find it in a forum search.

How important is fat intake to training?

for context, I'm 34, 20-25%BF (down from high 30s but keen to keep dropping) and my LP is still going OK. I am tracking my macros and on some days find by the end of the day I am low in one or another. If it's protein I always top up with whey, and often if I am low in carbs I will top up as well (mostly with fruit). But if I am lower than the suggested range in fat, is that a big deal? should I be topping up, or is fat not a necessary macronutrient for performance, it just happens to be present in most foods?

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

As long as it's over ~20% of total daily calories or at least 15g of fat per 1000kCal (with 30% of total fat coming from saturated fat sources) you're fine from a performance/recovery standpoint provided the rest of the calories are in line.

[gtl]

As long as it's over ~20% of total daily calories or at least 15g of fat per 1000kCal (with 30% of total fat coming from saturated fat sources) you're fine from a performance/recovery standpoint provided the rest of the calories are in line.

Sorry, not trying to be pedantic, but
15 x 9 = 135
135 / 1000 = 13.5%

What do you mean by over ~20% or at least [13.5%]?

[NobodyWillNotice]

As long as it's over ~20% of total daily calories or at least 15g of fat per 1000kCal

Can this be an average over several days, or is it detrimental to performance/recovery if you don't hit this minimum every day?

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Sorry, not trying to be pedantic, but
15 x 9 = 135
135 / 1000 = 13.5%

What do you mean by over ~20% or at least [13.5%]?

I mean that on a normal diet, being over 20% of daily kCal is likely more than enough fat provided 30% of it is coming from saturated fats. If you're on a super-restricted diet, i.e. pre contest or abbreviated crash diet then 15g/1000kCal is the absolute rock bottom I'd go. I should've clarified that.

Can this be an average over several days, or is it detrimental to performance/recovery if you don't hit this minimum every day?

I don't know how performance is affected day to day with super low fat, but the detriment of not having enough fat in the diet manifests itself over a chronic deficiency- not an acute one.

[gtl]

I mean that on a normal diet, being over 20% of daily kCal is likely more than enough fat provided 30% of it is coming from saturated fats. If you're on a super-restricted diet, i.e. pre contest or abbreviated crash diet then 15g/1000kCal is the absolute rock bottom I'd go. I should've clarified that.

Gotcha! Thanks

[sbhikes]

I mean that on a normal diet, being over 20% of daily kCal is likely more than enough fat provided 30% of it is coming from saturated fats.

Wait, hold the phone. Are you telling me that you are studying to become a doctor and you aren't saying that saturated fat is going to kill us? What kind of witch-doctor training school are you going to?

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Wait, hold the phone. Are you telling me that you are studying to become a doctor and you aren't saying that saturated fat is going to kill us? What kind of witch-doctor training school are you going to?

It's Chiropractic school (ha...I had to do it). Interestingly, saturated fat is the ONLY kind of fat that cannot be oxidized....

[patterson]

Sorry my knowledge of nutrition is eating lots of protein and letting the rest fall into place. But what does oxidizing fat mean?

[NobodyWillNotice]

It's Chiropractic school (ha...I had to do it). Interestingly, saturated fat is the ONLY kind of fat that cannot be oxidized....

So if I eat lots of it, I don't have to worry about rusting?