question about fat

[joshwillard3]

Hello my name is Josh I am new to the forum. I have read many articles though. One thing I dont understand is fat intake. I know we need fat, and I know why it is important, and that is is also an energy source. I know if you eat too much of anything(fat included) gets stored as body fat. My question is how much dietary fat gets stored in your body if you have about only a 15 to 20 percent intake? Does some of it get stored or does all of it get used for energy? Thank you everyone.

[Shubbard1821]

Hello my name is Josh I am new to the forum. I have read many articles though. One thing I dont understand is fat intake. I know we need fat, and I know why it is important, and that is is also an energy source. I know if you eat too much of anything(fat included) gets stored as body fat. My question is how much dietary fat gets stored in your body if you have about only a 15 to 20 percent intake? Does some of it get stored or does all of it get used for energy? Thank you everyone.

Alright, so not a bad question. I can see why you might wonder about fat intake and how it is stored in the body, etc. I will give you the common version of what people believe on this and not what I believe because it isn't considered legitimate (i.e., no documented science behind the theory).
How we store fat is commonly seen in a calorie in calorie out balance. It relates directly to an energy paradigm. If you use this many calories for energy and eat less than how many you used, as in the case of diet and exercise, you will use stored energy (fat) as a means of "making up" for the calories you didn't get from food. This is, roughly of course, how you lose fat.

So if this is true, it could be said that all macronutrients can be stored as fat, since all of it is energy anyway regardless of what is made up of. Many people think that because dietary fat is "fat" it is first to be stored as fat. This is not the case.

Now to answer your question. In my opinion, it isn't all about calories in vs calories out. To make a long story short, I have been eating a high fat/Mid-high protein/ very low carb diet for the last three weeks straight and I have actually lost weight. I eat around 3,500 calories a day or more. So I tend to believe that it isn't all about the calories So it is really up to how it works for YOU. Try different things out, diets, whatever it takes. It really all depends. If you dont like my advice on how fat works, stick to the calorie theory. Although it doesn't really work for me, it could work for you. Hope that provides some extra thought.

Stay well my friend.

[dizzay20]

fat does not make u fat, excess calories make u fat. Our bodies are constantly storing and using our fat reserves. I would rather make fat about 40% of ur intake cuz at around 15% ur getting to the low end of fat intake and it will start having an effect on hormone production, mood, repair, etc.

[Vietgoboi]

He right about excess calories, that how you store fat, but in those excess calories, preferably dietary fat gets stored directly as priority.

and

no, a low fat diet doesn't work either, your body will change adapt and convert carbs/protein into fat as well.

[blueeyes414]

fat does not make u fat, excess calories make u fat. Our bodies are constantly storing and using our fat reserves. I would rather make fat about 40% of ur intake cuz at around 15% ur getting to the low end of fat intake and it will start having an effect on hormone production, mood, repair, etc.

Thank you for putting that... that is seriously a concept that took me FOREVER to understand. I'd be so concerned about a "low fat" product but I'd be consuming wayyy too many calories!

[joshwillard3]

Thank you everyone for your posts. That was one of the main things I was trying to grasp, and I understand now.