Minimum Recommended Fat Intake

Rrr

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Hey,

I've been a long time lurker on the forum.bodybuilding.com forums. According to their nutrition recommendations, the minimum amount of dietary fat per day for lean individuals is 0.4g/lb (total weight). They mention fat is needed for maintaining health, satiety, and sanity. Dietary fat also seems to help with libido.

I've seen a few people saying there's no harm going to pretty low levels of fat intake, but no one hasn't really specified (I'm new to the forums, so maybe I just haven't searched enough) any minimum numbers to shoot for. Is there a general consensus among the people on the peat diet about minimum fat intake? How low can I go? Can I go lower than 0.4g/lb (total weight)?

I know our bodies can make saturated fat from carbohydrates, does this mean one can go pretty low on fat if adequate carbs are consumed?

TL;DR: How low (in grams) can I go with dietary fat?

-Rrr
 

johns74

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In a study to try to prove that some fats were essential, a human being went on a diet with less than 2 grams of fat per day for 6 months.

He lost weight, his metabolism accelerated, became more resilient to fatigue, and his lifelong migraines disappeared.

So less than 2 grams per day is a good amount.
 

johns74

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That said, I don't go that low. I eat 2 eggs per day, that's already 10 grams.
 

answersfound

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Dr. Peat recommends 25% of calories come from fat and 50% come from carbohydrates.
 

jyb

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johns74 said:
In a study to try to prove that some fats were essential, a human being went on a diet with less than 2 grams of fat per day for 6 months.

He lost weight, his metabolism accelerated, became more resilient to fatigue, and his lifelong migraines disappeared.

So less than 2 grams per day is a good amount.

If I remember correctly, that study was with 1 human, in the 1930's, 6 months and never reproduced to my knowledge. It doesn't mean its right or wrong, but its good to give more context as some people do poorly with low fat.
 

pboy

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less than 65 grams, probably more than like 25 grams, or you wont be getting enough calories likely, somewhere in that range probablybest
 

lindsay

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I posted a whole reply and it didn't actually post :roll: Oh well.

I used to eat below 30 grams and went as low as 10 grams. Since then, I've raised it to about 60 (sometimes 80) because eating lower fat led me to need starch and that was no bueno for my digestion. I've maintained my weight, if not thinned out slightly, on the higher fat intake. Most of my fat comes from cheese, however, and I definitely try to minimize PUFA (except I've been eating a lot of sushi lately).
 

pboy

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that's legit Lindsay, I found similar when I tried using skim milk its just too little calories over time, then I might have cravings for something denser...the reason I say about 64 grams fat is that's the amount of dairy fat that puts you over 4g pufa, if some of the fat was cocoa butter or coconut you could go up to around 80 grams. I know its an arbitrary cut off, but it actually seems pretty correct to me, because ifi eat more fat than that Ill get gastric acid feelings and even heaviness
 

tara

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:welcome Rrr
Context - the rest of the diet and your state of health probably affect this.
Some people seem to need more fat than others.
If you go very low in fat, you need a lot of carbs to make up the calories, and to be able to make the sat fat you need, and you need to get in fat soluble vitamins somehow. It may also increase your metabolism and therefore your need for many other nutrients (eg B-vitamins). Seems to work for some people but not others.
 

lindsay

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pboy said:
that's legit Lindsay, I found similar when I tried using skim milk its just too little calories over time, then I might have cravings for something denser...the reason I say about 64 grams fat is that's the amount of dairy fat that puts you over 4g pufa, if some of the fat was cocoa butter or coconut you could go up to around 80 grams. I know its an arbitrary cut off, but it actually seems pretty correct to me, because ifi eat more fat than that Ill get gastric acid feelings and even heaviness

That's very interesting pboy - I never thought of it that way (about the PUFA in dairy). I buy whole raw milk and skim some (but not all) of the cream off. I try to drink milk (not cream) in my coffee so that I get more protein and calcium. And I have been craving lots of cheeses since my surgery - gouda, cheddar, lately havarti. All full fat. My big issue is I really like fish..... but with sushi, at least it's raw and the fat hasn't been oxidized yet. I wonder if my sushi cravings have to do with needing iodine?? I've been eating it almost daily for the past couple weeks.
 

Waremu

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What I have noticed about myself and many others is that it seems like those who are new and have more damaged metabolisms do best relying on simple sugars for carbs rather than starches and keeping a decent or moderate amount of fat. But once their metabolisms heal and digestion picks up, they can usually go very low fat without any problems and even do well on some starches. I have been Peating for a few years now and have been taking thyroid for a year and am now finding that I can do very low fat. In fact, I am currently experimenting with a very very low fat diet (under 10% of total caloric intake, at the very maximum) and I have been doing very great. I notice that I digest white rice and potatoes very well as long as they are cooked thoroughly. The only time I have been eating fat is with my last meal of the night (dinner). This allows me to stay very low fat while getting enough fat in with my last meal to slow down absorption of nutrients and help me sleep. I have also leaned out fairly well since starting this way of eating, despite eating as many carbs as I desire as long as my fat intake is very very low. I have no issues and take my fat soluble vitamins with my last meal which usually has some fat. I really think that if someone is really healthy, chances are they could do low fat with no problem as long as they get enough protein and carbs in. I actually feel better and have better mental clarity without eating all the fat, which, quite honestly, makes me feel sluggish and definitely doesn't help with staying lean.
 
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Rrr

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Thanks for all the replies. I'll pick a number and try it out for a while and make adjustments if necessary. :)
 

DaveFoster

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I've been eating 240 g fat/day; I feel fine. Pretty calm throughout the day. I think I'll bump it down to 180.
 

Tenacity

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I've been eating 240 g fat/day; I feel fine. Pretty calm throughout the day. I think I'll bump it down to 180.

What does your macrosplit look like? And how many calories are you consuming a day?

Do you recommend higher fat intake? I'm eating about 80g a day and thinking about increasing it.
 

DaveFoster

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@Tenacity
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DaveFoster

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@DaveFoster How are you preventing weight gain from increased fat? I've increased my fat recently with so many benefits I don't want to stop, but my weight has begun to creep up again.
Topical DHEA and pregnenolone + caffeine + Frolov device (all to keep CO2 levels up.)
 

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