The fatter you are, the less fat you need. Shift macros from carbs to fat as you get leaner

An often misunderstood fact about fat intake and nutrition is that body fat and dietary fat are nearly indistinguishable to our bodies. If fatty acids in the blood decrease to a certain point, the body will replenish them with either dietary fat that we have just eaten, or it will pull fat from the body. Once the fatty acids are in the blood, however, the body cannot distinguish as to where they came from.

It is very important to have adequate fat available to your system in order to function optimally. With that said, the higher an individual’s body fat, the less dietary fat is needed to meet this optimum level (this excludes omega fatty acids whish really shouldn’t even be categorized at fats, as their function in the body is categorically different).

In reality, those of us with body fat over about 20% (25% for females) have very very little need for dietary fat, and would similarly be better serve to employ a low fat diet, and opt instead for the superior energy source of complex carbs to power their day. This will allow their systems to pull from body fat stores as needed and will ultimately lead to a leaner and more efficient body.

The caveat is, as we reduce our body fat %, our need for fat supplementation from the diet goes up drastically. Our body can easily pull from high body fat stores to meet its needs, however once we start to get below 10-15%, getting inadequate fat from our diets will lead to poor functioning and feeling.

The correct strategy to employ is to keep dietary fat very low at first, then increase it as we lean out. By the time we reach sub 8% or so body fat %, the majority of non-protein macros should be dietary fats in lieu of carbs.

By tapering our fats up as we lose body fat, we also serve the purpose to train our body to use fat for energy in a more efficient way, allowing us to pull from body fat easier. By the time we are ultra-lean, our body will be completely fat adapted, and we then only take in carbs before our workouts and sustain ourselves on protein and dietary fats at most all other times.