Fats in your diet: what you need and what to limit

The different types of fat

Most foods contain a mix of fats, but one type usually dominates. The type matters more for heart health than the total amount.

• Monounsaturated fats: olive oil, rapeseed oil, avocados, most nuts. Linked with better heart health when they replace saturated fat.
• Polyunsaturated fats: sunflower oil, seeds, walnuts and oily fish. Includes omega-3 and omega-6.
• Saturated fats: butter, lard, ghee, cheese, fatty and processed meat, cream, coconut oil, palm oil, cakes, biscuits and pastries. Too much raises LDL cholesterol.
• Trans fats: found in small amounts naturally in meat and dairy and in some processed foods. UK manufacturers have largely removed artificial trans fats, but limit them where you see 'partially hydrogenated' oils.

Swapping some saturated fat for unsaturated fat is one of the best supported changes for heart health. Cooking with rapeseed or olive oil instead of butter, and choosing leaner meat, are easy places to start.

How much is right?

UK guidance says total fat should provide no more than about 35% of your energy. On a 2,000 kcal diet that is up to roughly 78 g a day. Saturated fat should be much lower:

• Men: no more than 30 g of saturated fat a day
• Women: no more than 20 g of saturated fat a day

For people who train, sports nutrition guidance generally suggests fat makes up somewhere around 20 to 35% of calories. The lower end frees up room for protein and carbohydrate when fuelling hard training. Going much below 20% for months at a time makes it harder to get enough essential fats and fat-soluble vitamins, and can be linked with hormonal disruption.

Women who train hard and eat too little overall, including very low fat, are at risk of low energy availability, which can affect periods, bone health and performance. Missing or irregular periods are a reason to see your GP. There is more on this in nutrition for women who train.

Omega-3 and oily fish

Omega-3 fats, particularly the long-chain types found in oily fish, support heart health, and there is some evidence they help with recovery and joint comfort, though the effects in training are modest. The NHS recommends at least two portions of fish a week, one of them oily. A portion is about 140 g.

• Oily fish: salmon, mackerel, sardines, trout, herring and pilchards
• Tinned mackerel and sardines are cheap and count fully
• Tinned tuna is not classed as oily fish in the UK, although it is still a good protein source

Plant foods such as walnuts, flaxseed, chia and rapeseed oil provide a shorter omega-3 that the body converts only in small amounts. If you do not eat fish, an algae-based omega-3 supplement is an option. Pregnant women and those trying for a baby should follow NHS limits on oily fish, and anyone on blood-thinning medication should speak to a GP before taking fish oil.

Where fat hides in a typical day

Most people do not overeat fat through obvious foods. It builds up through small additions that are easy to underestimate.

• Cooking oil poured straight from the bottle. Often two or three tablespoons rather than one. Use a spray or measure with a spoon.
• Nut butter scooped from the jar. A 'tablespoon' is frequently double the label serving.
• Cheese grated onto everything. A handful is often 40 to 60 g rather than 30 g.
• Creamy sauces and dressings. Mayonnaise, pesto, Caesar dressing and korma-style sauces.
• Baked goods and coffee shop snacks. Croissants, muffins, flapjacks and cookies are often high in saturated fat.

If you are tracking food for fat loss, this is often where the missing calories are. Our guide to tracking calories without obsessing has more on getting the big items right.

Putting it together

A simple daily pattern covers most needs: cook with a measured amount of olive or rapeseed oil, include a small handful of nuts or seeds, eat oily fish once or twice a week, choose leaner cuts of meat, and keep butter, cheese, pastry and processed meat as smaller parts of your diet.

Here is what that can look like across a normal day: porridge with a spoon of chopped walnuts at breakfast, a tuna and avocado wholemeal sandwich at lunch, a small handful of almonds in the afternoon, and salmon roasted with a teaspoon of olive oil alongside potatoes and vegetables in the evening. That day contains plenty of unsaturated fat and omega-3 while keeping saturated fat low, without any tracking.

If you want help fitting fats, carbs and protein into your week around training, nutrition and accountability coaching is part of what Lycan Strength offers, and you can try the gym first with the 7-day free trial.