Fat Intake and Athletic Performance

Proper nutrition is the foundation of athletic performance. While all macronutrients—carbohydrates, protein, and fat—play important roles in fueling the body, the balance among them is crucial. As sports nutritionists, many of our athletes trying to gain weight struggle with consuming too much fat in order to hit their calorie goals. However, consuming too much fat can have negative effects on performance and overall health. Here’s why maintaining a balanced intake is key:

One of the primary concerns with consuming too much fat is that it can easily lead to an imbalance in your overall caloric intake. Fat is calorie-dense, providing 9 calories per gram, compared to 4 calories per gram for both carbohydrates and protein. While fat is an essential part of any diet, an excess can quickly push your caloric intake beyond what is needed for your activity level, leading to increased body fat instead of lean muscle mass.

For athletes, meeting specific calorie goals is essential to ensure optimal performance, recovery, and body composition. However, when a large portion of these calories comes from fat, it leaves less room for other critical macronutrients like carbohydrates and protein.

By prioritizing carbohydrates and protein in their diet, athletes can ensure they are getting the fuel they need to perform at their best while still including healthy fats in moderation.

Another issue with consuming too much fat is its slow digestion rate. Fat takes longer to break down in the digestive system compared to carbohydrates and protein. This slower process can lead to a feeling of sluggishness, especially if a high-fat meal or snack is consumed before a training session or game. Please see Wendi’s recent Instagram post on swapping regular PB with PB2!

Nutrient timing is everything for athletes. The goal is to consume foods that provide quick, easily accessible energy to fuel optimal performance. High-fat meals can sit in the stomach longer, making athletes feel heavy and lethargic rather than energized and ready to perform.

Athletes often focus on maintaining an optimal body composition for their sport, whether that means building muscle, losing fat, or maintaining a certain weight. Excess fat intake can lead to unwanted weight gain, which may affect an athlete’s speed, agility, and endurance.

Moreover, while fat is an important energy reserve, relying too heavily on fat for energy can shift the body away from using glycogen (stored carbohydrates), which is more efficient during high-intensity activities. This can be especially detrimental in sports that require quick bursts of energy, such as sprinting, basketball, or football.

While dietary fat is necessary for overall health—supporting hormone production, nutrient absorption, and brain function—it’s important to distinguish between healthy fats and unhealthy fats. Saturated and trans fats, found in fried foods, baked goods, and processed snacks, can increase the risk of heart disease and inflammation, which are particularly concerning for athletes who put their bodies under stress regularly.

In contrast, healthy fats like those found in avocados, nuts, seeds, and fish can support overall health and athletic performance when consumed in appropriate amounts. The key is moderation and ensuring that these fats do not crowd out other important nutrients in the diet. To learn more about oils, check out our seed oils blog!

To maintain the right balance of macronutrients, athletes should aim to:

By understanding the role of fat in their diet and balancing it with other macronutrients, athletes can optimize their performance, support recovery, and maintain a healthy body composition. Consuming too much fat may have its downsides, but with careful planning, athletes can enjoy the benefits of dietary fat without compromising their performance.

Many young athletes struggle with gaining weight, and most of the time it is because they aren’t eating enough. We provide meal plans and performance nutrition guidance to young athletes and their parents in our 1:1 student athlete coaching and in our NWW memberships! Let us take the guesswork out for you!