The role of fat for the endurance athlete

Fat for endurance athletes

Fats like carbs have had a bad time for sports and general sports nutrition. Fat actually is a wonderful macronutrient that our body will thrive off. Fat for the endurance athlete is a key part of the healthy lifestyle. Lets look at it more

The role of fat for the endurance athlete

• A wonderful source of energy in particular the low stress activities like walking/socialising or light aerobic run/bike/swim
• It helps protect our vital organs from impact or collision
• It plays a key role with protein function
• Helps us absorb key vitamins and nutrients
• It helps with cellular function
• Plays an important role in keeping our immune system healthy

Why do some people think fat is bad?

Again in the modern western diet/lifestyle food choices tend to go to more connivence or processed foods which are high in trans fat (think the more unhealthy choices we have eg chips from the chip shop). these processed foods are packed with ingredients that are very cheap to make the product or to enable the product to last a long time (shelf life)

Key timing of fat in the day

• Think with each meal
• With healthy snacks

How much would a endurance athlete look to include into their lifestyle?

0.5 grams of fat per KG of bodyweight

Interesting fact

Fat has the highest calorie count per gram, see below to help

• Carbohydrate – 4 calories per gram
• Protein – 4 calories per gram
• Fat – 9 calories per gram
• Alcohol – 7 calories per gram