Stored fat vs. consumed fat

[TenayaNicole]

Need your opinion:
If we have a decent amount of stored fat, should I be consuming large amounts of fat still? I have my macro number

[Gaff]

Stop telling newbies to eat more fat!

If you’re normal weight, your macros might be 75% fat, 20% protein, 5% carbs. If you have a lot of fat to lose, you’re unlikely to be eating 75% fat calories. Your protein will probably be MUCH higher as a percentage of your total calories, and your fats will be substantially lower as a percentage of total energy. Phinney and others have said precisely this, time and time again. That’s because you’re burning body fat for fuel. It’s fine to tell newbies not to be afraid of fat, but they all se…

[PaulL]

Even in the absence of dietary carbohydrate, the body will still hold on to any excess stored fat, if caloric intake is restricted. It needs enough abundance of energy to be convinced to give up any of that excess fat.

So the answer is, you need enough calories coming in, if you want to burn excess fat, and you also need to keep insulin low, to make it possible. Since fat is the macro that stimulates insulin secretion the least, it is the macro to eat to give your body enough calories. The easiest way to achieve this is to eat to satiety, since your body will signal you by taking away your hunger, when you’ve given it enough food.

ETA: I should probably add that if you eat to satiety, you will probably be eating at a caloric deficit, since the body will want to give up some of that excess fat, but the point is don’t calculate how many calories to eat, let your body tell you. It’s really difficult to out-think 2,000,000 years of evolution, so use those in-built mechanisms to your advantage.