Like carbohydrates, you may not know that fat also helps provide energy to muscles for longer exercise sessions. "To support muscle building, daily fat intake should comprise about 20 to 35 percent of total calories," Jessica said.
Good sources of fat include extra-virgin olive and canola oils; nuts such as walnuts, pistachios, and almonds; seeds such as hemp, flax, chia, and sunflower, avocados; and fatty fish including salmon, halibut, mackerel, and trout.
Note that fat contains more than twice the number of calories as carbohydrates and protein, so it's important to monitor serving sizes; one gram of carbs has four calories, one gram of protein has four calories, and one gram of fat contains nine calories. Using one tablespoon of olive oil adds 120 calories to your meal, and noshing on an ounce of walnuts (about 14 nuts) is about 185 calories. If you tend to grab handfuls of almonds and spoon straight out of the peanut butter jar, measuring your healthy fats will keep you on track and prevent weight gain.
