Research
Macro partitioning
Fat intake should be maintained at 10-25% of total calories during contest preparation to allow for adequate carbohydrate intake for performance, avoiding very low fat for long periods.
Set your fat intake to 10-25% of your daily calories. Do not drop it lower for extended periods. Prioritize getting your protein (1.8-2.7 g/kg) and carbohydrates (2-5 g/kg) first, then fill the remaining calories with fat. This ensures you have enough energy for training and supports hormonal health.
ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
we recommend fat intake of 10-25% to allow for individual variability and dietary flexibility yet we caution strongly against very low fat intake for long periods
Why this rating
Based on observational data and case studies; lack of interventional studies on fat and hormones in lean athletes.
Source
Nutritional Recommendations for Physique Athletes
Brandon M. Roberts et al. · Journal of Human Kinetics · 2020
DOI 10.2478/hukin-2019-0096
narrative_reviewCited 61×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Creatine supplementation (3-5 g/day maintenance or 20 g/day loading) is safe and effective for increasing lean body mass and high-intensity exercise performance in physique athletes.Strong
- Physique athletes should consume 1.8-2.7 g/kg/day of protein (up to 3.5 g/kg for hunger mitigation) to preserve lean mass and manage satiety during caloric deficits.Good
- Consuming 4-5 protein boluses per day, with one near training and one before sleep, optimizes muscle protein synthesis without requiring precise peri-workout carbohydrate timing.Moderate
Related findings · Macro partitioning
- Total daily protein intake of 1.6 g/kg/day is sufficient for maximizing resistance training-induced muscle gains, with an upper confidence interval of 2.2 g/kg/day.Strong
- Resistance exercise training combined with sufficient dietary protein intake acts synergistically to maximize skeletal muscle hypertrophy, with protein intake saturating around 1.6 g/kg/day for general populations and potentially requiring 2.0-2.2 g/kg/day for resistance-trained individuals.Strong
- Trans fats should be completely eliminated from the diet, as they increase LDL cholesterol, decrease HDL cholesterol, and are directly associated with increased coronary risk.Strong
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