• Unsaturated Fat - Unsaturated fats are also know as the  "good" fats, and they play the most important role in your muscle building diet.   Unlike saturated and trans fats, they have a positive impact on your cardiovascular health.  Unsaturated fats can be further broken down into the following two categories:  Monounsaturated fats (found in vegetable oils and nuts), and polyunsaturated fats(found in fish oils, and plant oils).  Although both are considered healthy fats, polyunsaturated fats contain EFA's (essential fatty acids), that cannot be made by your body, and for this reason must be obtained through your diet.

• Saturated Fat - Saturated fat is found in abundance in animal products like butter, cream, lard, and red meat.  Saturated fats are know as the "bad" fats, as excess consumption can lead to health problems.  They provide none of the health benefits of unsaturated fats, and have negative affects on blood lipid and cholesterol levels.  Excess saturated fat is easily stored as  body fat, and can lead to certain diseases.
  

• Trans fat - Trans fats have earned the reputation of being the worst of the worst--and for good reason.  They have been proven to negative impact your health.  The majority of trans fats are in packaged and processed foods.  Unlike unsaturated fats, they are not a required or a beneficial part of a healthy diet.  Because of there chemical arrangement, they pose even more health risks then saturated fats. 
  

As mentioned above, it is important to  limit the intake of both trans fats and saturated fats (AKA the "bad" fats),  since they have been proven to increase your risk of disease.  There is really no reason to include them in your diet at all.  Many experts suggest that you eliminate trans fats from your diet entirely, since they have been linked to an increase in the levels of bad cholesterol in your blood, cell mutation, and promoting the body to store fat tissue.

Your muscle building diet should consist primarily of the "good" fats, especially those that contain EFA's (Essential Fatty Acids).  Some examples of good sources of unsaturated fat includes Olive oil, Flax oil, nuts, and certain species of fish.

As previously mentioned, when it comes to fat intake, moderation is the key.  Since fat has 9 calories per gram, eating too many fat calories may lead to unwanted body fat.  Remember, the goal is to build muscle fast, not fat!

When and How Much Fat Should a Bodybuilder Consume?

When - Try to consume a small portion of fat with each meal.  Your post workout meal should contain the highest amount of fat, and the meal closest to your bed time should contain the least amount of fat.

How much -Typically you should aim for about 20 - 25% of your daily caloric intake to come from fat.  If you are not sure what percentage is right for you, check out the "How Much of What to Eat" section.  Again, as with other aspects of your weight gain diet, you will have to experiment to find out what percentage works best for you.

Here is an example of how to determine the amount of fat that you should consume each day:

Step 1.   Determine the percentage of your daily caloric intake of fat.

Step 2.  Determine how many fat calories you will consume daily using  the following formula: 

(Total Daily Calories) X (Percentage of daily fat intake) = Total fat calories

Step 3.  Determine how many grams of fat to consume each day by plugging numbers in to this formula: 

(Daily fat calories) / 4 = Total grams of fat per day

Step 4.  Use the final formula to determine how many grams of fat you should consume each meal: 

(Total daily carb intake in grams) / (Number of daily meals ) = Number of grams of fat per meal

*Here is a real life example using 3000 calories as the total daily caloric intake with a goal of 20% of those coming from fat:

3000 x .20(or 20%) =   600 daily calories from fat

600 / 9 = 67 grams per day

67 / 6 = 11 grams per meal

Putting it all Together

Consuming the right amount of the healthy fats will ensure that you don't gain excessive amounts of body fat.  It will also promote cardiovascular health, and provide your body with the essential fatty acids needed for peak performance.

• Aim for 20-25% of your total daily calories to come from fat.

• Try to limit saturated fats, and completely eliminate trans fats from your diet

• Eat more polyunsaturated fats whenever possible, particularly those rich in essential fatty acids.

• Consume an essential fatty acid supplement daily.

 

Finally, make sure you are familiar with the roles of carbohydrates and protein in your weight gain diet so that you can build a well rounded meal plan.