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Do I need to count the cooking oil I use in my macros?
Answered by Nikkiey Stott · Updated
The short answer
Not necessarily. Nikkiey Stott says she wouldn't count all of the olive oil you cook with, because in her view the heat breaks down much of what's in it. If you want to account for it, she suggests logging about half of what you measured out, such as half a tablespoon instead of a full one.
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Nikkiey on whether to count olive oil you cook with in your macros
Plays from 12:07 · Video: Macro Tracking Questions: Cooking Oil, Dinner and Reversing
Her simple fix: log about half of the oil you measured out
Plays from 12:30 · Video: Macro Tracking Questions: Cooking Oil, Dinner and Reversing
A listener shares her first-week result after adjusting oil and eating more fat
Plays from 19:43 · Video: Macro Tracking Questions: Cooking Oil, Dinner and Reversing
The full answer
This question came up during a live macro Q&A on The WarriorBabe Show, from a listener who wanted to know how much olive oil to count when not all of it gets absorbed into the food. Nikkiey's answer was that it matters less than you might think. She explains that cooking heat eliminates much of the oil's nutrients, even if the oil isn't fully absorbed, so by the time it's in your pan it is no longer nutrient-dense in the same way.
Her practical guidance:
- You don't have to log every bit of oil you cook with.
- If you'd rather account for it, log roughly half of whatever you measured, for example half a tablespoon.
- Keep the bigger picture in view so the oil question doesn't become the thing that stresses you out.
Later in the same episode, a listener shared that this is what she's now doing with her oil, that she's happy to be eating more fat, and that she lost three pounds in her first week after already counting macros the wrong way for her body. Nikkiey's point there is that your macro targets have to fit you; a generic percentage often isn't the answer.
If you're new and still finding tracking hard, Nikkiey's bigger priority comes right after the oil question: plan and log your food the night before rather than tracking as you go. She also says it's fine to eat more at dinner with your family, as long as the meal stays balanced and you don't load it with fat. A half-logged teaspoon of oil won't make or break your results. Having a plan you set up ahead of time will.
From WarriorBabe's coaches (how we write our answers). For education, not medical advice: talk to your doctor about your own health.
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27 minMacro Tracking Questions: Cooking Oil, Dinner and Reversing
Video · Jul 16, 2020