1 tablespoon of olive oil is 13.6 grams.

The recommended intake for fat is 20 to 35% of total calories, or around 44 to 77 grams of fat for a 2,000 calorie day.

If olive oil was your only source of fat, and we pretend the rest of your diet has zero fat, your recommended daily intake would be 3-6 tablespoons.

Especially when eating out, you can end up having that much in a single meal. Cooking oil is used in preparing just about everything. In a salad, the dressing alone can add up fast.

Olive oil is a refined food, and care should be taken to limit it in your diet. It is labeled a “healthy” fat relative to worse fats that are commonplace. It is calorie dense and will raise triglycerides when consumed in excess. Keep your mental model of what excess means in check.

A common mantra is to “eat in moderation”. But everyone is guilty of falling into the trap of considering something that is normal to be “moderate” when it is actually excessive.

Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/sites/default/files/2021-03/Dietary_Guidelines_for_Americans-2020-2025.pdf