Tired of counting calories and macros? Portion control is in the palm of your hands! How much you eat is just as important as what you eat. Unless you track your portions, you can end up taking in more calories than you need. Food databases and calorie trackers can help, but not everyone has the time or the means to use them. Your fist and fingers are all you need to measure portion sizes.
Portion Control Is In Your Hands
Research shows that most people underestimate their portion sizes by up to 25 percent. The meals served in restaurants are 250 percent larger than a standard portion size. If you’re on a diet, eating out can be tricky.
Fortunately, there are ways to measure your portions without weighing your food or making complicated conversions. Simply use your hands to determine what the right serving size is.
What Does a Serving Look Like?
For high-protein foods like fish, poultry, meat, beans, or dairy, use your palm to measure portions. Men should eat two palm-sized portions of protein with each meal, while women should have one palm-sized portion. For fatty foods, such as nut butters, oil, almonds, and seeds, use your thumb to determine the right serving size. Men should aim for two thumb-sized portions of fats. If you’re a woman, stick to one thumb-sized portion.
When you eat veggies like salad, spinach, or broccoli, track portions using your fist. One serving is two fist-sized portions of vegetables for men and one fist-sized portion for women. Use your cupped hand to measure high-carb foods, such as fruits, starches, and grains. The right serving size is two cupped-hands of carbs for men and one for women. To make things easier, write down the foods you eat most often and then learn what a serving size looks like.
