3 min
Portions you can see: the hand method
Your hand is always with you and is sized to your body: a palm of protein, a fist of vegetables, a cupped hand of starch, a thumb of fat.
The full lesson
You do not have to count calories to change your weight, but you do have to know roughly how much you eat. The hand method: protein = your palm (1 for smaller bodies, 2 for larger); vegetables = your fist (1–2, more is fine); starches and fruit = your cupped hand (1–2); fats = your thumb (1–2). Muscle-building and athletic goals use the higher counts; fat loss uses the lower ones with vegetables unlimited.
Serving size on a label is what the company chose. Portion is what you ate. A bag of chips says "about 3 servings"; a portion is the whole bag if that is what happened.
Remember
- Palm, fist, cupped hand, thumb.
- Serving size is theirs; portion is yours.
Try this: Use the hand method at one meal a day this week.