Google “portion size hand” and you’ll get a load of images of infographics telling you how to figure out a good portion size using your palm, fist, finger etc. You can print this off and tack it...
Google “portion size hand” and you’ll get a load of images of infographics telling you how to figure out a good portion size using your palm, fist, finger etc. You can print this off and tack it to your cupboard or fridge to make it easy to refer back to. It’s a really handy (pun intended) way to keep your portions on track! For example a portion of protein should be about the size of your palm, a carb portion is about the size of your fist etc. Then you can think about your goals - for weight loss you might have just one portion of carbs while for weight gain you have two; for building muscle you might do two portions of protein and so on.
So you take your portion of carbs and protein, and the rest of your meal is veg. Vegetables I would consider free of portion constraints - these should be used to bulk the meal up to make sure you’re full. Just be careful of how they’re prepared - make sure you measure and count the oil used, for example, or any dressing or condiments.
You can go down the route of calculating everything in grams and weighing it, but unless you have unusually large or small hands this guide will work well with the huge benefit that it’s so easy.
I have used this when I travel: it works great when eating out. My go-to visual is a deck of cards is roughly the size of a protein serving (~ 3ozs)....
I have used this when I travel: it works great when eating out. My go-to visual is a deck of cards is roughly the size of a protein serving (~ 3ozs).
"Most people will meet their needs with a starting framework of:
1-2 palms of protein-dense foods at each meal
1-2 fists of vegetables at each meal
1-2 cupped handfuls of carbohydrates at most meals
1-2 thumbs of fat-dense foods at most meals"
I'm not exactly a skinny dude, but 3oz of protein seems pretty little to me. Protein is healthy (depending on the type and prep) and extremely filling. https://images.app.goo.gl/XQbxj6hWxrrFqUwd8...
I'm not exactly a skinny dude, but 3oz of protein seems pretty little to me. Protein is healthy (depending on the type and prep) and extremely filling.
One answer to that is that you need 3-5 servings across the day on average and you can split this how you like; you might have 2 servings with dinner for example. The other is that most people are...
One answer to that is that you need 3-5 servings across the day on average and you can split this how you like; you might have 2 servings with dinner for example.
The other is that most people are eating a lot more than they need, and that’s why a serving looks little - we’ve been conditioned to think big servings are appropriate.
"Protein foods (meat, poultry, fish, dry beans and nuts): 5 ½ oz. per day. Serving sizes = 3 oz. cooked lean meat, poultry or fish; 2 egg whites or 1 egg; ¼ cup cooked beans; 1 tbsp. peanut butter; ½ oz. unsalted nuts/seeds. Note that ¼ cup cooked beans = 1 oz. protein equivalent but ½ cup cooked beans = 1 vegetable."
But to answer your question: I try to use protein as a flavoring rather than a slab of meat (ok sometimes I need a steak ... but I really can't eat more than 4-5 ozs max at a time anymore). So think chicken fried rice, wedge salad with grilled steak bits, pasta with Bolognese sauce, white bean turkey chili ... the protein is there, it flavors everything, it's filling, but it's not a quarter pound burger for lunch.
First congrats on being more conscious about food intake/healthy eating!! Mindset into action into good health :) So I know you just want an answer to what is a good portion size, but that depends...
First congrats on being more conscious about food intake/healthy eating!! Mindset into action into good health :)
So I know you just want an answer to what is a good portion size, but that depends on your body and your caloric needs, which requires a bit of a process.
Alright so first you need to figure out what your caloric needs are. A easy way to do this is to calculate your BMR (Basal metabolic rate), which is the amount of calories per day your body needs/burns to function at baseline, when your body is just at rest. Just need to input your weight and height to calculate it here. The BMR would be less than the actual amount if calories your body needs if you are exercising/active.
But since you're trying to lose weight that's a good approximate calorie intake to aim for.
Weight loss = calorie intake < calories burn
Think of how you want to allocate your meals/eating habits
Can think of your calories as money, you have eg. 2000 calories to spend per day, which means perhaps options eg.
Now portion sizes are relative to what calorie goal you aim for per meal.
Most food items at the grocery have nutrition facts that you can reference for calories per serving size. Important to familiarize yourself with the labels!!
High caloric foods are in general carbs/bread/pasta/noodles, sugary foods/drinks/dessert, meats/proteins, processed foods/snacks. Those you want to pay attention to for calories.
How much is 100g? How much is 6oz?
You can either buy a food scale or measuring cups to help visualize or honestly can estimate by eye. 1 box of pasta is 16oz, 8 servings per container at 2oz at 200 cal per serving . Which mean 1/4 of this box is 400cals, a potential serving for lunch.
If there's a nutrition label on it read it.
Those that don't have labels you can Google for estimates. But many raw veggies are low enough in calories per serving that it's not really contributing a significant portion of your meal so eat as much as you want. (except for like potatoes and corn, high carbs)
If you really want to get into the nitty gritty, counting calories, I've used myfitnesspal for a year or to do that. After that you kinda get a sense of how many calories/serving size look like without calculating.
There's a lot of thought and decision making that goes into healthy eating, can be mental work, but it'll get easier with time as you build good habits!
If you're going for weight loss, the way that worked for me was to determine my TDEE https://tdeecalculator.net/ then get a scale and use one of the many calorie tracking apps. My meal planning...
If you're going for weight loss, the way that worked for me was to determine my TDEE https://tdeecalculator.net/ then get a scale and use one of the many calorie tracking apps.
My meal planning would basically be a banana and protein shake at 6am; protein bar at 8am and again at 10 am; 6oz slow cooked chicken breast with BBQ or teriyaki sauce, 1/2 cup peas, 1/2 cup rice for lunch; 8oz yogurt with protein powder for afternoon snack around 4pm; two eggs with 1oz cheese and all the salad I could eat with 2tbsp balsamic vinegar for dinner; and 1oz walnuts with .5 oz chocolate chips for dessert.
Gave me 2000 calories per day, which is what I needed to be at the max recommended 500 calorie per day deficit. This'll drop a pound a week.
With all the protein/fat and small snacking throughout the day, I barely felt hungry. I was able to do my workouts without feeling bloated/full.
I always forget how much some people (a man I assume?) can eat and still lose weight. I’m a normal height woman with a TDEE of around 1630. So to lose weight I have to eat around 1200 calories per...
I always forget how much some people (a man I assume?) can eat and still lose weight. I’m a normal height woman with a TDEE of around 1630. So to lose weight I have to eat around 1200 calories per day. It’s tough.
I had a similar issue, as in, that I didnt knew how much I was actually eating. I had no real feeling for the calories in food. Of course I knew that a cucumber has less calories than chocolate....
I had a similar issue, as in, that I didnt knew how much I was actually eating. I had no real feeling for the calories in food. Of course I knew that a cucumber has less calories than chocolate. But I was eating very unplanned and usually ate more than I should.
I simply used a calorie/food tracker and used it carefully. I have weighted every slice of bread, every spread of butter, every gram of rice I made for dinner, and so on.
Eventually I got a better feeling and learned what I should avoid/replace. Or what I should eat more.
It takes a bit of time to get used to it, but the knowledge will help you throughout your life.
Additionally I went 16/8 intermittent fasting and lost around 10kgs in 1.5 months. (93->83kgs)
I'm very sure the app miscalculated my daily calorie requirements as it doesnt count my hefty caffeine and nicotine abuse. The actual plan was 1kg per week. But I wont complain.
Try calculating your daily calorie intake, calculate how much of it you can spare to lose weight. Then prepare some meals in the app and see how many calories it has and see how well it fits your stomach.
I dont eat breakfast, so I usually eat 70-80% on dinner at once.
There lots of systems out there for calorie counting. Just about anything that follows consistent and standard measurements in a recipe can be calculated out. This is what you should look into to...
There lots of systems out there for calorie counting. Just about anything that follows consistent and standard measurements in a recipe can be calculated out. This is what you should look into to answer your question directly.
You may need a kitchen scale if you’re trying to be extra precise.
I have no idea how accurate this is, but I check this website that has photos of serving portions of various kinds of food along with nutrition information. Here's an example for peeled shrimp. I...
I have no idea how accurate this is, but I check this website that has photos of serving portions of various kinds of food along with nutrition information. Here's an example for peeled shrimp. I like that they show a range of portion sizes per dish. (I'm not tracking calories / macros very strictly myself, just want some visual examples.)
Use smaller plates, put food away if there are leftovers after you serve yourself and before you start eating. Also drink a lot of water while eating to help feel fuller.
Use smaller plates, put food away if there are leftovers after you serve yourself and before you start eating. Also drink a lot of water while eating to help feel fuller.
Suggestion on technique rather than portion size -- Is to eat less than what you think you can eat. Then wait 20min before eating seconds. But waiting is pretty difficult--so eat slowly with...
Suggestion on technique rather than portion size --
Is to eat less than what you think you can eat. Then wait 20min before eating seconds.
But waiting is pretty difficult--so eat slowly with smaller bites. Be more CONSCIOUS about what you are eating. How is the texture? How is the taste?
Side note. I had difficulty with portion sizes because my body was actually telling me that i was deficient in nutrients. I tended to binge eat certain foods at times.
Turns out i was iron deficient, calcium, and vitamin D deficient among other things. When i started taking supplements, those binges disappeared. This may the underlying reason for being unable to 'control' your portion size.
If you haven't already got one, buy a kitchen scale for cooking at home. Here are some serving sizes that I've used while dieting: 140g lean protein like chicken or fish 150g new/ small potatoes...
If you haven't already got one, buy a kitchen scale for cooking at home. Here are some serving sizes that I've used while dieting:
140g lean protein like chicken or fish
150g new/ small potatoes (typically I find this works out to be 4-5 potatoes)
120g yoghurt
75g for dry/ uncooked rice and pasta
35 - 45g for most cereals
30g for hard cheese like cheddar
I don't bother weighing fruits or vegetables and consider these "unlimited" but that's because 99% of the time I probably don't want to eat a volume of apples or broccoli that could be considered unhealthy.
The BDA also has some really helpful, slightly different specific measurements along with handy approximate examples if you don't have a scale.
I'm not sure what your current weight or circumstances are but when I first started doing this I looked at how little was on the plate or in the bowl and despaired! But when I ate my meals, I was pleasantly surprised after a couple of weeks to find that actually, it was enough food. Good luck to you!
If you're doing the calorie counting method, don't worry so much about "what is a portion", and instead think about the total calories and nutritional content of what you have cooked to determine...
If you're doing the calorie counting method, don't worry so much about "what is a portion", and instead think about the total calories and nutritional content of what you have cooked to determine how much food to eat.
Personally speaking, though, I never had much luck with calorie counting. It worked for a while but it is so incredibly easy and tempting to cheat on it. I had much better luck with the volume method, which is simply eating food that is low in caloric density until you are not hungry anymore. You will feel full when your stomach is literally full. The downside is that you have to be more selective about the food you eat, especially because pretty much everything you can get to eat at restaurants are calorie bombs.
My experience is that bloating is usually a matter of what you eat more than how much you eat. But everyone's different. The easiest way to do portions is to just buy containers that are about the...
My experience is that bloating is usually a matter of what you eat more than how much you eat. But everyone's different.
The easiest way to do portions is to just buy containers that are about the size of what you'd like to eat. No need to overthink anything.
https://www.myplate.gov/ makes it very simple and easy to visualize what portion sizes should go on your plate. It's one plate per meal, no second servings, and that plate isn't very big, as it...
https://www.myplate.gov/ makes it very simple and easy to visualize what portion sizes should go on your plate. It's one plate per meal, no second servings, and that plate isn't very big, as it should be. I was pretty surprised to discover how much I actually need to eat a day.
This from a top level specialist in treatment of obesity, though I'd rather avoid naming anyone to avoid doxing myself. For dinners: using the palm of one's own hand, not including the fingers....
This from a top level specialist in treatment of obesity, though I'd rather avoid naming anyone to avoid doxing myself.
For dinners: using the palm of one's own hand, not including the fingers. The width and thickness of the palm dictates the size/mass.
1 x protein, be it fish, meat etc.
1-2 x carbohydrates, be it pasta, bread, rice etc. No less than 1, no more than 2.
As much vegetables as you want, as long as it's made without fats.
Be very careful with sauces and dressings if it is for weight control purposes, as it is so easy to eat a lot of extra calories that way.
This isn't some relative portion size where you have to guess as what size plate to use, how high you can or cannot pile the food etc.
This is an objective way to portion out your proteins and carbohydrates.
This portioning works for everyone, and is not meant for dieting people only. Thus it is a practical way to incorporate appropriate portion sizes. Everyone according to their own hand size.
5 or more solid handfuls of fruits and veggies a day, try to aim for 2 fruits and the rest veggies. Dinner is included in this.
This would be how to portion out dinners when you also have breakfast, lunch, and possibly supper, plus snacks. Fruit can be the snacks.
In my country, having a small meal before bedtime is the norm. Usually the same type of food as for breakfast, meaning a sandwich or some cereal.
Google “portion size hand” and you’ll get a load of images of infographics telling you how to figure out a good portion size using your palm, fist, finger etc. You can print this off and tack it to your cupboard or fridge to make it easy to refer back to. It’s a really handy (pun intended) way to keep your portions on track! For example a portion of protein should be about the size of your palm, a carb portion is about the size of your fist etc. Then you can think about your goals - for weight loss you might have just one portion of carbs while for weight gain you have two; for building muscle you might do two portions of protein and so on.
So you take your portion of carbs and protein, and the rest of your meal is veg. Vegetables I would consider free of portion constraints - these should be used to bulk the meal up to make sure you’re full. Just be careful of how they’re prepared - make sure you measure and count the oil used, for example, or any dressing or condiments.
You can go down the route of calculating everything in grams and weighing it, but unless you have unusually large or small hands this guide will work well with the huge benefit that it’s so easy.
I have used this when I travel: it works great when eating out. My go-to visual is a deck of cards is roughly the size of a protein serving (~ 3ozs).
https://www.precisionnutrition.com/hand-portion-faq
"Most people will meet their needs with a starting framework of:
1-2 palms of protein-dense foods at each meal
1-2 fists of vegetables at each meal
1-2 cupped handfuls of carbohydrates at most meals
1-2 thumbs of fat-dense foods at most meals"
I'm not exactly a skinny dude, but 3oz of protein seems pretty little to me. Protein is healthy (depending on the type and prep) and extremely filling.
https://images.app.goo.gl/XQbxj6hWxrrFqUwd8
Is that really all the chicken you would eat with a meal?
One answer to that is that you need 3-5 servings across the day on average and you can split this how you like; you might have 2 servings with dinner for example.
The other is that most people are eating a lot more than they need, and that’s why a serving looks little - we’ve been conditioned to think big servings are appropriate.
According to the American Heart Association (and many many others), a serving size/portion of protein is 3oz. Total per day is 5 1/2oz.
https://www.heart.org/en/health-topics/caregiver-support/what-is-a-serving#:~:text=Protein%20foods%20(meat%2C%20poultry%2C,Serving%20sizes%20%3D%203%20oz.
"Protein foods (meat, poultry, fish, dry beans and nuts): 5 ½ oz. per day. Serving sizes = 3 oz. cooked lean meat, poultry or fish; 2 egg whites or 1 egg; ¼ cup cooked beans; 1 tbsp. peanut butter; ½ oz. unsalted nuts/seeds. Note that ¼ cup cooked beans = 1 oz. protein equivalent but ½ cup cooked beans = 1 vegetable."
But to answer your question: I try to use protein as a flavoring rather than a slab of meat (ok sometimes I need a steak ... but I really can't eat more than 4-5 ozs max at a time anymore). So think chicken fried rice, wedge salad with grilled steak bits, pasta with Bolognese sauce, white bean turkey chili ... the protein is there, it flavors everything, it's filling, but it's not a quarter pound burger for lunch.
Yep, that’s another good one!
No worries! It’s so helpful for eating out - much easier than bringing scales with you or trying to guess what it weighs :)
First congrats on being more conscious about food intake/healthy eating!! Mindset into action into good health :)
So I know you just want an answer to what is a good portion size, but that depends on your body and your caloric needs, which requires a bit of a process.
Alright so first you need to figure out what your caloric needs are. A easy way to do this is to calculate your BMR (Basal metabolic rate), which is the amount of calories per day your body needs/burns to function at baseline, when your body is just at rest. Just need to input your weight and height to calculate it here. The BMR would be less than the actual amount if calories your body needs if you are exercising/active.
But since you're trying to lose weight that's a good approximate calorie intake to aim for.
Weight loss = calorie intake < calories burn
Think of how you want to allocate your meals/eating habits
Can think of your calories as money, you have eg. 2000 calories to spend per day, which means perhaps options eg.
Now portion sizes are relative to what calorie goal you aim for per meal.
Most food items at the grocery have nutrition facts that you can reference for calories per serving size. Important to familiarize yourself with the labels!!
High caloric foods are in general carbs/bread/pasta/noodles, sugary foods/drinks/dessert, meats/proteins, processed foods/snacks. Those you want to pay attention to for calories.
How much is 100g? How much is 6oz?
You can either buy a food scale or measuring cups to help visualize or honestly can estimate by eye. 1 box of pasta is 16oz, 8 servings per container at 2oz at 200 cal per serving . Which mean 1/4 of this box is 400cals, a potential serving for lunch.
If there's a nutrition label on it read it.
Those that don't have labels you can Google for estimates. But many raw veggies are low enough in calories per serving that it's not really contributing a significant portion of your meal so eat as much as you want. (except for like potatoes and corn, high carbs)
If you really want to get into the nitty gritty, counting calories, I've used myfitnesspal for a year or to do that. After that you kinda get a sense of how many calories/serving size look like without calculating.
There's a lot of thought and decision making that goes into healthy eating, can be mental work, but it'll get easier with time as you build good habits!
If you're going for weight loss, the way that worked for me was to determine my TDEE https://tdeecalculator.net/ then get a scale and use one of the many calorie tracking apps.
My meal planning would basically be a banana and protein shake at 6am; protein bar at 8am and again at 10 am; 6oz slow cooked chicken breast with BBQ or teriyaki sauce, 1/2 cup peas, 1/2 cup rice for lunch; 8oz yogurt with protein powder for afternoon snack around 4pm; two eggs with 1oz cheese and all the salad I could eat with 2tbsp balsamic vinegar for dinner; and 1oz walnuts with .5 oz chocolate chips for dessert.
Gave me 2000 calories per day, which is what I needed to be at the max recommended 500 calorie per day deficit. This'll drop a pound a week.
With all the protein/fat and small snacking throughout the day, I barely felt hungry. I was able to do my workouts without feeling bloated/full.
Loved it, still run it today for the most part.
I always forget how much some people (a man I assume?) can eat and still lose weight. I’m a normal height woman with a TDEE of around 1630. So to lose weight I have to eat around 1200 calories per day. It’s tough.
I had a similar issue, as in, that I didnt knew how much I was actually eating. I had no real feeling for the calories in food. Of course I knew that a cucumber has less calories than chocolate. But I was eating very unplanned and usually ate more than I should.
I simply used a calorie/food tracker and used it carefully. I have weighted every slice of bread, every spread of butter, every gram of rice I made for dinner, and so on.
Eventually I got a better feeling and learned what I should avoid/replace. Or what I should eat more.
It takes a bit of time to get used to it, but the knowledge will help you throughout your life.
Additionally I went 16/8 intermittent fasting and lost around 10kgs in 1.5 months. (93->83kgs)
I'm very sure the app miscalculated my daily calorie requirements as it doesnt count my hefty caffeine and nicotine abuse. The actual plan was 1kg per week. But I wont complain.
Try calculating your daily calorie intake, calculate how much of it you can spare to lose weight. Then prepare some meals in the app and see how many calories it has and see how well it fits your stomach.
I dont eat breakfast, so I usually eat 70-80% on dinner at once.
There lots of systems out there for calorie counting. Just about anything that follows consistent and standard measurements in a recipe can be calculated out. This is what you should look into to answer your question directly.
You may need a kitchen scale if you’re trying to be extra precise.
I have no idea how accurate this is, but I check this website that has photos of serving portions of various kinds of food along with nutrition information. Here's an example for peeled shrimp. I like that they show a range of portion sizes per dish. (I'm not tracking calories / macros very strictly myself, just want some visual examples.)
https://www.caloriefriend.com/en/food/2380-shrimp/7
Use smaller plates, put food away if there are leftovers after you serve yourself and before you start eating. Also drink a lot of water while eating to help feel fuller.
Suggestion on technique rather than portion size --
Is to eat less than what you think you can eat. Then wait 20min before eating seconds.
But waiting is pretty difficult--so eat slowly with smaller bites. Be more CONSCIOUS about what you are eating. How is the texture? How is the taste?
Side note. I had difficulty with portion sizes because my body was actually telling me that i was deficient in nutrients. I tended to binge eat certain foods at times.
Turns out i was iron deficient, calcium, and vitamin D deficient among other things. When i started taking supplements, those binges disappeared. This may the underlying reason for being unable to 'control' your portion size.
If you haven't already got one, buy a kitchen scale for cooking at home. Here are some serving sizes that I've used while dieting:
I don't bother weighing fruits or vegetables and consider these "unlimited" but that's because 99% of the time I probably don't want to eat a volume of apples or broccoli that could be considered unhealthy.
The BDA also has some really helpful, slightly different specific measurements along with handy approximate examples if you don't have a scale.
I'm not sure what your current weight or circumstances are but when I first started doing this I looked at how little was on the plate or in the bowl and despaired! But when I ate my meals, I was pleasantly surprised after a couple of weeks to find that actually, it was enough food. Good luck to you!
If you're doing the calorie counting method, don't worry so much about "what is a portion", and instead think about the total calories and nutritional content of what you have cooked to determine how much food to eat.
Personally speaking, though, I never had much luck with calorie counting. It worked for a while but it is so incredibly easy and tempting to cheat on it. I had much better luck with the volume method, which is simply eating food that is low in caloric density until you are not hungry anymore. You will feel full when your stomach is literally full. The downside is that you have to be more selective about the food you eat, especially because pretty much everything you can get to eat at restaurants are calorie bombs.
My experience is that bloating is usually a matter of what you eat more than how much you eat. But everyone's different.
The easiest way to do portions is to just buy containers that are about the size of what you'd like to eat. No need to overthink anything.
https://www.myplate.gov/ makes it very simple and easy to visualize what portion sizes should go on your plate. It's one plate per meal, no second servings, and that plate isn't very big, as it should be. I was pretty surprised to discover how much I actually need to eat a day.
This from a top level specialist in treatment of obesity, though I'd rather avoid naming anyone to avoid doxing myself.
For dinners: using the palm of one's own hand, not including the fingers. The width and thickness of the palm dictates the size/mass.
1 x protein, be it fish, meat etc.
1-2 x carbohydrates, be it pasta, bread, rice etc. No less than 1, no more than 2.
As much vegetables as you want, as long as it's made without fats.
Be very careful with sauces and dressings if it is for weight control purposes, as it is so easy to eat a lot of extra calories that way.
This isn't some relative portion size where you have to guess as what size plate to use, how high you can or cannot pile the food etc.
This is an objective way to portion out your proteins and carbohydrates.
This portioning works for everyone, and is not meant for dieting people only. Thus it is a practical way to incorporate appropriate portion sizes. Everyone according to their own hand size.
5 or more solid handfuls of fruits and veggies a day, try to aim for 2 fruits and the rest veggies. Dinner is included in this.
This would be how to portion out dinners when you also have breakfast, lunch, and possibly supper, plus snacks. Fruit can be the snacks.
In my country, having a small meal before bedtime is the norm. Usually the same type of food as for breakfast, meaning a sandwich or some cereal.