How To Measure Portions Of Food With Your Hands

When you are on a diet, one of the most important things to keep in mind is the amount of food consumed throughout the day. In case you didn’t know, hands are the ideal tools with which you can measure the portions of food you need at a table. 

Although nutritionists recommend that we eat more meals a day, but in smaller amounts, many people continue to make wrong diet choices.

Fortunately, it is not necessary to invest large sums of money in scales and other rigorous methods of weighing portions of food. All you need is your own hands.

Yes, you heard right!

How to use your hands to calculate portions of food

You probably already know that your hands give you some information about you and your body. For example, they may reveal certain aspects of your personality or health.

But not many people know that hands are very helpful in measuring the food  consumed in each nutritional category.

We thought you might be interested in this topic, which is why we present more information in the lines below.

“Diet of the hand”

The hand diet was published by the American website Guard Your Health . It has become very popular because it respects the nutritional balance and is not a “miracle diet.”

Experts claim that excess weight occurs due to the consumption of large portions of food for the body’s needs. The ideal portion can be measured with the hands.

People who have created the diet say that portions of meat should not exceed a handful, and carbohydrates should be consumed in the amount indicated by the diameter of the clenched fist.

This method of calculating portions of food has attracted the attention of nutritionists and experts in the field. They believe that this unique measurement helps us understand that nutrition is an individual aspect.

The size of a clenched fist

The size of the clenched fist should be used to measure portions of carbohydrate-rich foods, such as:

• Easter;
• Rice;
• Potatoes;
• Bread.

Measure the portions of food according to the size of the palm

It turned out that the size of the palm can be used to calculate the ideal amount of fruit you should eat daily.

Likewise, the space between the wrist and the fingertips indicates the recommended dose of protein-rich foods, such as lentils.

You can measure portions of food by bringing your hands together

If you keep your two hands close together, forming a bowl, you can measure the recommended portion of vegetables for daily consumption.

Pointing finger next to middle finger

You can calculate the ideal amount of cheese you should eat in a day by measuring your index and middle fingers glued together.

Measure the portions of food with the first phalanx of the thumb

This amount is recommended for both fats and carbohydrates. It is important to remember that these food groups should be eaten in moderation.

Other recommendations to avoid overeating

It is very useful to use your hands to measure portions of food. However, you need to consider other aspects to avoid overeating.

Also consider the following recommendations:

• Avoid eating semi-prepared and processed foods.
• Read the nutrition information on the packaging of the products and take them into account when it comes to the consumption of that food.

• Eat sweets in moderation, as they can be addictive.
• Eat in small plates and divide the portions into four or five meals a day. 

• Avoid eating while paying attention to other devices, such as your TV, computer or mobile phone.
• Set aside 20 minutes for each meal and serve it in a quiet, noise-free place.
• Add several vegetables to each main meal so that they make up half of the whole portion.
• Exercise.
• Increase the consumption of water and low-calorie drinks.

As you can see, there are several things to keep in mind when controlling the size of your daily meals.

Although at first it is not easy to put all the above recommendations into practice, your body will gradually get used to all these changes.

Do you want to try them too?