How To Estimate Food Portion Sizes?

In order to have a healthy weight, it’s essential that you eat proper portion sizes. How can you be sure you’re eating the right quantities without measuring and weighing your food?

How to measure Protein?
For protein foods like fish, meat, dairy, eggs, or beans, use a palm-sized serving.
For men: two palm-sized portions in your meal.
For women: one palm-sized portion in your meal.

How to measure Vegetables?
For veggies like spinach, broccoli, carrots or salad, use a fist-sized serving.
For men: two fist-sized portions in your meal.
For women: one fist-sized portion in your meal.

How to measure Carbohydrates?
If you are adding extra carbohydrates in your meal like starches, grains or fruits, use a cupped hand serving.
For men: two cupped-hand portions in your meal.
For women: one cupped-hand portion in your meal.

How to measure Fat?
If you are including extra fats like butters, oils, nuts/seeds, nut butters, use your full thumb to determine your serving size.
For men: two thumb-sized portions in your meal.
For women: one thumb-sized portion in your meal.

Portions and body size:
If you are a big person, you probably have a big hand and if you are small, you probably have a small hand and this means your own hand can be a personal measuring device for your food consumption.

Flexible meal planning:
Based on the guidelines above, you now have a flexible and simple leader of meal planning.

For men
-2 palms of protein foods in your meal.

-2 fists of vegetables in your meal.
-2 cupped hands of carbohydrate foods when adding extra carbs.
-2 entire thumbs of fatty foods when adding extra fats.

 

For women:
-1 palm of proteinfoods in your meal.
-1 fist of vegetables in your meal.
-1 cupped hand of carbohydrate foods when adding extra carbs.
-1 entire thumb of fatty foods when adding extra fats.

 

Just like any form of nutrition planning, like calorie counting, this is a starting point. Try to be flexible and adjust your portions based on your hunger and fullness. If you’ve been scared with calorie counting, you are wrong. Instead of weighing your intake and counting grams, give this portion control guide a try.

Christelle Bedrossian
Dietitian-Nutritionist
Beirut, Lebanon