Portion Size by the Handful
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I like it. She does say it's for "most people" so maybe for people with disproportionate hands, it wouldn't work so well. But it's nice and simple, easy to get used to and to stick to. The thing that she doesn't make clear is how many portions to have! I find that happens often with portion control information. I get that the protein portion is the size of a palm. Now do I have one of those per day? Or one per meal? I'm guessing two a day, but it's not clear in the video. This table is quite useful, but it's for average sized, moderately active people for maintenance. You have to do your own adjustments if you're not average or if you want to lose or gain weight. Personally, I like to maintain protein-based portions and cut down on carbohydrate.
This isn't a criticism of portion control itself. I've successfully lost some weight with portion control in this way and find it a lot easier than calorie counting (no, it's not accurate, but it doesn't really matter as long as you create a deficit and get enough nutrition). Just pointing out that you need to know how many portions as well as what size.0 -
I like it. She does say it's for "most people" so maybe for people with disproportionate hands, it wouldn't work so well. But it's nice and simple, easy to get used to and to stick to. The thing that she doesn't make clear is how many portions to have! I find that happens often with portion control information. I get that the protein portion is the size of a palm. Now do I have one of those per day? Or one per meal? I'm guessing two a day, but it's not clear in the video. This table is quite useful, but it's for average sized, moderately active people for maintenance. You have to do your own adjustments if you're not average or if you want to lose or gain weight. Personally, I like to maintain protein-based portions and cut down on carbohydrate.
This isn't a criticism of portion control itself. I've successfully lost some weight with portion control in this way and find it a lot easier than calorie counting (no, it's not accurate, but it doesn't really matter as long as you create a deficit and get enough nutrition). Just pointing out that you need to know how many portions as well as what size.
I don't know if this helps, but I started down this rabbit trail after reading something that called for "five hands per meal". At each meal, they said you should have one hand of protein, two hands of fruit/vegetables, and two hands of grain. That kind of matches up with the table you linked, if you look at it as three meals with a couple of snacks thrown in to get the rest.0 -
But this method doesn't really help you track calories. If a "serving size" of a particular food has say, 200 calories, then someone with smaller hands might only be consuming 150 calories, but someone with larger hands might be consuming 250 calories.
While the argument has been made that someone with larger hands is likely to be bigger, and therefore need more calories, if they are logging every single item as less than what they are really consuming (as their hands give them a larger serving size than is intended), then how the hell will they have any idea of what their actual caloric intake is?0 -
They'll gain weight if their estimate is too low and lose weight if it is too high.While the argument has been made that someone with larger hands is likely to be bigger, and therefore need more calories, if they are logging every single item as less than what they are really consuming (as their hands give them a larger serving size than is intended), then how the hell will they have any idea of what their actual caloric intake is?
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DeguelloTex wrote: »
They'll gain weight if their estimate is too low and lose weight if it is too high.While the argument has been made that someone with larger hands is likely to be bigger, and therefore need more calories, if they are logging every single item as less than what they are really consuming (as their hands give them a larger serving size than is intended), then how the hell will they have any idea of what their actual caloric intake is?
Yeah. That's kind of my point. Only if you hands are the correct size to measure out a serving per packets etc could this be an accurate method. I'll stick to my scales, thanks.0 -
But this method doesn't really help you track calories. If a "serving size" of a particular food has say, 200 calories, then someone with smaller hands might only be consuming 150 calories, but someone with larger hands might be consuming 250 calories.
While the argument has been made that someone with larger hands is likely to be bigger, and therefore need more calories, if they are logging every single item as less than what they are really consuming (as their hands give them a larger serving size than is intended), then how the hell will they have any idea of what their actual caloric intake is?
Yeah, I can't tell that it helps you track calories at all. You would have to weigh your portions or make an educated guess if you wanted to do that. In general, I think that for weight loss, you wouldn't be able to stick to the government guidelines for how much to eat each day. Something would have to go. Instead of eating 6 servings of grain, maybe you eat 4, or something like that.0 -
I'll stick to my scales, too, but it's pretty conceivable that some human beings are smart enough to think, "Hey, I'm gaining weight using these estimates. I must be estimating too few calories. I'll estimate more" until maintenance is achieved. Right?DeguelloTex wrote: »
They'll gain weight if their estimate is too low and lose weight if it is too high.While the argument has been made that someone with larger hands is likely to be bigger, and therefore need more calories, if they are logging every single item as less than what they are really consuming (as their hands give them a larger serving size than is intended), then how the hell will they have any idea of what their actual caloric intake is?
Yeah. That's kind of my point. Only if you hands are the correct size to measure out a serving per packets etc could this be an accurate method. I'll stick to my scales, thanks.
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If you are using a handful as a measure then you aren't measuring your food....you are estimating. Yeah. No.
And whose size hand are we using? Mine? Yours? The Incredible Hulk's?
Presumably, The Incredible Hulk would use his own hand. He wouldn't want to use your hand, or he would starve to death.0 -
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I like it because I refuse to use a method that has me weighing food. I prefer something that I can use wherever I am and that doesn't seem so clinical, KWIM? I suppose if I had a medical condition or a ton of weight to use and nothing else was working then I would try a scale. But for my purposes and people who are not necessarily trying to lose weight but just don't want to overeat then I think it's a really good method.0
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All the 'portion' based diets I have seen offer maximum numbers of portions per day/week. It matters little whether a portion fits on your palm or is 1/2 cup. It is the counting of portions and balancing of food groups which is the object of the exercise. Not overeating the calorie high foods and getting plenty of the lower calorie foods. One I follow averages 1400 kcal a day. Counting actual calories on my plate varies between 1300 and 1500 so overall not at all bad for holidays or meals out when I can't weigh. The main benefit is I can eat higher calorie foods on high exercise days without adding more bulk to my plates. It does make planning so much easier and means I don't have wastage when the food is dished up.0
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This makes me think of a little story I read about Marie Curie: when she began to set up housekeeping as a new bride, she got confused, and asked her doctor sister, Bronislava ("Bronya"): "Exactly how much is a pinch of salt?"
I've also see this method of casual measuring used by Rachael Rae on her cooking show when it comes to seasonings.0 -
while I do use a scale for some things but I eyeball most things now and basically use my hand, fist, palm, etc to judge. I used to weigh everything and then put it in my hand or my plate to see what that looked like and it helped me become better at estimating my portions. But, I did have to learn how things looked...I wasn't such a good judge of things when I first started...at one point in time, my food scale was my most valuable tool.0
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This will come in handy after the apocalypse, when batteries become sparse, but we still want to keep slim and trim.0
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This makes me think of a little story I read about Marie Curie: when she began to set up housekeeping as a new bride, she got confused, and asked her doctor sister, Bronislava ("Bronya"): "Exactly how much is a pinch of salt?"
I've also see this method of casual measuring used by Rachael Rae on her cooking show when it comes to seasonings.
That is one thing I can do. I can accurately measure a half a teaspoon and a teaspoon of dry seasonings/herbs in the palm of my hand. Other than that? I'm terrible at estimating things.
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HollandOats wrote: »This will come in handy after the apocalypse, when batteries become sparse, but we still want to keep slim and trim.
That and running from the zombies.
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HollandOats wrote: »This will come in handy after the apocalypse, when batteries become sparse, but we still want to keep slim and trim.
Be prepared!
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This makes me think of a little story I read about Marie Curie: when she began to set up housekeeping as a new bride, she got confused, and asked her doctor sister, Bronislava ("Bronya"): "Exactly how much is a pinch of salt?"
I've also see this method of casual measuring used by Rachael Rae on her cooking show when it comes to seasonings.
It's the way I cook too, because it's the way my mother and grandmothers taught me. A little of this a pinch of that ...0 -
I just met Shaquille O'Neil and what do you know, both of us had the same hand size.
I'm impressed. The little puppy dog must be bigger than I thought.
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Will trade small baby hands for large man hands. Send PM with pics.0
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