The size of our stomachs

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flippy1234
flippy1234 Posts: 686 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I learned something recently. My stomach is about the size of my loosely closed fist. All of our stomachs are about that size of each of our loosely closed fists. If we eat less than the size of our stomachs at each meal, we will lose weight. If we eat more than the size of our stomachs, we will gain weight. Our bodies know what our "right" weight should be. Eat only when you are truly hungry. Eat no more than the size of your stomach. Eat slowly and stop when you feel full. No matter how good the food is. Taste your food. I mean really taste it. Eat what you love as long as it fits in that loosely closed fist. A revelation.
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  • bendyourkneekatie
    bendyourkneekatie Posts: 696 Member
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    So I can eat cheesecake the size of my fist anytime I feel hungry? Score!
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
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    flippy1234 wrote: »
    I learned something recently. My stomach is about the size of my loosely closed fist. All of our stomachs are about that size of each of our loosely closed fists. If we eat less than the size of our stomachs at each meal, we will lose weight. If we eat more than the size of our stomachs, we will gain weight. Our bodies know what our "right" weight should be. Eat only when you are truly hungry. Eat no more than the size of your stomach. Eat slowly and stop when you feel full. No matter how good the food is. Taste your food. I mean really taste it. Eat what you love as long as it fits in that loosely closed fist. A revelation.

    I'm confused by your post. How can the size of your stomach have to do with anything? This sounds like if you overeat on green bell peppers you will automatically gain weight just because you overate. Surely, this is not what you mean.

    Weight management is dependent on calories in/calories out. If you eat more calories than you burn you will gain weight, if you eat less calories than you burn you will lose weight, and if you eat about the same amount you will maintain.
  • Bshmerlie
    Bshmerlie Posts: 1,026 Member
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    The problem is people can eat a meal the size of their fist 10 times a day and gain weight. People who have had weight loss surgery where their stomach has been reduced to hold less than four ounces of food have proven that you can still gain weight eating small meals multiple times a day.
  • flippy1234
    flippy1234 Posts: 686 Member
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    OK, I will clarify. Eating healthy meals, Protein a vegetable, etc....eat only when you are truly hungry and keep it to the size of your fist. We all tend to eat too fast and overeat.
  • flippy1234
    flippy1234 Posts: 686 Member
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    No one is listening. I said when you are truly hungry. No, not 10 times a day. At a regular meal.
  • SLLRunner
    SLLRunner Posts: 12,943 Member
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    flippy1234 wrote: »
    OK, I will clarify. Eating healthy meals, Protein a vegetable, etc....eat only when you are truly hungry and keep it to the size of your fist. We all tend to eat too fast and overeat.

    Well, I disagree.

    (1) Healthy meals are in the perception.
    (2) Food type has nothing to do with weight loss.
    (3) The size of your fist is irrelevant. How about weighing your portions out and logging your food.
    (3) Some of us eat fast and do not overeat.

    Eat less calories than you burn and you will lose weight. :)
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 17,959 Member
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    I think this is one of those things that is oversimplified to the point of uselessness. I love butter. If I eat a loosely closed fist of butter every time I'm truly hungry, will I lose weight?
  • Bshmerlie
    Bshmerlie Posts: 1,026 Member
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    Another thing....for me I didn't find that small meals worked for me. I was constantly hungry. I tried doing seven 200 calorie meals thinking that's gotta work because I was eating every two hours right? Wrong. Three 400 calorie meals and two 100 calorie snacks made me feel full. And my typical meal is 8 ounces of chicken and a half my plate of brocolli or green beans which is way more than the size of my fist but it's not that high in calories. All I'm saying is there are different ways to do things.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,483 Member
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    I have a very small fist, and a low hunger trigger. Good chance I would waste away.
    An average slice of cheesecake, a little smushed, would fit.

    Cheers, h.
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,671 Member
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    Alatariel75 wrote: »
    I think this is one of those things that is oversimplified to the point of uselessness. I love butter. If I eat a loosely closed fist of butter every time I'm truly hungry, will I lose weight?
    Yes. Yes you would.
  • suziecue20
    suziecue20 Posts: 567 Member
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    If we weren't meant to go over the size of our stomachs why are our stomachs made stretchy...answer that one!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
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    flippy1234 wrote: »
    OK, I will clarify. Eating healthy meals, Protein a vegetable, etc....eat only when you are truly hungry and keep it to the size of your fist. We all tend to eat too fast and overeat.

    My fists are small. I just ate a giant peach that was at least the size of my fist, and now I'm eating two eggs and a lot of vegetables in the form of an omelet that's larger than my fist (I think -- the shapes are different so it's hard to compare). There are a perfectly reasonable number of calories, though. Am I going to gain weight?
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    flippy1234 wrote: »
    I learned something recently. My stomach is about the size of my loosely closed fist. All of our stomachs are about that size of each of our loosely closed fists. If we eat less than the size of our stomachs at each meal, we will lose weight. If we eat more than the size of our stomachs, we will gain weight. Our bodies know what our "right" weight should be. Eat only when you are truly hungry. Eat no more than the size of your stomach. Eat slowly and stop when you feel full. No matter how good the food is. Taste your food. I mean really taste it. Eat what you love as long as it fits in that loosely closed fist. A revelation.

    Eat only food the size of my stomach, but stop eating when I'm full. Food the size of my stomach doesn't make me feel full, and I mean full as in not hungry. 45 - 75 mL of food isn't a lot of food, definitely not enough to make me feel full, even consuming oil.

    OP, whatever works for you. This would not work for me.
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    zyxst wrote: »
    Eat only food the size of my stomach, but stop eating when I'm full. Food the size of my stomach doesn't make me feel full, and I mean full as in not hungry. 45 - 75 mL of food isn't a lot of food, definitely not enough to make me feel full, even consuming oil.

    Your hands are that small ? http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2000/JonathanCheng.shtml suggests the elasticity is significant.
  • Sinnister78
    Sinnister78 Posts: 134 Member
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    I have fists like the Hulk(TM). I eat fast and I still eat meals bigger than my gorilla sized fists.

    I'm still losing weight because the type of food I'm eating now combined with my exercise thoughout the day allows me to avoid weight gain.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,134 Member
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    yarwell wrote: »
    zyxst wrote: »
    Eat only food the size of my stomach, but stop eating when I'm full. Food the size of my stomach doesn't make me feel full, and I mean full as in not hungry. 45 - 75 mL of food isn't a lot of food, definitely not enough to make me feel full, even consuming oil.

    Your hands are that small ? http://hypertextbook.com/facts/2000/JonathanCheng.shtml suggests the elasticity is significant.

    Hand width, including thumb - 3.5 inches
    Hand length, tip of middle finger to wrist - 5.75 inches
    Fist circumference at widest point - 8.25 inches

    The 45-75 mL is the average volume of an empty stomach from what I found. I would guess OP means to start with an empty stomach and not a stretched one. I can stretch my fingers and thumb out quite a ways which would mean more food, but OP insists on a loosely closed fist, so I'm stuck with baby portions.
  • Kexessa
    Kexessa Posts: 346 Member
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    flippy1234 wrote: »
    OK, I will clarify. Eating healthy meals, Protein a vegetable, etc....eat only when you are truly hungry and keep it to the size of your fist. We all tend to eat too fast and overeat.

    I don't see where anything to do with size of your stomach or size of your fist has impact on weight loss or health. Your stomach is designed to stretch and accommodate what you eat, digest, contract and do it all again. The size of your stomach in a resting stage is not indicative of anything.

    Just like the size of a woman's uterus pre-pregnancy doesn't signify the body intends for a baby to be born weighing 1 oz. It expands, gives birth and contracts until the next time it's needed.


  • atypicalsmith
    atypicalsmith Posts: 2,742 Member
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    Kexessa wrote: »
    flippy1234 wrote: »
    OK, I will clarify. Eating healthy meals, Protein a vegetable, etc....eat only when you are truly hungry and keep it to the size of your fist. We all tend to eat too fast and overeat.

    I don't see where anything to do with size of your stomach or size of your fist has impact on weight loss or health. Your stomach is designed to stretch and accommodate what you eat, digest, contract and do it all again. The size of your stomach in a resting stage is not indicative of anything.

    Just like the size of a woman's uterus pre-pregnancy doesn't signify the body intends for a baby to be born weighing 1 oz. It expands, gives birth and contracts until the next time it's needed.


    Great analogy!
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
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    I think I win the tiny hand to body size ratio and would starve the fastest.

    I'm a 5'11" guy and my goal weight is 175... That is when I will start bulking. My ultimate end weight will probably be somewhere between 175 and 200lb. My hands are only slightly bigger than zyxst, at 4" wide by 6" long. I can't measure the circumference, but I do not have fat fingers or hands by any means.

    So, that is a 4oz piece of chicken, and a small side of vegetables (to qualify as healthy, and it is one of my favorite meals anyways). If I eat it with no additional sauces that is ~150 calories and I'll have to eat 17 meals/day. If I douse it in cheese/fat/mayo/whatever. I can probably get it up to ~350 calories and I could reduce that to ~7 meals/day. If I really glob on the toppings, I could get it to 500 calories and get down to a reasonable 5 meals/day. I might have to sacrifice some of the good food to make space for the calorie dense toppings.

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