Portion Control – Part One

Portion out a healthy plate of food

As much as we all would like to be able to count calories at each meal to keep track of what we’re eating, it isn’t the most practical thing to keep doing. Trying to figure out the weight, serving size and then the calories in the obscure tropical vegetable you may be eating is inconvenient and sometimes impossible. We tend to eventually stop watching the calories altogether because it is tedious and takes up too much time – it’s just not sustainable in the long run. Well, we come to you with a simple solution, thought up by one of the world’s leading nutrition coaching institutions, Precision Nutrition. This article will show you what a well-balanced plate of food should look like and how you can easily portion it.

And your hand is all you need!

Using your hand to measure food portions,

Your hand is proportionate to your body, its size never changes, and it’s always with you, making it the perfect tool for measuring food and nutrients – quick, easy and minimal counting required.

We also thought it works very well for the Sri Lankan rice and curry diet!

With this method, it is assumed that a person has 3-4 meals a day. So, how do you use this method to build a plate?

Men eating 3-4 meals as outlined would get around 2,300 – 3,000 calories each day.

Women eating 3-4 meals as outlined would get around 1,200 – 1,500 calories each day.

It is important to note that this is a STARTING POINT; and like any other nutrition plan, it should act as a reference. It is important to stay flexible so you can adjust your portions sizes systematically based on how your body responds.

How the hand portion method relates to a full plate of Sri Lankan food.

Read our upcoming article to learn how to best customise this plan to suit your lifestyle and weight goals!

References:

Forget Calorie Counting by Ryan Andrews, MS, RD and Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD, CSCS

This content is used under license from Precision Nutrition Inc. and may not be reproduced, transmitted, or otherwise used or reused in any way without the express written permission of the owner. Copyright © [2020] Precision Nutrition Inc. For more information about Precision Nutrition, visit http://www.precisionnutrition.com.