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Portion Control: Answers Lie in the Palm of Your Hand

When individuals are dieting, there are a lot of things that they need to implement into their ordinary daily tasks that can cause them some sense of annoyance. One of the biggest problems for dieters seems to be that the meals that the individuals need to eat have to be arranged in a particular way. Not only do the meals need to add up so that the individual is ingesting a predetermined percentage of carbohydrates, fats, sugars and the like. However, here are some tips for dieters and other individuals who are looking to eat in a more healthy or controlled manner. While some diets may have you portion servings by using a cup, teaspoon or other measuring device. Instead, dieters might want to consider the portions dictated by the palm of their hand.

Restaurants, both fast food and sit down establishments included, have gradually created bigger and bigger portions for their patrons. Dieters may feel discouraged and feel as though they need to avoid restaurants in order to stay on their diet. The good news for these individuals is that if you set your mind of what you can eat in a portion, you can always take the extra home and eat the rest of the meal or portions at another point in time.

Still, some individuals can have trouble even within their own home trying to portion their foods. Cups, teaspoons and tablespoons and scales for food can help, but these items are not always necessary. While it is not an exact science, by eating the amount roughly relative to the palm of one’s hand an individual can create an acceptable serving size for the individual. Some people have bigger palms, but this is a great way to estimate portions if an individual does not have and does not want to invest in measuring devices that some diets seem to recommend the use of when it comes to rationing food.

However, there are still even more helpful tips when it comes to portioning particular types of food, such as carbohydrates or meats or sugars. Proteins are best portioned when they are approximately the same size as the palm of the individual who is going to be eating the meat or protein portion. Salad, on the other hand, can be a larger portion. For instance, a full serving of salad would be approximately the size on both of the palms of the individual who will be eating the salad, not including the salad dressing. Only a little bit of fruit should be eaten in each sitting, and this portion could be estimated by eating a handful as a portion. Pasta and other starchy foods should have a portion the size of the eater’s closed fist.

It is important to remember though that these estimates are just that – estimates intended to help individuals find a quick and easy way to measure their portions when they are preparing a meal. Every individual has different sized hands so two people would rarely, if chosen randomly, have the exact size meal portion estimates.