Drum roll please!……………………………………………..
Know your portion sizes! Thats it guys. Nothing complicated. Nothing requiring a science degree. If you are serious about altering your body shape, then becoming familiar with how much food you throw down the hatch every time you eat is essential.
It’s extremely easy to overeat. Everything is bigger. We all want value for money right? This especially holds true for when we eat out. However, do you think if we can ‘train our eye’ to assist us with portion control, that that will go a long way towards achieving your body shape goal? Absolutely!
TRAIN YOUR PORTION EYE
What does that mean? Simply put, training your portion eye, refers to having the ability to judge a portion size using a visual aspect. Now before I go on, I would like to state that I am a huge advocate for food tracking, especially early on in a persons quest to change their body shape, and i’ll always recommend a client try that route first. There’s nothing quite like knowing exactly where you’re at with your food intake for the day. Not only is it a way of ensuring you’re eating the correct amounts of food, but it is also quite educational. You become familiar with all the values of the food sources you’re choosing. Everything from total calories to exact amounts of carbs, protein and fat within your meal. That stuff is invaluable!
BUT, let’s be honest, it isn’t for everyone. It can be time consuming (if you want to do it accurately), weighing, measuring and portioning out your meals. And if it feels like a chore, there’s a high chance you wont stick to it.
THE VISUAL ASPECT
As I began discussing above, we can also train our eye to help us with portion control. Of course, it’s also going to take some self control and discipline to stick to it but that’s it. Its all on you!
Whether dishing up a single meal or multiple meals in advance, I want you to try gauging your portion sizes in the following way:
Divide your plate VISUALLY into thirds. Each third is space for your source of protein, carbohydrates and fats.
With regards to protein, for men, visualise TWO palms (no fingers included) of protein dense foods with each meal. And that means YOU’RE palms, not those of the Incredible Hulk.
For women, ONE palm of protein dense food with each meal. I would also like to stress that protein NEEDS to be your priority. Make sure you’re getting it!
For carbohydrates, men may visualise TWO cupped hands of carb dense foods, women ONE cupped hand.
When it comes to vegetables, males can throw TWO closed fists worth of veg on the plate, women ONE closed fist.
Lastly, with fats, for men, TWO thumb size pieces of fat dense foods, ONE thumb size for women.
So that’s it folks! All you need is two hands and the ability to count to two!
In closing, your hand is related to your body size, making it an excellent portable and personalised way to track food intake.
Give this method a try if you are or have struggled with portion control in the past.
