Nutrition Lesson 3: Portion Sizes

Today we are talking about portion sizes! If you haven’t watched nutrition lesson 2 yet go watch that video first so that you know what foods contain carbohydrates, fats and protein. 

While it’s true that everybody burns a different amount of calories per day and needs different a amount of food based on their goals, these are some general guidelines for portion sizes that are WAY easier than counting calories and work just as well!

Here’s how it works. When you look at your plate you’re going to use your hands to measure portions.

You palm is for measuring protein

Your fist is for veggies

Your cupped hand is for carb dense foods

And your thumb is your fats

Assuming you are eating about 4 meals per day and are active here are the guidelines:

At each meal women should be eating:

1 palm size of dense protein- think meat, dairy and legumes (beans, lentils etc)

1 fist full of veggies

1 cupped handful of carb dense foods- think rice, bread, potatoes

1 thumb of fat dense foods- think oils from cooking, butter, or nuts

In total women will be eating 4 servings of each food group per day

Men should be eating:

2 palms of protein

2 fists of veggies

2 cupped handfuls of carb dense foods

2 thumbs of fat dense foods

In total men will be eating 8 servings of each food group per day

Now, it’s important to remember that this is just a starting point so if you try these portions out and find that you are starving, your body may need more calories or if you find that you are stuffed after your meals your body probably needs less calories. So your task this week is just to try it out, notice if you are hungry or too full, and then adjust according to how you are feeling. Good luck and look out for my next blog and video on what to eat before and after your workouts!