If you are trying to lose fat or gain muscle you may have received the generalized advice – just eat less, or just eat more. What does this actually mean? It’s an unfortunate oversimplification and we need to go a few steps deeper to make it practical. In order to manage our food intake, we need to have some idea of our current portion sizes, and then adjust them up or down to meet our goals.
After you have determined your total daily energy requirements, you will need to select foods and decide by which method you will measure portions. Without any form of measurement, it is challenging if not impossible to assess caloric intake with any degree of confidence. We need a way to track and be accountable to ourselves.
“What gets measured, gets done”
– William Edwards Deming
There are trade-offs between accuracy and practicality to consider in measuring; at certain times in your long term plan it may make more sense to weigh foods on a scale, while at other times a simple visual estimation with your hand is adequate. Using a food scale is beneficial to understanding exactly what your food portions should look like, and some people desire this higher level of control. Some accuracy is lost by measuring food volume with cups and teaspoons/tablespoons, but it is more practical as most people are already familiar using these tools. If you have never tracked food before or are simply dining out and away from your food scale, the great news is that you have a natural measuring instrument in your hand already…..literally, it’s your hand.
Click here for a downloadable and printable infographic on hand estimates for food portions.
Need some help getting started with a nutrition plan and portions?