Have you ever eaten at a restaurant and wondered who could finish the portions? You wouldn't be the first and even though it's not good to waste food it's worse for your health and waistline to eat more than you should.
So how do you make sure that you're eating the right amounts of food? Forget about using a scale or measuring cups, the easiest way to measure how much food you are eating is to use your hands.
It's in Your Hands
The hand method of measuring food is the easiest, though not the most accurate way of controlling the amount of food you eat. Everyone, depending on their size and build, needs different amounts of different types of food.
To help your weight loss along you can use your hands as a rough guide. For proteins you should be eating a portion the size of your palm. So forget about big juicy T-bone steaks if you have small hands. Stick to smaller cuts of meat. Also the type of protein you eat is important. Restrict fatty cuts to once in a while and instead eat more chicken, turkey, and fish.
If you only a eat a spoonful or two of green vegetables then get ready to double or triple that serving. You should be ideally eating two fist sized portions of green vegetables twice a day. A loose handful is a good guide for fresh fruit.
Pasta and potatoes are usually seen as bad foods in most weight loss programs. The good news is that you don't have to cut them out completely. Cutting down the portion of pasta, potatoes, or rice that you normally eat is a must though. A tightly clenched fist is the amount you should be eating of any of these foods.
Eating Out
Eating out can be difficult when you have a weight loss goal in mind. Using the hand method when you eat out will help you make sure that you are getting the right portion. Once you use this method you will probably have enough left over for another meal!
Get a doggy bag and put the food you don't want to eat away so that you don't overeat and stick to the right portions. Once you start eating the right portions you will find that you are making some headway on your weight loss goals.
