Reviewed by Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD
There are many different ways to track your nutritional intake.
Choosing the right (correct) method for you can be difficult.
So we developed a hand-segmentation method.
Simplify and support nutrition tracking in a way that is accessible to everyone. any Depending on your health and fitness goals.
Analysis: Hand Potion Method
Precision Nutrition's hand portioning method provides an easy solution for tracking macros, allowing you to manage your food intake without having to weigh, measure, or count calories.
The method is simple: measure the amount of food with your hand.
It's not about being precise, it's about using your hands as a reliable scale to measure your food intake.
What makes the hand segmentation method particularly effective is that it is essentially consistent with body proportions. In addition, the size of an adult hand remains constant, ensuring consistency in segmentation.
Here's an overview:
- protein: The palm determines the amount of protein.
- vegetable: The amount of vegetables will depend on the size of your clenched fist.
- carbohydrate: The size of your hands determines the size of your carbohydrate intake.
- province: The thumb determines the size of the fat portion.
Once you know what your daily intake should be, you can aim to balance your recommended daily intake.
How many servings can you eat with your hands?
Most people meet their nutritional needs by consuming:
- 1-2 palmfuls of protein-rich food per meal
- 1-2 handfuls of vegetables per meal
- Eat 1-2 cups of carbohydrates at most meals.
- Eat 1-2 fatty foods with most meals
Depending on your goals and framework, you may need to adjust these general recommendations up or down.
Advantages of the Hand Potion Method
When it comes to macro tracking, the hand method offers several advantages.
- Achieving accuracy with minimal effort: Our internal research shows that hand tracking is 95% as accurate as other tracking methods, but without the effort of careful measurement. Check out these results to see for yourself how well hand tracking works.
- Customizable to suit your dietary preferences: This method works whether you follow a Mediterranean, Paleo, vegetarian, ketogenic, or completely plant-based diet.
- Easy-to-manage macronutrient splits: The hand portioning method allows you to fine-tune your macronutrient splits. Adjust the ratios of protein, carbohydrates, and fats to precisely match your individual needs and goals.
- Useful tools to estimate your calorie intake: Each hand portion is approximately equal to the amount of protein, carbohydrates, fat, and calories. For example: 1 palm protein ~ 130-145 kcal; 1 fist of vegetables ~ 25 kcal; 1 cup carbohydrates ~ 110-120 kcal; and 1 thumb fat ~ 90-100 kcal.
Assuming there are a variety of food choices available
Our hand portioning system assumes a mix of high-fat, medium-fat, and low-fat protein sources; a mix of fruits, starchy tubers, beans, and whole grains for carbohydrates; and a mix of full-fat whole grains (nuts, cheese, avocado, etc.), mixed foods (like pesto or nut butters), and pressed oils for fats.
And, the amount eaten with your hands can be adjusted to suit your personal dietary preferences.
For example, if you're on a ketogenic diet, you can simply increase your fat intake to compensate for the decrease in carbohydrate intake.
Example of the hand portion method: Approximate portion sizes for each macronutrient
Here are some examples of how much you can eat using the hand-portioning method.
However, this is only an approximation. The actual amount will vary depending on the size of your hand and your body's needs.
male
A palm-sized protein That's about 4 ounces of cooked meat/tofu, 1 cup Greek yogurt or cottage cheese, 1 tablespoon protein powder, or 2 eggs.
A vegetable the size of a fist This is equivalent to about 1 cup of non-starchy vegetables, such as spinach, carrots, cauliflower, or peppers.
Cup-shaped hands filled with carbohydrates About ⅔ cup of cooked grains or legumes, 1 medium fruit, or 1 medium tuber.
A fat the size of your thumb A combined amount of oils, nuts, seeds, nut butters, avocado/guacamole, cheese, and dark chocolate is about 1 tablespoon.
For women
A palm-sized protein That's about 3 ounces of cooked meat/tofu, 1 cup Greek yogurt or cottage cheese, 1 tablespoon protein powder, or 2 eggs.
A vegetable the size of a fist This is equivalent to about 1 cup of non-starchy vegetables, such as spinach, carrots, cauliflower, or peppers.
Cup-shaped hands filled with carbohydrates About ½ cup of cooked grains or legumes, 1 medium fruit, or 1 medium tuber.
A fat the size of your thumb A combined amount of oils, nuts, seeds, nut butters, avocado/guacamole, cheese, and dark chocolate is about 1 tablespoon.
Rough math on macronutrient portion sizes
For the numbers-oriented users, here's a rough macro of what each part would provide based on the example above:
Macros for approximate male portion size:
- Protein 1 palm ~ 24g protein, 2g carbohydrates, 4.5g fat, 145kcal calories
- 1 handful of vegetables ~ 1.5g protein, 5g carbohydrates, 0g fat, 25kcal
- 1 cup of carbohydrates ~ 3g protein, 25g carbohydrates, 1g fat, 120kcal calories
- Fat 1 thumb ~ Protein 2g, Carbohydrate 2g, Fat 9g, Calories 100kcal
Macros for approximate female portion size:
- Protein 1 palm ~ 22g protein, 2g carbohydrates, 4g fat, 130kcal
- 1 handful of vegetables ~ 1.5g protein, 5g carbohydrates, 0g fat, 25kcal
- Carbohydrates 1 cup ~ Protein 3g, Carbohydrates 22g, Fat 1g, Calories 110kcal
- 1 thumb fat ~ 2g protein, 2g carbohydrates, 8g fat, 90kcal calories
Please remember that these are approximate figures.
All aspects of calorie and macronutrient calculations are based on averages with known error rates.
Accuracy test of hand part math
The examples below will prove to you that using the hand portioning method is 95-100% as accurate as carefully weighing and recording every single thing you eat.
Example 1
The first example individual is a female athlete who weighs 135 pounds and has 18% body fat. She maintains a high activity level and participates in two training sessions per day. Her daily intake is as follows:
- Pre-workout @ 6am: 16 ounces black coffee, 1 cup low-fat Greek yogurt, 1 cup chopped pineapple, 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, 1 glass of water.
- Workout @ 7:15am – 8:30am: Drink 16 ounces of water during your training session.
- Post Workout Shake @ 9am: 12 ounces of water, 2 scoops of protein powder, 1 medium apple, 1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal, 2 cups of spinach, 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed, 1 tablespoon almond butter.
- Lunch @ 12 pm: 3 ounces salmon, 1 cup steamed mixed vegetables, 1 medium sweet potato, 1 tablespoon coconut oil, 2 glasses of water.
- 4pm Snack: 1 banana, 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter, 1 glass of water.
- Workout @ 5:30-6pm: Drink 16 ounces of water during your training session.
- Post-workout dinner @ 7pm: 3 ounces chopped chicken breast, 2 cups cooked whole wheat pasta, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, 2 cups sautéed vegetables with white cooking wine, 2 cups water.
Using the USDA Nutrient Database, we can calculate the calories and macronutrients in this person's intake:
- 2672 calories
- 170g of protein
- Carbohydrates 264g
- 104g fat
And if we convert this person's intake to the size of a palm, it would be as follows:
- Protein = 5 Palms (Greek Yogurt, Protein Powder x 2, Salmon, Chicken)
- Vegetables = 5 handfuls (spinach x 2, mixed vegetables, stir-fried vegetables x 2)
- Carbs = 10 cup-shaped hands (pineapple x 2, apple, oats, sweet potato, banana, pasta x 4)
- Fat = 9 thumbs (2 walnuts, 2 flax seeds, 2 almond butter, 2 coconut oil, 2 peanut butter, 2 olive oil)
Using the approximate hand-portion calculation for women (see section above) and multiplying by that number of servings, your estimated intake is:
- 2672kcal (exactly the same as calculated by the app and spreadsheet)
- 166g of protein (4g less than calculated by app and spreadsheet)
- 273g carbs (9g more than what the app and spreadsheet calculated)
- 102g fat (2g less than calculated by app and spreadsheet)
As you can see, the difference between manually tracking and hand-measuring is only a few grams.
Example 2
The second example individual is a moderately active male weighing 210 pounds and having 17% body fat. His daily intake is:
- Wake up at 5:30 am: 12 ounces black coffee
- Breakfast at 7am: Place 4 cooked eggs on a whole-wheat wrap with a large skillet of butter, peppers, green onions, and mushrooms, top with about 1 ounce of cheese, 1 cup of black beans, pico de gallo, a glass of water, and 12 ounces of black coffee.
- Super Shake @ 10:30am: About 10 ounces of water, 2 tablespoons of chocolate protein powder, 2 cups of spinach, 2 cups of frozen cherries, about 1 tablespoon of cacao nibs, and about 1 tablespoon of chia seeds.
- Lunch at 2pm: 4 ounces turkey breast, about ⅔ cup quinoa, a handful of mixed vegetables, 1 apple, 2 thumbs of toasted almonds, 1 to 2 glasses of water.
- 1-2 cups of green tea 3pm – 4pm.
- Dinner @ 6pm: 8 ounces sirloin (lean), 2 cups roasted red potatoes with onions, 2 cups roasted rainbow carrots, 2 tablespoons olive oil for roasting, 1 glass of wine, 1 to 2 glasses of water.
Using the USDA Nutrient Database, we can calculate the calories and macronutrients in this person's intake:
- 3130 calories
- 212g of protein
- Carbohydrates 283g
- 111g fat
And if we convert this person's intake into the amount in hand, it would be as follows:
- Protein = 7 Palms (Eggs x 2, Protein Powder x 2, Turkey, Sirloin x 2)
- Vegetables = 6 handfuls (green onions/peppers/mushrooms/pico, spinach x 2, mixed vegetables, rainbow carrots x 2)
- Carbs = 9 cupped hands (wrap, beans, cherries x 3, quinoa, apple, potato x 2)
- Fat = 8 thumbs (butter, guacamole, cacao nibs, chia seeds, almonds x 2, olive oil x 2)
- Alcohol = 1 (wine)
Using the approximate male hand size calculation and multiplying by that amount, your estimated intake is:
- 3183kcal (53kcal more when calculated with app and spreadsheet)
- 220g of protein (8g more than what the app and spreadsheet calculated)
- 285g carbs (2g more than what the app and spreadsheet calculated)
- 113g fat (2g more than what the app and spreadsheet calculated)
In other words, measuring portions by hand is just as accurate as manually weighing and tracking portions, and it's much simpler.
We can help you achieve your goals
Our ultimate macro calculator can help you figure out the ideal macronutrient ratios for your specific nutrition and fitness goals. From there, our hand-portioning method can guide you on the path to success.
