Reviewed by Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD
There are many ways to track your nutritional intake.
Choosing the right (and exact) method for you may seem like a daunting task.
So we developed the hand portion method.
Simplify nutrition tracking in a way that's accessible to everyone. Any Set your health and fitness goals.
Breakdown: Hand portion method
Precision Nutrition's Hand Portion Method provides an easy solution for tracking macros, allowing you to manage your food intake without weighing, measuring, or counting calories.
the method is easy. Estimate quantities by hand.
It's not about measuring meticulously, but rather measuring portions, using your hand as a reliable measure.
What makes the hand method particularly effective is that it essentially matches the proportions of your body. Additionally, the size of an adult's hand remains constant, ensuring an even amount.
Here's an overview:
- protein: The size of the protein portion is determined by your palm.
- vegetables: The amount of vegetables is determined by your fist.
- carbohydrates: Your cupped hands will determine the size of the carb portion.
- fat: The thumb determines the size of the fat area.
Once you understand what each serving size is, you can aim to meet the recommended daily portion balance for you.
How many pieces do you eat with your hands?
Most people meet their nutritional needs by eating:
- 1-2 palms foods rich in protein every meal
- 1-2 fistfuls of vegetables with each meal
- 1-2 handfuls per cup carbohydrates at most meals
- Consume 1-2 thumbs of fatty foods with most meals
Depending on your goals and frame, you may need to adjust these general recommendations up or down.
Advantages of hand potion method
When it comes to tracking macros, the hand method has several advantages.
- Achieve accuracy with minimal effort: Our internal research shows that hand tracking is 95% more accurate than other tracking methods, but it doesn't require extreme care. Check these results See for yourself how well the hand tracking works.
- Customizable to suit your dietary preferences: You can apply this method whether you follow a Mediterranean diet, paleo diet, vegetarian diet, ketogenic diet, or a completely plant-based diet.
- Easy to manage splitting of macronutrients: Using the hand portion method, you can fine-tune the splitting of macronutrients. Adjust protein, carbohydrate, and fat ratios to precisely meet your individual needs and goals.
- Tools to help estimate your calorie intake: Each part of your hand corresponds to an approximate amount of protein, carbohydrates, and fat, or calories. Example: 1 piece of palm protein ~ 130-145 kcal. 1 fistful of vegetables ~ 25 kcal; 1 cup of carbohydrates ~ 110-120 kcal. One thumb fat ~ 90-100 kcal.
Various possible food choices
Our hand portion system is designed for a mix of high-fat, medium-fat, and low-fat protein sources. A mixture of fruits, starchy tubers, beans, and whole grains as carbohydrates. It's a combination of fat-rich whole foods (such as nuts, cheese, and avocado), blended foods (such as pesto and nut butters), and pressed oils for fat content.
Also, the hand section method can be adjusted to suit individual dietary preferences.
For example, if you're on a ketogenic diet, you only need to increase your fat intake to compensate for the decrease in carbohydrates.
Example of manual portion method: Approximate amounts of each macronutrient
Here are some examples of how much to eat using the hand-eating method.
However, these are only approximations. Actual serving size will vary depending on individual hand size and body needs.
Men's
palm-sized protein This is the equivalent of about 4 ounces of cooked meat/tofu, 1 cup of Greek yogurt or cottage cheese, 1 tablespoon of protein powder, or 2 whole eggs.
Fist-sized vegetables That's about 1 cup of non-starchy vegetables like spinach, carrots, cauliflower, and bell peppers.
carb cupped hands About 2/3 cup cooked grains or legumes, 1 medium-sized fruit, or 1 medium-sized tuber.
Thumb sized fat About 1 tablespoon of oil, nuts, seeds, nut butter, avocado/guacamole, cheese, and dark chocolate.
for women
palm-sized protein This is equivalent to about 3 ounces of cooked meat/tofu, 1 cup of Greek yogurt or cottage cheese, 1 tablespoon of protein powder, or 2 whole eggs.
Fist-sized vegetables That's about 1 cup of non-starchy vegetables like spinach, carrots, cauliflower, and bell peppers.
carb cupped hands About 1/2 cup of cooked grains or legumes, 1 medium-sized fruit, or 1 medium-sized tuber.
Thumb sized fat About 1 tablespoon of oil, nuts, seeds, nut butter, avocado/guacamole, cheese, and dark chocolate.
Approximate calculation of macronutrient portions
For numerically oriented users, based on the example above, these are the approximate macros each part provides.
Macro of approximate part of man:
- Protein 1 Palm – 24 g protein, 2 g carbohydrates, 4.5 g fat, 145 kcal
- 1 fistful of vegetables – 1.5 g protein, 5 g carbohydrates, 0 g fat, 25 kcal
- 1 cup serving of carbohydrates ~ 3 g protein, 25 g carbohydrates, 1 g fat, 120 kcal
- Fat 1 thumb ~ 2 g protein, 2 g carbohydrates, 9 g fat, 100 kcal
Macro of approximate parts of a woman:
- Protein 1 Palm – 22 g protein, 2 g carbohydrates, 4 g fat, 130 kcal
- 1 fistful of vegetables – 1.5 g protein, 5 g carbohydrates, 0 g fat, 25 kcal
- 1 cup serving of carbohydrates ~ 3 g protein, 22 g carbohydrates, 1 g fat, 110 kcal
- Fat 1 thumb ~ 2 g protein, 2 g carbohydrates, 8 g fat, 90 kcal
Please note that these are approximations.
All aspects of calorie and macronutrient calculations are based on averages with known error rates.
Test the accuracy of hand part calculations
The example below shows that using the hand portioning method is 95-100% more accurate than carefully weighing, measuring, and recording everything you eat.
Example 1
The first example is a female athlete who weighs 135 pounds and has 18% body fat. She maintains a high activity level and attends her two training sessions per day. Here's how much she consumes per day:
- Pre-workout @6am: 16 ounces of black coffee, 1 cup of plain low-fat Greek yogurt, 1 cup of chopped pineapple, 2 tablespoons of chopped walnuts, and 1 cup of water.
- Workout @7:15am to 8:30am: Drink 16 ounces of water during your training session.
- Post-workout shake @ 9am: 12 ounces water, 2 scoops protein powder, 1 medium apple, 1/2 cup old fashioned oats, 2 cups spinach, 1 tablespoon flaxseed powder, 1 tablespoon almond butter.
- Lunch @ 12pm: 3 ounces of salmon, 1 cup of steamed vegetables, 1 medium sweet potato, 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, 2 cups of water.
- 4pm snack: 1 banana, 2 tablespoons natural peanut butter, and 1 glass of water.
- Workout @ 5:30-6pm: Drink 16 ounces of water during your training session.
- Post-workout dinner @ 7pm: Add 3 ounces of chopped chicken breast, 2 cups of boiled whole-grain pasta, 2 cups of sautéed vegetables, 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, white wine, and 2 cups of water.
Calculating this person's calorie intake and macronutrients: USDA Nutrient DatabaseI get the following result:
- 2672 kcal
- Protein 170g
- Carbohydrates 264g
- fat 104g
If you convert this person's intake into a palm-sized amount, it will be as follows.
- Protein = 5 pieces of coconut (Greek yogurt, protein powder x 2, salmon, chicken)
- Vegetables = 5 fistfuls (spinach x 2, mixed vegetables, sautéed vegetables x 2)
- Carbs = 10 cups (2x pineapple, apple, oats, sweet potato, banana, 4x pasta)
- Fat = 9 thumbs (2x walnuts, flaxseed, almond butter, coconut oil, 2x peanut butter, 2x olive oil)
Multiplying these portions using the woman's approximate hand portion calculation (see section above) yields the estimated intake:
- 2672 kcal (exactly the same as calculated in an app or spreadsheet)
- 166 g protein (4 g less than the app or spreadsheet calculates)
- Carbs 273 g (9 g more than the app or spreadsheet calculates)
- 102 g of fat (2 g less than the app or spreadsheet calculates)
As you can see, the difference between tracking manually and using the hand method is just a matter of a few grams.
Example 2
The second example is a moderately active man who weighs 210 pounds and has 17% body fat. Here's how much he consumes per day:
- Wake up at 5:30am: 12 ounces black coffee
- Breakfast @7am: Four whole eggs cooked in lots of butter with lots of bell peppers, green onions, and mushrooms on a whole wheat wrap, about 1 ounce of cheese, a cup of black beans, and a large glass of pico de gallo. Black coffee with 12 ounces of water to serve.
- Super Shake @ 10:30am: About 10 ounces of water, about 2 cups of chocolate protein powder, about 2 cups of spinach, about 2 cups of frozen cherries, about 1 tablespoon of cacao nibs, about 1 tablespoon of chia seeds.
- Lunch @ 2pm: 4 ounces of turkey breast, about 2/3 cup of quinoa, 1 fist of mixed vegetables, 1 apple, 2 thumbs of roasted almonds, and 1-2 cups of water.
- 1-2 cups of green tea @ 3-4 p.m.
- Dinner @ 6pm: 8 ounces lean sirloin, 2 cups roasted red potatoes with onions, 2 cups roasted rainbow carrots, 2 tablespoons roasting olive oil, 1 glass wine, 1-2 cups water.
Using the USDA Nutrient Database to calculate the calories and macronutrients for this person's intake, we get the following results:
- 3130kcal
- 212g protein
- Carbohydrate 283g
- 111g fat
Then, converting this person's intake into take-home pay is as follows.
- Protein = 7 palms (egg x 2, protein powder x 2, turkey, sirloin x 2)
- Vegetables = 6 fists (green onion/green pepper/mushroom/pico, spinach x 2, mixed vegetables, rainbow carrot x 2)
- Carbs = 9 cup hands (wraps, beans, 3 x cherries, 2 x quinoa, apples, potatoes)
- Fat = 8 thumbs (butter, guacamole, cacao nibs, chia seeds, almonds x 2, olive oil x 2)
- Alcohol = 1 (wine)
Multiplying these portions using the approximate hand portion calculator for men yields the estimated intake:
- 3183 kcal (53 kcal more than the app or spreadsheet calculates)
- 220g protein (8g more than the app or spreadsheet calculates)
- Carbs 285g (2g more than the app or spreadsheet calculates)
- 113g fat (2g more than the app or spreadsheet calculates)
Again, the hand section method is about as accurate as manually weighing and tracking the sections, and is much easier.
we help you achieve your goals
our ultimate macro calculator helps you figure out the best macronutrient ratios for your specific nutrition and fitness goals. From there, our hand potion method will put you on the path to success.