Every question about PN's hand portioning method – answered.

Often the simplest method is the most effective.

This is one of the main reasons we usually suggest ours Hand portioning method Customers who want to know how much they are eating to lose or gain weight and / or improve their health.

You may be wondering, if it's that simple, why post a FAQ ?!

While our hand portioning method has been validated through our experience with over 100,000 customers, no food tracking system is perfect.

As with any other method of tracking food, questions will arise once you (or your customers) start using hand-held portions.

To make it easier for you to master the system, we have put together this “practical” guide.

It has answers to all of the most pressing hand-share questions our trainers receive – and some that you (or your clients) may not even have thought of.

Use the links below to jump straight to the answers you're looking for, or read the entire FAQ to learn how to troubleshoot the most common problems ahead of time. Question 1:

Question 1: "How do I explain hand portions to my customers ?!"

Question 2: "How accurate are hand portions?"

Question 3: "How many hand servings should I eat?"

Question 4: "Can I do hand servings with paleo, keto, plant-based foods, and other diets?"

Question 5: "Do I measure my portions before or after cooking?"

Question 6: "How do I deal with food that doesn't fit?"

Question 7: "How do I calculate mixed meals?"

Question 8: "Are Legumes and Lentils Protein or Carbohydrates?"

Question 9: "What do I do if I don't see any results with hand parts?"

Question # 10: "How do I get skeptical customers on board when I try hand portions?"

Bonus question: "Okay, but are there times when hand portions aren't appropriate?"

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10 frequently asked questions about the handle, answered

Question 1: "How do I explain hand portions to my customers ?!"

Keep it short and sweet.

We recommend starting with something like:

They use your hand as a personalized, portable portioning tool.

You are not actually measuring your food, you are using your hand to measure the serving size. The image below sums it up nicely (and a more detailed infographic can be found here.)

The system offers several advantages. Two that we should mention right off the bat:

# 1: Your hands are with you all over the place. This means that you have a single point of reference everywhere – at the airport, in your mother's house, at work lunches, in buffet restaurants and much more. (It also means you don't have to listen to your table mates groan while you furiously search for calorie values ​​in your food tracking app.)

# 2: Your hands are generally proportional to your body and always the same size. They thus serve as a reliable reference point – without the need for measuring beakers or food scales. (Don't be surprised if your scale's batteries are dead or if you pull your measuring cups out of your pocket at your friend's birthday dinner.)

From there, you can answer a customer's specific questions or concerns as they arise.

Question 2: "How accurate are hand portions?"

Our internal calculations show that hand portions are 95 percent as accurate as carefully weighing, measuring and tracking your food. With much less effort and time.

And since calorie databases – the tool most people use to track calories and macros – can vary by up to 20 percent, the five percent difference here is negligible for most

Since each hand serving correlates with a specific amount of protein, carbohydrates, and / or fat, this method counts calories and macros for you.

It can be helpful to see what this might look like in relation to real food. The tables below therefore provide an overview of what we consider general serving sizes for hand.

For men
1 palm (protein)	~ 115 g cooked meat / tofu, 1 cup of Greek yogurt / cottage cheese, 1 measuring spoon of protein powder, 2 whole eggs
1 fist (vegetables)	~ 1 cup of non-starchy vegetables (spinach, carrots, cauliflower, peppers, etc.)
1 cupped hand (carbohydrates)	~ ⅔ cup (130g) cooked grains / legumes (rice, lentils, oats, etc.), 1 medium fruit, 1 medium tuber (potatoes, yams, etc.)
1 thumb (fat)	~ 1 tablespoon (14 g) oils, nuts, seeds, nut butters, cheese, dark chocolate, etc.

For women
1 palm (protein)	~ 85 g cooked meat / tofu, 1 cup of Greek yogurt / cottage cheese, 1 measuring spoon of protein powder, 2 whole eggs
1 fist (vegetables)	~ 1 cup of non-starchy vegetables (spinach, carrots, cauliflower, peppers, etc.)
1 cupped hand (carbohydrates)	~ ½ cup (100 g) cooked grains / legumes (rice, lentils, oats, etc.), 1 medium fruit, 1 medium tuber (potatoes, yams, etc.)
1 thumb (fat)	~ 1 tablespoon (14 g) oils, nuts, seeds, nut butters, cheese, dark chocolate, etc.

Do you want to see the math? That's perfectly fair, especially if you're a numbers-minded person.

In the tables below, you can see what each serving roughly equals in grams of protein, carbohydrates, fat, and calories.

Note that the hand portion system assumes mixed intake, which means that you will be eating different food sources of each category. In other words, it assumes that you are eating various sources of protein like chicken, eggs, cottage cheese, and tofu as protein instead of living on chicken breasts.

As you can see in the table below, most foods are not just macronutrients. That's fine – the hand portion system takes this into account too.

Men’s portion macros
1 palm protein	~ 24 g protein, 2 g carbohydrates, 4.5 g fat, 145 kcal
1 fist vegetables	~ 1.5 g protein, 5 g carbohydrates, 0 g fat, 25 kcal
1 cupped hand carbohydrates	~ 3 g protein, 25 g carbohydrates, 1 g fat, 120 kcal
1 thumb fat	~ 2 g protein, 2 g carbohydrates, 9 g fat, 100 kcal

Woman portion macros
1 palm protein	~ 22 g protein, 2 g carbohydrates, 4 g fat, 130 kcal
1 fist vegetables	~ 1.5 g protein, 5 g carbohydrates, 0 g fat, 25 kcal
1 cupped hand carbohydrates	~ 3 g protein, 22 g carbohydrates, 1 g fat, 110 kcal
1 thumb fat	~ 2 g protein, 2 g carbohydrates, 8 g fat, 90 kcal

Make no mistake about it: hand parts aren't as accurate as macro tracking. However, they are accurate enough to help you consistently track your food intake and achieve your goals (including transforming your body if that's what you are looking for). And that's what really matters.

Question 3: "How many hand servings should I eat per day?"

It depends on.

There isn't a single, “one-size-fits-all” recommendation, but we do have some general guidelines for people who might want to try them out. Most people will meet their needs with a starting framework of:

• 1-2 palms of high protein foods with each meal
• 1-2 fists of vegetables with each meal
• 1-2 hollow handfuls of carbohydrates with most meals
• 1-2 thumbs of greaseproof foods at most meals

Depending on your goals, you may need to tweak these general recommendations to get results.

That is exactly why we developed the Precision Nutrition Calculator.

Designed, developed, and tested in the Precision Nutrition research lab – and proven effective by thousands of customers – it is the most comprehensive calorie, portion and macro calculator available.

The calculator takes into account:

• Your personal data (height, age, weight, gender)
• Physical activity (both daily exercise and targeted exercise)
• Nutritional and fitness goals (weight loss, muscle building, body composition, better health, peak performance)
• The date by which you would like to achieve your goal (within reason!)
• The changing and adaptive nature of human metabolism (a major benefit of this calculator)

Here's really cool:

Once your calorie and macronutrient needs have been estimated, these numbers are automatically converted into hand portions.

After these are calculated, we'll send you a free, personalized guide on how to use our hand portioning system to help you achieve your calorie and macro goals.

Question 4: "Can I do hand portions with paleo, keto, plant-based foods, and other diets?"

Regardless of the eating style, the answer is almost certainly yes.

Our hand held portion calculator gives you the ability to choose from a variety of eating styles including Mediterranean, Paleo, Vegetarian, Ketogenic, and All Vegetable. (If you eat practically anything without restrictions, there is an option for that too.)

Additionally, you can adjust your macronutrient breakdown – your relative proportions of protein, carbohydrates, and fats – before you get your results.

So, if you don't like keto (<10 percent carbs) but prefer to eat fewer carbs, you can adjust your hand portions to take this into account. The same applies if you prefer a low-fat diet or if you have a different preference for your macronutrient ratio.

The low tech way to do this is to simply replace one part with another. For example, let's say you prefer a low-fat diet and eat four meals a day. For two of your meals, you can thumb the fats and add an extra protein palm or an extra handful of carbohydrates instead. (You can also split the extra serving between protein and carbohydrates.)

Bottom Line: The hand portioning system is endlessly customizable to suit a variety of eating styles with no math involved.

Question 5: "Do I measure my portions before or after cooking?"

One of the most common questions about using your hands to measure portions is whether the hand portions are for cooked or undercooked food.

The answer is both.

Hand portions are used to coat your food and not for cooking. For foods that you eat cooked, measure them after they have been cooked (e.g. meat, pasta, rice). For foods that you eat raw, measure them raw.

And if a food can be eaten both cooked and raw (like spinach, for example), you would use your hand to measure the amount that gets on your plate, whether you cooked it or not. (While there is a caloric difference between the cooked and uncooked versions, this is only really important for people with the most advanced aesthetic goals like bodybuilders).

In this way, hand portions can be used anywhere: at home, in restaurants, in buffets, at conferences, at a friend's house or in the office.

Question 6: "How do I deal with foods that do not fit perfectly into a category?"

Most foods clearly fit into the hand-serving categories: protein, carbohydrates, fat, and vegetables. (If you're not sure about a specific food, this infographic has answers.)

However, some foods and drinks don't seem to fit well in the hand-sized portion system.

The good news: there are workarounds.

The most problematic are liquids and foods made from multiple ingredients (as opposed to whole foods).

Here's how to deal with it. And no, you don't have to pour drinks into your cupped hands to measure them!

dairy

Cow's milk, non-Greek yogurt, and kefir are difficult because they are a fairly even mix of protein, carbohydrates, and fat, or they can vary depending on the fat content chosen (e.g. whole, low fat, low fat).

We recommend making the decision how to count a certain type of milk or yogurt based on fat or carbohydrate content.

• Generally, consider 1 cup (8 ounce) whole dairy products as "thumb" fat. (Yes, although it's bigger than a thumb and has some protein and carbohydrates in it too.)
• Anything lower in fat (0 to 2 percent) is generally viewed as a hollow hand made of carbohydrates (and provides some fats and proteins at the same time).
• A cup full of sweet things (chocolate milk, strawberry yogurt) is generally viewed as a handful of carbohydrates (and provides fats and protein at the same time).

So what happens in this situation: you have a full fat yogurt or whole milk that is heavily sweetened? Is It A Fat Or A Carbohydrate?

Think of it this way: if it's already full of fat, you know it's a thumb full of fat. But if a lot of sugar is also added, then it is also a cupped hand carbohydrates.

The key here is to choose an approach and apply it consistently. For most people, this is probably more important than the actual classification.

This is because the hand portion system already has built-in buffers: your protein, fat, and carbohydrate sources are assumed to have smaller amounts of the other macros.

Also, being in line with the food ratings will make it easier for you to tailor them to the results you get.

Plant milk

Plant milk is similar to cow milk above. Depending on the source, they usually offer a mix of macros. The classification also depends on whether or not they are sweetened.

In general, unsweetened versions (like almond milk) don't count as anything as they usually only contain around 30 to 40 calories in a whole cup (8 ounces) and are often consumed in relatively small amounts.

However, a sweetened version would be viewed as a hollow hand made of carbohydrates.

Again, the key is to choose an approach and follow it consistently.

Eggs

Eggs are considered protein, but because they're liquid in their raw form, sometimes people aren't sure how to measure them.

Generally, two boiled whole eggs are the size of a palm tree. Four boiled egg whites are also the size of an average palm tree.

Of course, the actual quantities may vary based on the size of your individual palm.

A question we got about eggs: Why do two eggs count as a protein palm when they only contain about 6 grams of protein each? (So ​​a total of 12 grams of protein.)

That's a good question. First of all, it is important to remember:

For hand portions, we use our hands to measure the portion size. We're not going to reverse engineer servings based on how many macros are in a given food.

2 eggs are the size of an average palm, which is why they are counted as one protein palm.

If you're wondering how this affects your overall protein intake, the answer goes back to the idea of ​​adopting a mixed intake of a variety of different protein sources.

Overall, we estimate that each protein palm contains roughly 20 to 30 grams of protein. It is true that two eggs provide less protein than a chicken breast palm, for example. But … a chicken breast palm is actually over that 20 to 30 grams range.

The idea: most sources – but not all – end up in this 20 to 30 gram range. And the average of all the different protein sources you eat will surely be in that range, even with some individual exceptions (like eggs and Chicken breast).

Cookies, Ice Cream, French Fries (and other compound foods)

For naturally occurring or minimally processed foods, it's usually best to assign only one hand portion to a food.

However, for these highly processed "compound" foods, you may want to assign two (or more) hand servings. Because just like dairy products that are full-fat and heavily sweetened, they count as both fat and carbohydrates.

Here's an easy way to factor in highly processed and compound foods: a handful equals a thumb of fat and a hand equals carbohydrates.

Soda and juice

Unfortunately, a serving of soda doesn't really fit in the cupped hand. Regardless, consider a 12-ounce can of non-diet soda as a cupped carbohydrate.

Sure, eight ounces would be preferable from a physical size (and total carbohydrate total) standpoint, but 12 ounces really simplifies the process as these drinks are mostly shipped prepackaged this way.

(Similar to bananas, apples, oranges, pears and other fruits of different sizes, as these are naturally "prepackaged".)

Again, the consistency of the way you measure your hand portions is the most important factor.

For juice, think of an 8-ounce glass of juice as a cupped carbohydrate.

alcohol

In many ways, alcohol should be a separate serving category as the vast majority of its calories come from its alcohol content (7 kcal / gram) rather than its carbohydrate, protein or fat content.

This goes for pretty much any alcohol, be it light beer, microbrew / craft beer, wine, hard cider, and spirits.

A "serving" of alcohol is approximately 5 ounces for wine, 1 ounce for spirits (example: vodka, whiskey, tequila) and 12 ounces for beer.

However, with the advent of craft beers like double IPAs, which have a much higher alcohol content than "regular" beer, the standard beer serving no longer holds up as well as it used to.

Most "normal" beer contains around 4 to 5 percent alcohol by volume (ABV). Many craft beers can achieve up to 9 percent ABV, some even reach 15 to 20 percent ABV.

And since alcohol itself provides calories (again 7 kcal / gram), doubling or tripling the alcohol content increases the calorie content dramatically.

In addition, many craft beers contain more carbohydrates than “normal” beers. The amount of carbohydrates in a beer depends on how it's made.

If the beer has a thicker mouthfeel, darker appearance, and sweeter taste, it is most likely more carbohydrates. The amount of carbohydrates in a 12-ounce serving of beer ranges from 2 to 16 grams, and many craft beers come in 16-ounce sizes, or pints, which means they're 33 percent larger, 33 percent more alcohol , Provide carbohydrates and calories.

Is your head turning yet? Not too complicated. Easier is better.

So…

For hand portioning purposes, we recommend counting them as follows:

• A serving of wine, spirits or "normal" beer counts as a cupped hand of carbohydrates or a thumb of fat.
• A serving of dessert wine, sweetened alcohol (e.g. gin tonic, margarita) or sweeter / high-alcohol / craft beer counts as two servings – either 2 cupped hands of carbohydrates, 2 thumbs of fat or 1 each.

One final note about alcohol: while you can use hand-held portions to count your alcohol consumption, it is still important to keep track of your total number of beverages. (Learn more about how drinking has potential health effects here.)

Question # 7: "How do I count portions for mixed meals?"

Dishes made up of a large mix of foods like soups and stews can make hand portions difficult to assign (just as they make it difficult when tracking macros or calories).

All you have to do is look at it and use your best guesses, especially if you did not prepare the food yourself.

Ultimately, the overall goal is to get a serving of protein, vegetables, high quality carbohydrates, and / or healthy fats in every serving. This is relatively easy if you cook yourself. When you eat meals from others, you just cherish as best you can.

Most importantly, if the goal is anything other than weight gain, eat slowly and mindfully until you are satisfied.

Such mix-food dishes are often a combination of protein, carbohydrates and fats, but contain slightly fewer vegetables. Adding a vegetable to the side can be very helpful. Adding extra protein can also help if the meal appears to be higher in carbohydrates and fats (which it often does).

One thing to remember here: for meals that you have often, set them and forget about them. So, note how you measure the hand sections and follow this approach consistently. That way, if you ever want to adjust your shot, you'll know how to count hand portions. (If you decide to eat half the usual amount of a soup, count only half the usual hand portions.)

Question 8: "Should I count legumes and lentils as protein or carbohydrates?"

Legumes and lentils contain both protein and carbohydrates. So where should they be counted?

Answer: It depends on the meal itself and / or the individual's eating style.

When someone is fully plant-based / veganThen it is likely that the legumes or lentils are considered a source of protein, as these are probably the most protein-rich foods that you will consume in any given meal.

For most other eaters, beans and legumes would generally be considered a source of carbohydrates because they are far higher in carbohydrates than protein.

But they can also count as both … under certain conditions.

Our suggestion: choose the most protein-rich food (assuming there is one) as the source of protein and use the other products from there.

Examples:

1. Chicken with beans, broccoli and olive oil
2. Beans with rice, broccoli and olive oil
3. Two servings of beans with broccoli and olive oil
4. A serving of beans with broccoli and olive oil

In Example 1, chicken is the protein (the most protein-rich part of the dish), beans are the carbohydrates, broccoli is the vegetable, and olive oil is the fat.

In Example 2, beans are the protein (the most protein-rich part of the dish), rice is the carbohydrate, broccoli is the vegetable, and olive oil is the fat.

In Example 3, one serving of beans would count as protein and the other serving as carbohydrates. It gets more difficult in this scenario because it is less clear-cut than the first two examples.

In example 4, it would depend on the eater. Omnivore? Then we'd probably count the beans as carbohydrates. Plant based? Then we'd probably count the beans as protein.

Question 9: "What do I do if I don't see any results with hand parts?"

You can always consider tweaking your hand games, but before doing so, understanding realistic rates of progress can be helpful.

Stick to constant hand servings for at least two weeks and monitor your progress before trying to turn things upside down. This leaves enough time to determine whether or not you are getting closer to your goal.

If your goal is fat loss …

How fast you can lose body fat depends on how consistently you can or want to follow the guidelines that you are given.

Realistic Weekly Fat Loss Rates

progress	% Body weight	Men	Women
Extreme	1-1.5% body weight	~ 0.91-1.36 kg (2-3 lb)	~ 1.75-2.5 lb (0.75-1.13 kg)
Reasonable	0.5-1% body weight	~ 0.45-0.91 kg (1-2 lb)	~ 0.8-1.65 lb (0.36-0.75 kg)
Comfortable	<0.5% body weight	~ <1 lb (0.45 kg)	~ <0.8 lb (0.36 kg)

To quantify each of these categories:

Extreme: Requires a consistency of 90 to 100 percent.

Fair: Requires about 70 to 85 percent consistency.

Convenient: Requires 50 to 65 percent consistency.

The more consistent you are, the faster you progress and the more fat you can lose.

It's also important to know that fat loss is rarely linear. It fluctuates from day to day and from week to week. The goal is to see a general downward trend over time.

But if you don't see this trend …

You can adjust your hand portions by removing 1 to 2 handfuls of carbohydrates and / or 1 to 2 thumbs of fats from your daily intake. (That's a total of 2 to 3 servings of carbohydrates and fats combined.) This results in about 250 fewer calories being eaten per day.

If your goal is to build muscle …

The ability to build muscle depends on age, biological sex, genetics, and consistency with food intake, as well as experience, intensity, frequency, style, volume, and more.

Realistic muscle growth rates per month

Training condition	Men		Women
Beginner	1-1.5% body weight	~ 1.5-2.5 lb (0.68-1.13 kg)	0.5-0.75% body weight	~ 0.65-1 lb (0.29-0.45 kg)
Medium	0.5-0.75% body weight	~ 0.75-1.25 lb (0.34-0.56 kg)	0.25-0.375% body weight	~ 0.325-0.5 lb (0.14-0.23 kg)
Advanced	0.25-0.375% body weight	~ 0.375-0.625 lb (0.17-0.28 kg)	0.125-0.1875% body weight	~ 0.1625-0.25 lb (0.07-0.11 kg)

Much like fat loss, muscle building is often non-linear. Progress seems to come in seizures and flares, especially after the first year of dedicated training.

But if you don't build muscle as expected …

Simply add 1 to 2 handfuls of carbohydrates and / or 1 to 2 thumbs of fats to your daily intake. (Again, this is 2 to 3 servings of carbohydrates and fats combined.) This corresponds to an increase of about 250 calories per day.

Would you like to learn more? Here is a full description of how to adjust your servings if you don't see progress, as well as a useful download reference on how to tweak your intake for better results.

Question No. 10: "How do I get skeptical customers on board when I try hand portions?"

If you're a coach, you may have clients who are used to counting calories and / or macros and who don't believe that hand servings could potentially produce the same results.

On the flip side, you may have customers who don't count and prefer a more intuitive method instead.

There is nothing wrong with either approach. (Find out more about comparing hand servings, macro counting, calorie counting, and intuitive eating here.)

However, if a client is not seeing the results they are looking for with their current method of tracking food intake, you may have a suspicion that hand servings might be helpful.

How do you help skeptics with hand portioning?

Treat hand portions as an experiment.

Self-experiments are one of the cornerstones of our own coaching program. (Further information: 3 Diet Experiments That Can Change Your Eating Habits.)

Why? It takes the pressure off of making a "perfect" diet choice. If you experiment with something and it doesn't work – no big deal. You are one step closer to figuring out what is working for you through the process of elimination.

And the best scenario? You will find something that really works for you.

When your client is ready to try hand servings for two weeks, turn it into an experiment.

Encourage them to collect their data about the experience like a scientist without judgment.

At the end of the two weeks, review how the experiment went and decide how you will progress together.

We find that hand servings work for many (if not most!) Of our customers once they try them. However, be open to the idea that your client may still feel unsure about hand parts after completing the experiment. That's okay.

Everyone is different and you never know exactly how a particular way of eating works until you try.

Bonus question: "Okay, but are there times when hand portions are not appropriate?"

People who want to eat better, exercise, and live better usually get along well with hand portions. They are convenient, easy to understand, and highly customizable with very little effort.

However, it would be wrong to say that hand servings are undoubtedly the best approach for everyone.

Different strategies work for different types of goals. Whether you choose to use hand-held portions, the PN plate method, macro-counting, nutrient timing protocols, or some other nutritional tool ultimately depends on what you want to achieve or what "task is to be done".

Insbesondere Handabschnitte sind möglicherweise nicht der richtige Ansatz für Personen mit den aggressivsten ästhetischen und Leistungszielen.

Zum Beispiel benötigen Profisportler und Körpermodelle möglicherweise eine genauere Strategie, wie z. B. die Makrozählung oder sogar einen strengen Ernährungsplan. Dies gilt auch für Sportler, die Gewicht sparen oder einen bestimmten Körperfettanteil erreichen müssen – beispielsweise zur Vorbereitung auf einen UFC-Kampf.

Denken Sie daran: Diese Leute werden im Wesentlichen dafür bezahlt, auf diese Weise zu essen. Es ist Teil ihrer Arbeit. Und das bringt Kompromisse mit sich.

(Wenn Sie sich fragen, wie diese Kompromisse aussehen könnten, informieren Sie sich in unserer Ressource über die Kosten für Lean.)

Es wird auch einige Leute geben, die Handportionen probieren und sie einfach nicht mögen.

Zum Beispiel könnten Menschen, die Zahlen und Daten lieben, die Verfolgung von Makros und Kalorien zusammen mit Körperveränderungen als hilfreich erachten. Diese Leute sind normalerweise auch emotional von den Zahlen losgelöst – sie sehen sie als Information, anstatt ihnen „gute“ oder „schlechte“ Werte zuzuweisen.

Diese Leute könnten mit Handteilen experimentieren, wie oben beschrieben, und sagen: "Nein, ich bin gut." Das ist gültig.

Es kommt wirklich darauf an:

Handportionen funktionieren für viele – wenn nicht die meisten – Menschen. Es gibt jedoch immer Ausnahmen, da es keine einzige beste Art zu essen gibt.

References

Click here to view the resources referenced in this article.

If you are or want to be a trainer …

Learning how to coach clients, patients, friends, or family members through healthy eating and lifestyle changes – in ways that are tailored to their unique bodies, preferences, and circumstances – is both an art and a science.

If you want to learn more about both, consider the following points Precision Nutrition Level 1 Zertifizierung. The next group will start shortly.