Client handout
Hand portion guide
VitalsCalcFree health calculators for iPhone & Android
Your hand is a portion guide that is always with you and scales with your body. Use it to build each meal; your coach fills in how many of each you need.
The four hand portions
| Hand portion | Food group | About | Examples |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palm (thickness and width of your palm) | Protein | 20–30 g protein | Chicken, fish, lean meat, eggs, tofu, Greek yogurt |
| Cupped hand | Carbohydrate | 20–30 g carbs | Rice, oats, pasta, potatoes, beans, fruit |
| Thumb (the whole thumb) | Fat | 7–12 g fat | Oils, butter, nut butter, nuts, cheese |
| Fist | Vegetables | About 1 cup | Leafy greens, broccoli, peppers, carrots |
Your daily portions
Name
Calories a daykcal
Meals a day
| Palms · protein | Cupped hands · carbs | Thumbs · fat | Fists · veg | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Per day | ||||
| Per meal | 1 |
How to use it
- Build every meal from the per-meal row: protein first, then vegetables, then carbs and fats to fill it out.
- Follow the plan for two weeks and weigh in several times a week. If the trend doesn't match the goal, change one cupped hand of carbs or one thumb of fat a day, then give it another two weeks.
- Protein stays the same when calories come down; that is what protects muscle.
- Work the whole chain yourself, calories to hands, with the free calculator at cohesionbrew.com/apps/vitalscalc/guides/hand-portion-calculator.html, the same formulas as the VitalsCalc app.
Prepared by Eric Adriaansen, ACSM-CPT, Precision Nutrition Level 1 · Hand-portion method popularized by Precision Nutrition · Estimates for healthy adults, not medical advice.
cohesionbrew.com/apps/vitalscalc