A few years ago I learned a really neat tool that I use with my clients around portion control.

This tool is custom built for you, is easy to use and you will never lose it (hopefully).

The tool is... your hand.

Each person's hand is relative to their own physical build and stature, making each portion totally unique and customized for each individual.

And, you will never forget it, it is always with you!

Here is how you can use it.

I love using this tool at the beginning of one's journey as a starting point, until they have developed and mastered the skill of hunger and fullness awareness.

It's cool. It's simple. And it's easy.

For the sake of understanding, let's separate food into 3 categories.

Proteins:

• Chicken

• Turkey

• Ground beef

• Venison

• Salmon

• Tuna

• Eggs

• Cottage Cheese

• Greek Yogurt

• Beans

• Legumes

• And Protein Supplements to name a few.

Carbohydrates:

• Vegetables (Broccoli, Carrots, Spinach, Kale, Tomatoes etc.)

• Fruits (Apples, Berries, Oranges etc.)

• Pastas and Breads (preferably whole grain or sprouted)

• Sweet Potato

• Quinoa

• Oats

• And Long Grain Rice among others.

Fats:

• Coconut Oil

• Raw Nuts

• Avocados

• Fish Oil

• And Flax Seed (oil and ground) to name a few

When figuring out how much of each category to eat at each meal, you can use your hand as a guide.

Think:

Palm: Protein

Fist: Vegetables

Cupped Hand: Carbs

Thumb: Fats

Here is a a great example of a meal for a woman just starting out.

1 palm sized chicken breast, 1 fist full of steamed carrots, 1 cupped hand of blueberries and 1 thumb of almonds.

Now, this is just one example and the tip of the iceberg when it comes to customization. You can get extremely creative whether you have access to a lot or very few of these foods, which is great.

Again, this is just a starting point. Getting pin point precision on your hunger and fullness cues will ultimately dictate your portions. So sometimes your plate may look a little different than the one I gave up above.

This also depends on progress and results. If your seeing changes, great. If not, no worries, it is just a tweak in strategy.

Remember, we create certainty by doing and finding out what works, not by simply believing something to be true.

I would love to take credit for this tool, but I cannot. Precision Nutrition was how I first heard about this tool and it has been quite useful for myself and my clients. For more info check out an info-graphic that they created just on this.