Summer is upon us, and that means barbecues, parties, and nights eating out on the patio with your friends. Want to make a party super uncomfortable super fast? Bust out your food scale on the picnic table to weigh your burger. (Seriously, it makes people crazy uncomfortable.) Or, perhaps you would prefer to take a more subtle approach to tracking your food in public, or you simply don’t want to be saddled with the burden or weighing everything yet? Feels a little too intense? Enter “The Palm Method.”

Why use the palm method?

I get it, no one wants to be the weirdo who travels with their food scale, their Tupperware of pre-measured food, or the one skipping out on food just because you are on a “diet.” The reality is, even on a fat loss diet you should be able to eat any foods you want! Gasp. Yes, I said it. Whatever you want. The problem is often not the food choice. The problem is the quantity.

When starting a fat loss diet one of the primary tools I recommend for people is a food scale, however if you are brand new to tracking your food, the thought of weighing and measuring everything that goes into your mouth can be incredibly daunting. Using the Palm Method is a way that you can get started on your journey, still eat in public without scrutiny, and see progress on your goals.

The Tradeoff

While the Palm method is a great tool for beginners, those eating out, or maybe just unsure of how to eyeball an appropriate serving size it does have a draw back; accuracy. Not only do we all have different hand sizes, but it’s largely subjective to say “eat the size of your palm,” or the “size of a thumb.” Where do you start? Where do you end? How do you know you are doing it properly? Honestly, you don’t. The purpose of the palm method is not accuracy, it’s convenience. The good news is, assuming you are always using your own hand (don’t get weird) consistency is more important than perfection, and you can still make progress if you keep at it.

Additionally, the further you get into a fat loss diet, or the lower body fat percentage you are starting with the more important accuracy becomes. We as people are prone to overestimating our caloric burn and underestimating our caloric intake. Don’t believe me? Try measuring out what you think is a serving of peanut butter. Then weigh in and compare it to the nutrition facts on the label of what an actual serving should weigh. I’ll bet that the eyeballed portion is a good amount more than the recommended weight in grams. Peanut butter is the worst (not really, I love peanut butter on everything, but in terms of measuring its crazy how little I get vs how much I think I should get.)

Using the Palm Method

Once you decide you’d like to give the palm method a go (congratulations, you are now tracking your food intake!) getting started is super simple. Below is a guide for how to measure your portions of protein, fats, or carbohydrate for your meals. From meat, to fruit, to nuts and butter you have the tools you need in the palm of your hands (see what I did there?) Opting for packaged foods? You’re gonna have to read the label – the palm method works best for whole foods!

Feel free to download, print, or share this to help you subtly track your food, and keep making killer progress!

Happy Measuring friends,

xoxo,

Liz