Lose Weight With The Hand Diet: A Perfect Dieting Formula, For A Perfect Figure!
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Trying to lose weight? That’s okay. There are only a thousand ways to do it – exercise, dieting, yoga, and so on. Trying to find the way that suits you best will probably require a thousand trials and errors. And even then, the method you choose may not work out for you if you’re unable to strike that perfect balance between your calorie intake and the rate at which you burn them.
In fact, controlling the amount of calories you consume as well as burn is the key to achieving and maintaining the ideal body weight. If you eat more calories than you burn, all the Pilates you’ve done will not make any difference to your weight. Conversely, if you burn more calories and eat less, the results of all your hard work will be lost in the fatigue.
To optimize your daily calorie intake, you have to eat the right portions of food. The only problem is that counting calories is not that easy and is sadly the reason why most people give up on their weight loss regimen.
Well, there’s always a good news after a long introduction. I’ve got a secret in here for you that will make calorie counting and consequently knowing the right portions of food to eat as easy as 1-2-3! In fact, this secret portion size calculator has been in front of you all the time, and you never even knew about it!
Curious to know what this tool is? Well, it’s your HAND! Yes, not only does your destiny lie in your hands (a big shout out to all the astrology babas out there!), but so does a good measuring tool of the portions of food you must eat to stay healthy and in shape. The different areas of your hand are a good indicating factor of the amount of different nutrients you should consume daily. It’s somewhat like this:
- Your palm regulates your protein intake
- Your hand does the same for your veggies
- The fist determines how much of carbs you should have
- And the thumb takes care of your fat intake
Let’s discuss each of these, one by one, to give you a good idea of exactly how much you should eat to maintain your ideal body weight.
The Palm And Your Protein Intake
To determine the right amount of daily protein intake for you, use your palm as a measuring device. The amount of protein portion that fits in your palm is the amount you should eat. Men should have two palms full of protein portions while women should have one palm-full.
As for the sources of protein that are best for you, it depends on the kind of diet you follow. If you are a vegetarian, you can try foods such as legumes (beans, pulses, etc.), wheat gluten, tofu, peanut butter, Swiss cheese, cottage cheese, etc. If you are a non-vegetarian, meats, fish, and eggs can prove to be very rich sources of protein (1).
The Thumb And Your Fat Intake
It comes as no surprise that the portion of fat in your food should be the bare minimum. Hence, your thumb is what you should use to measure your daily fat intake. But that is not to say that fat is not an essential part of your diet. It is very important indeed, only it’s truly helpful when its portions are small. That said, women should consume one thumb-sized portion of fat only, while men should consume double the amount of that.
However, not any type of fat should be consumed. You should exercise caution and allow the good kind of fat to enter your body only. These fats are healthy and are loaded with nutrition. Sources include avocados, dark chocolate, cheese, fatty fish, nuts, etc. On the other hand, bad fats include fatty portions of beef, lamb, and pork, tropical oils, high-fat dairy foods, etc. These only lead to weight gain.
The Fist And Your Carb Intake
Carbs or carbohydrates help produce energy in your body, which you need for the day to day functioning of your life. Which is why the amount of carbs in your diet should be higher than that of proteins or fat. A fistful of carbs will keep women healthy, while men need two fistfuls of it to stay fit. Rich sources of carbs include rice, fruits, cereal, bread, etc. (2).
The Hand And Your Vegetable Intake
To determine the amount of vegetables you should have daily, join both your hands and open them up in the shape of a basket. You should eat the portion of vegetables that fits in this open space. Vegetables are a good source of multiple nutrients and fiber and low in calories, thereby proving to be a very healthy option (3).
Did you ever even imagine that your hand could be the key to knowing the right size of portions you should eat? Of course, you can argue that some people have very small hands while some have very large ones. Well, whatever the size maybe, your hands will give you a pretty accurate idea of how much you should eat.
