4 Useful Tips to Become a Pro at Eyeballing Portion Sizes

Are you one of those people who is frustrated because you feel like you’re eating super healthy, but you aren’t losing weight? It could be that you’re having too much of a good thing — healthy food! Just because a food is healthy, whole or unprocessed doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have calories (nuts are a great example of this!). To be honest, the only food you can really get away with eating an unlimited amount of is green veggies. The rest, you really have to pay attention to if your goal is to lose weight and burn fat.

1. Read the nutrition facts

This is by far the most important thing to do when eating packaged foods. How many times have you bought a healthy snack in a bag only to mindlessly eat the entire thing? You might be thinking, “Oh, it’s healthy, so it’s not a big deal.” But if you take a look at the nutrition facts, the entire bag really isn’t so figure-friendly. Look at the package, see what the serving size is, take that portion out of the bag or box and put the rest away. Practice this. You’ll need to get very good at it!

2. Stop obsessing over measuring cups and food scales

Do you really need to weigh and measure out all of your food? Well, yes and no. If you have no clue how much you are eating on a regular basis, it’s good to be a bit more of a stickler at the beginning. You will get really good at knowing what a proper portion size looks like after a few times measuring it out — especially the foods you’re eating on a regular basis. After some time, you won’t need to be so precise, and you’ll be able to eyeball it much better. Of course, when you have time to be a bit more accurate and measure things out, go for it! But don’t stress yourself out if you cannot do this every time. It’s not realistic and being perfect is not necessary.

3. Use your hands

If you’re on the go and aren’t 100% sure if you’re eating a proper portion size, use your hand. A portion of protein should be the size of your flat palm, carbohydrates the size of your fist and healthy fats the size of your thumb (roughly ¼ of an avocado or 1 Tbsp of oil). Do a quick hand check to see if your food is portioned properly. This works well when dining out because then you can quickly ask the waiter or waitress for a box to pack up the extras to-go, so you don’t overeat. It’s quite often that restaurants provide giant portions that will sabotage your goals.

4. Be sure to track it all

Your next step is to start tracking your food. Remember, it’s not about being perfect and extremely precise when food tracking — it’s about being consistent and mindful about what you are consuming. You’re going to reach your goal weight in no time!

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