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Portion Size By Hand Calculator

Work out portion size by hand instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.

About Portion Size By Hand Calculator

Applies the hand-portion method, where a palm of protein is about 25 g, a cupped hand of carbohydrate about 25 g and a thumb of fat about 10 g, scaled by hand size.

Formula

Hand portions

One palm of protein is about 25 g protein, one cupped hand of cooked carbohydrate about 25 g carbohydrate, one thumb of fat about 10 g fat and one fist of vegetables about 80 g

Worked example

With the default values below, Portion Size By Hand Calculator returns Protein per meal (palm) of 25.0. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.

Inputs used

Hand sizeone of Smaller hands, Medium hands, Larger hands
Medium hands
Meals per dayaccepts 1–6
3

Results

Protein per meal (palm)
25.0 g
Carbohydrate per meal (cupped hand)
25.0 g
Fat per meal (thumb)
10.0 g
Daily protein from this pattern
75.0 g

Step by step

  1. 1Values used
  2. 2Hand portions
  3. 3Protein per meal (palm)= 25.0 g
  4. 4Carbohydrate per meal (cupped hand)= 25.0 g
  5. 5Fat per meal (thumb)= 10.0 g
  6. 6Daily protein from this pattern= 75.0 g

Assumptions and limits

  • The result is derived only from the 2 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
  • In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax, fees or charges or compounding frequency into account.
  • Figures are rounded for display to 1 decimal place, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
  • Educational estimate only. Not a substitute for professional clinical judgement, and must not be used to make treatment or dosing decisions.
  • This is an estimate for general information and not professional medical advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.

How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.

Educational estimate only. Not a substitute for professional clinical judgement, and must not be used to make treatment or dosing decisions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why use hands at all?

Hand size scales roughly with body size, so portions self-adjust without weighing anything.

How accurate is it?

Within about 20% for most people, which is usually enough for a maintenance diet without tracking.

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