How to do hand math to track macros.

Reviewer: Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD

There are several ways to track your nutritional intake.

Choosing which (correct) method is right for you may seem overwhelming.

So we developed a hand-segmentation method.

Simplifying nutrition tracking in a way that is accessible and supportive for everyone. any Your health and fitness goals.

Analysis: Hand Part Method

Precision Nutrition’s Hand Portion Method provides an easy solution for tracking your macros, so you can manage your food intake without weighing, measuring, or counting calories.

The method is simple. Estimate portion sizes by hand.

It’s not about meticulous measurements, it’s about using your hand as a reliable measuring instrument.

What makes the hand method particularly effective is that it essentially matches the proportions of the body. Additionally, the size of the adult hand remains constant, ensuring consistency of distribution.

The outline is as follows:

protein: Your palm determines the size of your protein portion.
vegetable: Your clenched fist will determine the size of your vegetable portions.
carbohydrate: The size of your hand determines the size of your carbohydrate intake.
province: The size of the fat portion is determined by the size of the thumb.

Once you know what your daily intake should be, you can aim to balance your recommended daily intake.

How much hand part to eat

Most people meet their nutritional needs by eating:

1-2 palms of protein-rich food with each meal
1-2 handfuls of vegetables per meal
1 to 2 cups of carbohydrates at most meals
Eat 1-2 fatty foods with most meals

Depending on your goals and framing, you may need to adjust these general recommendations up or down.

Advantages of the hand method

When it comes to macro tracking, the hand-part method offers several advantages:

Accuracy with minimal effort: Our internal research shows that hand tracking is 95% more accurate than other tracking methods, but doesn’t require any meticulous measurement effort. Check out these results to see for yourself how well hand tracking works.
Customizable to suit your dietary preferences: Whether you follow a Mediterranean, Paleo, vegetarian, ketogenic or completely plant-based diet, you can apply this method.
Easy to manage large amounts of nutrients: The hand portioning method allows you to fine-tune your macronutrient splits. Adjust the ratio of protein, carbohydrates and fat to precisely fit your individual needs and goals.
Useful tools for estimating your calorie intake: Each hand portion provides approximately the same amount of protein, carbohydrates, fat, and calories. For example: 1 palm protein ~ 130-145 kcal; 1 fistful of vegetables ~ 25 kcal; 1 cup of carbohydrates ~ 110-120 kcal; And 1 thumb fat ~ 90-100 kcal.

Assuming there are a variety of food choices available

Our hand potion system combines high-, moderate-, and low-fat protein sources; fruits, starchy tubers, beans, and whole grains for carbohydrates; and fatty whole grains (nuts, cheese, avocado) for fats. etc.), mixed foods (such as pesto or nut butter), and pressed oils.

And the hand portion method can be adjusted to fit your individual dietary preferences.

For example, if you’re following a ketogenic diet, you may want to increase your fat intake to compensate for the reduction in carbohydrates.

Example of the hand portion method: Approximate portion sizes for each macronutrient

Here are some examples of how much you can eat using the hand eating method.

However, this is only an approximation. Actual portion size will vary depending on individual hand size and body needs.

male

Palm-sized protein Equivalent to about 4 ounces of cooked meat/tofu, 1 cup of Greek yogurt or cottage cheese, 1 scoop of protein powder, or 2 eggs.

A fist-sized amount of vegetables This is equivalent to about 1 cup of nonstarchy vegetables, such as spinach, carrots, cauliflower, or peppers.

Cup-shaped hands filled with carbohydrates About ⅔ cup of cooked grains or legumes, 1 medium fruit, or 1 medium tuber.

A fat patch the size of your thumb About 1 tablespoon of oils, nuts, seeds, nut butters, avocado/guacamole, cheese, and dark chocolate.

For women

palm-sized protein That’s about 3 ounces of cooked meat/tofu, 1 cup Greek yogurt or cottage cheese, 1 tablespoon protein powder, or 2 eggs.

A vegetable the size of a fist This is equivalent to about 1 cup of nonstarchy vegetables, such as spinach, carrots, cauliflower, or peppers.

Cupped hands full of carbohydrates About ½ cup of cooked grains or legumes, 1 medium fruit, or 1 medium tuber.

A fat patch the size of your thumb About 1 tablespoon of oils, nuts, seeds, nut butters, avocado/guacamole, cheese, and dark chocolate.

Rough math on macronutrient portion sizes

For the number-oriented users, based on the example above, here’s a rough macro that each part provides:

Macros for the general parts of a man:

Protein 1 palm ~ 24g protein, 2g carbohydrate, 4.5g fat, 145kcal
1 handful of vegetables ~ 1.5g protein, 5g carbohydrates, 0g fat, 25kcal
1 cup of carbs ~ 3g protein, 25g carbs, 1g fat, 120kcal
1 thumb fat ~ 2g protein, 2g carbohydrates, 9g fat, 100kcal calories

Macros for approximate female portion size:

Protein 1 palm ~ 22g protein, 2g carbohydrate, 4g fat, 130kcal
1 fistful of vegetables ~ 1.5g protein, 5g carbohydrates, 0g fat, 25kcal
Carbohydrates 1 cup ~ Protein 3g, Carbohydrates 22g, Fat 1g, Calories 110kcal
1 handful of fat ~ 2g protein, 2g carbohydrate, 8g fat, 90kcal

Please remember that these are approximate figures.

All aspects of calorie and macronutrient calculations are based on averages with known error rates.

Hand Part Math Accuracy Test

The examples below will prove to you that using the hand portioning method is 95-100% as accurate as carefully weighing and recording every single thing you eat.

Example 1

The first example individual is a female athlete who weighs 135 pounds and has 18% body fat. She maintains her high activity level by participating in two training sessions a day. Here’s how much she consumes in her day:

6am pre-workout: 16 ounces black coffee, 1 cup low-fat Greek yogurt, 1 cup chopped pineapple, 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, 1 glass of water.
Exercise from 7:15 to 8:30 a.m.: Drink 16 ounces of water during your training session.
Post-workout shake @ 9am: 12 ounces water, 2 scoops protein powder, 1 medium apple, 1/2 cup old fashioned oats, 2 cups spinach, 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed, 1 tablespoon almond butter.
Lunch @ 12 pm: 3 ounces salmon, 1 cup steamed mixed vegetables, 1 medium sweet potato, 1 tablespoon coconut oil, 2 glasses of water.
Afternoon Snack @ 4pm: 1 banana, 2 tablespoons of natural peanut butter, 1 cup of water.
Workout @ 5:30-6pm: Drink 16 ounces of water during your training session.
Post-workout dinner @ 7:00 PM: 3 ounces chopped chicken breast, 2 cups cooked whole grain pasta, 2 cups sautéed vegetables, 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, minced garlic, white cooking wine, and 2 cups water.

Calculate the calories and macronutrients consumed by this person using: USDA Nutrient DatabaseYou get:

2672 calories
170g of protein
264g carbohydrates
104g fat

And if we translate this person’s intake into hand-sized terms, we get:

Protein = 5 Palms (Greek Yogurt, Protein Powder x 2, Salmon, Chicken)
Vegetables = 5 handfuls (spinach x 2, mixed vegetables, stir-fried vegetables x 2)
Carbs = 10 cupped hands (pineapple x 2, apple, oats, sweet potato, banana, pasta x 4)
Fat = 9 thumbs (2 walnuts, 2 flax seeds, 2 almond butter, 2 coconut oil, 2 peanut butter, 2 olive oil)

Using a woman’s approximate calculation of hand portions and multiplying by that number of portions (see section above), the estimated intake is:

2672kcal (exactly the same as calculated by the app and spreadsheet)
166 grams of protein (4 grams less than the app and spreadsheet calculates)
273g carbs (9g more than what the app and spreadsheet calculated)
102 grams of fat (2 grams less than calculated using app and spreadsheet)

As you can see, the difference between tracing manually and using the hand part method is only a few grams.

Example 2

The second example individual is a moderately active male who weighs 210 pounds and has 17% body fat. Here’s how much he consumes per day:

Wake up at 5:30 am: 12 ounces black coffee
Breakfast @ 7am: Place 4 cooked eggs on a whole-wheat wrap with a large skillet of butter, peppers, green onions, and mushrooms, top with about 1 ounce of cheese, 1 cup of black beans, pico de gallo, a glass of water, and 12 ounces of black coffee.
Super Shake @ 10:30am: About 10 ounces of water, 2 tablespoons of chocolate protein powder, 2 cups of spinach, 2 cups of frozen cherries, about 1 tablespoon of cacao nibs, and about 1 tablespoon of chia seeds.
Lunch at 2pm: 4 ounces turkey breast, ~⅔ cup quinoa, 1 handful mixed vegetables, 1 apple, 2 thumbs toasted almonds, 1-2 large cups water.
1-2 cups of green tea 3pm – 4pm.
Evening @ 6pm: 8 ounces sirloin, 2 cups roasted red potatoes with onions, 2 cups roasted rainbow carrots, 2 tablespoons olive oil for roasting, 1 cup wine, 1-2 tablespoons water.

Using the USDA Nutrient Database, we calculate the calories and macronutrients in this person’s intake:

3130 calories
212g protein
283g carbohydrates
111g fat

And if we convert this person’s intake into the amount in hand, it would be as follows:

Protein = 7 Palms (Eggs x 2, Protein Powder x 2, Turkey, Sirloin x 2)
Vegetables = 6 rice balls (green onions/peppers/mushrooms/pico, spinach x 2, mixed vegetables, rainbow carrots x 2)
Carbohydrates = 9 cupped hands (wraps, beans, cherries x 3, quinoa, apples, potatoes x 2)
Fat = 8 thumbs (butter, guacamole, cacao nibs, chia seeds, almonds x 2, olive oil x 2)
alcohol = 1 (wine)

Using the approximate male hand size calculation and multiplying by that amount, your estimated intake is:

3183kcal (53kcal more when calculated with app and spreadsheet)
220 grams of protein (8 grams more than the app or spreadsheet would calculate)
285 grams of carbohydrates (2 grams more than the app and spreadsheet would calculate)
113g fat (2g more than what the app and spreadsheet calculated)

In other words, measuring portions by hand is just as accurate as manually weighing and tracking portions, and it’s much simpler.

We can help you achieve your goals

Our ultimate macro calculator can help you figure out the ideal macronutrient ratios for your specific nutrition and fitness goals. From there, our hand-portioning method can guide you on the path to success.