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How do I know my portion without a scale?
The hand method — palm for protein, fist for carbs — plus everyday reference numbers. Measure once with a scale to calibrate the eye; after that, eyeballing works.
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Start with the hand method: a palm-sized portion of cooked chicken, fish or meat is about 100–150 g (roughly 150–250 kcal), a fist of cooked rice or pasta about 100 g (130–140 kcal), a small handful of nuts about 30 g (180 kcal), a tablespoon of oil or butter about 90–120 kcal. These are estimates, not measurements — but they are enough to spot a double portion.
The label helps too: it has two lines, energy per 100 g and energy per portion — and the package portion is often tiny (half a chocolate bar, 15 g of chips). If you ate the whole package, the real number is usually two to five times the portion line.
Calibrate once, then trust the eye: weigh something ordinary once a week — pasta, rice, cereal — and after a couple of weeks most people land in a reasonable range. A photo estimate plus a quick gram correction on the foods you can see is the fastest everyday version.
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General information, not medical advice. Figures are mainstream reference values; individual needs vary.
