How to count calories without a food scale

The hand portion method

Your hand grows with your body, so it scales portions to your size. Rough values for one portion:

• Palm (thickness and size of your palm) of meat, fish, tofu or eggs: about 20 to 30 g protein, roughly 100 to 150 kcal.
• Fist of vegetables: about 25 to 50 kcal.
• Cupped hand of rice, pasta, potatoes, oats or fruit: about 20 to 30 g carbs, roughly 100 to 150 kcal.
• Thumb of oil, butter, nut butter or cheese: about 7 to 12 g fat, roughly 80 to 120 kcal.

Build a meal from portions

A typical meal for many men is 2 palms of protein, 2 fists of vegetables, 2 cupped hands of carbs and 2 thumbs of fat. For many women it is one of each. Adjust up or down based on how your weekly average weight moves.

This gives you a meal in the 400 to 800 kcal range without opening an app.

Watch the calories you can't see

Hand portions miss the extras. These are the usual reasons people stall:

• Cooking oil: one tablespoon is about 120 kcal and disappears into the pan.
• Sauces and dressings: creamy ones can add 100 to 200 kcal per serving.
• Drinks: juice, lattes, soda and alcohol.
• Bites and tastes while cooking.

Eating out

Restaurant meals tend to run higher than they look because kitchens use more fat. A US study measured restaurant and packaged foods and found restaurant items averaged about 18% more calories than stated.

When in doubt, round up. Logging a plate as a bit bigger than it looks usually lands closer to the truth.

Let a photo do the estimating

Studies on self-reporting found people underestimate how much they eat, sometimes by a lot. Taking a photo before you eat helps, because it records the real plate instead of a memory.

With myCalCoach you send that photo (or a voice note) in Telegram and get calories and macros back. You can add details like "cooked in olive oil" to sharpen the estimate.