Eat with Your Hands
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If, like many of us, you're hoping to boost your immunity, enhance your energy levels, and optimise your nutrient absorption this winter, it may be time to consider getting handsy with your food and actively measuring your macronutrients.
Consuming a balanced and nutritious diet can have invaluable benefits for your health. It can help address potential sensitivities, prevent chronic diseases, and promote moderation, unlike other intake monitoring philosophies such as calorie counting, which can have negative side effects.
"Next to love, balance is the most important thing." - John Wooden
Calorie counting, while popular for dieting and weight loss, can be harmful to overall health. It focuses on quantity over quality nutrition, encourages food obsession, disrupts natural hunger and satiety cues, increases stress, and promotes an unhealthy relationship with food.
You can gauge the correct proportions of your individual micronutrient needs for each meal by using your God-given measuring cups: your hands. This method allows you to easily implement portion control without logging food into an app or carrying a scale with you wherever you go. Once you become familiar with it, you'll be able to recognise correct portion sizes at a glance.
MEASURE YOUR MACROS
- Protein: Estimate your protein intake using the palm of your hand.
- Complex carbohydrates: Measure all your carbs, including fruits, grains, and vegetables, by making your hand into a fist.
- Fats: Look at your thumb and measure your fat intake for each meal, including condiments, sauces, and spreads.
- Simple carbohydrates: Measure pastas, potatoes, and breads by cupping your hand, as if holding it.
- Oils: Use your thumb to measure your oil and butter intake.
"This is your body, your greatest gift, pregnant with wisdom you do not hear, grief you thought was forgotten, and joy you have never known." - Marion Woodman
It is suggested that women consume a single portion of each of these measurements per meal, while men should double up their portions. For reference, a palm is equivalent to 85 grams of protein, a fist is 1 cup, a thumb is 1 tablespoon, a cupped hand is ½ cup, and a thumb's nail is about 1 teaspoon.
Don't avoid eating out, enjoying food-focused family functions, or treating yourself to indulgent takeaways in order to eat well this winter. Instead, feel free to dig in by simply using your hands to serve yourself a balanced plate of deliciousness.