Most people who start weighing food stop within a month. The method works; the habit rarely survives contact with a normal life. Here is an approach that does.
Use your hand
Your hand is proportional to your body, which makes it a reasonable guide:
- Protein — a palm-sized portion, about the thickness of your palm
- Carbohydrate — a cupped handful
- Vegetables — two fists, or as much as you like of non-starchy vegetables
- Fat — a thumb-sized amount of oil, butter or nut paste
Use your plate
Divide it:
- Half for vegetables
- A quarter for protein
- A quarter for starch — rice, swallow, yam, potato
This one change often does more than any calorie count, because it fixes proportion rather than amount.
Swallow deserves its own note
Swallow is easy to eat quickly and easy to underestimate. A moulded portion the size of your fist is a reasonable starting point. If you are used to more, reduce gradually rather than halving it overnight — a change you resent is a change you will abandon.
Slow down
Fullness signals take about twenty minutes to register. Eating quickly means the signal arrives after you have already finished. Putting the spoon down between mouthfuls sounds trivial and is surprisingly effective.
What this approach will not do
It will not manage a health condition on its own, and it is not a substitute for a plan built around your bloodwork, medication and goals. It is a starting point that works in a real kitchen — which is worth more than a perfect plan you follow for one week.