Hand-Portion Translator
Converts macro targets into palms, cupped hands and thumbs, so tracking works without a scale.
- 01Either enter macros you already know, or let the tool calculate them from your details.
- 02Set your hand size honestly — portions scale with it.
- 03Optionally choose which meal sits around training.
What the terms mean
- Palm
- A palm-sized portion of protein — roughly 25 g of protein.
- Cupped hand
- A cupped handful of carbohydrate — roughly 25 g of carbs.
- Thumb
- A thumb-sized portion of fat — roughly 10 g of fat.
- Fist
- A fist of non-starchy vegetables. Aim for about one per meal.
- Peri-workout
- The meal placed around training, often weighted slightly larger.
Portions scale with your own hand, which is roughly proportional to your body.
From 144p / 370c / 76f — about 2,740 kcal.
Method & sources
Hand portions work because hand size scales roughly with body size, so the measure travels with you and needs no equipment. The trade-off is precision: a palm of chicken and a palm of salmon differ in both protein and fat, and individual hands vary. Expect an error of perhaps ten to twenty percent against weighed food.
That is usually an acceptable price. A method you will actually use every day beats a more accurate one you abandon after a fortnight. If you later want precision for a specific phase, weigh food then.
Hand-portion approach popularised by Precision Nutrition. Gram equivalents are the commonly used approximations and are deliberately expressed as ranges.
What these numbers
actually tell you.
Why this works without a scale
Hand size scales roughly with body size, so the measure travels with you and adapts to the person using it. A larger person has larger hands and needs more food; the units adjust automatically in a way that fixed cup measures do not.
Expect ten to twenty percent error against weighed food
A palm of chicken breast and a palm of salmon differ in both protein and fat. Hands vary. This is less precise than a scale, and that is an acceptable trade — a method you use every day beats a more accurate one you abandon after a fortnight.
When to switch to weighing
If you stall for several weeks with consistent portions, or you are preparing for something where precision genuinely matters, weigh food for a couple of weeks to recalibrate. Then go back to hands.
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