Don't Bird Box

Jan 8, 2019

     BY NOW YOU’VE PROBABLY SEEN NETFLIX’S HIT MOVIE, BIRD BOX, WITH SANDRA BULLOCK SAVING HER FAMILY BY TAKING THEM ON A BLIND TRIP. (IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE MOVIE THEN THIS REFERENCE IS GOING RIGHT OVER YOUR HEAD AND I’M SORRY.) EITHER WAY, THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE WHEN YOU SAY YOU WANT TO LOSE OR GAIN WEIGHT, BUT ARE DOING ABSOLUTELY NO TYPE OF TRACKING OR MEASURING. YOU’RE GOING ON A LONG JOURNEY WITH YOUR EYES CLOSED AND BLINDFOLDED; JUST HOPING THAT YOU’LL MAKE IT TO THE END SAFELY. YEAH, YOU MIGHT FINALLY REACH YOUR GOAL, BUT IT’S GOING TO TAKE A LOT OF TRIAL AND ERROR AND MAY INVOLVE RUNNING INTO A FEW TREES ALONG THE WAY (ANOTHER BIRD BOX REFERENCE).
     DOES THIS MEAN THAT TO REACH YOUR GOAL WEIGHT YOU NEED TO TURN INTO A CRAZED SCIENTIST AND WEIGH/MEASURE EVERY LITTLE THING YOU EAT? NOT NECESSARILY. TODAY WE’RE GOING TO BREAKDOWN WHAT WE LIKE TO CALL “THE HAND SCALE”. THIS SIMPLE SYSTEM IS AN EASY WAY TO KNOW HOW MUCH FUEL YOU’RE PUTTING IN THE FURNACE. THE BEST PARTS ABOUT THIS GLORIOUS WAY TO MEASURE IS:

Your hands are always with you, so there can never be an excuse as to why you didn’t measure.

Your hands are typically proportional to your body and it’s energy needs. In other words, if you used your kids' hands to measure your meals, you would more than likely be under-eating…a lot.

This is a great way to get a feel and lay down a foundation for tracking, counting, & measuring food

Lastly, this measuring system can be customized to work with any type of macro preference; low-carb, keto, paleo, vegetarian, etc.

HOW DO YOUR HANDS COMPARE?
HAND-SCALE MEASUREMENTS
PALM OF YOUR HAND = 1 SERVING OF PROTEIN (ABOUT 30-35 GRAMS)
CUPPED HAND = 1 SERVING OF CARBS (ABOUT 33-40 GRAMS)
CLOSED FIST= 1 SERVING OF VEGETABLES
THUMB = 1 SERVING OF FAT (ABOUT 12-14 GRAMS)

PUTTING IT TO WORK

NOW THAT YOU KNOW HOW TO USE YOUR HANDS, IT’S TIME TO APPLY IT. LET’S SAY WE’RE TRYING TO TRACK MACROS FOR A 43-YEAR OLD MOM WHO TRAINS 3 TIMES A WEEK. SHE KNOWS THAT SHE WANTS TO HIT 2, 100 CALORIES USING A 40/30/30 (FAT/PROTEIN/CARBS) BREAKDOWN. SO, HER MACROS WOULD BE CLOSE TO 160 GRAMS OF CARBS AND PROTEIN AND 95 GRAMS OF FAT. THE HAND-SCALE MEASUREMENTS WOULD THEN LOOK SOMETHING LIKE THIS:

1 cupped hand of carbs 4-5 times/day

1 palm of protein 4-5 times/day

1.5 thumbs of fat 4-5 times/day

1 fist of vegetables 4-5/day

Pretty easy, hu?

    LIKE I SAID, YOU CAN ALSO TWEAK THESE SERVINGS SIZES BASED ON HOW YOU LIKE TO BREAKDOWN YOUR MACRO PERCENTAGES. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU LIKE TO STICK TO A LOWER CARB DIET, YOU WOULD JUST SWITCH OUT 1 OR 2 OF YOUR CARB SERVINGS FOR 1 OR 2 OF YOUR FAT SERVINGS.
TO WRAP IT UP, IF YOU’RE LOOKING AT SHREDDING DOWN YOUR BODY FAT TO THE SINGLE DIGITS, THEN YOU NEED TO BE VERY SPECIFIC WITH HOW MUCH AND WHAT IS GOING INTO YOUR BODY. YOU’LL NEED TO COUNT, TRACK, AND HIT YOUR DAILY MACROS; MOST LIKELY WHILE USING SOME KIND OF SYSTEM/APP. (MYFITNESSPAL FROM UNDER ARMOUR IS A GREAT APP FOR TRACKING) ON THE OTHER HAND, IF YOU’RE LOOKING AT LOWERING YOUR BF A BIT OR JUST WANT TO GET INTO A HEALTHY RANGE, THEN USING THE HAND-SCALE CAN BE YOUR BEST FRIEND. NOTE: IF YOU’VE NEVER HAD ANY EXPERIENCE WITH MEASURING STARTING WITH THE HAND-SCALE WOULD BE THE MOST BENEFICIAL.
HAVE YOU BEEN TRACKING YOUR NUMBERS AND STILL CAN’T SEEM TO MAKE ANY PROGRESS? IT MIGHT BE TIME TO GET YOUR METABOLISM CHECKED SO YOU KNOW EXACTLY HOW MUCH YOU SHOULD BE EATING!

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