The size of an adult woman’s palm is equal to somewhere between one-fourth and one-half cup depending on her basic frame size. 

Bariatric surgeon, Dr. Duc Vuong, says that his patients should always serve themselves only a very small portion of food, and that the entire amount of the food on their plate for their meal should be no larger than the palm of their hand. 

He makes an exception for salads consisting of ONLY green leafy vegetables, and says for a meal that consists of only raw leafy vegetables, the portion can be as large as the entire hand.  This recommendation is based on the fact that during the first 6 months or so after a person has Weight Loss Surgery, the stomach pouch will only stretch to about the size of the palm of the hand.

Dr. V talks about this in his Facebook videos.  He calls the rule, 2x2x1. The circumference of this food volume is the length of 4 fingers across the palm of the hand, and the height of the food volume is 1 finger. 


In his videos he demonstrates the concept of 2x2, by placing two fingers on one-half his palm, then two fingers on the other one-half of his palm.  Essentially, a “sleeve” gastric surgery results in a rectangular thin pouch (2x2), while a “RNY” gastric surgery results in about the same size square (2x2).

For a long time I’ve been working to eat very small food portions, and now I’m experimenting to see if I can tolerate eating meals that are only as large as the palm of my hand. 

This morning I found that two Splenda packages exactly fit the palm of my hand.  So I took some photos of the packages, my hand, my plate and my breakfast. 

Below is a photo of that process.

I learned that a portion of food the size of the palm of my hand
is even smaller than I previously believed.




Here's how a meal the size of my palm should look on my different size plates.

I've posted a great many of my actual meals here at DietHobby under the Heading at the top of the page, RESOURCES, Photo Gallery.  Those of you who are interested in Portion Control might want to take a look at the photos posted under various meal categories there.

Dr. Duc Vuong, the Support Surgeon

Five points made by Dr. V, a bariatric surgeon,
in his recent Facebook video: "How Much to Eat?"
(Recommending the amount of food-intake after gastric bypass surgery)

1. Palm of Your Hand - a complete meal should be about the size of the palm of your hand.
   
   
2. You Plate Your Own Food - Use a Very Small Plate - a small Teacup saucer size Plate
   
   
3. 2x2x1 - The circumference of this food volume is the length of 4 fingers across the palm of your hand, and the height of the food volume is 1 finger. 
   
   
4. Salad = the size of your whole hand. A leafy green salad is an exception to the 2x2x1 rule because it is a raw vegetable with very little density.
   
   
5. Don’t Trust Your Brain!   Your brain wants you to eat more. Before eating, portion out an amount of food that is ONLY the size of the palm of your hand. Unless you do this, despite what your brain tells you, the amount of food that you will wind up eating will be more than the size of the palm of your hand. 
   

Note: Originally posted in May 2017 - Bumped up for new viewers.

See "Eating Healthy" Video Below 

Ten Steps
to Eating Perfectly
          by Alden Wicker

1.  They said that fast food executives were turning fat profits by making us fat, so I stopped eating fast food.

2.  They said that killing animals was wrong, so I became a vegetarian.

3.  They said that fertilizer run-off from industrial farming is killing the Gulf of Mexico, the pesticides are killing honeybees, so I started only eating organic.

4.  They said that shipped food is too carbon intensive and not as fresh, so I started eating only local, in-season food.

5.  They said that it was wrong to punish a cow by milking it twice a day, or to steal a chicken’s eggs, so I became a vegan.

6.  They said that the paleo diet would restore my body and make my teeth healthy, so I stopped eating anything cultivated.

7.  They said that cooking food destroys its nutrients, so I starting eating only raw food.

8.  They said that following a macrobiotic regimen would prevent cancer, so I followed it.

9.  They said that I should follow a zero-waste diet, so I stopped buying anything with packaging.

10.  Then, when I showed up at the farmers market in December with my reusable bag looking for local, certified-organic, vegan, unprocessed, uncooked, uncultivated, whole foods, without packaging, that would fit into my macrobiotic diet, I realized that the best thing for the planet, the animals, and my health would be to just stop eating altogether.

FOOD
is not the Enemy,
and
Torturing myself over it
is not the Answer.

 

The substance of FOOD is not what made me obese. 
It all comes back to me
and to my personal eating behavior choices.

Every day, I decide and acknowledge what food, and how much food, is appropriate for me in my life.

That includes accepting that for ME, there can be no “forbidden” foods, and that MY life needs to have room for times of indulgence with food.



Many times in my life, I’ve worked to severely restrict my food intake.  I’ve done many diet experiments with all types and amounts of food substances.

But  I’m now 72 years old, and in the end, ...
part of the diet question has to be: 
“Am I happy right now?" 
"Do I feel fulfilled right now?” 

Time is finite.  Once it’s spent, it’s gone.  At this stage of my life, I’m committed to enjoying as many moments of my life as I can. If I can’t enjoy a moment, then I try to learn from it.

For the past 12+ years, as part of my own weight-loss and maintenance journey,  every day I have consistently recorded all of my food intake into a computer food journal. 

This has kept me Aware of what I’m eating, and helped me with Accountability and Acceptance of my own personal calorie limitations.


My own personal ongoing choice is to eat whatever food that I want in very small amounts, whenever it seems appropriate. 

If I want a cookie,
I eat a cookie, or part of a cookie. 

If I want cake or pie or candy,
I’ll eat a very small amount, like just a “normal size” bite or two.

If I want nuts or cheese or chips,
I’ll eat a small and carefully measured amount of nuts or cheese or chips. 

Even after all these years, I carefully read food labels; and weigh and measure my food.  I consistently record ALL my food ... Every Day ... into my computer food journal which provides me with a running calorie count of the foods I'm choosing to eat. 

For ME, this process is essential for my own personal weight Maintenance, and by using this method I am able to make my personal food choices fit into my daily calorie maintenance budget.

Food is not the enemy, and torturing myself by serving myself food I don’t want, or by avoiding foods that I do want, is not my own personal answer to the question of what and how to eat for weight-loss and maintenance.