Adarsh

October 16, 2024

Practical portion control

Here’s a stupidly simple hack to be able to grapple with the problem of how much are you eating in a day. Just know the volume of the cup you are serving yourself with. A standard cup is 240 ml. 

Volume is measured in milliliters or ml. 

Knowing how much ML of rice, curd, vegetables, dal and anything that can be put in a cup whose volume you know can quickly tell you how much food you consumed. This can quickly be used figure out the amount of protein, carbohydrate and fat in your meal. More critically, how much energy did you get from the food you just consumed. 

This awareness can also give you actionable information. If you need to half your starch intake. That means literally cut your rice and potato or yam serving by half. Same goes for volume of juice, milk, coffee etc. 

Takeaway 

If you find weighing your food to be onerous, start by understanding volume. It doesn’t have to precise down to the single mL. But you get a simple number to act on. 

PS: Take a cup you use at home. Fill it with water. Empty this into a measuring cup. See how much mL this comes up to. If it exceeds the 240 ml mark. Figure out how much your standard everyday cup needs to filled till to reach 240 ml.

About Adarsh


- I run a strength and conditioning facility in Chennai, India
- I work with my clients to make training and eating for better body composition a part of everyday life
- I coach online and in-person
- I design and manufacture strength training equipment for use in our strength training facility