Chris Powell's Choose More, Lose More for Life (36 page)

But even if your hand size yielded the exact portions shown in the conversion chart above, portions of various foods have
different calorie counts
. That is, different ingredients within the same food category (proteins, carbs, veggies, or fats) are more or less calorie-dense than others. For instance, a palm-size, five-ounce portion of ground beef has more calories than the same amount of chicken breast. So you need a way to translate your paws into calories.

Using your hands to measure your portions puts you in the ballpark, because people who have bigger hands—in general, that’s men—end up with bigger portions. Perfect! Men need to eat more calories than women. How much more? Well, women should cycle between 1,200 and 1,500 calories daily, while men should cycle between 1,500 and 2,000 calories.

Beware! Somewhere along your weight-loss journey, you’ll be tempted
to speed the process by
eating fewer calories
than I recommend. Bad idea. If you take in too few calories, your body will get the signal to protect its fuel reserves. Your metabolism will
slow down
, and your weight-loss mission will be derailed—or even stopped. To prevent this from happening, get your calories!

Bottom line, you’ve got to make sure you’re getting close to the
right number of calories every day
. As long as you’re in the ballpark, you’re going to get results. To determine the approximate number of calories you’re consuming daily, go to the next section and check out the list of recommended carb-cycling foods, which we’ve measured out into 100-calorie portions. The size of a 100-calorie portion of any of the approved foods gives you an idea for how your hand portion sizes up.

At the start of your carb-cycling program, take a little time to see how your hand portions translate into numerical measurements. It’s actually kind of fun. Put together a palm-size portion of a protein, a fist-size portion of a carb, a double-fist portion of veggies, and a thumb’s worth of fat. Put
those portions into measuring cups or spoons, and see how much of each food you end up with. Then do it backward: Measure out the recommended portion of each food and see how it compares to your hand size. Cool, huh? This will help you portion more accurately with your hands. Remember, once you’ve got your hand measurements dialed in, you’ll have them for life!

Another way to get a grip on portioning is, for a week or so at the beginning of your carb-cycling program, to use measuring spoons and cups to dish out your ingredients. It might be a pain, but it only takes a few extra seconds, and soon you’ll get the hang of portioning with your hands instead of utensils. From then on you’ll have a portable tool for measuring out the right number of calories each day, and you’ll be on your way to your weight-loss goal!

Ah, finally, the nitty-gritty info you’ve been waiting for: The List. Here’s where you find out what you’re going to be able to eat on the carb-cycling plan. We call them
smart foods
—smart proteins, smart carbs, smart veggies, and smart fats. We even list smart condiments and smart beverages! And we show you how much of each item is in a 100-calorie portion. Stick with smart foods and portions, and you’re good to go!

Carbs	Approximately 100 Calories
Breads
Brown Rice tortillas	1 tortilla
Corn Tortillas	1½ tortillas
Ezekiel 4.9 Breads	1 slice
Ezekiel 4.9 English Muffin	½ muffin
Ezekiel 4.9 Tortillas	¾ tortilla
Whole-Grain Bread	1 slice
Cereal
All-Bran	½ cup
Fiber One	¾ cup
Kashi Go Lean	½ cup
Kashi Good Friends Cereal	½ cup
Kashi Heart to Heart	¾ cup
Low-Fat Granola	½ cup
Old-Fashioned Oatmeal (cooked)	¾ cup
Steel-Cut Oatmeal (cooked)	¾ cup
Grains
Amaranth	½ cup
Barley	½ cup
Bran	½ cup
Buckwheat	½ cup
Brown Rice (cooked)	½ cup
Millet (uncooked)	cup
Oats (steel-cut and cooked)	cup
Popcorn (air-popped, no oil)	3 cups
Quinoa	½ cup
Wild Rice	½ cup
Legumes
Beans (boiled or low-sodium canned)	½ cup
Lentils (cooked and boiled)	½ cup
Soybeans (edamame)	¼ cup
Soy Nuts (roasted, lightly salted)	3 Tbsp
Pasta
Brown Rice Pasta	½ cup
Couscous	½ cup
Whole grain pasta	½ cup
Root Vegetables
Beets	1½ cups
Carrots	2 cups
Parsnips	1 cup
Potatoes (russet/red/gold)	¾ cup
Rutabagas	2 cups
Sweet Potatoes/Yams	cup
Starchy Veggies
Corn (fresh)	cup
Peas (fresh)	1 cup