Portion control is the nutrition habit I have struggled with consistently across 2,059 days of barefoot-style running. Not in a dramatic way, but in the quiet, persistent way most people do: eating slightly too much at every meal, going back for seconds out of habit rather than hunger, and never finding a system simple enough to stick to. On day 2059, I want to share a method I have been working with recently. A simple one. Because simple is the only kind of system I have found works long term.

THE HONEST PICTURE

I do not have an eating disorder. What I have is a complicated relationship with food, one familiar to a lot of people. I overeat. I eat out of boredom. For years, I did both without noticing, because the habits were so deeply ingrained.

My ADHD brain operates in extremes. Moderation is hard. I commit fully or I do not commit at all, and for that reason I need clear, simple rules or everything falls apart. Over the years, I have tried a range of approaches: nutrition tracking apps, cutting out junk food entirely, focusing on clean eating. Some worked for a time. Most did not stick.

What has stayed with me is one rule: cut out refined sugar. Natural sugar found in fruit and vegetables is fine. Added refined sugar is out. That single rule, applied consistently, has made a measurable difference to how I feel from one day to the next.

But portion sizes remained unsolved. Until recently.

THE PROBLEM WITH MEASURING PORTIONS

Most people avoid measuring portions for the same reason I did: the process feels complicated. Weighing food, logging grams, tracking macros. For someone already managing a full schedule, adding that friction to every meal is not realistic. The system collapses before it ever becomes a habit.

So the answer had to be simpler. And as it turns out, it is.

THE HAND METHOD

The hand method requires no equipment. No scales, no apps, no calculations. Your hand is calibrated to your body, goes everywhere with you, and makes the whole system portable. Here is how it breaks down for a standard meal.

Protein gets two palms. Take the fingers and thumb away and look at the palm alone. That is one unit. Two palms per meal for protein. Clean proteins where possible: grilled chicken breast, fish fillets, lean cuts. Not battered, not deep fried. Grilled or baked for the best outcome.

Simple carbs get one cupped hand. Most meals include pasta, bread, or potatoes as the carbohydrate. Cup one hand and fill it without overflow. That is the limit. When you first measure this out, the quantity is likely less than half of what you would normally serve yourself. That is the point. Most people overestimate their carbohydrate intake by a considerable margin.

Fat gets half a thumb. From the bend of the thumb to the tip. A teaspoon of butter, a measured drizzle of oil. Not a generous pour. Half a thumb. It is less than most people use and more accurate than guesswork.

Complex carbs, meaning spinach, greens, and vegetables, have no firm limit. These are low in calories and high in nutritional value. Fill the plate with them. Use them to feel properly full without tipping into excess.

Two reinforcing rules sit on top of all of this. First: no seconds. The portion on the plate is the meal. Going back for more dismantles the whole system. Second: wait 20 minutes after finishing before deciding whether you are still hungry. The body takes time to register a full stomach. The signal does not arrive immediately. Sit with it before reaching for more.

WHY THIS MATTERS WHEN YOU RUN EVERY DAY

I am 15,925.89km into a barefoot-style attempt to cover 40,075km, the circumference of the earth, on foot. I have 24,149.11km remaining. Every kilometre is one step closer to raising £1M for children's causes, including Great Ormond Street Hospital and BBC Children in Need. The streak does not pause. The mission does not pause.

Which means the body has to hold up across years, not weeks.

Nutrition is not separate from this mission. How I fuel myself directly affects how I recover, how I perform, and how I feel on every single run. I am not a nutritionist and I am not prescribing anything to anyone. I am sharing a system that has started to work for me after years of getting it wrong.

The hand method works because there is no friction. No kitchen scale required, no phone, no deliberating. I use it at home, at a restaurant, while travelling. It is present wherever I am. That frictionless quality is what makes it sustainable across the long term.

THE LESSON

Consistency beats complexity. A perfect system abandoned after a week produces nothing. A simple system followed every day compounds into something significant over months and years.

I have run 2,059 consecutive days. Not because every day has been easy. Because the rule is simple and the habit is protected. Nutrition works the same way. Find a framework simple enough to follow without overthinking it. Follow it every day. Give the body time to adjust.

That is today's lesson from 15,925.89km into a long road.

Watch the full episode: https://youtu.be/bGY6OrSpBE8