Build the plate — and right-size it
A simple plate model that works for everyone, plus a portion guide that scales from a small child to a tall adult.
Forget weighing and counting calories. Get the shape of the plate right and the rest tends to look after itself:
How much? Slide to your height
Portion needs scale with body size — so the same plate feeds a 6-year-old and a 6-footer in different amounts. Set the height (or tap an age) for a sensible starting guide.
Read these as starting estimates, not rules. Appetite, activity and (for children) growth should lead — the hand measures are the no-weighing version and self-adjust as a child grows. Oily fish ~2×/week regardless of size. The daily nutrient guide scales UK reference intakes (a ~2,000-kcal adult) by body size — handy for sense-checking food labels, not figures to chase; the saturated-fat number follows the protective 20g label reference (men's official limit is up to 30g). For young children the sugar ceiling is the figure that matters — never restrict fat in under-5s, who need it to grow, and don't use any of this to put a child on a diet (see the guardrail above).