Monica Pulgarin FITNESS

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Week 1
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Vegetarian Options
High-protein meals for women over 40
✋ Portion Control Guide
Your visual cheat sheet for getting portions right
The Hand Method — always with you, always accurate for YOUYour hand is proportional to your body size, so it auto-adjusts to your needs. Use it every meal, no tools required.
✋ Your Hand as a Measuring Tool
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Protein
1 palm = ~85–115g cooked
Chicken breast, fish fillet, beef, tofu, tempeh
= 1 palm of your hand (thickness included)
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Cooked Grains & Starchy Carbs
1 cupped hand = ~½ cup / 60–80g
Rice, pasta, quinoa, oats, lentils
= 1 cupped hand (like you're holding water)
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Vegetables
2 fists = ~1–2 cups / unlimited greens
Broccoli, spinach, peppers, zucchini, salad
= 2 closed fists minimum per meal
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Fats & Oils
1 thumb = ~1 tbsp / 10–15g
Olive oil, butter, nut butter, avocado, cheese
= 1 thumb from base to tip
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Nuts & Seeds
1 small handful = ~28g / 1 oz
Almonds, walnuts, cashews, sunflower seeds
= what fits in your closed palm — no overflow
👀 Visual Comparisons
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Deck of cards
= 85g cooked meat or fish
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Tennis ball
= 1 cup pasta or rice
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Baseball
= 1 medium fruit or 1 cup veg
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4 dice
= 28g hard cheese
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Poker chip
= 1 tbsp nut butter or dressing
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CD / puck
= 1 pancake or 1 corn tortilla
🍽️ The Plate Method
Build every plate this way:½ plate = non-starchy vegetables · ¼ plate = lean protein · ¼ plate = complex carbs · small drizzle of healthy fat. No measuring needed — just fill your plate in the right proportions.
Why weigh your food?Studies show people underestimate portions by 20–40%. Just 2 weeks of weighing will calibrate your eye permanently — then you can stop weighing most of the time.
⚖️ How to Use Your Scale
0️⃣
Step 1: Tare / Zero
Place your bowl or plate on the scale, then press TARE or ZERO. This resets the display to 0 so you're only weighing the food — not the container. Add each ingredient, tare between each one to build up your meal in a single bowl.
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Step 2: Use Grams, Not Ounces
Grams are far more precise. 1 oz = 28g, so small errors in ounces = big errors in grams. Switch your scale to grams and stick with it — all nutrition labels show per 100g anyway.
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Weigh Protein RAW
Chicken loses 20–30% weight when cooked
Always weigh chicken, beef, fish, tofu and tempeh before cooking. A 150g raw chicken breast becomes ~105g cooked — if you weigh it cooked, you'll think you ate less protein than you did.
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Weigh Grains DRY
Rice doubles or triples in weight when cooked
Weigh rice, oats, pasta, and lentils dry / uncooked. 60g dry oats becomes ~170g cooked after absorbing water. The nutrition label is almost always for the dry weight.
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Vegetables: Either Raw or Cooked Is Fine
Vegetables have so few calories that a small error won't impact your results. If the label says raw, weigh raw. If cooked, weigh cooked. Aim for 100–200g per serve and don't stress it.
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Oils & Fats: Always Weigh
1 "splash" of oil can easily be 3–4 tbsp = 360 cal
Oil is the #1 hidden calorie source. Weigh it directly into the pan before cooking — 10g of olive oil = 90 cal. Spray oils used sparingly are fine to estimate (1 second spray ≈ 1g).
📋 Quick Reference — What to Weigh When
Chicken / Fish / Beef → RAW Eggs → whole, unshelled Rice / Oats / Pasta → DRY Lentils / Beans → DRY Vegetables → either Fruit → as eaten Cheese → as is Nut butter → as is Oil → in the pan before cooking Yogurt / Cottage cheese → as is
💡 Practical Tips & Tricks
✅ The 2-Week ChallengeWeigh everything for just 2 weeks. You'll be shocked by what a "normal" portion actually looks like — and after 2 weeks your eye will be calibrated for life. Most clients never need to go back to daily weighing after this.
✅ Pre-portion your snacks immediatelyThe moment you buy nuts, crackers, or dried fruit — divide the whole bag into individual portions and bag them up. You'll never mindlessly eat from a large bag again.
✅ Use a smaller plateSwitching from a 30cm dinner plate to a 23cm plate reduces food intake by 22% with zero willpower — your brain sees a full plate and is satisfied. This is one of the most evidence-backed tricks in nutrition science.
✅ Weigh sauces, dressings & condimentsA tablespoon of olive oil is 119 cal. "A splash" is usually 3–4 tablespoons = 357–476 extra calories. Weigh dressings and sauces separately and add them after plating.
✅ Read labels per 100g, not per servingServing sizes on labels are often unrealistically small. Always read the per 100g column — then multiply by however many grams you actually weighed.
✅ Liquid calories are invisibleJuice, smoothies, lattes, and alcohol don't trigger fullness the way solid food does. Treat all liquids other than water, black coffee and plain tea as food — measure and track them.
✅ Meal prep = portion control on autopilotWhen you cook 4–5 portions of chicken and rice at once, you naturally divide it evenly. Prepare your proteins and grains for the week in one session — then just grab and go.
⚠️ Sneaky portion traps to avoidCooking for a family and tasting as you go (adds 100–200 cal easily) · Eating from the serving bowl instead of plating · "Saving calories" all day then eating a huge dinner · Oversized restaurant portions (often 2–3 servings in one plate) · Low-fat products that have double the sugar
🧠 What Women Over 40 Need to Know
Your metabolism needs protein mostAfter 40, muscle mass declines and metabolism slows — but adequate protein (your target is ${PROFILE.protein||50}g/day) preserves muscle, keeps you full, and keeps your metabolism active. Always weigh your protein source first and build the rest of the plate around it.
Consistency over restrictionYou don't need to be perfect every meal. Aim for 80% of meals on plan. A 10% underestimate of portions will still get you results — obsessive tracking causes more stress than it solves. Use the hand method daily, weigh once a week to check yourself, and trust the process.
🏠 Home Equipment Guide
Everything you need — nothing you don't
Home workout rule: less is moreYou only need 3 things to do this entire 30-day programme from home. No gym required, no expensive machines — just these basics and your commitment.
Dumbbells
Dumbbells — 2 or 3 weight sets
The foundation of every strength session
You need 2 sets minimum — light and medium. Add a heavy set in Week 3 once you've built confidence. See the Weights tab for exact recommendations based on your level.
Exercise Mat
Exercise Mat
For floor work, stretching and cool-down
Any non-slip yoga or exercise mat works. Minimum 6mm thickness for comfort on glute bridges, planks and stretching. If you don't have one, a folded blanket works for most exercises.
Resistance Band
Resistance Band (optional but recommended)
Used for warm-ups, clamshells & lateral walks
A loop resistance band (fabric or rubber) in light or medium resistance. Used for Band Pull-Aparts, Side-Lying Clamshells and Lateral Squat Walks. A set of 3 bands for under $15 covers everything.
Sturdy Chair
Sturdy Chair or Low Bench (optional)
Used for Split Squats & Hip Thrusts
A dining chair or a step works perfectly. Used for rear-foot elevated Split Squats and as a bench for Hip Thrusts. If you don't have one, you can do both exercises with both feet on the floor.
💡 Budget optionStart with just one pair of medium dumbbells (5–8 kg) and your mat. You can modify most exercises to work with a single weight. As you get stronger, add a lighter and heavier set.
💡 Adjustable dumbbellsIf you have the budget, a single pair of adjustable dumbbells (the kind with a dial or pin system) replaces all 3 sets and takes up almost no space. Brands like Bowflex, NordicTrack or budget options on Amazon work perfectly.
The right weight makes all the differenceToo light = no results. Too heavy = injury risk. The sweet spot is a weight where the LAST 2 reps of each set feel genuinely hard — but you could still do 1–2 more with good form.
🔵 Light Set — Isolation & Shoulder Work
Beginner: 2–3 kg (5 lbs) · Intermediate: 3–5 kg (8 lbs)
Used for: Lateral Raise, Front Raise, Arm Circles with weight, Triceps Kickback — exercises where the arm is extended away from the body and the smaller shoulder/tricep muscles do the work. These muscles fatigue fast with lighter loads.
🟠 Medium Set — Upper Body Compound Moves
Beginner: 4–6 kg (8–12 lbs) · Intermediate: 6–10 kg (12–20 lbs)
Used for: Shoulder Press, Bent-Over Row, Single-Arm Row, Chest Press, Biceps Curl, Hammer Curl, Triceps Overhead Extension — multi-joint upper body moves where you have more leverage and your bigger muscle groups are involved.
🟢 Heavy Set — Lower Body Power Moves
Beginner: 6–10 kg (12–20 lbs) · Intermediate: 10–14 kg (20–30 lbs)
Used for: Goblet Squat, Romanian Deadlift, Single-Leg RDL, Hip Thrust, Split Squat, Reverse Lunge, Curtsy Lunge — your legs and glutes are the biggest, strongest muscles in your body and can handle much more load than your upper body.
Start lighter than you thinkOn Day 1 of any new exercise, go 1–2 kg lighter than you think you need. Learn the movement first. Add weight from Week 2 once your form feels solid. Ego lifts lead to injury — progressive overload leads to results.
⚠️ Signs your weight is too heavyYou can't control the movement · Your form breaks down before the last rep · You're holding your breath or jerking the weight up · You feel it in your neck or lower back instead of the target muscle
Progressive overload: the key to resultsEach week, aim to either increase weight by 1–2 kg OR add 1–2 extra reps at the same weight. This gradual increase is what forces your body to change. The programme is already designed with this progression built in — just focus on adding a little more each week.
Do this test before your first workoutTakes 10 minutes. Tells you exactly which weight to start with for every exercise category. Do it with the dumbbells you have — or use water bottles / bags of rice to estimate.
Lateral Raise Test → finds your LIGHT weight
1
Stand with dumbbells at your sides. Raise both arms out to shoulder height, elbows slightly bent.
2
Do 12 reps with controlled movement — no swinging. The last 2 reps should feel hard.
3
If all 12 felt easy → go up 1 kg. If you couldn't finish 10 → go down 1 kg. This is your LIGHT dumbbell.
Biceps Curl Test → finds your MEDIUM weight
1
Stand with dumbbells at your sides, palms forward. Curl both arms to shoulder height without swinging.
2
Do 12 reps. The last 2 should be genuinely challenging but doable with good form.
3
The weight that makes reps 11–12 feel hard = your MEDIUM dumbbell.
Goblet Squat Test → finds your HEAVY weight
1
Hold one dumbbell vertically at chest height. Squat until thighs are parallel to the floor, chest tall.
2
Do 12 reps with a 2-second lowering phase. Your knees should track over your toes — no caving inward.
3
The heaviest weight you can do 12 clean reps with = your HEAVY dumbbell. Add this in Week 3.
✅ Write down your starting weightsLight: ___kg · Medium: ___kg · Heavy: ___kg. Re-test at the end of Week 2 and Week 4 — most women go up 1–2 kg per set within the first month.
⚠️ Never sacrifice form for heavier weightA perfect rep with lighter weight builds more muscle and burns more fat than a sloppy rep with heavy weight — and keeps you injury-free so you never miss a session.
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