approx. how big is a 4oz chicken breast?

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  • stephenatl09
    stephenatl09 Posts: 186 Member
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    It's not very big, but, yes, EVERYONE should have a food scale. It is the only way to accurately control portion size.
  • simplydelish2
    simplydelish2 Posts: 726 Member
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    One of your best investments on this journey is a food scale. You can get one for under $20 at Walmart. That way you know exactly how much you are eating.
  • mogriff1
    mogriff1 Posts: 325 Member
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    I use a small kitchen scale to get accurate measurements. (Got it from Bed Bath and Beyond for $14). Very helpful to make sure I get the right portions.
  • ZugTheMegasaurus
    ZugTheMegasaurus Posts: 801 Member
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    Since I don't have a food scale, I just do some quick math to get a rough estimate. I buy packs of chicken breast in bulk and then cook the whole thing up to have throughout the week. In order to estimate, I look at the weight listed on the package (usually about 5 pounds). Then I divide by the number of breasts in the package to get the average weight of each (look for packs where each piece is about the same size). Usually, the ones I get are 12-14 ounces per breast. I cut them in half (resulting in 6-7 oz. pieces) and bake them. Then every time I want to use it, I just take half a piece and know it's about 3 or 4 ounces. Not perfect, but better than nothing.
  • hellraisedfire
    hellraisedfire Posts: 403 Member
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    One of your best investments on this journey is a food scale. You can get one for under $20 at Walmart. That way you know exactly how much you are eating.

    I absolutely adore my food scale. I had shrimp the other day, and you never would believe that I was not even eating a serving of shrimp! Steak, chicken, and pork on the other hand...
  • petemeep
    petemeep Posts: 62 Member
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    I've read two different things do you weigh the meat before you cook it or after? So is 4oz cooked a serving or 4oz before it's cooked a serving?
  • nichole325
    nichole325 Posts: 244 Member
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    why do you have to weigh the food before you cook it? I eat chicken everyday and a 4oz serving for me is larger than a deck of cards and it pretty decent- I weigh everything.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    why do you have to weigh the food before you cook it? I eat chicken everyday and a 4oz serving for me is larger than a deck of cards and it pretty decent- I weigh everything.

    NI is based on pre-cooked weight. Post-cooked weight will be less because fat drips off and water evaporates.
  • Jill_newimprovedversion
    Jill_newimprovedversion Posts: 988 Member
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    I've read two different things do you weigh the meat before you cook it or after? So is 4oz cooked a serving or 4oz before it's cooked a serving?

    BEFORE cooking, even if it shrinks.
  • nichole325
    nichole325 Posts: 244 Member
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    I just weighed my chicken before cooking and the portion size (4oz) is the same as after cooked for the most part.
  • bj1220
    bj1220 Posts: 11 Member
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    Why would you weigh it before if fat can cook off or water evaporate? You're not eating that. Can someone explain?
  • goodtimezzzz
    goodtimezzzz Posts: 640 Member
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    this is why I pretty much gave up all "manimal" products...:)
  • bgelliott
    bgelliott Posts: 610 Member
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    You should get a food scale-- you can find them all over the place in the household/kitchen section of many stores or Walmart. I weigh my food every day because I want to know the exact weight!

    WM sells them for less than $10- and weigh BEFORE cooking

    Actually you should weight after cooking. Cooked meat will weigh less than raw.
  • bgelliott
    bgelliott Posts: 610 Member
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    Why would you weigh it before if fat can cook off or water evaporate? You're not eating that. Can someone explain?

    I don't know why anyone would weigh raw either. It weighs considerably less once cooked.
  • knsink
    knsink Posts: 1 Member
    edited June 2017
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    I bought a food scale from Amazon that measures in grams as well as ounces. It has been extremely helpful when it comes to portioning food out for meals. I weigh all of my ingredients since it's really easy to double the portion size for food without realizing it. Everything here in the US is supervised. I hope that weighing and eating the correct portions will help in my weight loss journey. I weigh the food after it's been cooked
  • Heather4448
    Heather4448 Posts: 908 Member
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    ZugTheMegasaurus wrote: »
    Since I don't have a food scale, I just do some quick math to get a rough estimate. I buy packs of chicken breast in bulk and then cook the whole thing up to have throughout the week. In order to estimate, I look at the weight listed on the package (usually about 5 pounds). Not perfect, but better than nothing.

    Debbie Downer checking in.
    I bought a 5 pound pack of chicken breasts to cut up for easy meal Prep. This should have given me 5 one pound bags of raw, sliced chicken.
    Right?
    WRONG!
    I got 4 bags weighing just over 4 pounds total. So disappointed and a little angry!
  • hesn92
    hesn92 Posts: 5,967 Member
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    You should weigh before it's cooked because the calorie counts are based on the uncooked weight. If you Weigh it after its cooked, you will be underestimating the calories. If you find an entry In the database for "cooked" chicken breast then use that, but the cooked weight can vary depending on how it was cooked and how much water was lost, so it won't be as accurate. Just my opinion anyways.

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