IDK How To Calculate Portions/Cals In Meats!

...I feel so stupid for asking this butI'm going to anyways!
Every evening we have our dinnner and the main part of it is some kind of meat (Pork Chop, Chicken Breast, Chicken Wings, Steak and so on)
I mean really, sometimes, rarely, its crab topped chicken or something like that where it is two.
What do i do? Count before i cook? ALSO....
Say we have steak for dinner and i cut a piece off...well i dont know how many ounces it is?! I mean how many inch x inch pieces equals an ounce? Is there a formula im missing?!

****A Visual View of Serving Size using Everyday Items*****

How can we determine what a reasonable portion of food would look like?

Often we remember items easier when we can visualise their size, shape or weight, in comparison to something else. Relating the portion size of a serving to everyday items is an easy way to visualise what a true portion size looks like.

Please remember the list below gives examples of the size, shape, and/or look of one serving of a particular food.

**A rounded handful - one 1/2 cup vegetables or fruit, 1/2 cup of cooked rice or pasta, or a snack serving of crisps or pretzels

**Woman’s fist - another way of visualising a serving of vegetables, or one piece of whole fruit

**Small handful or golf ball - 1/4 cup of dried fruit

**A matchbox - a 1 oz serving of meat, or a serving of cheese

**Deck of cards, or the palm of your hand (excluding fingers) - a 3oz serving (recommended serving) of meat, fish or poultry, or ten chips/french fries

**Thin paperback book - a 8 oz serving of meat

**Check book - a serving of fish (approximately 3 oz)

**Tennis ball - 1/2 cup of pasta, or a serving of ice cream

**Computer mouse - a medium baked potato

**Compact disc - one serving of pancake or small waffle

**Thumb tip or one dice - one teaspoon of margarine

**A ping pong ball - two tablespoons of peanut butter

**Small milk carton - 8 oz glass of milk

**A baseball - 8 oz cup of yogurt, one cup of beans, or one cup of dry cereal

It is also a good idea to weigh some of your favorite foods, and try to remember what they look like on your plate. You will then be able to see what a 1/2 cup, or 3 oz serving looks like. This will help you to visualise what an appropriate serving looks like, and it could help to prevent overeating.

Hope this helps give you more a visual idea....though I think for something a scale is definitely helpful as are measuring cups & spoons... after awhile you'll probably become a pro at estimating, but always good to recheck your estimating skills from time to time...amazing how we can be off a bit more than we realize.:drinker:

Great question....not stupid in the slighest...but then again I don't believe there ARE stupid questions...only those not asked:happy:

Personally I eyeball my meat AFTER it's cooked, that's what I go by...some it seems like to weight it before cooking, but I figuring I'm eating what's cooked so that's my method for what it's worth.:flowerforyou:

beebsbaas...sure glad you jumped in and joined us..... :flowerforyou:

Something about today is making me feel very grateful to have MFP as part of my journey ...it's as if there is this endless supply of friends with all sorts of info and we all have the same goals in common. Does it get any better than that on a forum?!! Lots of humor, info, inspiration, motivation, motivation and did I mention inspiration and laughter....and even tears when someone is struggling it's easy to empathize as we've all been at that spot or something very similiar at one point or another.:flowerforyou: :smooched: for all

To our healthy & building back our self esteem & looking GREAT...and having fun while doing it!:drinker:

A round of water for the whole MFP family, no worries kiddos...I'll pick up the tab:laugh: Or if you prefer you can help yourself.....and get your own drink:noway:

Great info. I am going to keep the link on my blog for easy reference.
Thanks.