How do you measure your protein?

Hello again!  I have a question - so far I have NOT been measuring my food (I usually eat soups or a tuna salad, something like that) so I wanted to just kind of "confirm" how it is that you are supposed to measure...

I believe you are supposed to have like 1/2 cup of protein, 1/4 cup of carbs & 1/4 cup of veggies for your meals...so,

For example, on Easter I'll be having ham - so I would cut it up in small pieces and put it in the 1/2 cup measuring cup, correct?  Then of course, my veggies would be 1/4 cup & another 1/4 cup (not sure what else there will be)...

Is that the right way when you do break out your meals and measure them properly?

Thank you!

I weigh most of my meats on a scale........ I measure out about 3 ounces normally I can get in a little over 2 ounces depending on the meat.......next  I just have a few veggies and a tablespoon of potatoes or 3 or 4 fries or a piece of bread if I have room for it.

I measure out things like chili, corned beef hash in a measuring cup.

Something like hot wings I will get in about 4 or 5 sections or a chicken thigh is about 3 ounces.

Michele

Thanks Michele - good to know about the thigh equaling three ounces...that helps when eating chicken a LOT!

that is exactly how I measure when I measure foods. I have gotten out of the habit of doing that *sigh* 

But that is how I measure and was told to measure that way. 

To make it easier though 4 oz of meat usually equals about 1/2 cup so that is why I really dont measure protein anymore because 4 oz will fit in a 1/2 cup :o)

Hey you!  You can't get outta the habit LOL! :)  So what have you been doing then?

Eyeballing food lol.  I pretty much eat the same thing we eat alot of chicken especially in the summer so I know a chicken thigh is about a 1/2 cup of meat and then I will just take some spoonfuls of other stuff .  Like some cottage cheese or a small baked potato .

I love BBQ chicken on the grill so alot of times I will just eat two pieces of chicken thighs and that is about a cup of food right there and I'm happy and full . 

Once you measure things you pretty much know how much is what.  Like for breakfast I know I can eat 2 of them small turkey sausage patties and two eggs and that is about a a cup of food maybe a hare over but I never eat all the eggs anyways so I dont worry about it to much .

I have measured chicken , pork chops so much and I always buy the same things so once again I know pretty much how many pork sirloin chops I can take . Usually one and half cause they are small .

Like another poster said my Doc and NUT highly highly stresses volume over weight because like she said they do not measure out the same . So I never measure by scales but by measuring cups only ., but every doc is different though lol.


You will get your groove trust me .   Once you measure the same foods out all the time you will pretty much know how much is what . :o)

When you go out to eat if you order something that is about 4-6 oz of protein that is just about the size you want :o)

But remember though I keep my band very loose the more fills you get the tighter your restriction and you might not be able to eat as much but if you cant eat a cup of food per meal you are to tight even if you dont slime or get stuck .  My doc thinks anything less then a cup of food per meal is not healthy and you dont get your nutrition in that your body needs so keep that in mind also :o)

Awesome...thanks for sharing that with me! :)  I tend to eat a lot of the same things too but  need to start cooking a bit - going to make burritos (american style sans the tortilla) with ff refried beans, lean hamburger meat, tomatoes, olives, etc and freeze them in 1/2 c portions so I just have to nuke and eat! :)

Our nut really stressed that it is volume not weight that counts---to always use a measuring cup not a scale.  They can really be different.
Harmony

I use a digital scale that I bought a few years ago to help with weighing packages.  I'm OCD enough to really like to weigh my meat.  I bought it on eBay for about 20.00 I think.  It will weigh in ounces or grams (which can come in handy sometimes figuring out calories).

But if you don't want to go there, another method is to use comparisons.  My doctor tells his patients that 3oz of protein is about the size of a deck of cards.. all 3 dimensions (height, width, breadth). Or it's about the size and thickness of the palm of your hand.. minus the fingers.

We're told to eat 1/2 cup of veggies.  He doesn't advise carbs, but I know some people still do eat them.  I prefer to spend my limited space on vegetables (which I really like!).  A comparison for 1/2 cup of veggies is the size of a tennis ball.   1/2 cup also fits in one of those old-fashioned custard cups.  And I've found a large kitchen cooking spoon holds about 1/2 cup.

THanks...that helps a lot!