What Does 4 oz of Chicken or Steak Look Like? Visual Portion Size & Hand Guide

1. What 3 oz, 4 oz, 6 oz, and 8 oz of chicken breast or steak look like

A 3-ounce (85g) cooked portion of boneless chicken breast, steak, pork, or fish is the exact length, width, and thickness of a standard deck of playing cards (3.5 × 2.5 × 0.75 inches) and delivers 21 to 26 grams of protein.

A 4-ounce (113g) portion matches the size and thickness of an adult palm (without fingers). Remember that raw meat loses about 25% of its weight as moisture during cooking: a 4 oz raw chicken breast cooks down to 3 oz cooked, whereas a 4 oz cooked serving starts as ~5.3 oz raw.

• 4 oz cooked diced or shredded chicken breast = ~0.8 cup (about 3/4 to 4/5 cup) and supplies 35g protein.
• 1 pound (16 oz) of raw boneless chicken breast = 2 to 3 medium breasts (or ~2.5 to 3 cups shredded cooked).
• 1 whole grocery rotisserie chicken = ~3 to 3.5 cups (~15–16 oz) of shredded chicken meat.
• 4 oz cooked crumbled ground beef = ~0.83 cup (while 4 oz raw ground beef = 1/2 cup packed).

2. Visual portion sizes for peanut butter, cheese, and cereal

Calorie-dense fats and snacks are the easiest foods to over-pour by eye. One level tablespoon of peanut butter weighs 16 grams (~94 kcal) and looks like the tip of your thumb. Two level tablespoons of peanut butter weigh 32 grams (~190 kcal) and match the size of a golf ball.

One ounce of cheddar or Swiss cheese (28 grams, ~114 kcal) is the size of two six-sided playing dice (or 1/4 cup shredded), while a 1-cup serving of dry cereal (~35g) matches the size of a baseball.