Lettuce Yields

[GoodGilligan]

This is probably a question with no easy answer, but I was wondering how many loose leaf lettuce plants are needed to make a family sized salad. I trying to determine how many spots in my system would need to be occupied by lettuce to allow for a few salads a week for a family of four.

As a complete newbie to both gardening and hydroponics, I don't even have a clue as to how big a loose leaf lettuce plant gets when fully grown. Now, I do know that the seed package says the lettuce will be ready to harvest in about 6-8 weeks. Therefore, if one plant makes one salad, I would need to harvest and replant 3-4 plants a week x 8 weeks = 32 plants at all times. Plus a few extras to account for some lost plants.

Has anyone every tried something like this, that could share their experience?

Thanks
GoodGilligan