Clif Bars - good or bad for breakfast?

amg394

Hi!

I am in college and on my super busy mornings I have been having green tea and a clif bar for breakfast. I recently realized when logging it, however, that they have about 21-23 grams of sugar in them. I just bought a bunch of them so I will finish what I have, but should I stop eating them? Or does MFP undercalculate for sugar? As it is they are saying I should only be eating 1200 calories a day anyway which sounds low.

Thanks for your help!

tquill

In my opinion, no food is "bad." Just make sure it fits yor caloric and macro requirements.

With that said, I eat builders bars every once in a while... but they're rather high calorie so I have to restrict my other meals on days when I have them.

dan_IRL

I treat those types of meal replacement bars or shakes as last resort emergency "in a pinch" type meals to prevent me from hitting mcdonalds drive thru.

I wouldn't eat them every day. try and adjust your schedules ever so slightly to make 10 minutes to eat a proper breakfast or do some googling for some make ahead quick and easy breakfasts.


You can spend an hour or two making a dozen or so decent breakfast muffins or healthier egg mcmuffin sandwiches on a sunday afternoon and pop them in the freezer. THen on your busy mornings nuke one and go.

A little bit of googling and prep time/preplanning can go a long way.

I keep a few of these in my desk drawer for those times when I forget to pack my lunch or have to stay late at work.

http://theprobar.com/ THey sell them at Whole Foods. I'm sure you can find them elsewhere as well.

crackur

they are better protein bars available......premier protein are great and can be bought at walmart for a reasonable price or at a sams club if you have one of those.

I eat Kashi cereal for breakfast. 13g of protein per cup and only a little over a hundred calories.

MayaSPapaya

To answer your sugar question, yes, MFP underestimates sugar. In fact, you will find that many people (including myself) don't track their sugar on here because it will tell you're over not too long after breakfast.
I actually eat protein bars for lunch during days I have school because I don't have time to make one in the morning and I don't want to buy lunch every other day. I eat LUNA bars, which is made by CLIF, though sometimes I eat the CLIF ones. It has not hindered my weight loss at all.

Lizzy622

I usually have Clif Kid Z Bars. They are smaller and a better serving size for me. I usually just have them as a snack.

grimendale

I often have the clif max builder bars as a snack. I treat it like candy that happens to have good protein. I wouldn't use it as a meal replacement unless I don't have other options (I've brought them with me overseas before since finding vegetarian, protein-rich meals can be a challenge some places). They aren't bad, but they are not the best option either, at least for meeting my macro goals.

jazzcat55

A few years ago, I used to eat Clif bars occasionally. Then I suddenly got tired of them and didn't appreciate the high calories, either. Recently I've tried some of the new flavors and are giving them a try again. I especially like the Chocolate Almond Fudge and Coconut Chocolate Chip. Of all the brands I've tried, Clif bars are the only ones that are worth the calories because they are at least somewhat filling, which none of the other are, IMO.

I'm trying one today as a breakfast replacement to see how that goes. For me, breakfast is the hardest meal to find the right balance between calories and energy/protein. Cereals, even healthy ones like shredded wheat, are a total calorie rip-off.

ItsCasey

Unless you have a medical condition that dictates how much sugar you should be eating, there's no need to worry about it. Make sure you meet your calorie and macro goals, and you're good to go.

And yes, 1200 calories is too low. MFP is only giving you that number because you chose an overly aggressive rate of weight loss. You only have 20 lbs to lose. Try 1/2 lb or 1 lb per week.

disasterman

If you don't like what MFP tells you, you can set your own goals for sugar and just about everything under My Home>Goals>Custom

To answer your sugar question, yes, MFP underestimates sugar. In fact, you will find that many people (including myself) don't track their sugar on here because it will tell you're over not too long after breakfast.
I actually eat protein bars for lunch during days I have school because I don't have time to make one in the morning and I don't want to buy lunch every other day. I eat LUNA bars, which is made by CLIF, though sometimes I eat the CLIF ones. It has not hindered my weight loss at all.