Nutrition/Protein Bars

I like Quest bars. I had one in between workouts yesterday (did a treadmill run plus a PiYo class) and found it sustained me pretty well. Of course, I was still starving after class because I burned 400+ calories between two workouts. But I tend to get hungry after workouts, so that's not really an effect of the protein bars.

I don't buy them all that much, though. I have two boxes right now and probably won't place another order until one of the boxes runs out.

vorgas wrote: »

Pure Protein makes a great chocolate bar with 21 grams of protein for 180 calories. Don't kid yourself, it's not a healthy way to eat, but if my choice is a snickers or this bar, I'm going for the bar. Priced between 0.99 cents and 1.29 it's very competetive with candy bars.

for you

I get protein bars dozens at a time because my grocery store cycles them and about once a month I can get them for about 80 cents each. Cheaper than a chocolate bar? Sure, I can do that. I look at them as an indulgence, rather than a protein source. They’re my version of a sweet - especially considering they’re chock full of sugar.

I have a few categories of “fave” bars - my go-to is Lära bars, since they have very few ingredients and use dates as the sweetener. I like Kind Healthy Grains and their ingredients generally fill my “clean” requirements. They’re crunchy so they’re like my cookie replacement. Then I try other random stuff. I like Mojo peanut butter pretzel and a couple of flavors of Luna bars, but really... I don’t eat them that often. Actually, I think my mom has eaten more of my bars in the past few months than I have.

What protein bars are GOOD for is if you have a major sweet tooth - like me. I can eat a bar and feel pretty good about it because my body feels better than if I eat a chocolate bar. And if I eat a chocolate bar, I just can’t stop. For me, “protein” bars are a sweet treat that’s hiding a little bit of nutrition - I certainly wouldn’t advise them as a primary source of protein, though. If you’re satisfied without them, I’d skip it and find a better packaged snack - even one you package yourself. I keep zip locked bags of weighed almonds in my protein bar basket to chuck in my bag before I leave, and save the protein bars for an emergency car food and sweet treat.

i agree with most other statements, i actually love the luna bars, most flavors, and i feel like they are pretty decent size. i do not eat them for the protein neccesarily, i agree that the flavors are all sweet and i see it as a sweet treat for me, i can eat one-two a week, and then not eat any for a several weeks, then buy a box and eat three in a week, etc. however, i do appreciate having them for those times when i am sitting at my desk and hunger pains strike and i have hours of work before home, or throwing one in my purse when i am going to be out running errands and time gets away from me. i feel they are a better option than what i could get from the vending machine at work, and its enough to hold me over and prevent me from going through some drive through, or pretzel hut, etc while i am running errands, its enough to satisfy me until i cna get home and eat a meal that i do want.

I have found the grocery store has the best deals. 10 for $10 on various bars including Luna. Luna are good post workout because the macros are balanced. I like the Simple Truth bars at Kroger 20g's, Fit Crunch (best tasting) 16g's, Think Thin 20g's and the ANSI cheese cake bars 20g's. The ANSI are like the Quest bars. Those two bars generally have a half a days worth of fiber as well. The trade off is they don't taste as good.

Just be careful of the sugar and sodium. Some of the bars out there are quite high. The ones listed above are my go to bars. A few maker larger versions with 30g's for meal replacment.

I generally have a Quest bar when I get to work in the morning after going to the gym. I like the amount of protein and fibre in them. I'm no longer trying to lose weight, so I don't know how they impact upon that, but as long as you're able to fit them into your macros, I don't see why they would cause problems

all the 'protein' bars i seen have either more fat or carbs than protein. Shouldn't they be called a fat bar with protein or a carb bar with protein?