Good, "healthy" protein/recovery bars?

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LUHAN27
LUHAN27 Posts: 211 Member
in Food and Nutrition
These days after working out, I drink a protein drink or eat. Recently I discovered "Gatorade whey protein bars". I brought one in chocolate, caramel flavor. They taste WAY too good,(It's like eating a candy bar) and really really high in calories: 340 calories per bar.(These are high in calories for me because my goal is 1200 per day) Are these bars even "healthy"? I've read reviews and people call them "protein candy bars" Have you tried them? If these aren't good for you, what type of protein bars do you guys eat after a workout? Thanks.

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  • legsbumsandtums
    legsbumsandtums Posts: 2 Member
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    Hi Hun I use f1 meal bars ( very and yogurt or choc!!) or the citrus/peanut/ vanilla snack bars - after a workout though I use h24 rebuild which is super yummy and protein rich! What is your protein target & body focus?
  • LUHAN27
    LUHAN27 Posts: 211 Member
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    legsbumsandtums wrote: »
    Hi Hun I use f1 meal bars ( very and yogurt or choc!!) or the citrus/peanut/ vanilla snack bars - after a workout though I use h24 rebuild which is super yummy and protein rich! What is your protein target & body focus?

    Thank you so much! I'll check those out! I don't have a specific body focus, I just want to recover after working out/also hold me over until the next meal. :)
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,397 MFP Moderator
    edited December 2015
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    All protein bars are healthy. Some have more protein, some have more carbs, some have fats... but overall, can all be eaten within a wholesome diet. Keep in mind, that the context of your overall diet is what determines health, as does your body composition, and genetics.

    I generally like cliff bars though. Both the energy bars and builder brand.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Neither tasting good or being high calories is actually unhealthy of course.
    I realise you put quote marks round the words for a reason. :smile:

    Personally I wouldn't want to eat such a high proportion of my daily allowance in the form of a quick to eat snack.

    One of my favourite bars is:
    Nature Valley - Protein bar (peanut & chocolate). 140 cals, 9g of protein.
    Pretty poor as a protein supplement but tastes good (peanuts and chocolate - what's not to like?)

    I prefer to look at my protein goal over the course of the entire day rather than focus on post workout.
  • natajane
    natajane Posts: 295 Member
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    Ello, this might not be relevant but thought I'd mention it incase it is.

    After my weight lifting sessions I've been drinking a large glass of skimmed milk. Nothing in it, just the milk. Honestly its like magic, no muscle ache the day after! Its cheap, there's nothing weird in there and it helps me reach my protein goal for the day.
  • kwtilbury
    kwtilbury Posts: 1,234 Member
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    The larger question is why are you only consuming 1,200 calories a day? How much do you weigh?
  • questionfear
    questionfear Posts: 527 Member
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    340 calories seems pretty high for a protein bar. Some people don't love the new formula, but Quest bars are good. Cliff makes protein bars too.

    If you're looking to keep a protein bar handy, see if your local grocery store has a section of individual bars for sale. Then you can experiment with what you like best. I know two of my local stores (Shop Rite and Wegmans) both have enormous sections of individual bars for sale (both have them in the natural/health foods area, probably more because they figure people looking for protein bars are more likely to shop those areas than because they're saying the bars are healthy).
  • LUHAN27
    LUHAN27 Posts: 211 Member
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    natajane wrote: »
    Ello, this might not be relevant but thought I'd mention it incase it is.

    After my weight lifting sessions I've been drinking a large glass of skimmed milk. Nothing in it, just the milk. Honestly its like magic, no muscle ache the day after! Its cheap, there's nothing weird in there and it helps me reach my protein goal for the day.


    I never thought of that! Thank you! I'll try drinking a glass of skimmed milk after a workout. :)
  • pinggolfer96
    pinggolfer96 Posts: 2,248 Member
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    How much protein is in those bars? If it's only 20-30 grams of protein your looking at only 80-120 of those calories coming from protein...it sounds like a good meal replacement bar, but I'd rather have something lighter if you're using it for a protein source.
  • LUHAN27
    LUHAN27 Posts: 211 Member
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    kwtilbury wrote: »
    The larger question is why are you only consuming 1,200 calories a day? How much do you weigh?

    Well, I actually eat a bit more calories because at the end of the day, I'm pretty hungry lol. I aim for 1,200 calories a day tho because the app says if I want to lose 2 pounds a week(?) I need to eat in this calorie range.
  • LUHAN27
    LUHAN27 Posts: 211 Member
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    pinggolfer96 wrote: »
    How much protein is in those bars? If it's only 20-30 grams of protein your looking at only 80-120 of those calories coming from protein...it sounds like a good meal replacement bar, but I'd rather have something lighter if you're using it for a protein source.

    Now that you mention it, it only has 20 grams of protein!
  • LUHAN27
    LUHAN27 Posts: 211 Member
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    Thank you for all of the ideas everyone! I'll look into these protein bars. :)
  • erianswilliams
    erianswilliams Posts: 33 Member
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    I buy the single muscle milks it make my own using whey protein, almond milk, some fruit, and maybe a little flaxseed.
  • kwtilbury
    kwtilbury Posts: 1,234 Member
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    LUHAN27 wrote: »
    kwtilbury wrote: »
    The larger question is why are you only consuming 1,200 calories a day? How much do you weigh?

    Well, I actually eat a bit more calories because at the end of the day, I'm pretty hungry lol. I aim for 1,200 calories a day tho because the app says if I want to lose 2 pounds a week(?) I need to eat in this calorie range.

    Why do you need to lose weight that quickly? Bump your intake to 1,700 cal/day and you'll still lose one pound a week. That will be more effective in the long term.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,397 MFP Moderator
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    kwtilbury wrote: »
    LUHAN27 wrote: »
    kwtilbury wrote: »
    The larger question is why are you only consuming 1,200 calories a day? How much do you weigh?

    Well, I actually eat a bit more calories because at the end of the day, I'm pretty hungry lol. I aim for 1,200 calories a day tho because the app says if I want to lose 2 pounds a week(?) I need to eat in this calorie range.

    Why do you need to lose weight that quickly? Bump your intake to 1,700 cal/day and you'll still lose one pound a week. That will be more effective in the long term.

    Yep.. plus aggressive weight loss can increase muscle loss. That means you arent losing body fat as much, it means a slower metabolism and weaker body overall. And while we all think we want weight loss, its really fat loss we want as that is what makes us look good in a bathing suit.
  • pinggolfer96
    pinggolfer96 Posts: 2,248 Member
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    260 calories come from fats and carbs....is rather have a serving of brown rice with chicken lol. That bar is probably just loaded with sugar, which is fine for iifym, but personally I'd rather switch bars or eat real food
  • tillerstouch
    tillerstouch Posts: 608 Member
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    I like quest bars, which you'll see a lot of opinions on but 200 calories 20g of protien 1tg of fiber no sugar, and they are the best protien bars ive had.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    I've tried them and they are good.

    What does "healthy" mean to you?
  • Dreysander
    Dreysander Posts: 294 Member
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    Quest bars. Nomnomnom.

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