slim fast and others aren't all that

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wuaname
wuaname Posts: 12 Member
in Food and Nutrition
For the last 12 months I had been eating the Quaker granola bars as snacks, etc. with no worries about looking at the calories etc, as I knew they were light, maybe not perfect but low on the numbers overall. Recenly I decided to actually compare them to a few others I like that are on the market, trying to find something that would be less fattening, less carbs, less calories, etc.. and it looks like in fact the quaker bars are NOT that bad.

It's like you are paying twice as much for a box of slimfast, atkins, or other "diet bars" and not getting anything different than the less expensive Quaker brand (using this as the example, as it's the one I eat, there could be others).

.................. Quaker Chewy Chocolate .......... Slimfast 3 peanut butter crunch

calories .................... 100 ...................... 100
sugar ....................... 5 ............................ 13
fat ......................... 3.5 ......................... 1.5
carbs ................. 17 ............................... 16
serv size ............... 24 g .......................... 23 g

The others I compared and ended with basically the same conclusion are Special K chocolate drizzle cereal bar, and Fiber One 90 calories chewy bar

I see no reason to just go back to the quaker brand, cheaper and better or similar nutrion numbers.. Any reason not to, other than pay for the others' higher price? LOL

Thoughts

Replies

  • sarahkova
    sarahkova Posts: 245 Member
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    I also eat them but I also get the kellogs fiber bars...because there are a few that taste just like girl scout cookies :) hehehe so those are special that I buy ONLY when they are on sale!
  • AlyRoseNYC
    AlyRoseNYC Posts: 1,075 Member
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    Wow that is a lot of sugar in the Slim Fast bar.
  • JulieBoBoo
    JulieBoBoo Posts: 642
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    I'd also compare protein content if possible because that might be factor. You definitely want one with higher protein if possible.
  • koosdel
    koosdel Posts: 3,317 Member
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    You could always make your own. It's not hard, and actually kind of fun.
  • 2bFitNTrim
    2bFitNTrim Posts: 1,209 Member
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    Did you compare the vitamin and minerals as well? I'm not a big "bar" fan myself, but I would think that the slim fast bars are fortified more than the Quaker Oats chewy bars. I could be wrong. Anyone know? Anyway, I eat them once in awhile & will look at that.
  • nickscutie
    nickscutie Posts: 303 Member
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    compare the protein and fiber values for your bars
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Also compare the other vitamins and minerals. I haven't looked at slim fast stuff in a few years, but IIRC, they have a lot more of the other stuff in them than do your typical granola bar. So for people who have unbalanced diets (like me), slimfast DOES offer a lot more than other bars.
  • sbedzyk
    sbedzyk Posts: 21 Member
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    Yeah, I realized that the Slim Fast snack - Peanut Butter Crunch time tastes like a Butterfingers, but has more sugar and carbs

    Slim fast (23g) --> Butterfingers Fun Size (21g)
    cal - 100 --> 100
    fat - 3.5 --> 4
    sat fat - 1.5 --> 2
    Sodium - 70g --> 50
    Carb - 16g --> 15g
    Sugar - 13g --> 10g
  • PamDW
    PamDW Posts: 246
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    I personally steer clear of Slim Fast, I worked with a nephrologist once that told me he had done a study and a scary portion of his women patients in kidney failure were at some point using slim fast or the like throughout life.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    throughout life.
    What exactly does that mean? ANYTHING used as a dietary staple "throughout life" is probably going to lead to problems if it's not balanced out with other things.

    All things in moderation, including moderation.
  • wuaname
    wuaname Posts: 12 Member
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    We might as well have butter finger, lol

    For those talking about "vitamins" and "proteins", that is not part of my equation. Slim fast isn't supposed to be a vitamin supplement nor a protein bar. In my case, it is not a factor, as those two items come in to my diet in other forms. It would be interesting to see what Slim Fast would have to say. I am surrrrrrre this is not the first time someone notices this; very useless purchase and product, if you ask me.
  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    That's fine... but when you say that you aren't getting anythign different than in a less expensive quaker bar, that's not correct. Just because the protein/vitamins/etc aren't important to you (because you get them elsewhere), doesn't mean they aren't in the bar. So you are getting more with the more expensive bar, you just don't care because you get those things already.

    And again... for those of us who don't get those nutrients in other forms, slim fast (and similar) bars are very much NOT useless.
  • UltraRunnerGale
    UltraRunnerGale Posts: 346 Member
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    I do not eat many of these sort of things because they aren't real filling and they "trick" you into thinking they are low calorie, or healthy, or low-fat, or whatever, just to fool you into eating them.

    I have a 6:30AM class on Monday and Wednesday. I don't want to eat my breakfast that early so I will eat a Kashi TLC bar before class and that helps me get through til 8AM, when I eat my regular breakfast.

    My advice (for what it's worth) is, eat them sparingly. Just sayin'..... :bigsmile:
  • PamDW
    PamDW Posts: 246
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    QUOTE:
    throughout life.


    What exactly does that mean? ANYTHING used as a dietary staple "throughout life" is probably going to lead to problems if it's not balanced out with other things.

    All things in moderation, including moderation. Height: 5' 8"


    Basically his point was the women that used it as a diet supplement on a daily basis for long periods of time. My guess is it was also in conjunction with other fasting techniques. I just try to get my nutrients in other forms. But that is my choice... I do not fault others on their choices. If it works go for it!
  • lalasmar
    lalasmar Posts: 18 Member
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    Have you tried any of the Kashi TLC bars? I like them because I can read and know what all of the ingredients are - and they do taste pretty good. The cherry dark chocolate is delicious - and I also like the one with dark chocolate/coconut. The nutritional facts are decent - 120 calories 2g fat 4 g fiber 5g protein. Check them out if you are looking for new bar.

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