Protein bars
 

Hey

I just purchased some bars from all kinds of brands. I was just wondering do they make you gain weight cause all it says that its good for your muscles. They are all low in carb and high in protein..

Hm..I'm not sure if they make you GAIN... i love them b/c even though I'm on South Beach and I'm not really supossed to eat them, I do anyway because I have school from 7-2 and no time for lunch, so I eat between classes. My fav are Cinnamon Raisin South Beach cereal bars those are yummy! I've lost 5 lbs from the start of last week, so Im pretty sure they wont make you gain, but see what work best for you :D

Just like any other food item, it won't make you gain weight unless you're eating too many calories overall. My guidelines for what I look for in a protein bar is...
*at least ten grams of protein
*no more than 200 calories
*not a lot of sugar
*not a lot of fat grams

I like Luna Bars. They are a little bit dryer than other ones that I've tasted, but If I make sure to drink it with water, its fine. The Iced Oatmeal Raisin is a really yummy flavor. I go for flavor too, I mean who wants to stomach a protein bar that is disgusting?! I wouldn't be wasting my calories on it if its not that great. Luna and Extend bars are my favorite brands...

I personally prefer to stay away from protein bars because I think they have too much "stuff" in them. I do buy TLC Kashi bars and Larabars because they are good for when DH and I go hiking or even just doing various activities on the weekend.

For day to day stuff, I use protein shakes. They tend to have fewer ingredients and I like the taste.

When I first started limiting my calories, I ate one energy bar per day. I would eat it about 2 hours before I worked out; it gave me the energy I needed to get through the workout without being too filling and also helped satisfy my cravings for sweets. Like paperdoll, I looked for bars that were less than 200 calories, high in protein, low in carbs and fat. My fav ended up being the Be Powered chocolate raspberry because it had a lot of protein (13g) for only 150 calories (but they are a little hard to find). I also like Pria bars (10g protein/170 calories), Zone Perfect bars (15g protein/200 calories), and Balance bars, esp. the Mocha Chip and Honey Yogurt Peanut (14g protein/200 calories). The Zone Perfect Mango & Orange bars taste like a dreamsicle; the apricot ones were also unbelievably good. The Balance and Pria bars taste like candy bars to me--which probably tells you how long it's been since I had a candy bar. Taste-wise, the Be Powered ones were the worst of the bunch.

Now I've pretty much given them all up except when traveling. Like Nelie said, there's too much processed stuff and chemicals in them. Also, I think there were causing some digestive problems for me. But I definitely lost weight while eating them so long as I worked them into my calorie limit for the day.

I used to eat them from time to time, but I still buy them as DH likes them for his breakfast. At least he is eating SOMETHING for breakfast!! He used to go ALL DAY without food and that is just not healthy! If I want something, I usually go for the Kashi rolls which aren't high protein per se, but they do have a lot more fiber than a protein bar. DH likes the Atkins ones--I forget the flavor.