Weight loss/Protein bars
 

a lot of you have said to increase some of my protein. so what are the best low cal/low fat/low carb/high protein bars i can snack on that wont make me gain weight? when should i eat them?... i had a balance bar after a workout last week. that was the last thing i ate for that day

If I wanted to increase protein - I wouldn't reach for packaged foods, I'd eat more good, natural foods that are high in protein: lean meats, low fat dairy (especially cottage cheese and yogurt!), eggs, tofu (and other soy products), beans/legumes (chickpeas, black beans, kidney beans, lentils, peas), nuts/seeds, quinoa, salmon/tuna. I make sure I eat protein every meal and my goal is to eat as much whole foods as possible.

In my opinion, a lot of those protein bars are no better than candy bars as far as calories/fat go.

I'm with Glory on this one most of those protein bars are NO BETTER than a candy bar... The protein they have in them is very low grade and they are full of hidden sugars. Save your money... For a good snack have some cottage cheese and strawberries or a whey protein shake with strawberries... I also eat 5-6 meals/day and always have a portion of protein and carb at each meal, this keeps me fuller longer than those protein bars.

I agree with the others, the bars are no good. Hidden sugars and not the right kind of protein. Reach for lean meats, nuts, cottage cheese, low fat mozz. string cheese. Those are my favorites. A new treat that I've discovered satisfies my sweet craving and I get my protein in. I mix half a cup of low fat cottage cheese with one of the prepackaged sugar free lime jellos. Love it! Couple of pinapple chunks and some walnuts in there and you've got a great light but filling salad.
Also, a hardboiled egg or even just the egg whites, thats where the protein is at.
good luck!

Kim

I eat protein bars as a candy substitute at times. But to get my daily protein, I eat yogurt, string cheese, nuts, peanut butter, beans, fish, chicken, ham and eggs. I have eggs nearly every morning. And I generally have one of those 3 meats or beans once a day. I mix up the yogurt, cheese, nuts and PB for snacks.

Yogurt and lean meats and fish are what I do for protein...a lot of yogurt, about 1 1/2 c or more each day, non-fat, artificially sweetened or unsweetened. Some research suggests dairy, and especially yogurt helps weight loss, in part because of the calcium. But I like it, and am glad to have it.

I eat meal replacement bars only when I realize I am really overdue for my last meal and am out. If I buy more than one, I will eat it...so I only buy them as needed. They are too sweet for my normal use.

One thing, check to see what their first ingredient is. It ought to be something like whey protein, and NOT high fructose corn syrup!

I would stay away from high protein bars unless absolutely the last resort. The reason is they have a tendency to raise blood sugar in a lot of people. It depends on the person but if you are sugar sensitive, the sugar alcohol can actually cause a weight gain not loss. Every body is different.

Lean meats are your best bet: chicken, turkey, tuna, salmon, assorted fishes, etc. If you need the extra protein and you are already eating a balanced nutritional program I would try whey protein shakes made with either fruit juice or non-fat milk. I like mine with non-fat milk.

I usually have my protein drinks on the days I lift weights and drink them immediately after my workout. In that case I use 1.5 scoops of powder, add frozen fruit and sometimes even ice cream. Just depends on what I'm interested in at the time.

I also have protein drinks when I want to boost my protein intake the day after lifting weights.

Basically I try to sense what my body wants to eat and that's what I give it.

I also do this with exercise and lifting weights. I monitor my body and the way it feels. I never push exercise when I have pain or aches or I feel tired. Like today, I took off because I felt a little more tired. I still ate the same amount of food, 2000 to 2400 calories.

ham and eggs are fine as snacks. as are nuts. a snack size portion of any of the foods mentioned in the thread are fine. neither eggs nor ham are loaded with fat. the ham i eat has 1/2 gram of fat per serving. the egglands best eggs are loaded with omega 3, 6, and 9 and low in sat fat. tey have 4 grams of fat and only 1 is saturated. i have had eggs almost every morning, ham a lot too, and always nuts for snacks for 4 months now and lost 68lbs eating them. it is all about the portion size. also, keeping track all day of your calories, fat, carbs, etc on www.fitday.com. all of these foods can be part of a balanced diet. bacon too!

Kim

I check around and try different ones from time-to-time. Most recently, I bought a box of Detour whey protein bars at Sam's Club. They seem to be the lowest in about everything. Though they do have 3 grams of sat. fat, I think much of that is due to the nuts in them. But they're under 200 calories, 16 carbs, and only 6 sugars compared to the higher amounts in most. They have 15 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber. I keep some around for when apples just don't cut my sugar fix. :lol:

Same here. I've bought only Egglands Best for the last 2 years. I saw a nutritionist because I had an unexplained rash. I went through allergy and dermatology and lastly, went to a nutritionist. I believe it may be the dyes/fragrances in laundry detergent. But I'm afraid to switch back to regular detergent to find out, and suffer through rashes again. However, at the same time...the nutritionist felt it may be that I had cut out ALL sat. fats from my diets. She explained good fats and bad fats. And eggs are actually good for you. So I had to conciously make an effort to stop looking at sat. fats as bad. I changed from eating just Kashi or oatmeal every morning to eating eggs nearly every morning. I'll have either 2 eggs and some lean ham and tomatoes, or one egg and a bowl of oatmeal and some light OJ. But I do eat eggs regularly now.

My hubby laughs at "vegetarian hens", but coming from a man who drinks a case of Mtn. Dew a week, he who laughs last.... :D

BTW, when I compare, I compare everything. I will pick up 3 packs of ham and check the nutrition on each and weigh the differences...this one has way too much sodium, this one has more sodium but is way lower in fat, etc. etc. Just because it can be healthy doesn't mean it always is. Some companies just love to add too much "gunk" into their foods. They want to increase the sodium content and add other unnecessary stuff. There's also the choice as to whether is smoked or honey cured, et. al.

It's like yogurt. While it's good for you, if you insist on eating the granola and candied covered yogurts every day, you may be doing yourself more harm than good.

I worked with a girl who wanted to try and lose weight too. She even challenged me to weight loss, then gave up when she saw I was seriously losing and she was gaining. She tried again later and was trying to follow my example somewhat. She didn't like yogurt, but started eating it. However, she got those ones that had chocolate and granola in the separate container. I got the Hood Atkins yogurts or Yoplait Light. She still couldn't figure out why she kept gaining weight.

almostheaven - what you said is so true...compare when you shop. i can pick up 3 packs of ham and depending upon how it was cured and the brand, one can have more sugar, way more and another mor sodium, and another more fat. i try to always do low car for myself but thats my trigger for weight gain, carbs.

have you tried the dannon carb control and light n fit yogurts yet? i think theyre really good, especially the drinakable ones. only 4 carbs in each.

Kim

PS Yer husband and my husband ought to get together for a Mt Dew binge. Mine drinks a case a week too. that and m&m's. ugh!

i understand what all of you are saying... i eat protein *meat) in my meals... i go to school, work to jobs, so im out most of the time. i do eat healthful snacks that all of you suggested but as a last resort to get a energy and protein kick... there arent any good ones? it helps control sweet cravings

I guess if you MUST have one in a pinch I would suggest to choose one with very low carbs and sugars... For me the couple of times I had a protein bar, that I thought was a good quality one, it increased my sweet cravings. They must've been loaded with hidden sugars because I got a sugar low about 20 minutes after having eaten it... Not good :no:

I love those yogurts, and eat at least two or three of them a day...a major dietary item over here...

You can carry whey protein powder in a zip lock bag and mix it with milk or water. This is your best solution not the bars. There are different flavors of whey protein powders which taste great. I like orange cream, strawberry, vanilla and chocolate. If you have access to a blender you can mix vanilla whey protein, milk and 1 tablespoon cocoa powder. A very delicious and healthy alternative dessert.

I have, but I I prefer the Hood Atkins. I don't recall all the nutrition on each, but I believe Hood had more protein, less calories, less sugar, and less carbs, for an even larger serving size. And I've tried the drinkables in a couple of brands, but just didn't care for yogurt as a drink. Now blended with fruit and ice for a smoothie...that I like. ;)

My hubby never cared for candy. He's on a high sugar, high caffein, low nutritional diet. LOL You can't change him after all this time. He eats 1 to 2 meals a day...if you can call them meals. Sometimes one cheeseburger a day is a complete daily allowance for him. :( But he drinks instant Folgers (with about 8 tsp. of sugar in a large cup) and Mtn. Dew all day. And he smokes about a pack a day. Real health conscious.

I have no aversion to normal eggs too, but I figure it can't hurt to have the ones with more of the good fats. I get the 18 counts at Sam's Club for under $3. If you have a Sam's in your area, you should check their price.

Used sparingly, there are those that are better than others. I just found a new bar that I think I'm going to stick with at Sam's Club. You have to buy them by the box, so don't let them tempt you too much by having them around. They're called Detour, deluxe whey protein energy bar. One bar has 180 cals, 6y fats, 3 sat. fats, 0 trans, 15 cholesterol, 250 sodium, 90 potassium, 16 carbs, 2 fiber, 6 sugar, and 15 protein. They contain lots of whey, soy and peanuts.

Unfortunately, the closest Sam's is almost a 2 hour drive away from me. (two hours on a good day that is...considering that the drive would be through some of the most horrendous traffic hot spots in the San Francisco Bay Area...combined with gas at $2.60 a gallon...will have to pass...)

I use Tri-o-plex bars as emergency meals when I get caught a the gym with an extra client and can't get home or haven't packed enough meals. At 430 calories each, they are almost double what I'd normally eat as one of my 5 meals, so I cut off about a third and hide it in my gym bag. They are sweet, but the protein/carb ratios are what I want, and they are made from (mostly) real ingredients rather than "frankenfood".

Mel

I am not sure if this will help, but I have very sensitive blood sugar (so I cannot eat most of the protein bars out there without feeling sick afterwards). The only ones that I found to be helpful were the Atkin's Advantage bars. I could eat them without feeling any sort of sugar rush and they did not increase sweet cravings for me. The only thing is, they have 12g of fat (which I think is higher than most others). But they are still only 240 cal. I personally could only stomach the peanut butter ones, they were actually pretty good. They have 19g of protein I believe. Anyway, I am a single mom in University full-time, so I understand it is hard to always have "real" food with you! They do pretty well for me if I am in a real pinch...

Good luck and keep up the the good fight!

That stinks. I don't know if I could stand to live without a Sam's. I seem to keep moving closer to them. Though if I get any closer next time, I'll have to live in their parking lot...as they're just 1 block from my house. LOL

almostheaven - thanks for the tip on the eggs at sams. never thought to look there for them. they are always sold out at my local grocery store too. i couldnt live without bj;s or sams. love them both.
i think the hood yogurt might be sold in certain geographic areas. never saw that brand here in any of the 5-6 grocery stores i shop at. hey. i heard atkins filed chapter 11. anyone know anything about that?

Try a Wal*Mart superstore for the Hood yogurt. Another local store now has them in. But I was getting them from Wal*Mart and Shaw's grocery up north, and when we moved south, Wal*Mart was the only place here I could find them.

I will have to check walmart for the yogurt. went to sams tonight and got the 18 egglands best for $2.78. not bad. i am also addicted to the kozy shack sugar free puddings, the tapioca in particular. they are a lifesaver for my no sugar diet.

Kim

if you're interested in bars, how about odwalla bars? they have a good amount of essential omega-3's and you get your serving of fruit. i like them, but in moderation.

Yup Odwalla's are good too. But for my chocolate cravings, they didn't have nearly enough chocolate to satisfy. LOL But they are nourishing and fairly good in the nutrional values.

Kimmifier, I LOVE tapioca, but I've never seen sugar free Kozy Shacks before. Hubby loves their tapioca, so I usually take a taste of his to satisfy.