Protein bars

Is your “protein bar” just a glorified candy bar? In many cases the answer could be yes. When we look at bars calorie for calorie, not for ingredients, many of the bars at health food stores are similar to the bars at the candy store. The macros are also similar in quite a few health food bars. In the photo the calories, fat , carbs and protein are all similar some of the “healthy” bars even have more carbs than the candy bars.

I am hesitant to call them protein bars because the protein is so low I most of them that they can’t be considered a good source of protein. The Payday and Power bar Both have the same exact amount of protein.

I’m not saying you should grab a candy bar, the ingredients are bette in most health food bars using whole foods, fruit, nuts and grains rather than processed junk like palm oil and pure sugar but it’s really not too far off for some of them.

Sometimes my clients do enjoy a Snickers or Payday as one of their favorite candy bars and that’s ok. We can make that work every once in a while and you can just fit into your macros. If you are active and you are going to have a bar with 50 carbs may as well enjoy it instead of Clif bar, Larabar or Powerbar, which is like chewing on a log.

If weight loss is your goal it’s ideal to find a bar that is less than 200 calories and has at least 12-15 grams of protein. In the summer or hot weather like South Florida look for a bar that won’t melt in the heat. Many bars have a chocolate coating that will make eating protein bar for weight loss in South Florida a mess! Protein bars can also be a great snack for the beach, if you are ready to show off your beach body or recently lost weight for a bikini it’s your time to shine!