Meal Replacement Bars

I would like some suggestions on good, high protein meal replacement
bars. Which are the best and how often do you use them? Should they
always be a meal replacement or can they be used as a snack? What should
I be looking for when I buy them? I don't want to buy a glorified candy
bar. I'd like something that is actually healthy and has some
nutritional value.
TIA.

Wendy

"Wendy" wrote in message
...
I would like some suggestions on good, high protein meal replacement
bars. Which are the best and how often do you use them? Should they
always be a meal replacement or can they be used as a snack? What should
I be looking for when I buy them? I don't want to buy a glorified candy
bar. I'd like something that is actually healthy and has some
nutritional value.
TIA.

I have tried several of these and the only ones that I have found to be
palatable over a long period of time are Clif Bars and PowerBar Bites. I
have not seen the bites in stores recently so I do not know if they are
still produced.

I typically use these products as snacks during endurance activities or
immediately after a workout. Clif Bars contain about 250 calories with 6g
fat, 43g carbs (20g sugar), and 11g protein. The jury is still out, but some
studies have found that this 4 to 1 carb to protein ratio is ideal for
recovery after workouts.

For "meal replacement" I typically use PerfectRx or MetRx mixed with water.
The PerfectRx Vanilla contains 260 calories with 0g fat, 26g sugar (2g
sugar), and 37g protein. I use these as part of a 5 meal per day eating plan
and they work well for me. If you need more calories and carbs you can mix
them with milk or fruit juice.

HTH.
--
Matthew
185/179/160

Wendy wrote:
I would like some suggestions on good, high protein meal replacement
bars. Which are the best and how often do you use them? Should they
always be a meal replacement or can they be used as a snack? What
should
I be looking for when I buy them? I don't want to buy a glorified
candy
bar. I'd like something that is actually healthy and has some
nutritional value.
TIA.

Wendy


I eat these often for snacks during classes, and for a quick meal on
rare occasions. Either look for bars that use natural sugars, like
dried fruits, fruit concentrate, evaporated cane juice, etc., or choose
the healthiest looking low-carb bar. Otherwise, you will get a
glorified candy bar with refined white sugars galore. I think I
remember Balance bars being pretty high in sugar. I'd imagine that
regular Power Bars are, too. I'd suggest going to a health-food store
or the health-food section of your supermarket. For example, the food
co-op here will not even sell products with refined white sugar in them
(if they find out that something slips, they put a note on the product
informing the customer that the product contains white sugar and that
they won't be ordering more after the lots gone).

Kashi Go-Lean might be good for you for meal replacement, or Clif Bars.
Odwalla Super-Proteins are very good tasting, but high in natural
sugars. For snacks, I suggest Luna Bars: 13g sugars from natural
sources; 10g protein; great taste. They are my favorite daytime
"treat." Pure-Protein bars don't seem too bad; the chocolate one I ate,
though not the greatest tasting, had only 190 calories, 20g protein,
and 7g sugar. I know they also make higher-calorie meal replacements.

It's always best to eat whole, natural foods whenever you can, though,
as I'm sure you know. Use bars only sparingly as meal-replacements,
because they are still processed no matter how you look at them (unless
you make your own! there are recipes). Lower calorie ones are good for
quick snacks on a regular basis, I find, as they usually have lots of
vitamins and protein.

Sara

I dunno Wendy. I went and looked up the Kashi (holy cow, at 284
calories its more calories than eating a Kit Kat), and Odwalla, Clif,
and Luna (which has fewer calories apparently only because its smaller
than most of the others).

Honest to heaven, from someone who just lost a pile of weight and is
struggling with how to keep it off, I think these things are a TRAP.
They are highly processed, they are very calorie dense, and they are
not cheap, plus I really think they con you into thinking you are
really doing something for yourself. Its not like we are climbing
Everest and expending so many calories daily its a struggle to keep our
weight up, so we have to eat stuff like this.

You'd come out way ahead to pack yourself yourself a handful of nuts,
some veggie sticks, a piece of cheese, an apple or a banana, or just be
honest with yourself about the craving and have a small chocolate bar.

Mary G.

wrote:
I dunno Wendy. I went and looked up the Kashi (holy cow, at 284
calories its more calories than eating a Kit Kat),

Well sure, it's meant to replace meals..


and Odwalla, Clif,
and Luna (which has fewer calories apparently only because its
smaller
than most of the others).

Honest to heaven, from someone who just lost a pile of weight and is
struggling with how to keep it off, I think these things are a TRAP.
They are highly processed, they are very calorie dense, and they are
not cheap, plus I really think they con you into thinking you are
really doing something for yourself.

I think as long as you realize this, you're okay-- it's abuse of these
things that would get you into trouble, not the bars themselves. I
don't trick myself into thinking Luna bars are healthy, for example,
but I like the way they taste and I have a lot of trouble getting
enough protein into my diet as it is (a quick 10g helps). I often pack
nuts, fruits or cheese for my classes, too, but sometimes I'm not in
the mood for the same old thing and some bars are just as filling
(whereas a bar of chocolate is not, and I would be hungry until I could
get home in a few hours and fix myself something to eat).

I agree with you that they aren't 'health' foods, but as long as you
can find them with adequate protein and unrefined carbs for energy, I
think they can fit into an active lifestyle. 180-200 calories in the
form of a decent-sized bar (a little bigger than a candy bar), which is
what most of the nutrition bars seem to carry, is much more filling
than a tiny handful of almonds to some people. Just my opinion, though.
I've never had an actual meal-bar so I don't know if they're filling
enough for the high amount of calories they carry.

Its not like we are climbing
Everest and expending so many calories daily its a struggle to keep
our
weight up, so we have to eat stuff like this.

You'd come out way ahead to pack yourself yourself a handful of nuts,
some veggie sticks, a piece of cheese, an apple or a banana, or just
be
honest with yourself about the craving and have a small chocolate
bar.

Mary G.

On 13 Feb 2005 16:55:18 -0800, wrote:

I dunno Wendy. I went and looked up the Kashi (holy cow, at 284
calories its more calories than eating a Kit Kat), and Odwalla, Clif,
and Luna (which has fewer calories apparently only because its smaller
than most of the others).

Honest to heaven, from someone who just lost a pile of weight and is
struggling with how to keep it off, I think these things are a TRAP.
They are highly processed, they are very calorie dense, and they are
not cheap, plus I really think they con you into thinking you are
really doing something for yourself. Its not like we are climbing
Everest and expending so many calories daily its a struggle to keep our
weight up, so we have to eat stuff like this.

You'd come out way ahead to pack yourself yourself a handful of nuts,
some veggie sticks, a piece of cheese, an apple or a banana, or just be
honest with yourself about the craving and have a small chocolate bar.

Mary G.

I'm not sure I entirely agree with your conclusion, Mary. Yes, bars
like this are fairly calorie-dense. But "con you into thinking you
are really doing something for yourself"? I don't know about this --
they're just a source of nutrients like anything else we eat. It's
just food; it doesn't "con us into" anything. Like any food, we need
to evaluate its place in our diet. I eat bars from Life Time Fitness,
my gym chain, that have 180 calories, 5g fat, 23g carbs, 11g protein,
and a bunch of added vitamins. Yes, this includes sugar, but I'm not
a sugar avoider. It's a non-perishable snack I can always have in my
briefcase, which isn't true of much of any of your other suggestions.
Of your suggestions, the nuts are probably the closest in overall
nutritional value, but they have less protein. And they are extremely
calorie-dense; it's hard to stop with the 1 oz. or so that would have
a comparable caloric value to the bar. Fruits and veggies are
nutritious but have essentially no protein -- not a good nutritional
substitute overall -- and are perishable. A chocolate bar is hardly a
better choice: a bar of the same calorie count has far more fat (and
not the good kind), more sugar, little protein, and no added vitamins.
How is this "coming out way ahead"?

A satisfying snack needs fat, protein, and carbs; good bars have all
three. Fruits and vegetables alone do not. And a post-workout snack
should include a decent amount of protein. Bars like these aren't as
good a choice as a real meal, but for me they're a viable alternative.

Chris
262/134/(130-140)
started dieting July 2002, maintaining since June 2004

Chris Braun wrote:
On 13 Feb 2005 16:55:18 -0800, wrote:

I dunno Wendy. I went and looked up the Kashi (holy cow, at 284
calories its more calories than eating a Kit Kat), and Odwalla,
Clif,
and Luna (which has fewer calories apparently only because its
smaller
than most of the others).

Honest to heaven, from someone who just lost a pile of weight and is
struggling with how to keep it off, I think these things are a TRAP.
They are highly processed, they are very calorie dense, and they are
not cheap, plus I really think they con you into thinking you are
really doing something for yourself. Its not like we are climbing
Everest and expending so many calories daily its a struggle to keep
our
weight up, so we have to eat stuff like this.

You'd come out way ahead to pack yourself yourself a handful of
nuts,
some veggie sticks, a piece of cheese, an apple or a banana, or just
be
honest with yourself about the craving and have a small chocolate
bar.

Mary G.

I'm not sure I entirely agree with your conclusion, Mary. Yes, bars
like this are fairly calorie-dense. But "con you into thinking you
are really doing something for yourself"? I don't know about this --
they're just a source of nutrients like anything else we eat. It's
just food; it doesn't "con us into" anything. Like any food, we need
to evaluate its place in our diet. I eat bars from Life Time
Fitness,
my gym chain, that have 180 calories, 5g fat, 23g carbs, 11g protein,
and a bunch of added vitamins. Yes, this includes sugar, but I'm not
a sugar avoider. It's a non-perishable snack I can always have in my
briefcase, which isn't true of much of any of your other suggestions.


I always have some type of energy bar in my bike bag. When the
granddaughters and I do longer rides an energy bar is necessary
equipmentg



Beverly

Ignoramus16733 wrote:

I do not think that it is proper to call them meal replacements. They
are meals, they deliver calories, so, they cannot be called meal
replacements.

--
223/173.0/180

Replacement - one that replaces another in a job or function.

I think the energy bars fit this description quite well. You may think
they *cannot* be called meal replacements but it's a common description
used for one type of energy bar and not likely to change.

Taste-wise, I like Clif Bars (the regular ones taste better than the
Clif Builder Bars, the high protein version, but obviously have less
protein). I go through periods of regularly eating one for breakfast,
but I basically consider them to be people kibble. That is, they are
more or less nutritious (though something with fruit or vegetables
would definately be more healthful) and satisfy my food-as-fuel needs
but without the greater satisfaction of real food. While some of the
bars aren't totally nasty, none of them are really worth eating (IMO)
as anything other than convenient fuel in a ~250 calorie package.

Melissa

Melissa wrote:
Taste-wise, I like Clif Bars (the regular ones taste better than the
Clif Builder Bars, the high protein version, but obviously have less
protein). I go through periods of regularly eating one for
breakfast,
but I basically consider them to be people kibble. That is, they are
more or less nutritious (though something with fruit or vegetables
would definately be more healthful) and satisfy my food-as-fuel needs
but without the greater satisfaction of real food. While some of the
bars aren't totally nasty, none of them are really worth eating (IMO)
as anything other than convenient fuel in a ~250 calorie package.

Melissa

I don't think I've tried any of these bars. I seldom buy anything that
has more than 140 calories per bar since I only use them when I'm
biking. That small amount of calories is usually enough to last until
the next meal. I normally buy the Pria by PowerBar.

Beverly