Sugar Free Sunday: How To Pick A Protein Bar That Is Right For You

Protein Bars are actually extremely varied in both size and function. However, deciding on the perfect one for your diet regiment / workout is always tricky when looking through so many options. This Sugar Free Sunday, I wanted to look into exactly what the name brand protein bars have in them and try to identify the type of regiments that would benefit from their aid the most.

To begin, my criteria for choosing these is based on what you can find at a fitness store right as you walk in. Some may be a little tougher to find on the shelves but trust me, they will be there somewhere. This is by no means a top ten list or anything like that but rather just a resource you can reference as you continue your exercise routine.

Quest Bars

Quest bars are some of the best to recommend as both meal replacement and weight loss bars. Within one cookies and cream bar, you’ll find: just 190 calories, 9g of good fat, a total of 4g of net carbs and a whopping 21g of protein. This bar will fill you up and personally, I think they taste quite good for a protein bar with most of the flavors being extremely delicious. Most of their bars also have 0g of sugar so for those looking to curb their appetites and keep the flavor; this is a great bar for that.

Clif Builders

Clif Bars are typically energy bars that fuel you before beginning a workout. However, Clif builder bars typically average around 270 Calories, 9g of good fat, and a rather high 29g of carbs with 21g coming from sugar. Remember, carbs aren’t always bad especially when they come from fiber, however carbs that come from pure sugar are an issue and make these a little hard to find a perfect workout space in. However, like you’ll see with the Powerbar, these can be perfect for a post workout dinner replacement. Your body tears through carbs, Calories, and sugars during intense workouts. To keep your form, taking one of these as a post workout is not the worst idea to consider. There are better choices however since the added sugar is extremely high so be cautious on replacing too many meals with these bars.

PowerBar PROTEINPLUS BAR

PowerBars are usually what people reach for before and after a workout however, as you’ll see very soon, they may not be the best idea for a protein bar in the long run. Every bar typically contains peanut, almond, milk and soy which racks up quite a bit on the allergy count. Beyond that, nutrition wise, the bars average 210 Calories, 6g of fat, 25g of carbs, 100mg of potassium, and 20g of protein. From a nutrition only standpoint, this protein bar would serve a use as post major workout meal replacement. However, since so much of the carbs come from sugar, as a meal replacement, this does not do what it’s meant to since eating a regular meal would have a bit less sugar on average.

Combat Crunch Bars

Combat crunch bars boast the moniker of “The best triple layered “BAKED” protein bar on the market. When looking at their nutrition facts however, this may be a bit harder to discern. Similar to the Power-Bar and Clif builders, Combat Crunch Bars (at least the popular chocolate peanut butter cup flavor) also have 210 calories, 7g of fat, 28g of carbs, and 20g of protein. However, they separate themselves from the above by increasing the dietary fiber to 12g and reducing sugars to only 5g. It’s a great bar that I would recommend for both post AND pre workouts. The amount of fiber should not be underestimated as good carbs can really help during a workout. Recommended for runners right before a long race or just a jog on the treadmill.

So there you have it, a quick look at some of the more popular protein bars out there and what we think the best way to take them would be. The best thing to remember is that every bar boasts its high protein count but taking into consideration the amount of carbs, what you’re planning to use it for, and how often you’d like to replace a meal, only some will fit the criteria perfectly.

That’s it for today and until next time, think healthy, be healthy!