Protein Bars?

[Boombalatty 94]

The Combat Crunch are higher than the Quest, but I don't count Fiber carbs. Most of the Quest carbs are Fiber. I also don't try to stay at 20-50g carbs for the day like some do. (I did in the beginning, but not anymore. I'm still low, but not that low. )

From what I remember, the Atkins bars were high calorie for the amount of Protein, so I was more concerned with that. If I remember right, some use a lot of maltitol, too, which is the most sugar-like of the sugar alcohols as far as glycemic index goes. That said, I didn't look at all variants of Atkins bars. I did eat some of the Peanut Butter fudge daybreak bars.

[Boombalatty 94]

I just went and checked some of the Atkins bars again. If you are thinking they are low carb, then you are going off the net carbs, which Atkins labels explicitly. Quest and others don't necessarily do that, so you have to do it yourself.

Atkins is taking total carbs and subtracting fiber and sugar alcohols to get net carbs (I don't know about subtracting sugar alcohols as a practice, but maybe it's okay... one of my diabetic nutritionists said to only subtract half of those). If you do that with most of the ones mentioned here, you get about the same (but double check).

Edited August 4, 2015 by Boombalatty

[sparkles1971 47]

Bake the Quest bars...cut into 6 pieces and bake at 350 for 10 mins or so. They are like mini cookies!

[tnf0920 11]

I know, Atkins is low in carbs because you subtract the fiber and sugar alcohol. The bars other people mentioned just had sugar, it didn't say sugar alcohol so that can't really be subtracted.

I'm guessing you're pretty far along to be eating more then 50g carbs a day? My Dr wants us to eat as low as possible, but no more then 50g a day.

[Boombalatty 94]

Yeah, I am about 11 months out from surgery and just hit my initial goal (now working on stretch goal). That may make a difference on how many carbs I eat. I probably eat 60-120g or so a day, counting fiber and everything. Some days more, some less.

That said, the Quest bars only have 1-4g of sugar and the Combat Crunch have around 5g (but about 12g net carbs, so some other non sugar carbs).

I don't remember exactly, but I think I started eating Quest bars maybe 3-4 months after surgery.

It's really good that you are checking labels, though. You are right that there are a lot of Protein bars that are little more than candy bars with added Protein.< /p>

If you haven't seen the bars I've mentioned and want to try them or look at the nutrition, you can find several brands of them at GNC, Amazon (by the box), QuestNutrition.com (Quest only), netrition.com (individual or boxes), and Kroger sells Quest and Pure Protein here.

[tnf0920 11]

Ok, I found another brand that is awesome. Think thin, 20g of Protein, no sugars, it's a little higher in carbs then Atkins but not by much.

I bought the chocolate strawberry and lemon delight to give them a try, they're expensive at 2 for $3. I tried the lemon delight today and I'm in love.

[Santiago Draco 73]

Ok, so I was at the store today and looked at a couple of the brands yall mentioned and they are really high in carbs...did your nutrionist say you could eat these?

The Atkins bars that I eat are extremely low in carbs and I was told they were good to eat.

Remember this is a POST surgery discussion. High Protein is the primary goal, however "low carbs" (as in an Atkins style diet) is not required. You do not need bars that have no carbs. The low carb/high Protein diet is a PRE surgery requirement to shrink the liver.

That said the goal after surgery is to maintain a good diet that is high in nutrition and provides a minimum amount of protein. The reason for avoiding sugary and "sugary foods" is that they are going to be high calorie and will sabotage your weigh loss.

So focus on bars that are high protein but "low" in sugars and carbs for caloric intake and balanced diet reasons, not because you are trying to have a no carb diet (unless that is your thing).

And ultimately if you have concerns or questions ask your dietitian.

[tnf0920 11]

I believe every doctor is different. While that may be true for you it is not for me. Yes, that was the pre surgery diet, but it is my post surgery diet as well. My doctor said no more then 50g carbs a day and he doesn't even really want that. He also didn't have a set calorie amount for me.

But as I am working out I have to make sure I am eating enough calories or I will have another long stall like I did before.

[Santiago Draco 73]

I understand about the exercise. It gets tougher when you are working out a lot and consuming a lot of calories. If you do have a carb max you are shooting for it does become easier to hit it, so from that perspective, assuming you are eating a lot of bars plus other things... then sure I could see wanting to watch them closer. I do still think however that it's not that big of a deal if you are avoiding sugars and taking high Protein bars you are likely ok.

Note that 50g of carbs is higher than the pre-surgery diet. The pre-surgery diet is 30 carbs max, 70g Protein min, as a general guideline. So you really aren't on the same diet as pre-surgery.

My point is you don't need to worry so much about whether or not these bars have as close to zero carbs as possible, even on a 50g carb diet. You referred to the bars people mentioned here with concerns about high carbs. That is why I commented. Most of these bars are not that high in carbs for a post surgery diet, even the "higher carb high protein ones. A bar with 26g of carbs (12g fiber, 2 sugar alcohol and 5 sugars) is effectively 12g. Pretty low for a Meal Replacement with 20-30g of protein. And that bar is on the higher carb end of those discussed.

It's easy to get so caught up in this stuff that you laser focus on one thing, like trying to keep carbs to a minimum. Personally I'm primarily focused on high protein, high nutrition and watching calories. The rest follows.

[LuckOtheIrish 6]

I am really picky about Protein bars. I can't stand most of them. However, I love - and my nutritionist recommends - Think Thin and Quest bars. She recommends Atkins bars, too, but I haven't tried them.

[tnf0920 11]

It is very easy to get caught up. I really try not to eat alot of carbs. What I get is usually from 1 bar a day and whatever might be mixed in with stuff I eat. What is your calorie limit? People have stated different amounts on other posts, I'm curious as to what yours is.

Eating a Protein bar a day helps me with meeting my Protein intake for the day.

The Atkins ones are really good btw, you should give them a try.

[Santiago Draco 73]

I've had the Atkins ones myself before and yes they taste good but compared to other bars they seem pretty... lacking to me.

The Atkin bars are very low in Protein, compared to other bars while being high in calories. They also have tons of sucralose, the artificial sweetener (that's where the sugar glycols come from) which isn't healthy in large quantities. Other bars have Sucralose also but in lesser amounts. Comparatively they are not nearly as nutritious and I would think less healthy than other bars.

The Atkin's Diet was all about low carb... while eating anything you want, fatty foods included, assuming you keep net carbs low. Our diets are about high nutrition and high Protein while keeping calories low. Based on what I've learned about nutrition the two are not the same.

Anyway just my perception of the Atkins products compared to the fairly broad selection of good high protein products that are also low in net carbs and high in nutrition.