KingTermite 

Hi all....I'm starting to use energy bars even as "snacks" to help with the 6 smaller meals a day thing and such. I'm eating Clif bars now....but they have 6g fat. Anybody have a clue on bars that are better in terms of weight loss (less fat and carbs)?

I did some preliminary looking over the weekend and best I found was Luna bars, but somebody in another post somewhere said that they had a few nutrients (iron in particular) which males shouldn't go out of their way to take.

Any ideas?

cheebahmunkey

Cranberry Apple Cherry, Lemon Poppyseed, Cookies and Cream, and Chocolate Brownie all have under 5 grams of fat. I eat Luna bars sometimes. The Iced Oatmeal smells just like a cinnamon roll. I usually eat them if I wanna reduce my calories for the day as they only have either 170 or 180 calories compared to original Clif Bar's 230-250 calories. Kashi Go Lean Crunch bars also have fewer grams of fat than most.

jameyj

They are just fine for men. They are not "pH balanced for a woman" or anything just some extra nutrients/vitamins that are more woman oriented but would not hurt a man. I eat them all the time. They taste absolutely wonderful and I feel very energetic after eating one. Great product.

https://www.lunabar.com/products/FAQs...umentid=7#kids

Univega

I would not worry too much about fat, as much as I would worry about the TYPE of fat. Fish Oils and flax oil is all fat. But they are very healthy fats with many health benefits.
Avoid a bar with trans fats. Omega 3 oils are good.

I eat MetRx bars, Grow bars taste better. Check them out at:

https://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do...ydra?id=618107

KingTermite 

That website is not very secure.....the url you give above has your sessionid embedded as part of the url so that when I clicked it to go look, I was logged in to that website as YOU. I'd remove that url, if I were you.

FXjohn

A low calorie energy bar? LOL

KingTermite 

Now that you mention it.....that is sort of an oxy-moron isn't it? Kind of self-defeating.

FXjohn

You could just eat half the bar

superdex

I'm a fan of Clif bars, but recently I found some cereal bars in the health-food section of my local Kroger (Tom Thumb, Safeway, whathaveyou) -- only 2g fat (0g trans-fat) and they taste good enough that someone close to me who's not a 'health nut' by any sense of the phrase loves them:

https://www.healthvalley.com/products...id=86&cat_id=3

Guest

Get a powerbar. I think it's only 2 grams of fat.

I am always concerned about the amount of saturated fat in an energy bar, not the total fat content. If it's a low saturated fat content, your energy bar should be ok.

Koffee

cheebahmunkey

well but with the powerbar you're getting High Fructose Corn Syrup. So although you avoid saturated fat, you're getting a dose of HFCS. Pick your poison I guess.

Stubacca

If you like the taste of the clif bars, I'd stick with 'em. The lemon poppyseed and apricot are only 3.5g total fat (0.5 saturated), carrot cake is 4g (1.5g sat). Oatmeal & Raisin is one of my favourites, I think around 5g fat total. The two peanut butter versions have high protein levels too, if that excites you at all. Worth the extra couple of grams of fat to have something that tastes ok, instead of an over-processed rubber Powerbar or similar.

I'd also look in to other snack options other than energy bars if I were you. Fresh vegetables (carrots, mushrooms, celery, baby tomatoes) with hommus are a staple snack of mine - you can eat a heap of them, fills you up well, and is low in calories and fat. Trail mix and unsalted nuts are awesome snacks too.

Guest

Well, I just read through the ingredient list- NO high fructose corn syrup. Are you sure about that ingredient list you're talking about?

Koffee

Stubacca

"High Fructose Corn Syrup With Grape And Pear Juice Concentrate" is the number one ingredient in the list for Powerbar Performance bars. What Powerbar are you looking at?

Guest

Pria. Which one are you looking at?

My pria has brown rice syrup as its number one ingredient.

Koffee

jrennie

kashi chewy granola bars are very good and 130-140 cal/bar. 5g of fat

Stubacca

Powerbar Performance bar (the original Powerbar), which is probably where 99.9% of people will go when you suggest "Get a powerbar" . I'm sure Pria bars have different ingredients...

*edit: Pria bars have about 3-3.5g of fat and a 2-2.5g of saturated fat!!! They're also only about half the calories, and less than half the weight of a Clif bar (110 cals / 28g Pria bar, 240-250 cals / 68g Clif bar). More fat (and way more saturated fat) than a Clif bar.

Guest

Ok, I get it. But even different powerbars will have different ingredients, whether it's Balance, Powerbar, or Cliff. Even when I get different energy bars, I still read the ingredient list with all the different flavors. They will all have different ingredients and different nutrition facts. None of us are blind- we just need to consciously read through the ingredients and nutrition label and make good choices.

Koffee

Guest

2 g of saturated fat is not going to hurt- if you consciously eat a diet low in saturated fat, one energy bar with 2 g of saturated fat is not going to bulk you up. Besides that, the lower in fat it is, the less "tasty" the bar, which I've also noticed. I think Clif bars taste like dirt... literally. It's too low in fat for me to even think as an option, but I find the Pria bars and the Balance bars have an acceptable amount of low saturated fat for energy bars. They do the job and are tasty enough for me to not barf when I'm trying to eat a quick energy snack while out there for a long ride (over 3 hours).

Less than two hours, I would say there's no need for an energy bar, provided you've gotten a snack before you left the house.

Koffee

KingTermite 

Another side topic......more of a rant.

Why, oh why do all "energy bars" of all types have to be sweet, like candy bars. I'd rather see some swee & sour (like nuts & raisin) or other options.

Stubacca

Yup... e.g. some of the Clif bars have caffeine, which my wife tries to avoid like the plague since it's a migraine trigger for her.

Powerbar makes about 4 or 5 different bars... some have HFCS, and the rest seem to be high in saturated fat, neither of which really appeals to me. I typically use Clif bars (Oatmeal Raisin Walnut, Chocolate Chip Peanut Crunch, Black Cherry & Almond, or Crunchy Peanut Butter) since the taste and texture work for me, and the ingredients and nutrition info appeal to my inner health conscious being. Different strokes for different folks, though.

jrennie

Try the Kashi granola bars slightly sweet and savory and nutty to boot.
https://www.kashi.com/bars_granola.as...ategory_ID=71&

Stubacca

Like I say, different strokes for different folks. Pria bars and Powerbars taste way too sweet for me.

Compared to the Clif bars the OP is currently consuming, you'd need 2-and-a-bit Pria bars to get the same serving size and calories (which IS an important factor on a ride), not only would total fat be higher, but you're also talking 5g+ of saturated fat per comparable serving (an extra 3-4g over what the OP is eating now). When the OP is approaching these as a snack, that's a significant amount of saturated fat. If you like the taste, then I guess it can be justified easily enough.

In any case, I try to keep saturated fats as low as possible. For those of us (like the OP) who are still trying to lose some weight, you need to approach your diet as a whole more than just as individual servings. Individual servings is an easy trap to fall in to. e.g. One scoop of ice cream won't hurt. One scoop of ice cream after a few slices of pizza will. If you can cut 2-3g of saturated fat out of a serving, that's worth doing.

cheebahmunkey

one thing to be careful of with Luna is that a lot of them have 2 grams of saturated fat or more. Many have 3 grams. But the ones that taste good are worth it.

KingTermite 

Ok....I REALLY like the look of those. That really looks like what I was looking for.

Gonna see if I can find them at my local SuperTarget!!