Energy Bars – Marketing at it’s best

Manufactures of “Energy Bar’s” have done a great job at training us to think of these foods as weight loss supplements, pick me ups, or meal substitutes. I have read that according to the FDA, the word “energy” on any label means that the food item supplies calories to the consumer. Eating these foods will not necessarily make you more energetic! This is great marketing, but misleading to a consumer. If you actually look at the labels on many of these bar such as Cliff Bar, PowerBar and Marathon Bars, these products are just about as bad as eating a Snickers bar.

When these bars where first created they where designed for endurance athletes such as marathoners and triathletes. The athletes needed something that they could easily carry with them, (that didn’t melt or wasn’t messy) that they could easily consume during long periods of training or racing. For these individuals that are burning 500-1000 calories per hour for multiple hours, these types of products are great. These bars delivery a rush of sugar to the blood stream which helps maintain their energy levels.

Now for someone trying to lose weight, these products do really provide the proper nutrition. When you consume these types of bars you end up with a rush of sugar enter your blood stream with does give you pretty instant satisfaction and energy, but the blood sugar crash that follows quickly leaves you feeling hungry and tired again.

Let take a closer look at some of the more popular bars:

Cliff Bar
250 Calories
5g Fat, 2g Saturated Fat
45g Carb, 21g sugar
10 g Protein
21% Fat / 61% Carbs / 18% Protein


PowerBar
240 Calories
3.5g Fat, 0.5g Saturated Fat
45g Carb, 16g sugar
10 g Protein
13% Fat / 72% Carbs / 16% Protein


Luna Bar – For Women
180 Calories
6g Fat, 3g Saturated Fat
23g Carb, 12g sugar
10 g Protein
25% Fat / 55% Carbs / 18% Protein


Snickers Bar - my weakness
273 Calories
14g Fat, 5g Saturated Fat
34g Carb, 28g sugar
5g Protein
14% Fat / 48% Carbs / 7% Protein


You can see that all of these products are packed with useless, processed carbohydrates that someone trying to loss weight does not need.

Now that being said there are meal replacement bars that are advertised specifically to people trying to loss weight, but you still need to look at what these products are providing. Just because they are lower calorie, doesn’t mean they are better for you.

Slim-Fast
120 Calories
4g Fat, 2g Saturated Fat
21g Carb, 12 sugar
1 g Protein
29% Fat / 16% Sat Fat / 68% Carbs / 3% Protein


Kashi TLC
120 Calories
2g Fat, 0.5g Saturated Fat
24g Carb, 8g sugar
5 g Protein
13% Fat / 72% Carbs / 15% Protein

My pick for best bar if you are going to eat one is:
Balance Bar
200 Calories
6g Fat, 2g Saturated Fat
22g Carb, 17g sugar
14 g Protein
27% Fat / 44% Carbs / 28% Protein

So what I am trying to do is get you to think about want you are putting in your mouth.

Well what is a better choice? I eat the following for breakfast or a snack almost everyday and it is just about the same calories as the bars above; apple, ½ cup of cottage cheese and 2oz of grilled chicken for 270 calories. This will leave you feeling fuller for a long period of time.

Apple, ½ cup cottage cheese, 3oz grilled chicken
238 Calories
4g Fat, 2g Saturated Fat
28g Carb, 18g sugar
30 g Protein
15% Fat / 46% Carbs / 39% Protein