Protein bars - yay or nay?

Greetings!

Do you guys use protein bars at all? If yes, what kind? Yesterday for the first time I didn't have my brought-from-home lunch with me (usually it is scaled and calculated to the tiniest oz). I was running in between meetings and grabbed a quest bar. Before surgery I would use these bars like candy bars and I don't wanna go down a slippery slope. So I would like to know 1)what do you guys do when in a crunch? 2)are protein bars a no-no? 3) if you do eat bars (once in a while) what brand? I heard about Inspire. Has anyone tried them? If yes are they better/worse than quest bars?

Thanks!

I'm not a big fan but they're pretty handy if you're traveling. I got a box of Costco brand that maybe had 25 grams of protein and were under 200 cals. They weren't very tasty so the "candy bar" thing wasn't really an issue.

I'm not a big fan, simply because I feel it opens up old addictions such as chocolate. However, I will have one if I'm traveling or in a pinch. I like power crunch bars. Quest bars hurt my stomach. I also won't buy a lot of them. Maybe 2 or 3, so they really are only for "emergency" situations. And normally I will only eat a half at a time.

Just my opinion here... protein bars are fine ONCE YOU GET TO GOAL. At your stage approx 3 months post op, no. If you are in a pinch there are ton of other grab & go food you could have had. Cheese, cheese strings, jerky, deli meat, yogurt, cottage cheese. All of those things are available at any convenience store and things like jerky can be in a purse or back pack. Protein bars if you see them as a candy bar like you did pre surgery then you are opening yourself up to a slippery slope. When you get to your goal weight or below it then go for it I would just try to stay with "real food" protein until you get to goal.

I personally don't like the quest bars, just me, I know lots of people who love them. I am 4 years out post RNY. I recently came across these - Optimum protein cake bites, very dense, very sweet and yummy, but I can only eat one at a time as it would become a problem for me as sweets are my slippery slope so these are a once in a while treat for me as I just can't go there. But that's just me.

cake bites

I picked up a few of those cake bites and couldn't stop eating them (definitely a super slippery slope for me). I like Quest bars and can eat just one but try not to have them too often.

I know right, they are so yummy, slippery slope for me too!

I think it depends 85% on how you have historically reacted to foods - do you get "triggered" when you eat a sweet or a chocolate to eat the whole box in one go? Or are you able to count the licks to the center of a tootsy-pop? The other 15% is the variable that seems to happen post WLS when some of us discover new food addictions or issues.

I have generally been able to "have just one" in the sweet department, and I seem able to incorporate sweet/chocolaty foods into my diet that might cause others to break down and binge eat. Before WLS I was a little less able to do that with savory foods like a single Pringles chip, or a single pretzel. Post WLS I'm now far less able to control my savory carb cravings and if there were such a thing as Protein Bob Evan's biscuits I'd be in serious trouble!!!

Most of the protein bars, to me, taste a lot like chocolate covered sawdust. I can eat them, but I don't really like them. I keep a box on hand for travel, or emergency protein supplements when needed. What I find more helpful, because it's just so much easier for me to consume, is keeping cans of ready to drink (RTD) protein shakes in my refrigerator. The protein bars can feel too dry, to hard, to sticky in my pouch, but the drinks always go right down. I also struggle to get in my 64oz of fluids so the protein drink helps with that too!

Most importantly, to me at least, is the pay-off in protein amounts. If it's under 20g it's just not worth the calories to me, especially if it's high in sugar (more than 5-8g). The protein also needs to be one that our bodies can easily process, like whey isolate, rather than some of the cheaper protein used by manufacturers.

If you feel like they aren't going to lead you down a dark path, go for it because getting in adequate protein is critical to your success. If you are less sure, maybe try some supplemented protein products in "real" foods - like adding a scoop of whey isolate protein powder to plain cottage cheese or Greek yogurt.

Good luck!

I have mild hypoglycemia (regular, not reactive), so I do buy the occasional protein bar and carry one in my purse in case I don't get a chance to eat on my regular schedule (every 3-4 hours). So it is for "emergency" use only. When I have to use one, or it gets stale, I buy another one.

i tried them when I was in my first year or two, but after surgery one of the things I noticed is that I feel SO much better, in general, when I don't eat a lot of chemicals. So I stopped the protein shakes and bars except for my morning SF hot chocolate with protein powder. That makes sure I don't need to worry about counting protein the rest of the day (and at 10 years out, I'm not counting squat!).

If you look at the ingredients on most protein bars (and many of the powders), you will see that it is "Frankenfood".

I find that people's taste in protein bars, as with protein powders, is VERY individual; what 10 other people love, you may hate. I don't "recommend" what I like, anymore, partly because of that and partly because what I choose now as emergency food only doesn't meet the guidelines of what someone who is still trying to lose should choose.

Lora

I didn't eat protein bars while Actively losing. I think I tried a bite of a quest and gagged at the taste. That turned me off from them for a long time. The only bar I'll tolerate now is nature Valley protein bars (not to be confused with their granola bars). 190 cal 14 g of carbs 10 g of protein. I never eat more than one in a day and I only eat them every few days

Thank you all for your feedback.