Everything You Need to Know About Protein Bars for Weight Loss
Protein bars for weight loss are supplements in the form of bars containing energy-rich food and cereals that provide the oomph to work out, by imparting food energy. There are a wide range of bars available in the market, but here are a few things you need to keep in mind before buying one.
Total calorie count
You simply cannot keep snacking 500 calorie quest bars every day and expect your body to meet weight loss goals anytime soon. One bar can take away a significant portion of your meal and there’s a high chance you may end up crossing the calorie limit for the day, thus leading to weight gain. On the other hand, if the objective is to build muscle strength by working out intensively, then a pack of bar is an asset to exploit.
Sugar alcohol content
Many people are reactive to sugar alcohols and may suffer from digestion problems, diarrhea, cramps and bloating. Those who do not feel the discomfort while ingesting sugar alcohols should look for considerable content of the same in the nutrition bars. Sugar alcohol is quite helpful in aiding loss of fat, but only for those who can tolerate it.
Amount of carbohydrates
The carbohydrate content of a nutrition bar can greatly vary depending upon the requirement, and given the recently popularity of low carb food products, you need to keep an eye on the amount of carbohydrates you are consuming. In case, you are having the protein bar post-workout session, you can opt for the one with higher amount of carbohydrates. Also, make sure that it is low in fat, since it can have damaging effect after the workout, if present in significant amount. Alternatively, if you are looking to lose excess fat, then anything above 30 grams for each bar can be too high for your body.
Carbohydrates to protein ratio
For a nutrition bar, you need to make sure that the amount of protein is higher than the carbohydrate content. A poor carbohydrate to protein ratio is indicative of high-carbohydrate bar, which is essentially not that functional. Nutritional bars are all about proteins and hence, having an ideal ratio of 2:1 is perfect, although 1:1 is also considerable. In case you prefer having bars after workout, then you might want to go for something nearer to 1:2
Nutritional fat content
Dietary fat allows the slowing down of carbohydrate discharge into the blood stream to strike a balance. Nutritional fat content is an important parameter considered, only when you are consuming the bar before workout. You need to check the levels of saturated and trans-fat, keeping it preferably on the lower side. It contributes to efficiency of your diet plan.
Other ingredients
Once you have taken a measure of all the important components of the nutrition bar, take a more detailed look at other ingredients, and especially the carbohydrate form contained in the bar. Few bars have high-fructose corn syrup listed on top, which is not the ideal choice. It’s better to opt for a nutrition bar that has HFCS listed as third or fourth ingredient.