The fashion for a healthy lifestyle has contributed to the appearance on the market of many products claiming to be healthy. These include diet muesli bars. According to the manufacturers, they are made entirely from natural, healthy ingredients, have low calorie content and help you lose weight.
But before you buy fitness bars, you need to find out what beneficial and harmful properties they have, and whether they are really suitable for your diet. Athletes can take note of several recipes for products that can be prepared at home.
The benefits and harms of fitness bars for weight loss
There is a large assortment of sweets marked “Fitness”, “Health” or “Diet”. According to the manufacturers, they are rich in whole grains, dried fruits, nuts, seeds, berries, protein and other components. These sweets have the following beneficial properties:
- Contains grains: barley, oatmeal, wheat, rice, etc. These components are rich in fiber, which cleanses the digestive tract of toxins and waste, and makes the intestines work more actively. They are suitable for snacking because the rough dietary fiber swells inside the stomach, causing a feeling of fullness without spikes in blood sugar.
- They have high nutritional value, a breakfast bar will quickly and permanently relieve hunger, energize, and stimulate brain function. There is no need to waste time preparing food.
- They have a natural, balanced composition. Healthy sweets are rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acids, which are necessary for normal life. Saturate the body with B vitamins, calcium, magnesium, fatty acids, etc.
- The grains in the composition normalize metabolism (including carbohydrates). Coarse dietary fiber helps break down fats and reduce cholesterol levels in blood vessels.
Diet bars allow you to restore strength after an active workout or hard physical work. They are suitable for a snack, and can also replace a full meal. In addition, fitness bars are tasty, healthy and convenient.
Including them in your diet is an effective way to avoid dieting breakdowns. Healthy sweets are an excellent substitute for unhealthy confectionery products that spoil your figure and contribute to an increase in body fat.
Fitness bars have the following disadvantages:
- high calorie content - about 550 kcal/100 g. This is due to an excess of sugar, other sweeteners, fatty components and flour in the composition;
Attention! Nutritionists say that it is enough to eat 30 g of a muesli bar per day to replenish energy reserves, satisfy hunger and saturate cells with useful substances. You should drink it with unsweetened tea or water.
- large amounts of sugar or sweeteners (sucrose, fructose). Simple carbohydrates lead to increased glucose levels, metabolic disorders, and digestive problems. Such desserts are contraindicated for diabetics;
- palm oil is practically not processed by the body, settles on the walls of blood vessels, in the liver, slows down metabolic processes, contributes to an increase in body fat and the development of diseases of the cardiovascular system;
- A large amount of fat is found in nuts, seeds, vegetable oil or butter. These components increase the calorie content of the product and additionally load the liver;
- Most bars are rich in flavors, flavor enhancers, dyes, and preservatives. These chemical additives disrupt the functioning of the liver and kidneys and can cause allergies.
Also, the bars may contain low-quality condensed milk, molasses (maltodextrin), and wheat flour. These components increase calorie content, disrupt digestion, promote weight gain, and can cause allergies.
Be sure to check out:
Are they really dietary and low calorie?
Sports bars differ depending on the composition:
- Cereals – made from pressed cereals with honey, nuts and seeds, etc. Ideally, they contain a lot of complex carbohydrates and a minimum of fat. They speed up metabolic processes, quickly fill you up, and satisfy your hunger after a fat-burning workout.
- Protein - contain 40% protein. Used for muscle growth throughout the day or after training (including on a low-carb diet).
- Protein bars with carbohydrates (1:3 or 1:4) contain from 400 kcal in 1 snack. Especially useful after intense exercise and hard physical work.
- With L-carnitine – contains the fat burner of the same name, which creates conditions for weight loss. The low-calorie bar can be eaten before and after exercise.
- Oatmeal – this option is suitable for weight loss, as it contains a minimum of carbohydrates and healthy ingredients. The product is suitable for use before/after training, morning or evening.
To understand whether you bought low-calorie bars or not, you need to study the composition. If sugar, fats, and chemical additives are in the first positions, then they are completely unsuitable for weight loss.
A chocolate bar that contains a lot of protein, complex carbohydrates, a minimum of fat and simple carbohydrates is considered dietary. Allowable calorie content – up to 200 kcal/100 g.
If the composition of the bar meets dietary standards, then you can include it in the menu. The main thing is to use it in moderation. It is correct to replace unhealthy sweets with them during tea drinking, use them as a snack or replace a meal. If a person eats more than 2 of them daily, then weight will increase due to excess calories and carbohydrate levels in the body. For example, athletes during mass-building training can consume protein bars, reducing the amount of carbohydrates in the diet.
Important! None of the groups of bars directly affects weight loss. Weight will decrease when the body expends more energy than it receives from food.
How to choose the right snack
Natural medicine advocate Joseph Mercola claims that many protein products contain exactly the same amount of sugar, carbohydrates and casein as a classic Snickers. A protein bar should:
- contain milk or whey protein (soy protein is found in cheap products);
- have at least 20 g of protein;
- be without hydrolyzed collagen or gelatin;
- have a pure protein taste.
A protein bar should contain a minimum of ingredients. This is an indicator of the quality of its raw materials. Also, the product should not contain sugar, inulin or maltitol.
The protein bar should use natural sugar substitutes - stevia extract, monk fruit and erythritol.
Which protein bars are better: factory-made or homemade?
High-quality fitness bars have a balanced composition, they charge you with energy, speed up your metabolism, and relieve hunger for a long time. If you choose the right store product, it will only bring benefits. To have a snack and replenish your energy, all you need to do is buy a healthy chocolate bar and eat it with pleasure, rather than wasting time on cooking.
However, it often happens that factory products contain excess sugar, fats, simple carbohydrates, and chemical additives. This invariably leads to disruption of metabolic processes, digestive disorders, increased body fat, and allergies.
If desired, the diet bar can be made at home. Then the composition will depend entirely on you. Sugar can be replaced with honey or natural sweeteners such as stevia. There will be no dyes, preservatives, flavors, flavor enhancers, or palm oil in the recipe. The composition can be replenished with useful substances, and the amount of fat can be reduced.
As you can see, it is safer to make your own protein bars. However, in a store-bought product, the proportions of dietary supplements, vitamins and minerals are correct. But if desired, their quantity can be calculated together with a nutritionist.
How to cook at home
Athletes and people on a diet should be able to prepare their own protein bars. For this you may need:
- cereals;
- nuts;
- dried fruits;
- berries;
- dairy products;
- spices;
- honey.
When preparing a snack yourself, it is important to observe the proportions of the ingredients, which will determine the nutritional value of the product.
Classic bar recipe
This dessert is perfect for people who want to quickly gain muscle mass. It should be consumed before or after a workout at the fitness club. Its peculiarity is its low fat content and rapid absorption by the body.
Ingredients:
- Vanilla whey protein – 100 g
- Oat flakes – 150 g
- Banana – 2 pcs.
- Egg whites – 3 pcs.
- Blueberries – 100 g
- Goji berries – 150 g
- Rapeseed oil – 3 tsp.
Cooking method:
- Mix all ingredients in a blender.
- Preheat the oven to 160˚C.
- Take a 30x30cm mold and grease it with rapeseed oil.
- Pour the mixture into the pan and smooth with a spatula.
- Bake for 30 minutes.
Calorie content per 100 g of product is 190 kcal, of which:
- proteins – 19 g;
- fat – 4 g;
- carbohydrates – 23 g.
Divide the prepared cake into 6-8 serving bars. Once cooled, wrap in parchment.
No Bake Protein Bars
This is a good breakfast that comes together quickly and can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer.
Ingredients:
- Banana casein protein – 50 g
- Honey – 1 tbsp.
- Raisins – 100 g
- Banana – 1 pc.
- Milk – 200 ml
- Oat flakes – 400 g
- Walnuts – 100 g
- Peanuts – 100 g
- Hazelnuts – 100 g
Step by step recipe:
- Mix oatmeal, hazelnuts, honey and raisins in a container.
- Grind walnuts and peanuts in a mill.
- Peel the banana and mash it with a fork.
- Mix all ingredients with half a glass of milk and protein.
- Add the rest of the milk.
- Cover a large pan with cling film.
- Place the resulting mixture on it and cover with film.
- Place in the freezer for 3 hours.
The calorie content of 100 g of product is 192 kcal:
- proteins – 12 g;
- fat – 9.5 g;
- carbohydrates – 19 g.
Cut the protein cake into portions. This amount of ingredients makes 8 sports bars.
In the “Live Healthy” program, the video with Elena Malysheva details the composition, benefits and harm of fitness bars:
Experts' opinions
Nutrition experts say that not all diet bars are healthy and can be included in the diet when losing weight. To choose a good product, you need to study the composition, pay attention to the proportions of BZHU, calorie content. If sugar or sugar-based syrups, fats (palm oil, butter), chemical additives, and milk chocolate are in the first positions, then you should avoid such food.
A healthy dietary bar should contain whole grains, dried fruits, berries, nuts, seeds, and high-quality protein. Such products nourish, charge, serve as material for the construction of new cells, improve metabolic processes, digestion, cleanse, and promote weight loss.
You can make delicious and healthy candies yourself. A nutritionist will help you calculate the proportions of BJU and calorie content in order to get the ideal product for a particular person.
Margarita Koroleva, nutritionist
A well-known nutritionist advises to always read the ingredients when choosing diet bars. According to M. Koroleva, you need to buy products with whole grain flakes, freeze-dried pieces of fruit, flax seeds, and chia. The amount of almonds, dried apricots, walnuts, prunes, and dates should be small. The fact is that nuts and dried fruits are quite high in calories.
The list of not the most healthy ingredients looks like this: sugar, fructose, palm oil, lecithin, emulsifier E476, molasses, etc.
Elena Kalen, nutritionist
An expert in the psychology of weight loss and a certified coach says that store-bought bars contain many harmful additives that cause more harm. They always contain simple carbohydrates, which cause spikes in blood glucose levels, causing an immediate rise in energy, and then a sharp decline.
The nutritionist advises avoiding store-bought bars with flavorings, sweeteners, large amounts of chocolate coating, hydrolyzed gelatin, corn syrup, and palm oil.
E. Kalen argues that a high-quality diet bar cannot be cheap. She also advised preparing healthy sweets at home using a nutritionist’s recipe.
Liz Applegate, sports nutritionist
A California expert speaks out against store-bought granola bars for weight loss. She claims that they contain an excess of sugar, fats, and simple carbohydrates. In terms of the amount of these ingredients, the bars are comparable to candy, so when losing weight it is better to give them up or consume them in minimal quantities. In addition, the level of simple carbohydrates indicated on the wrapper is often exceeded.
Main conclusions
As you can see, not all diet bars are suitable for weight loss. When choosing and consuming healthy treats, you need to follow these recommendations:
- Study the ingredients before purchasing a store-bought diet bar. Avoid products with a lot of sugar, fats, and chemical additives.
- Choose a diet bar with whole grains, honey, dried fruits, quality protein, a small amount of nuts and seeds.
- Give preference to a product that contains more proteins, complex carbohydrates, low fat and simple carbohydrates.
- Use diet bars instead of a snack or replace them with a full meal.
- Consume no more than 30-50 g of product per day.
- If you have free time, prepare your own nutrition bars. A personal nutritionist will tell you the proportions of BJU and calorie content separately for each client.
If you follow these recommendations, diet bars will help you steadily and safely lose weight and saturate your body with useful substances.
If you have your own proven recipes for healthy sweets that have helped you get rid of extra pounds, then share them in the comments.
Composition of the product
These bars are called protein bars because of their high protein concentration. At the same time, there are very few carbohydrates in such a product. Because of this, the feeling of fullness remains for a long time, preventing overeating during the diet. The bars are suitable for women and men: they are used not only by those who plan to lose excess weight faster, but also by professional athletes. This snack helps them gain muscle mass.
This is important: the ideal combination is considered to be a combination of plant and animal proteins. There is no need to exclude one or another type of protein from the diet: it is their balance that creates a higher quality protein [1].
