When you think about eating a protein bar as part of a muscle building nutrition plan, what crosses your mind? Aaagghh or Mmmmm? If its the former, youre probably making the wrong choice or eating a stale bar. If its the latter, you either grabbed a Milky Way by accident or you grabbed one of those protein bars that tries to be healthy BUT is nothing more than a Milky Way in disguise!
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Well, thats where I come in. As your virtual trainer and nutrition coach I want to be able to help you quickly and confidently decide what protein bars you should be relying on and which ones should remain lyingon the shelf!
So I put together my F.A.S.T Selection Guide to help you when making your protein bar buying decisions. F.A.S.T. stands for Fats, Amount, Type and Sugars. Ill tell you how each one applies right now, and youre going to want to pay close attentionbecause missing just one of these can leave you F.A.T. instead!
1. Fats - Heres where the protein bar can quickly become the candy bar. Basically flavor comes from one of two sourcessugars or fats. In an effort to jump on the anti-carb bandwagon, many bar manufacturers have figured, wellas long as we keep the carbs down we can do whatever else we want to boost up the taste. Sadly, the first thing they reach for is more fat. Sometimes to the tune of 17 or more grams per bar! That folks, is not a health bar but more like a stealth bar if you ask me!
2. Amount What Im referring to here is the amount or serving size of the bar. Unlike most of the liquid supplements and juices that flood the market today and play games with the amount of servings per bottle, most of the protein bar serving sizes are realistic. But dont always assume that one serving size is one packaged bar. I have seen a handful of sneaky attempts to pass off one bar as being 1.5 to 2 servings! Huh?!? Do they expect you to cut the bar in half? Just make sure to quickly check that 1 serving size does in fact equal 1 bar to avoid being fooled by this all too common trick to keep the numbers from looking as bad as they really are!
3. Type Very simplywhat type of bar is this claiming to be? Dont just go by the name. I have seen one very popular bar call itself a body building bar and packed with protein however on closer inspection there isnt even 14 grams of protein in it. Not what Id call a protein bar. Others will claim to be energy bars, yet have nothing in them but oats and flavoring. Does this mean that your morning oatmeal can start calling itself Turbo Oatmeal?!? Just be careful about the names of the bars and instead rely on the content to decide what TRULY is the supposed function of the bar youre about to eat.bonbons
4. Sugars Finally the secret ingredient! Nonothing secret about sugar, just the fact that some protein bar manufacturers will have you believe that their bars are low sugar (but will pack them with 30 grams of the white stuff!). Thats about 70% of whats in a can of soda! Trust me guysthats a LOT OF SUGAR! Remember, taste is going to come from either fats or sugars. Try and stick with a bar that gets its taste from a combination of the two with 12 or fewer grams of sugar and 9 or less grams of fat. This perfect blend will not only taste great still, but also treat your muscles (and belly) with the results you looked to them for in the first place!
So there you have it guys. Dont attempt to buy your protein bars without first learning F.A.S.T and quickly how to spot a winner from a loser. The ironic thing is in this game.the winners will help you lose (fat) and win (the attention of more people as they admire the new muscles youre growing!)
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