Better To Stay Away from Protein Bars To Lose Weight

Be careful which protein bars you select when you are trying to lose weight. Protein bars and health bars are available everywhere, however they are not all created equal. With so many different brands out their you never know if you are getting something healthy or merely junk food in disguise.

If you are going to find truly healthy bars, you will need to learn how to read the nutrition labels, in fact anyone who shops at a grocery store should have this talent. When you begin checking labels you will find a long list of chemicals, processed Trans fats, sugars and other harmful ingredients that are overly processed.

To be honest, most of the bars out there are pure junk... candy bars with a little bit of protein disguised as a health food bar.

For example, a couple of weeks ago I was bike riding with a personal friend and in order to keep my energy up for our ride I needed a quick bar.

Realizing I needed something to eat my friend passed me a slim fast bar he had extra.

On the back of the slim fast bar label are all the nutrition facts and a statement saying they are a healthy weight loss alternative.

Well they are anything but healthy...there's nothing even remotely nutritional about them. I believe they are WORSE for you than candy bars!

When I began going through the ingredients list the shock continued. The first ingredient on this bar was corn syrup, next in line was sugar and hydrogenated oils. (No one would say they are healthy!) Nowhere on the list of ingredients was there anything that even pretended to be healthy. In addition to the above ingredients, there were also artificial flavors, colors, unhealthy processed soy, evil artificial sweeteners and more. Despite what you may have been told, processed soy is not good for the body.

These may be touted as a way to lose weight but nutritionally these bars are a train wreck. To make matters worse they taste bad! A slim fast bar tastes like chemicals. If you want a prime example of over-engineered food, this is it!

Well, how then do you find a healthy protein or energy bar?

When you want to lose weight remember simple is better in your protein bars. The tastiest and healthiest of these bars will have only a few ingredients like fruit, seeds and nuts. If possible look for organic ingredients, these bars often taste even better.

Here are a couple of my personal favorites:

1. Organic Food Bars - This is the brand name.

This company offers several flavors to choose from. They generally contain organic bio sprouts, fruit, organic seeds, organic rice protein and organic almond butter base. The ingredients will of course depend upon the flavor you choose, you can even find bars with organic dark chocolate. If you are interested in raw, you can choose from an entire line that uses only raw ingredients.

These bars are delicious and come in several delicious flavors such as cranberry, blue berry, high protein and more. In addition, they are highly nutritious. Most grocery retailers will not carry these bars however; you can find them at many health food stores.

2.Larabars- These contain two or three simple raw ingredients such as fruit and a crushed nuts, even though there are only a couple of ingredients these bars come in several different flavors. hen you are looking for an organic food bar, this is a great choice.

One thing you will never find on a Lara bar label is chemicals. They are delicious and healthy, nothing more. Fruits and nuts are just about all you will find on the list, as this is a quality health bar. These too will not be on your grocery shelves, but I have found them at certain health food stores.

Whether you need a quick snack while on the road or at work, these healthy bars are great.

To stave off the cravings or avoid the temptation of junk food vending machines and fast food restaurants it is good to always have a few bars with you. Remember to check the labels, ensuring that you are getting a true health food bar and not a glorified candy bar. Health bars can help you lose weight by curbing your appetite between meals.

Mike Grason is a author of many articles for Atlanta Weight Loss located at 235 Peachtree St NE Suite 400 Atlanta, GA 30303 Office: 404-585-5484. He gives many valuable tips and secrets to effective sustainable weight loss that are available at this site. Thinking about losing Weight? Check out the powerful strategies covered in the incredible ebook "The Truth About Abs". Atlanta lose weight!