HOW TO CHOOSE THE BEST PROTEIN BAR
FOR YOUR GOALS

In the past, protein bars have primarily been the domain of males trying to gain weight and pack on muscle. But with the fitness community advocating adequate protein intake as one of the most important factors in maintaining a physique, many new consumers have turned to protein bars as daily diet supplements. With the huge variety of bars available at every fitness and health food outlet, how do you choose the best bar to fit your goals and your lifestyle? 

The first thing you should look at before making your purchase is the calorie content on the nutrition label. This is the most reliable indicator of what purpose the protein bar is meant to fulfill. Bars with 400 calories or more per serving are intended to provide a huge boost to macronutrients and total calorie intake for the day, by providing an extra "meal" in a dense little bar. This type of bar is for people who want to gain mass but have trouble eating the quantity of food required to promote muscle growth. You will want to steer clear of these if your goal is weight loss and choose a protein bar with fewer calories instead. Calories can be as low as 100 per serving on snack bars to keep you on track throughout the day. 

After determining the calorie level, take a look at the carbohydrate content. Carbs are used by athletes to help fuel intense workouts and prevent muscle breakdown between meals. If you are concerned with maximizing your athletic performance, a bar with some extra carbs would be a good choice. High carbohydrate bars are typically around 30 to 40 grams per serving. If you prefer weight loss over athletic performance, a lower carb option would be a better choice. 

A low-carb bar could have just a few total grams of carbohydrate per serving, or it might have lots of carbs but contain several grams of fiber. Since fiber is not digestible for energy, you can subtract the grams of fiber from the total carbohydrate content to find the net carb content. As an example, a popular brand of low-carb protein bars intended for weight loss have as many as 25 grams of carbs per bar, but since 15 of those are from fiber, the net digestible carbs only come to 10 grams.

The last item you should look at before making your selection is the protein content on the nutrition label. The point of eating a protein bar is to increase the protein you consume on a daily basis. So, whichever bar you choose should meet your protein needs. If you are an athlete who trains heavily with weights and needs a lot of protein to promote muscle recovery after each workout, a bar with at least 30 grams per serving is your best choice. If you do not train intensely and your goal is to add a little extra protein per day for health, bars containing around 10 to 15 grams should be adequate.