Protein Bars

So youre strolling down the aisle in your local grocery storeand this cute, athletic looking brunette with ice blue eyespasses you by. You get the old eye lock but no smile. Hmmm,of course you turn around to see the backside but shes alreadyout of sight. So you fast walk your way to the next aisle andspot her at the other end looking at something. So you walk upand pretend youre looking for something around the same spotshe is. You notice that shes looking at all these ProteinBars. You think to yourself, Why the hell do people eat thatcardboard tasting crap! Just then, she turns to you and says,Looks like you dont need any of these, I think your Snickers,Twix and 100 Grand bars will keep you busy. Busted! Damn.Youre speechless, and hungry.So why HAVE the protein bars become so popular? Sit down andgrab a cup of Joe, cause youre about to be introduced to thenew and improved candy bar.Protein bars started out as a bit of an accident with the PowerBar concept. At first they were just a bunch of carbohydratesfor people who needed extra energy on the go. I know whatyoure thinking..who needs EXTRA calories? Yea, well, somefolks who dont spend their time behind a desk or computer allthe time spend MORE calories than they can eat! So, for theseguys, the Power Bar was invented. But nobody paid too muchattention to what they tasted like.so they tasted like crapbasically.Fast forward a few years and youll find tons of differentprotein bars and drinks, energy bars and drinks on the shelvesof everywhere from 7-11 to the grocery store. Now, a lot ofthese bars have serious problems with them. They either tastelike complete crap, have WAY too many calories, or arebasically a candy bar with a protein or energy label. Sohow do you figure out which ones are good?? And better yet, whythe hell do you care?First, you care because they are a fantastic source of proteinthat can be placed and kept ANYWHERE. The car, office, boat,back pocket.anywhere you can think of, you can keep one. Themore places you can stash these, the less times you will beOVER-STARVED and the less likely you will be to devour anentire large pizza and a 64 ounce Dr. Pepper! So, if you aretrying to stick to a healthy, regulated diet, these babies arefantastic. Secondly, protein satisfies our hunger much longerthan carbohydrates (especially simple carbohydrates) do. So,the trick is to find a protein bar that you like to eat, alongwith a good composition of protein, carbohydrates and calories.A good rule of thumb is to get a bar that has 15-20 grams ofprotein for every 125-175 calories. That means, youll begetting about 40 grams of protein for a bit over 300 calorie.If you keep this ratio, youll be able to stick to your 5small meals a day program much easier.So which ones taste good?? Well, so far, Chef Jay and companyhave been putting out some protein bars that arent half bad. Ialso love the Detour bars. A very popular protein bar rightnow is the Promax Bar. Of course taste is all relative toeach person, but I can tell you that anything that says LowCarb on it, probably has Sugar Alcohol as an ingredient, andtastes like crap. Other than that, get out there and try some!About The Author: Dr. Parker is a surgical resident who has aninterest in preventative health, weight-loss and fitness. Dr.Parker uses the principles of human physiology coupled with ahttp://www.super-fit.com/proteinbars.html to have the body workfor, not against.