Bariatric Protein Bars: Check The Label For These 5 Items
March 17, 2025Life seems to get busier every year. Do you have days when you just can't cook meals or prep snacks? Or maybe you are not quite meeting your protein needs for the day. What do you reach for to help fill the gap? Protein bars! Popular, portable, and packable. There’s a plethora of protein bars to choose from. How do you pick a bar that gives you the nutrition needed after your surgery? Protein bars tend to wear a health halo, which is rarely justified. There’s nothing magical about them. Marketing tactics might make you think that a protein bar is a healthy alternative to a candy bar, but in reality, the nutrition facts and ingredients are often almost identical. A candy bar with protein added. Not what you need for your success after surgery. You need a bar that works for you, not against you. What to do? How can you make a smart choice for bariatric protein bars?
Smart TIP:
Q: When can you add protein bars to your diet after surgery?
A: During the first couple of months after a weight loss procedure, protein should come from food or in a powder or liquid form for easy digestion. Bariatric protein bars will be an option when your health care provider gives you the okay to progress to supplements with thicker consistencies. Start with a smaller amount (1/3 or 1/2 bar or a mini bar) to see how well you tolerate it.
Protein bars also work well to add additional protein for….
- Pre- and post-workouts. Carry a little emergency kit with fluids and a bar so you are prepared.
- Road trips and travel.
- Even as an occasional treat, if you really like certain flavors... but still use the guidelines coming up to find the best bariatric bar for you.
Here’s how to make the best bariatric protein bar selection. Whether you’re in a convenience store, checking out the mini bar in a hotel or their gift shop, ordering online, or in a grocery store, start with the Nutrition Facts label.
Since the ingredients often change in protein bars, don’t shop by name until you know what’s in it. Look, first, at these 5 specific items:
- Fiber: There should be at least 4 grams, which helps keep you satisfied and helps prevent constipation. Most bars have much less fiber.
- Calories: should average around 220 or less; many bars are much higher in calories.
- Protein: Choose a bar with at least 8-10 grams of protein if used for a snack and up to 13-15 grams when used to replace a meal. 25 grams is the outer limit.
- Fat: Look closely for ADDED unhealthy fat choices, such as trans fat, also known as partially hydrogenated fat, as well as coconut oil and palm kernel oil, both of which wear a health halo but in truth are high in saturated fat. For example. Did you know that the oil palm tree produces two types of oil? One is extracted from the flesh of the fruit called palm oil, and the other oil comes from the seed, or kernel, called palm kernel oil. Palm oil, which contains 50% saturated fat, has a more favorable fat composition than palm kernel oil and coconut oil, which are more than 85% saturated. Not what you want to eat in your bariatric protein bar for health.
- Added Sugars: Know the math before you look. One teaspoon of sugar is equal to 4 grams of sugar. Look on the label for less than 10 grams of sugar per serving, which is equivalent to 2.5 teaspoons. Other dietitians suggest less than 5 grams, which will have a less sweet taste, so if you work with a bariatric dietitian, ask about the guidelines preferred.
Let’s talk briefly about sugar alcohols too. Move from the Nutrition Facts to the ingredient label. Remember, ingredients are listed from most to least. You are looking for sugar alcohols like mannitol, sorbitol, and xylitol, which are added to keep the carbs lower and to act as sweeteners.
Smart TIP:
Ingredients on a protein bar are listed from most to least in terms of amounts. Typically, the first three ingredients are the most significant.
Be mindful of sugar alcohols as they can cause gastrointestinal symptoms such as bloating and diarrhea if you eat too much. But how much is too much? This amount really varies person to person, so if you choose a bar with sugar alcohols in the ingredients, look for the lower end of 5-20 grams. Try a small amount of the bar to see how you tolerate it.
Erythritol, another sugar alcohol, has fewer of these side effects, so it might be a better choice if sugar alcohols are added and you are sensitive to them. Remember, sugars contain how many calories per gram? Right, four. Sugar alcohols only contain about two calories per gram. Let’s say a bar contains 10 grams of sugar alcohol. That amount would be equal to 20 calories.
I always look for whole food ingredients such as nuts, seeds, whole grains, and fruit for natural sweetness versus added sugars or sugar alcohols. The fewer the ingredients on the ingredient list, the better.
Happy bar shopping!
Bariatric dietitian Dr. Susan Mitchell is host of the podcast Bariatric Surgery Success.
 | ABOUT THE AUTHOR Bariatric dietitian Dr. Susan Mitchell is host of the podcast Bariatric Surgery Success. Selected as one of the Best 35 Dietitian Podcasts, Bariatric Surgery Success was chosen from thousands of podcasts on the web ranked by traffic, social media followers, domain authority, and freshness. With a focus on nutrition before and after bariatric surgery, I help you eat for success while you conquer cravings, emotional eating, and weight regain. Read more articles by Susan! |
