Special K Protein Bars - Bad or good?

I've seen a couple posts about protein bars, but wanted to get the "official" opinion on these bars.  I use them as a "snack" when I'm hungry in between meals (usually only a portion of the bar) or to go along with a piece of low-fat cheese for breakfast in the morning. Am I hurting myself or is it okay to use this as a meal?  I'm not a big breakfast eater and usually I'm at work before I can eat anything so I found this was an easy way to get in some protein while still working.   Here is the nutritional info for one bar (I usually eat half a bar in one sitting):   180 cal; 5g fat; 24g carb (high I know ), 5g Fiber, 15g sugar.  I usually can't do more than 20g of sugar at one time, but if I eat half of the bar and a piece of lowfat cheese, I seem to be fine. What are your thoughts? Am I hindering my WL by eating these bars?  I've tried some others and thye just are not as easy to eat as these are. Other bars have that "medicine" taste if you know what I mean. Do you have suggestions on what are some good bars to eat if this isn't one? Thanks for your input!

You didn't list the protein in these, but if I recall it's not very high. Not really a great choice for a "protein" bar. :( Sorry. Kashi, Atkins and South Beach Diet have some bars that are pretty palatable and lower in sugar/carbs. I've also heard a lot of people rave about Oh! Yeah bars...available at Vitamin Shoppe I think. I have ordered some bars from Smart Forme as well, and they're pretty decent.

This is what many people call a "glorified candy bar". The carbs aren't why either.  It's the sugar. 4 grams of sugar = 1 teaspoon of sugar.  So 15 grams of sugar = almost 4 teaspoons of sugar. Consider the size of that tiny "protein" bar and now imagine how much of it is pure sugar.   A good protein bar will have 1 to 2 grams of sugar (and that will probably be from milk, not actually added sugar). Pure Protein bars and Atkins Morning Advantage breakfast bars are typically pretty good as far as the nutrition facts box goes.  (I think the Atkins Morning bars are good but I haven't tried Pure Protein bars.) I do believe you would be hindering your WL by eating those because of the sugar content.  I won't go into a long winded sermon about sugar, but needless to say it doesn't do us any good. 

Thanks ladies... I can't believe I forgot to list the protein-- it's 10g of protein per bar.  I guess it's time to look for another option.

Hi Mindy, I bought these bars once to try last year and found them very very difficult to eat, they are really hard to chew, which of course did not make my tummy a happy camper at all.  I think the protein content is good in them but I couldn't eat them, they hurt my teeth, haha.   I really really like the Ka****rail Mix bars as a quick snack, they are good in fiber and protein and don't upset my tummy.  :) Good luck! ~Shannon

i have checked them out in the store and the sugar is high and i dont think they have anywhere near 10 grams of protein from what i recall. i use the south beach bars, or atkins bars. the ohyeah wafer protein bars are also good i get them at vitamin shoppe.   enjoy, jacki

I love the Kashi Bars.  Although they do have some sugar, they're pretty high in protein and fiber.  And they taste good to me.  :)