Larabars.. What's your opinion?

Hey everyone!!

I am just curious to know your opinion of Larabars.  I have tried a couple and really like them, especially to cure my sweet tooth as I am trying to lose my pre-op weight.  Do any of you eat these? If so, how often? Do you think they are OK to have in moderation?  They have quite a bit of sugar but I was told they were "all natural" sugars.  Just looking for some more info.

Thank you!!!

Chelsy

Protein bars are only OK if there are 10+g protein for every 100 calories. Larabars aren't even CLOSE.

They are just fancy candy bars. Sugar is sugar, and they don't even contain a significant amount of protein. The lack of protein alone is enough to make me avoid them. If I really want something sweet, I would rather have a small piece of high quality dark chocolate or some berries (limited to 50 calories or less). If you really prefer the bar, you could cut it into quarters, and spread it out over a week (and I'm not saying this is even a good idea). Eating the entire bar at once is way too many calories.

IMO, eating sugary stuff like Lara Bars won't cure your sweet tooth, it will just make it worse.

If you are looking for a high-protein, portable snack, check out something like Ostrim Jerky sticks. They will also be a lot more filling than Lara Bars.

Try Quest bars (the cinnamon and lemon ones are my favorites) and Combat crunch bars to satisfy sweet cravings.

I've found that whenever I start adding protein bars to my diet, my weight loss goes out the window.  I'd suggest you make the diet work without the protein bars.

For my sweet tooth, I make a broccoli slaw that has a dressing made with plain greek yogurt, balsamic vinegar and artificial sweetener.  I put it over a salad of trader joes broccoli slaw mix plus nuts and cranberries.  It crunchy and sweet and tart and quite satisfying.  I posted the recipe on the recipe forum some time ago.

I'd suggest finding a better way of satisfying your sweet tooth. 

Also sugars cause cravings for me big time.  Those bars may make it harder to stay on plan.

best of luck,

Carol

That broccoli slaw sounds yummy, I'll have to go look it up!

I agree with everyone. They fire up the wrath of the sugar gods and there's no such thing as moderation. I completely eliminated all types of "bars" - protein or otherwise but before that I used larabars as emergency backups. I guess they served their purpose for a bit until they became  problem for me. 

Sugar is the devil. Avoid it. There are protein bars out there with far better stats. For some, they can also be triggery and cause a whole lot of bad eating.

Yeah, they just aren't a food that promotes weight loss. They will be around when you finish losing your weight. My advice - Put them on hold until you've reached your goal weight. Give a try then and monitor both your physical and emotional reactions to the Larabar.