What’s the Deal with Meal Replacement Bars?

Meal bars or other meal replacement products are great for making a little meal when you don’t have time to stop for that big healthy salad topped with a zesty bleu cheese salad dressing you really want.

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They are easily portable, filled with vitamins and minerals, come in dozens of flavors and textures, and feel like a treat.

Although meal bars purport to be healthy foreating during exercise, most of them have as many calories as a candy bar, the fat and sugar content being similar, but with added vitamins and minerals to make us feel like we’re “eating healthy”. But if you eat a 200 calorie meal bar during your workout, you may be defeating your purpose.

Your body gets hit with a rush of sugar, which it burns up, leaving your fat reserves in reserve for another day. If you are exercising to lose weight, pushing in a couple of hundred calories deprives you of a primary benefit of your workout.

On the other hand, maybe you come to the gym straight from work, and you’re hungry. It’s difficult to work out with any motivation when you’re stomach is growling at you. Instead of buying a beefed-up candy bar, try a piece of fruit instead. The calories you get won’t have the refined sugar of a meal bar, and you’ll only get about half as many calories from a banana or an apple. Have it with a glass of water ten or fifteen minutes before starting your workout.