Are Energy Bars Worth It?

With the overabundance of energy bars and different companies boasting about divert abilities is pretty hard to determine which one is right for you. You can also end up spending a fortune on them hoping that it will help take your workouts to the next level.

In order to shine some light on this topic here are some tips and strategies to help you determine if energy bars are a good fit for your body and lifestyle.

Convenient. You have a super busy schedule and sitting down for a meal can sometimes seem impossible. When you find yourself in this situation and are looking for a hassle-free and somewhat nutritious snack, an energy bar might be a good alternative.

Portable. They don't take up much space because of their compact and light characteristics which makes it that much easier to tuck one away in your purse, pocket or in a small area of your car. If you do have them on hand they work great as a vitamin enriched emergency food for when your stuck in a jam or feel a sense of hunger.

Encourage pre-exercise eating. Having a nutritious snack before doing your workout is a great way to increase your stamina and endurance. In all honesty the energy bar industry has done a pretty good job of educating you on how pre-exercise eating can optimize your workout performance. You should also eliminate the myth that the energy boost you get from the bar is not associated with any magical ingredients (chromium, amino acids) but rather from eating 200 to 300 calories. These calories in general (which usually have sugar) obviously fuel you better than the zero calories if you didn't have a snack.

TIP: Eating fig bars, graham crackers, bananas, and granola bars are also effective pre-exercise energizers.

Promote eating during endurance exercise. Having an energy bar is also a great way to boost stamina and endurance in marathons and long bouts of activity. Instead of just relying on the foods you put into your body before you exercise, you can safely consume about 0.5 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight per hour during endurance exercises and events. That totals up to about 200 to 300 calories for most people which exactly how is in an energy bar.

Claim to be easily digestible. Not too sure if this one hold true. The bottom line is that everyone’s digestive system works differently. Yours is different from mine and mine is different from yours. One food might work well with me but it may not work well with you. Before actually using an energy bar at a big event or workout, test it out first and see how your body responds to it. It's a trial and error game but after a while you'll be able to get a good sense of what works with your body and what doesn't. What you also want to do is drink plenty of water when you do have an energy bar. If not the bar may just settle in your stomach and you'll get a huge feeling of discomfort. This happens because many bars are very low in water content to make them super compact, so to save yourself an annoying tummy ache just make sure you drink some water with your bar.

Use fat content to help you last longer. A higher fat content is said to help you burn fat and exercise a bit longer. I personally have not found any research that has backed this up (to date). But one possible advantage that you can get from including a little fat into your pre-exercise snack is that is may able to provide you with sustained energy. Eating a little fat can provide longer lasting energy if your doing an activity for more than 90 minutes, such as marathons or long distance bike rides.

Expensive. You'll have to shell out anywhere from 2-4 bucks to buy most sports bars. So test them out before you find the one you like and the one that works well with you body before you buy them in bulk.

Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com

Marci Lall is a nationally recognized weight loss and body sculpting specialist and the author of the internationally popular e-book – The Rebound Workout. Go to www.TheYoYoDietReport.com to recieve 3 FREE giffts!

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