Powerbars and getting in shape, good, bad, or ugly?

[foidulus]

Well, I just turned 31 and figured if I don't start getting in shape now, it may never happen. So I've started running/cycling everyday and doing weightlifting every other day. It seems to be working, but a lot of people seem to go all crazy for the powerbar/supplement stuff. I guess my first question is if your goal is to just generally improve your fitness level(I want to lose some weight and get at least a little muscle tone), is it advisable to eat power bars/other supplements? Also, if I do, should I take them before or after?

Internets is filled with tons of conflicting info, so I'd figured I add to the confusion

 

[Iamgort]

Most power bars are not good for you at all.

Learn to eat right without any sort of candy bar. Run at a caloric deficit and you will lose weight. There is no such thing as "toning up." That is all.

 

[KnightWRX]

Well, I just turned 31 and figured if I don't start getting in shape now, it may never happen. So I've started running/cycling everyday and doing weightlifting every other day. It seems to be working, but a lot of people seem to go all crazy for the powerbar/supplement stuff. I guess my first question is if your goal is to just generally improve your fitness level(I want to lose some weight and get at least a little muscle tone), is it advisable to eat power bars/other supplements? Also, if I do, should I take them before or after?

Internets is filled with tons of conflicting info, so I'd figured I add to the confusion

If you want to lose weight, the last thing you need is more calories. Supplements are there to "supplement" your diet. If you're not getting enough protein, carbs, etc... In a weight loss scenario, creating a deficit in calories is just what you're going for. Just make sure to cover proteins and carbs in a low calorie way (fruits and lean poultry meats are best for weight loss as far as both those goes).

"Powerbars" are usually very calorie heavy for the little amount of food they are. They're mostly for people looking to fill up their calories without having to ingest insane amounts of food and are good for people who do heavy exercise (think cardio intensive stuff that burns calories faster) but don't want to just shed weight.

 

[eternlgladiator]

I agree with what has already been said. You don't need them, especially all the sugar they have. I'd suggest joining a site like myfitnesspal.com for a month or two. It's free and it'll let you plug in all stuff you eat and add your work outs as well. This will help you to understand your calorie deficits and where the bad parts of your diet are. It's really simple to use. everything you eat has already been uploaded by somebody else so you just have to punch it in quick. I used it for about 4 months when I started training and now I have a completely different approach to eating and exercising. It's not really about the log but about understanding what you're putting in your body. I found that if I could cut out refined sugars that took a lot of other crap with it. Fruit doesn't really count as sugar because its natural (that doesn't mean have 100 apples for a day). But if you approach high sugar content foods as bad you'll notice that levels of other bad stuff drop as well. I'd say soda is your worst enemy. Just cutting soda out of your diet can help almost anybody that's trying to lose weight right away.

 

[decafjava]

I'd suggest joining a site like myfitnesspal.com for a month or two. It's free and it'll let you plug in all stuff you eat and add your work outs as well.

I second this, I got the app as well and it can schock you if you're diligent in filling it out. Really handy.

 

[h1r0ll3r]

Don't waste your $$$ on stuff like that. Personally, I think it's gimmicky at best. I believe the "reasoning" behind these kinds of bars is either as a supplement to your existing diet OR, what I see people at my gym doing, eating these bars before (or during) their workouts to give them that extra metabolic boost.

There is no substitute for working out and eating right. These bars simply compound things and trick people into thinking they're going to get any benefit from these bars.

 

[KnightWRX]

There is no substitute for working out and eating right. These bars simply compound things and trick people into thinking they're going to get any benefit from these bars.

But there are benefits when used right. Again, my current bars are 55g for 9g of protein, 40g of carbs and 230 kcal. To get the same amounts of calories/proteins/carbs anywhere else, I'd have to eat much more than 55g of food and with my current workout regimen, I already need too much food in a day not to shed weight.

The supplement bar (and the protein shake, another 220 calories and 56g of protein) help me maintain my weight, give me the carbs/proteins I need to repair muscles/build muscle mass while burning fat mass and do so in a way that I don't have to ingest a 4th meal (I already have to eat beyond my satiety).

There's no trick, just education. There are very real benefits to supplement, if used right. In a weight loss scenario like the OP says he is, they are indeed counter-productive and he shouldn't waste money on them.

 

[EvenStranger]

I used to have a comic where Garfield the cat spotted a box of "diet candy." Second frame shows him eating one. In the last frame, he's surrounded by the empty box and several dozen wrappers, his belly much larger than before. The caption reads "A few more boxes of these, I'll be skinny as a rail!"

I think that's the myth many people fool themselves into believing - it's from a health food store, it's "diet," it's reduced calorie or high protein - it must make me healthier. Ultimately, the benefits are probably not much more than a Snicker's bar. The added calories and the delusion that the person is doing something "healthy" just make the issue of weight gain worse.

I've been overweight my entire life. I know what caused it, and I know how to reverse it. What I didn't know was at some point, the scales shifted (pun intended), and I became physically less able to do the activities that would help me lose weight. And the cycle progressively gets worse.

But I know that breakfast bars, power bars, granola bars - they aren't a magical fix. I keep some around, but for one reason. I have an issue with portion control. A bar is prepackaged, and you eat one. A box of Oreos is not prepackaged, and you eat six, when your intention was to eat one or two.

 

[foidulus]

Well I guess I thought that with the power bars and whatnot you could actually run further, thus burning off the calories in the bar but more, but I guess I was mistaken in that belief. Thanks everyone.