Fun and Fitness for the 40-Something

Yesterday, I picked up the race packet for a run this morning. In addition to the t-shirt and other goodies in the packet, I found a Marathon Protein Bar (made by Snickers … because who doesn’t associate Snickers with fitness?). It reminded me of an article I’d earlier flagged to mention here.

The article warns that energy bars, while packed with nutrients, also often pack a lot of calories: “It’s easy to munch down all the calories you just burned during your workout with just one.”  That’s because many of the bars are loaded with too much fat, protein and sugar—”as much as or more than your garden-variety candy bar.”

The Marathon Bar, for example, has 20 g of protein, 21 g of sugar and  290 calories (90 from fat). With all that fat and sugar, you’d think it would taste better. It didn’t do much for me, taste-wise. It’s not bad per se, but, for 290 calories, I want a richer, less cardboard taste. I didn’t even finish it. But I digress.

According to the article, “the American Council on Exercise lists eating high-energy bars during workouts of less than two hours as one of its top 10 most common mistakes.” It’s a different story, though, if you’re using a bar as a meal replacement—in that case, you want sufficient calories, protein, carbs and fat to keep you going and satisfied.

If you’re really ambitious, you can design your own bars by picking from a list of ingredients offered by You Bar. The company will make and package the bars and ship them to you. That’s may be the best way of getting the mix and taste that you want.