Protein bar recommendation?

The doctor, still puzzling about why I'm not losing weight, wants me to lower my fat intake to under 30 grams a day. But he also wants me to keep my protein above 50 grams.

This is not easy, folks. I can't eat much meat or eggs (and forget peanut butter) without going above the 30 fat grams, so I've fallen back on high-protein cereals and vegetable protein bars. I kind of like the Slim-Fast protein bars, but of their 6 grams of fat, 3 are saturated fats. Are there crunchy-type bars without so much saturated fat? (I really hate the gooey-type protein bars.)

Have you tried Clif Bars? I love them... I think you could probably find one with less than 6 grams of fat too.

Never heard of them, but I checked online and they look interesting. Still a high proportion of saturated fat, though. They look to be a lot cheaper than the protein bars available in the supermarket, but that's without adding in the shipping. I checked the online store locator and they're only available at cycle shops that are quite a distance from me.

They have less protein than the Slim-Fast bars, though, so the proportion of fat to protein in Clif bars is higher. Are they satisfying, hunger-wise?

Yeah I was very hesitant to start eating them because I felt that was alot of calories.

But I tried them out and they keep me very full. Usually they can act as a breakfast for me and will keep me full till lunch. Sometimes I eat half of one to tie me over till the next major meal.

I would not describe their consistency as too soft or too hard. Definitely not crunchy. It was the consistency of an oatmeal cookie loaded with oatmeal. Does that make sense?

I love Pure Protein bars, yes the fat is about 5-6 g, but you get about 18g of Protein, so you don't have to eat as much of the fat. I eat one as a snack everyday. The chocolate chip is the best. Also, South Beach High Protein is good too, 5 fat g, for 10g of protien. Maple nut is awesome, but so is cranberry almond. I usually get them at wal-mart. Do you avoid eggs because of the taste or the calories, because if it's the calories, try egg beaters, the cheese and chives are great with a little hot sauce and on a english muffin. I have one for breakfast like every morning.

Personally, I like the Clif bars. I can't use them as a breakfast, on their own, but they're good for a good supplemental snack for me.

My fiancee loves the Luna bars herself.

Have you thought about a Whey or Hemp based protein powder? I buy vanilla protein powder and mix it in orange juice or my morning cereal. Here's a little more information on protein powders: http://www.truestarhealth.com/members/cm_arch ives12ML3P1A8.html

Why don't you consider protein powders like ix suggested. They are quite effective if you want to up your protein intake and I find them relatively low in calorie. The powder I use has 27g of protein and 110 calories per scoop (on the lable it says, I can use upto 8 scoops! That's alot!). You can buy plain yogurt and mix it, it actually tastes quite good. Or blend it with non-fat milks (I use unsweetened soy milk) with some strawberries or pineapple and it is absolutely yummy!!
something to consider?

I love eggs and would eat them every day if I could, but they have almost 16 grams of fat each, which is more than half my daily allottment. That's way too much for only 6 grams of protein. My husband eats egg beaters, but I can't stand the taste of them.

But the protein powder is a good idea. I even have some from GNC in the cupboard (bought it months ago thinking I would use Alton Brown's recipe and make my own protein bars, but I haven't got around to it). I just tried some and it seems pretty tasteless. I'll try mixing some into fat-free yogurt (that's pretty tasteless, too). Then at least I can save my fat grams for something worth eating.

I use the brand Allmax, Isoflex Whey Protein. http://www.befit.ca/isoflex.html
I get them in vanilla flavor and I find it pretty tasty!

If you like eggs, try Egg Beaters or Better 'n Eggs.  They're lower in fat and calories and still have protein.

I like the Balance Gold bars.  The taste is pretty good and a good chunk of protein.

Otherwise protein powders are always pretty good in a fruit smoothie.  =) 

Have you tried light soy milk?  That's another source of protein and low on fat. 

i agree I like the clif bars...have you checked out the builders bar? by clif? they have alot of protein

since you're trying to increase protein without fat, try incorporating beans (lentil, black bean, kidney, garbanzos, etc.) into your meals ... high protein and no fat... that is, of course, if you like beans

i use a brand called "horleys" and they have these "carb-less" bars which are not only delicious but only 4 grams of fat and carbs! they also have a whole range of protein shakes/supplements etc, my fave is the "sculpt" one. 

I like the Zone Perfect Bars - but they have 7 grams of fat, so that may be too much for you.  The Pure Protein Bars are good, and I too think the chocolate chip is the best of those.  I make smoothies with whey protein powder, fat-free milk, fat-free yogurt, frozen fruit, and ice cubes - really good, high in protein, has some fiber, and very low in fat. 

How about tofu?

powerbar triple threat!! The peanut and chocolate one is AMAZINGGGG!!

Ooooohhh so good. :-)

I know I'm a picky eater <sigh>, but I don't like food that tastes fake, which to me includes Egg Beaters and Better 'n Eggs. I'm not terribly fond of beans, either, although I like hummus (but it has too much fat).

Today I had Golean cereal with light soy milk and a half-scoop of soy protein for breakfast, along with an apple. For lunch, three ounces of London broil with mustard. For dinner, a South Beach protein bar, a half-cup of cous cous, and 5 ounces of mini carrots and sliced cucumbers. For a snack, I had a pear. That leaves me enough fat grams to have 1 ounce of cheese with my glass of wine tonight and still be under 30 grams of fat. And I'll come in over 70 grams of protein and under 1,200 calories.

 

I guess I am coming at this from a different direction. Are you sure that reducing fat that much is a good idea? Is your doctor a trained nutritionist? Current research (http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/f ats.html) suggests 20-30% of calories from fat is ideal, as long as saturated and trans fats are avoided.

There are lots of reasons you might not be losing weight. 1200 is not a lot of calories. Maybe you need to eat more?

Hi, Library Girl --

I guess I need to put a caveat on the bottom of all my posts. An awful lot of the accepted wisdom on this site applies to the under-30 people who make up the bulk of its visitors.  What's good for them is not necessarily good for a 57-year-old postmenopausal woman.

No, my doctor is not a nutritionist, but my nutritionist is a nutritionist, and both of them agree that there was absolutely nothing wrong with my usual diet, which ran about 1,400 calories a day and averaged 50 grams of fat, almost all of it unsaturated or monosaturated. I have avoided trans fats since I read an article about its effect on cholesterol more than six years ago. I haven't had any oil but olive oil in the house for a decade. When I want butter, I use real butter, but that's very rare. I do (or did) have a weakness for bacon once a week, but otherwise I eat lean meats.

Nonetheless, I am steadily gaining weight, from 118 lbs. in 2000 to 163 as of this morning (down from 165 after three months of Calorie-Count monitoring), and my most recent blood test (on Tuesday) showed a fasting glucose level of 112. Diabetes is diagnosed at 126, and only eight years ago my fasting level was in the 70s.

So something is going on here, and neither my doctor nor my nutritionist is sure quite what. I have no thyroid abnormalities. I've told them both that the only weight-loss method that has worked for me is ephedra, and of course they can't recommend that. So they're going with the ultra-low calorie diet. No more than 1,200 a day, preferably no more than 1,000. And no more than 30 grams of fat.

We'll see what happens then. My husband has had diabetes since childhood. His is Type 1, the autoimmune disease, not Type 2, which is caused by obesity. But the risks are the same -- kidney failure, blindness, nerve problems, amputations, heart disease.  So I give up eating most fat. Seems like a reasonable choice.

And in six months, if that doesn't work, we'll try something else.

Addendum:

I hope I didn't sound ungrateful for the advice and concern, both from Library Girl and everyone else who has offered suggestions for getting protein without fat. I truly appreciate your thoughts and I enjoy the dialogue on this site.