Nitro Tech Bars

[Khar]

I just recently started using Nitro Tech bars 2/day for part of my diet. They taste great! Not quite a snickers bar or anything, but definately the best tasting protien bar I've tasted. I'm not about to use U-Turn, Detour, or One-Way as I have read a few reports on the supplement facts being way skewed. With 35g protien, <3/4 g sugar, and >2/3 g fiber per bar...Is this too good to be true? Are the nutrional facts on these bars wrong too? Maybe its just that I have become accustomed to eating worldwide nutrition pure protien bars, which taste like *****.

[bradley]

I have not heard anything that would lead me to believe that the nutrition facts were not accurate on the Nitro-Tech bars.

The labels on the Detour, U-Turn, and One Way bar should be pretty accurate as well. I know that they updated the label on the Detour bar and 1fast had some of the bars checked for nutritional content and the results came back close to the label claims. IMO the whole thing was blown out of proportion. Just my .02:)

[Holto]

Originally posted by Khar
I just recently started using Nitro Tech bars 2/day

bars are great when you have no choice but IMO any plan to use them is a bad plan

[bradley]

Originally posted by Holto


bars are great when you have no choice but IMO any plan to use them is a bad plan

I agree that bars are not the best nutritional choice out there, but then again as long as you are counting the calories toward your daily total and not making protein bars the mainstay of your diet I don't see any problem.

What would be wrong with incorporating them into your diet?

[Holto]

Originally posted by bradley
I agree that bars are not the best nutritional choice out there

this is all I'm saying

taking two a day seems like a cop out

I can't site specific ingredients or anything but I don't consider bars clean food

I have also noticed over the years that people that make a plan to rely on them are (often) not willing to make choices based on nutritional values but rather taste

[bradley]

Originally posted by Holto


this is all I'm saying

taking two a day seems like a cop out

I can't site specific ingredients or anything but I don't consider bars clean food

I have also noticed over the years that people that make a plan to rely on them are (often) not willing to make choices based on nutritional values but rather taste

I see where you are coming from and I agree with what you are saying:)

Although shakes, bars, MRPs, etc. do offer portion control, which is something that is not really talked about much. Many find it much easier to stick to a certain diet by knowing exactly how much to eat and when to eat it, hence the reason pre-packaged meals are so popular (Jenny Craig, etc.). Don't get me wrong, I am not saying you should eat protein bars 3x a day.

[Khar]

Originally posted by Holto


bars are great when you have no choice but IMO any plan to use them is a bad plan

Since you don't know my situation I'll just take it as an ignorant comment...I work 50+ hours a week and use them while at work...I can't take 3 lunch breaks.

[bigswole30]

Originally posted by Khar


Since you don't know my situation I'll just take it as an ignorant comment...I work 50+ hours a week and use them while at work...I can't take 3 lunch breaks.

It takes longer to eat a protein bar than any real food meal I know. Eat a tuna sandwhich on wheat. That would be a much better and cheaper alternative. I would never eat a protein reagardless of the situation.

[Khar]

Uhm, I can't walk around with a tuna sandwich tucked in my pocket....But again since you don't know where I work, how the building is laid out or anything like that....it's ok. I would much rather eat a tuna sandwich on wheat if I could, if not just for the cost issues.

[Holto]

Khar: were trying to help

just as I mentioned

"bars are great when you have no choice"

if you have no choice then this is the best you can do

tell us all the particulars of your job what you do and how you must do it

can you bring a cooler to work to get sandwiches out of etc...

if the end result is that you *must* eat protein bars then nitrotech would be the absolute worst thing you could get

not enough carbs

on a 10hr shift you are burning a tremendous amount of cals and would need high cal bars

nitrotech are inteded to be low cal bars

[technogeeky]

Originally posted by Holto
Khar: were trying to help

just as I mentioned
"bars are great when you have no choice"

if you have no choice then this is the best you can do

tell us all the particulars of your job what you do and how you must do it

>> can you bring a cooler to work to get sandwiches out of etc...

if the end result is that you *must* eat protein bars then nitrotech would be the absolute worst thing you could get

not enough carbs

on a 10hr shift you are burning a tremendous amount of cals and would need high cal bars

nitrotech are inteded to be low cal bars

No, it's out of the question. I don't need to get into any specifics, but his job won't allow him to pause and eat a tuna sandwich.

Tackle the issue with the following assumptions:

1. He is going to be consuming two bars each day
2. His job isn't *always* labor intensive, but it can be
3. He is on a slow bulk.

[Holto]

in that case Nitrotech is the worst possible choice for the reason I mentioned

[technogeeky]

Originally posted by Holto
in that case Nitrotech is the worst possible choice for the reason I mentioned

In the spirit of being useful and constructive, what do you think would be a better solution?

[ElPietro]

Nitrotech aren't low cal, they are low carb. Whether something is low cal or high cal will depend on it's breakdown. Calories from a bar aren't going to very much from meal replacement bar to meal replacement bar. He knows the content and has factored it into his diet.

I see nothing wrong with bars in your diet. Most cases people eat a bar because if they didn't, they'd eat nothing.

Also, there isn't clean food and bad food. Food is food, look at what it contains, and if it fits then it's fine. If there are things in it, that you are trying to keep strict you can choose another bar if you want, but for a snack, I don't see anything better than a bar for complete control over calories, and macro breakdown. You can buy two meal replacement bars even, and keep the low carb ones and the higher carb ones as well, for when you need more carbs, or some more energy.

Bars will last a long time as well, a tuna sandwhich won't. No reason not to consume bars as a snack.

[Holto]

Originally posted by technogeeky


In the spirit of being useful and constructive, what do you think would be a better solution?

I think I stated pretty clearly that a better solution is a higher cal bar...

for sure one with carbs

if you eat a nitotech bar when you need cals for energy, especially when liver glycogen is low your body uses the protein for energy

then your stuck with less cals than you need and very little protein yielded from the bar

[Holto]

Originally posted by ElPietro
Also, there isn't clean food and bad food. Food is food, look at what it contains, and if it fits then it's fine

I consider things with

preservatives,
refined sugar,
artificial sweeteners,
frankestein fats etc...

to be UN-CLEAN foods I don't understand what your saying at all

I eat closest to the source as is often reco'd on this board

this is why our population is becoming so obese and generally unhealthy

generations ago people ate more *cleanly* and the statistics prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that their health was better overall

[Holto]

ElPietro is right about bars not varying much for total cals

nitrotech 280

almost any bar with carbs is over 300 which makes nitrotech one of the lowest cal bars on the market aside from those little chick bars with soy

in light of this I say eat a bar with protein carbs and chase it with a powerbar or an Oatmeal bar (like the ones by Quaker)

[ElPietro]

People are fatter now because of the prevalence of calorie dense fast food, and having a hectic lifestyle that includes many work lunches and eating out. As far as bulk/cut and things like that, processing shouldn't make much difference.

Natural isn't always the best option. I'd like to think that with the amalgamation of human knowledge, we can improve on some things and make them better to eat.

I like bars because they are a quick easy source of protein. Those aren't easy to find, versus quick easy sources of carbs, which are practically everywhere. And often it's hard to seperate the two, other than with shakes, bars, or chicken breasts. :D

[raniali]

if this guy likes the bars, and the nutritional content works in his day, what is the argument? there are always better food sources, better ways, better diets but we don't live in an ideal world and the most effective eating plan is one that works for you over the long haul. i used to rely on bars when my schedule revolved around work and school virtually every day. call me dispassionate about lifting, but i refused to add a cooler to my burden. honestly, is changing the brand of bar or adding a tuna sandwich gonna make this guy into the hulking pile of muscle he desires? if you aren't making acceptable gains, then start looking at more calorie-dense bars.

[bigswole30]

If you insist on bars make your own. Here are a few options. This way you know what you are eating.

-1 Cup Whole Grain Oats
-2 Egg Whites
-2 Whole Eggs
(You can substitute 1 Cup Egg Beaters for all 4 eggs, but I like the added fat from the yolk)
-1 Tsp Baking Powder
-1-2 Packets Splenda Sweetner (more or less, to taste)

Optional Ingredients:
-Raisins
-Nuts
-Etc.

Mix it all together, let it stand for about 5 minutes for the Oats to absorb the eggs. You can cook them like pancakes on the stove, or what I usually do is Triple the recipe and cook them on a 1/2 size cookie sheet and they come out like brownies. Done like this, with 1/4 cup raisings and then cutting them up into 6 equal squares, it works out to about:

18g Protein, 32g Carbs, 8g Fat = 272 Calories

try it out, they are a good snack or as an accompanyment to a protein shake...

Here is a second option:


#1 Here is the recipe:

16 ounces Natural peanut butter
8 tablespoons honey
six scoops of Optimum Chocolate whey protein powder
1 cup of uncooked oatmeal

Mix the pb and honey in a bowl, microwave on full for 80 secs. Add the rest and mix together. Can add raisins/nuts etc to taste. Smooth into 13x9 tray and leave for 20 mins. Cut into 10 to 12 equal bars and wrap and store in fridge.

This is a great tasting recipe that I modified from one I found on 'bolex

Now here is the breakdown on a batch of the goodies:

Protein: 254 grams
Carbohydrates: 282 grams
Fats: 236 grams

This batch gives you a whopping 4268 calories. Thats right, over 4000 Calories and 250+ grams of protein.

[Holto]

sweet

I have been trying to come with something like #2

thanks

[Khar]

I appreciate your input an all Holto, but I know exactly what I'm doing, exactly how many cals and the macro nutrient breakdown I should be eating for my goals...I have factored in my daily activities...My original question was asking if the nutritional facts for the Nitro-Tech bars are accurate. Not asking what people think I should do to my diet. If I could carry a few extra sandwiches on me or had time and the ability to walk across the compound and grab one, then I would. For one its a helluva lot cheaper. But I cannot, and that aside. The Nitro-Tech bars I eat are 300 cals...There are no hydrongenated oils in the ingredients, and sugar is minimal in these bars...Those are the reasons I chose those bars. They just happen to taste good. If I was going for taste I would eat Detour or U-Turns, but I am not willing to eat those lesser healthy bars.