Low-calorie Protein Bars For Post Workout

A post-workout, low-calorie protein bar supplies vitamins to your body that assist in the recovery process, which includes tissue repair and replenishing muscle nutrients. These bars contain glutamine, taurine, vitamins or creatine, which is an organic acid that helps move energy to muscle cells by stimulating the production of ATP, or adenosine triphosphate. Protein bars can also be used as a protein supplement, invigorating you with a long-acting and healthy energy source.

Protein Bars

Protein is the basic building block of cells, necessary for healthy hair growth, nail growth, tissue replenishment and repair, strong bones and fresh-looking skin. Carbohydrates, fat and protein are all considered macronutrients, meaning you require an abundance of these substances to survive. While carbohydrates and fat can be stored in your body, proteins cannot, so you need a fairly constant intake of it.

More About Proteins

There are two different kinds of protein we need and get from the foods we eat: complete proteins and incomplete proteins. Complete proteins are found in dairy products, fish and chicken and incorporate all the essential amino acids needed to maintain a healthy human body. Incomplete protein comes from vegetables, nuts, grains and beans, and contributes a few amino acids but not as many as complete proteins. You must eat a large amount of incomplete protein food to synthesize the necessary chemicals that facilitate protein building. If your protein bar contains nuts or grains in it, you are consuming incomplete proteins. However, if you are getting the recommended amount of protein per day through a healthy diet, it's not a concern if your protein bar has incomplete proteins in it.

Protein Requirements

The average sedentary adult needs about 100 grams of protein per day, according to ExRx.net. More active people – like regular weight lifters, or athletes, need to increase their protein and carb intake to maintain their muscles. These people should consume between 0.7 and 0.9 grams of protein for each one pound of body weight. People who work out should try to get those protein requirements satisfied with complete proteins like those found in meats, eggs, fish, and dairy products, and supplement their intake with protein bars. This way, the incomplete proteins found within the bars is not a concern.

Caution Regarding Post-Workout Protein Bars

Although they are all called “protein bars,” some of these bars contain more than just protein. While all contain some necessary fats and carbohydrates, be aware there are some that are candy bars in disguise because they have a lot of processed sugar in them. When buying protein bars for workout recovery, look at the nutrition facts to see if the bar contains an excessive amount of sugar or hydrogenated oils. These substances will not enhance your recovery process and can cause health issues.

Calories

Don’t assume a protein bar is low in calories just because it is considered a healthy supplement to your diet. Weight trainers are the predominate consumers of post-recovery, low-calorie protein bars and as such, and many bars are manufactured with this demographic in mind. That means some protein bars 400 to 500 calories. For this reason, check the calorie count on protein bar labels .