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 Whether you’re travelling or not, the nutrition bar is a staple for many of us. But what makes a good nutrition bar? For this post, I’ve teamed up with coach Steve Wheatherholt, L3 CrossFit trainer, host of the podcast Let’s WOD About It and nutrition coach at Blackbird CrossFit in Eldersburg, MD. Steve has very strong nutritional knowledge and I wouldn’t write a piece of this nature without his expertise to offer a full picture. We looked at several nutrition bars for this writeup. There’s some practical pros and cons, as well as some deeper nutritional details for you. We’ll look at different aspects including quality, ingredients, taste, travel-ability, nutrition – protein/fat/carbs and other important points. We selected four bars to look at; Perfect Bar, Atlas Bar, RX Bar and One Bar. Here’s what we found.  Perfect Bar The Perfect Bar is delicious. Their most popular (from what I’ve seen) is probably the dark chocolate peanut butter. There’s many flavors including coconut peanut butter, chocolate mint, chocolate walnut brownie and blueberry cashew, to name a few. Most of these bars will range from 10 – 17 grams of protein. Pros:
Cons:
 Nutrition Info: Ingredients and nutritional content can vary from one bar to another. Coach Steve’s Notes: This is my personal favorite as far as taste goes. If I know I’m going to have a long stretch before my next meal, the perfect bar will get me through because of the higher fat content. Fat is a slow digesting macronutrient so it keeps you feeling full and energized for a long time.  Atlas Bar The Atlas Bar is another very good-tasting bar with similar protein content to a Perfect Bar but with fewer calories. Atlas comes in six flavors including almond chocolate chip, mint chocolate chip and vanilla almond chai. Most bars have about 15 grams of protein. Pros:
Cons:
 Nutrition Info: Ingredients and nutritional content can vary from one bar to another. Coach Steve’s Notes: These are also high on my list as far as taste goes, but the price holds me back a lot with this one. Another one that’s great to get your through a long stretch between meals.  RX Bar The RX Bar is easily the most widely available in this group. They’re made up of just a handful of ingredients, all of which are natural. There’s too many flavors to count. From chocolate sea salt, to peanut butter, to chocolate hazelnut. They’re pretty consistent on protein (around 12 grams) and come in at around 210 calories. Pros:
Cons:
 Nutrition Info: Ingredients and nutritional content can vary from one bar to another. Coach Steve's Notes: You really can’t beat the availability of the Rx Bar. This is my go-to on the road because it travels well and you can find them at almost any local gas station now for a great price. They are lower in calories than some so it’s my favorite choice before a workout. We want something that absorbs faster before a workout so your body can concentrate on exercising and not digesting food. As far as ingredients, I haven't come across anything cleaner than these either. Every ingredient is real food so you can enjoy a delicious snack and stay on track.  One Bar One Bars is an option that I’m starting to see more. There’s a decent amount of flavors including birthday cake, cinnamon roll, lemon cake and white chocolate truffle, which lean a little more towards those with a sweet tooth. They all pack right around 20 grams of protein. Pros:
Cons:
 Nutrition Info: Ingredients and nutritional content can vary from one bar to another. Coach Steve’s Notes: While this bar is high in protein and has some more appealing flavors, there are several unnatural and added ingredients in this bar. It’s a better choice than some snack foods, but with so many healthier bar options we’ve talked about, this one isn't at the top of my list. Some other great healthy snacks to have on the road with you or at home:
As always, if you have any questions or comments, feel free to comment on this post or email me directly at dropindiary@gmail.com. Special thanks to coach Steve Weatherholt. Wishing you safe, healthy and successful travels.
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 You’re sitting at home. There’s a lot more time on your hands. You’re hanging out with your new best friend, Netflix. What’s there to do? Eat! And that’s a danger that’s not all that dissimilar to being on the road. Not only do you have the opportunity to eat more often now than ever, there’s a natural attraction to comfort foods. Let’s face it, these are very different times. Our routines are way off, and we’re fairly cut off from our friends and family. It can get downright depressing. It can be the same way on the road. You’re often out there on your own and it’s easy to go for a less healthy meal. There’s a lot more easy choices than healthy ones; similar to the grocery store. Eating healthy is a conscious decision and an effort. It takes planning and preparation. So, what do we do in times like these? Fortunately, the same rules apply in situations like this as they would on the road. Here’s a few ideas to help keep you on track:
Let's not forget that healthier foods are going to better support your immune system. So, staying on track is that much more important these days.
We’re all in uncharted territory. Some of the rules have changed and we’re all reacting to them and trying to find a rhythm and balance. These are just some reminders and suggestions that I hope will help. Please stay safe, stay healthy and stay strong in mind, body and spirit. I use the term going off the rails. What does it mean? When I don’t have eating discipline. When does it happen? Often. However, the overall goal is to create enough consistency to have positive results.
You may or may not be on a nutrition program and whether you are or you’re not I think we can all agree there’s two types of eating decisions; good ones and bad ones. I also think we can all agree that it’s easier to stay on track at home. The goal is to make a decent amount more good decisions than bad. I’m on a nutrition plan called Healthy Steps Nutrition and have a nutrition coach (coach Steve, who I’ll refer to in most of my nutrition discussions) who’s put me on a good path. I recommend a plan like this because it helps you to find and focus on good choices to stay on a positive track. I’ve had great results so far, losing significant body fat while gaining muscle mass. CrossFit definitely helps build muscle but the right food helps with building muscle too – food is fuel! The point being if you can establish a basis for good eating, it’s a lot easier to find good eating choices and stay on track no matter where you go. You’ll often see me write about the temptations of the road, and there’s lots of them. And it’s okay to indulge. But the difference between going off the rails and preventing a total train wreck is this (and here’s my main point for today); if you go off the rails and get right back on track, you can still win. One bad day will not offset many good days. Coach Steve often says if you have an off day (like Thanksgiving), and there’s many opportunities when travelling, just start over focusing on good habits the next day. I fully admit I can be a total sugar addict. Staying at a hotel that has fresh baked cookies? That’s like kryptonite to me. Is it possible to have just one? I think not. And that’s because sugar is addictive. I don’t need to be an expert to say that. Have you ever found that after you’ve had something sugary you immediately want another? Yep. That’s the sugar addiction. A huge help is having good alternatives. Nutrition bars like an RX Bar have lots of protein and fulfills that craving for sweet. Or, if you have a fridge in your hotel one of my favorite snacks is Oikos Triple Zero Greek yogurt. It’s sweet, comes in lots of flavors, packs 15g of protein and fills you up. But I’ve also had the hotel cookies and reset the next day and have been fine. What’s most important is to not throw your hands up and say “well, I’ve blown it so I’m not going to try anymore”. If you keep trying every day, even if you have a few bad days, don’t give up. The temptations of the road are strong but you can be stronger. So, if you have an off day or days or even an off trip, think about getting back on track for your next meal or next day. It’s the overall focus and regular good habits that will lead you to success. Wishing you safe, healthy and successful travels. Here’s the disclaimer: I am not a nutrition expert, coach or program or product representative. I am not ordained in any way as having expertise on the topic of nutrition. These are my experiences on what has worked for me and how I’ve found success. I will share tips that have been shared with me by my nutrition coach (coach Steve) and have permission to do so. I may also share ideas or point to recipes from the nutrition program that I adhere to; Healthy Steps Nutrition. The point being, I am a regular person sharing my nutrition experiences that I hope you find helpful and you may find that different things work for you. |
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