Ultimate Guide to Choosing Your Perfect Protein Bar

So I've spent the last 6 months researching and trying all sorts of protein bars, and there's one thing that I can tell you for sure: they are certainly not all created equal. And with so many different options in the market, it can be really hard to figure out which protein bar is best for you and your goals and your lifestyle, because yes, it can really make a difference. So today I'm going to go through 6 different categories of individuals that are separated by different lifestyle goals, like if you are trying to lose weight or gain weight, or if you're an athlete, different things like that, and then which protein bars are going to be best suited for each of those categories. And if you're still needing more clarity by the end of this video, I've created quiz that you can take that will help you find your perfect protein bar match. I'll make sure to link that down in the description. The first category of individuals I want to talk about are those that are looking to lose fat or lose weight in general. There's a specific set of requirements that I put in this category for bars to qualify for people who want to lose weight or lose fat. Generally speaking, we're going to want a bar that is higher in protein and lower in calories. That particular ratio is going to help you to preserve your lean muscle mass while being in a calorie deficit. Optimally, we're looking for bars of 20 grams of protein and above. So that usually means bars that are going to be lower in carb and lower in fat as well. My top pick for this category is the David Protein Bar. Now to date, this is the lowest calorie, highest protein ratio bar you can really find on the market. Comes in at around 150 calories for 28 grams of protein. I've tried all the flavors and I do really love pretty much all of them. So that's going to be a really solid choice if you're looking to still maintain a calorie deficit and get a high amount of protein in. Now coming in at second place would be the BareBells normal whey-based protein bar. Protein bars, not the vegan ones. Bearbells protein bars come in around 200 calories and roughly 20-ish grams of protein, so still meeting that threshold of a relatively low-calorie, high-protein bar. And again, I've tried pretty much all of their flavors and all of them are delicious. And my third place pick would be a Pure Protein bar or Quest protein bar. Now both of those come in around 180 to 200 calories and roughly 20 to 22 grams of protein, and those are both great. They're a little bit cheaper of options. However, there can be sometimes a little bit of a weird protein-y aftertaste, but still really solid choices in this category. Next category is going to be bars that are optimal for athletes. In this category, we're going to want around 15 to 20 grams of protein, something that's going to help support recovery, muscle building, and keeping you relatively full as well. This is where things start to differ a little bit. We want a little bit higher of a carbohydrate ratio than we would for, let's say, a weight loss category, and that's because that's going to help to provide fuel for your body as an athlete and help to replenish fuel stores after an activity. We're also thinking about maybe a bar that's going to be a little bit more higher in calories, 200 to 350-ish, enough to provide you with sustainable energy. As far as fiber goes, we're trying to pick bars that aren't going to be too excessively high in fiber as to not create GI distress, especially if you're having them before an activity or during an activity. We don't want to have a bar that's going to create like digestive upset. And the last category I like to think about often for athletes in particular is having a bar that's relatively less processed and maybe a little bit more whole foods based because athletes have to rely on these types of bars pretty often in their training, especially, you know, their grab-and-go options for fuel. So we want to find something just that's going to give them less exposure to lots of additives, especially if they're needing to rely on this like 2, 3 times in a day. Now my top pick for this category is going to be something like the Aloha Bar. It's relatively minimally processed, really close to that 15-gram threshold, coming in around 14 grams of protein, and you're usually getting about 25 grams of carbs along with that. And it's a great diverse bar, especially since it's plant-based. So if you're somebody who doesn't digest whey protein or animal protein-based bars that great, this can still be on the table for you. Now my second pick, which was very, very close to tying my first pick, I'm only putting it here just because it is slightly more processed than the Aloha bar. So it's not too terribly processed, but there is a little bit more of an ingredient list. Things are a little bit more processed in this bar, so it may not be a choice that some people feel comfortable having like 2 or 3 times a day if needed in high training season. However, it is one of my favorites in rotation currently, and that is the ProZzz Whey and Oats bar. It's coming in at around 18g of protein, around 35g of carbs, and close to 300 calories. So a really well-balanced bar, and it tastes so good. Speaking of ProZzz, they actually happen to be today's video sponsor. If you're looking for quality nutrition products that actually deliver on their promises, then ProZzz has been consistently impressing me. You can 100% taste the real oats in this and really high-quality whey protein that isn't like gritty, and it's that perfect macro balance that I find to be super helpful when I'm training. But What I love most about ProZis is that they are not just all about protein bars. They also carry some really unique things like protein waffles and these really delicious high-fiber wraps and clothing and different equipment pieces that you would need for the gym. One of my favorite items that I've been loving lately has been these stackable containers that you can put your protein powder in and travel with super easily. You can bring it to the gym, to the airport, wherever you want to go. It's really nice because you can just pop it on in there, stack it in, and you're good to go. Plus, they're originally a Europe-based company, so they have some really interesting products that you wouldn't see in the US otherwise. So if you're a fitness foodie and like to get creative with different products that you can try, you're definitely going to want to check out ProZzz. Be sure to use my code VICTORIOUS10 for 10% off plus a free gift. All right, let's get back to finding your perfect protein bar because I know I have. All right, moving into our next category, let's talk about bars for people that have digestive issues. This could be anywhere in the spectrum of somebody having IBS, FODMAP sensitivities, or they just tend to get a little bit more bloaty. Then these next few bars are for you. So some of the requirements I have for this category is that they are either certified low FODMAP or just generally contain no high FODMAP ingredients. And if you don't know what FODMAPs are, FODMAPs are essentially a category or a couple of categories of different carbohydrates that are not very easily digested and tend to ferment in the gut more easily with some folks, therefore causing a lot of bloating and discomfort. Something else that's important for bars in this category is that they have limited or no sugar alcohols included. Sugar alcohols can also be something that creates a lot of digestive upset. No chicory root or inulin, also another type of fiber that's typically added to some bars that can create a lot of digestive issues. And no whey concentrate, only whey isolate if it is a whey-based bar. And lastly, minimal fiber. Obviously fiber can create some issues for some people, so we're looking for bars that are going to be ideally under 10 grams of fiber. Top pick in this category is going to be the Marygold bars. Marygold has a collection of low FODMAP bars that are delicious and actually have really good macros. It is pretty hard to have a bar in the low FODMAP category that ends up being low to moderate calorie and high protein, and they've somehow managed to do that. And their bars are gluten, grain, lactose, sugar, alcohol, sucralose, and soy-free. My next pick in this category would be FODMAP Bar by the company FODMAZING. Now again, this is great for a minimal ingredient bar. There's only 5 ingredients in the bar. However, there's slightly less protein than the Marygold bars. So this is about 16 grams of protein where Marygold was at least 20, and it's slightly higher calorie coming in at around 270 calories. So still a really solid option, and personally I've tried these that tastes pretty much like almond butter mostly, and it's delicious, but they do get a little crumbly. Fair warning. And my third pick in this category would be the low FODMAP collection of bars from GoMacro. These bars remind me a lot of RX bars as far as texture goes, so a little bit more chewy, but they travel great. They're not crumbly. I brought them with me on many a trips, and they're just really solid staples. Again, not quite as high of protein as the Marygold bars, but still pretty good, and a ton of different flavors. Now let's talk about if you're somebody who needs a protein bar and you are bulking or trying to put on weight. So in this category, we're looking for bars that are over 300 calories, definitely more than 20 grams of protein, and at least a minimum of 25 grams of carbs. Higher fat is going to be acceptable for this bar category because again, we're trying to pack in the calories, and generally speaking, fat is a really efficient and easy way to do that. And some of these bars can also double as a meal replacement bar in some ways because a lot of them have enough calories and other macros to substitute as a meal. Now, in a strict protein bar category and not a meal bar category, I'm going to give the winning choice to Fit Crunch, the full-size bar. Now, these are delicious bars. They are so good, so tasty. Definitely tastes like candy bars, but they're delicious. And they tend to be higher in calories, so 380, 390 calories and 30+ grams of protein. But if we're getting really serious about our calories and packing them in, there's two other bars that kind of cross over into like the meal replacement category that are going to still have substantial protein. Now the other bar I'm going to suggest in this category doesn't quite hit the mark for protein, so it's more so of a meal replacement bar, but it is pretty close. It's 18 grams of protein still, and this is called the Range Bar. The Range Bar is a 700-calorie bar originally made for like backpacking meals, or if you are hiking very long distances, or just doing any sort of activity that's going to require you, you to pack in calories really quickly, providing a whopping 95 grams carbs to fuel you for your activity and what you're doing, and 27 grams of fat. These bars are going to be pretty substantial. Now let's talk about bars for those of you who don't do any animal sources of protein. So maybe you're vegan or vegetarian. Don't worry, I got you. I was vegetarian for 8 years, so I've gone through a fair share of these options myself. So to be in this category, I've only put bars that have 100% plant-based ingredients. So that means no dairy, like no whey, casein, any of that, no eggs, no honey, and have at least 10+ grams of plant protein in them. Usually plant-based protein bars tend to be a little lower protein, so that's why you'll see some of these bars aren't quite as high as some of the animal-based protein bars as far as a protein category goes. However, the one bar that does it great and has a great ratio of calories to protein for a pure protein bar is the No Cow bar. No Cow has bars that are around 200 calories, 20 to 22 grams of protein, and fairly low carb. However, I will say the texture is hit or miss for some people, so it is a little bit more grainy of a texture. And it makes your mouth a little dry. But if you're trying to pack in the protein and you're a vegan or vegetarian, it's a great option. Two other great mentions in this category would be Aloha Bars and True Bars. Both have relatively minimal ingredients and taste really delicious in my opinion. Not quite as a high amount of protein as No Cow Bars, but still substantial enough. And the last category I wanna mention are those people who do not like sweet protein bars or just don't want a protein bar that tastes like candy. Maybe they want a savory option. Now, my top pick for this category is the Savory Bar. Savory Bar is one of the only savory protein bars, or not sweet protein bars, that has a pretty decent amount of protein in it and isn't overkill on the calories. So most of them range from 250 to 270 calories and around 22 to 26 grams of protein. And pretty well-balanced bar, you're getting a decent amount of carbs and fats along with that. But I'd say from a macro profile. It's pretty well balanced and the flavors are awesome. You get cheddar jalapeño, cheddar chive, cracked black pepper. Now, word of caution, they do require you to chew a little bit more because the bar is meant to be savored. So don't expect to be able to wolf this down really quickly. Second mention in this category would be the Afar bar. Now, Afar also has some really crazy flavors like bruschetta and miso flavor. However, they do tend to be a little bit lower in protein, closer around 16g, so it might not be the best option if you're looking for something a little bit more substantial. Now, by no means is this a comprehensive list. There are so many other protein bars that I could have mentioned that could have been categorized in this video. However, this would have been a very long video by that point, so that's why I made the protein bar quiz. You can sift through that really easily and figure out what is going to be the most ideal protein bar for you, your goals, and your lifestyle. Again, link for that is down below in the description. And I'd love to hear from you guys— what are some of your protein bars that you've had lately that you've really enjoyed? Drop them down in the comments and spread the joy. And guys, as always, if you like this video and found it helpful, please give this video a thumbs up, subscribe to the channel. I greatly appreciate each and every one of you. All right, see you in the next one. Bye.