Best Protein Bars For Weight Loss and Muscle Gain

Chose the wrong protein bar and you’re finished! You might as well pick a candy bar. A snickers!

But really, if you’re looking to lose weight and gain muscle, then you need to understand the logic behind fat loss and muscle maintenance (if not muscle gain).

There is a whole science behind preserving muscle (or building muscle if you are a newbie). The main thing is to calculate your calories required for daily maintenance. You can do this using a BMR calculator. With this number, you will then figure out your daily calorie deficit.

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The Calorie Deficit: The Secret To Losing Weight and Gaining Muscles With Protein Bars

You don’t want this number to be too high. If the caloric deficit is too high then you risk lowering your metabolism (this is somewhat controversial and some people believe that there is no such thing as metabolic adaptation). However, you can aim for something like 500 calorie deficit and be safe. This will add up over time and you will drop around a pound of fat per week.

At the end of this article I’ve linked to a few of my favorite protein bars for losing weight and gaining muscle. You can find them online and order them in bulk. It’s important to keep in mind that not all protein bars are good for losing weight and gaining muscle, some protein bars are too calorie dense and are better suited for bulking or simply adding muscle mass.

Eating the correct macros (and having the right protein content) should be the primary focus of your diet and weight loss goals. So, in order to do that you need to focus on getting the best protein bars for weight loss and muscle gain. These bars will have the best protein ratio when compared to calories.

There is a classic saying that tells you that you can’t outrun calories. What they are speaking about is the fact that the only way to lose fat (lose weight) is to diet. Take a minute to look at how long it takes to burn off 100 calories by running and you will see that it’s just impossible. This doesn’t mean that cardio should have no place in your diet, what it does mean is that you need to be very aware of your calories and pay attention to your macros. This list will cover those protein bars that are best for people who are on a cut which means they will have the best protein to calorie ratio. If you are already at maintenance and are not looking to cut, then you might want to consider the best healthy protein bars that you can add into your daily menu.

When people talk about Macros, what they are speaking a bout are the breakdown of calories into :

Fat
Protein
Carbs

For people who are looking to lose fat but preserve muscle, it’s very important to get as much protein as possible. One way to do this is to take protein and protein bars. These are fantastic because they have a lot of protein, low fat and low carbs.

Losing Weight and Fat While Building Muscle: Protein Bar Basics

When you’re looking to lost fat and build muscle you need to do 2 things: take in enough protein and lower your total calories. This sounds simple, but it can be very difficult to accomplish. The number one mistake people make is overeating (eating too many calories).

Protein bars are great at hitting your protein goals, but if you overdo it you will be on bulk time…not cut time (in bodybuilder parlance!). So, this is why you need to stick to protein bars that fill you up and also have a decent ratio of protein to calories. You want to avoid fake protein bars (i.e. meal replacement bars). These are tricky and can actually sabotage your goals of losing fat weight and putting on muscle.

The second issue is that you want to feel full. This is why it’s important to choose a protein bar that not only tastes good but will satiate your hunger. One of the reasons that the best protein bars include a form of fiber is that it helps fill you up and is low in calories.

Take Quest for example. They have a great fiber content that will make it so that you eat a bar and feel full (or at least fuller than if you were to eat one of the more candy like replacement bars).

Best Protein Bars For Fat Loss and Muscle Gain

Quest (The ideal Macros, if not the most candy like texture)

Quest is one of the best protein bars for people who are looking to build muscle on a cut. Or preserve muscle (if you are someone who is already in decent shape and are just looking to preserve muscle loss while on a cut). Quest prob has one of the best protein to calorie ratios of any protein bar.

They don’t have the same candy bar like taste as something such as a FitCrunch or Gatorade….but they also don’t have the excess calories. And there are some really awesome flavors. They also fill you up since they have a decent amount of fiber. There are lots of great flavors (some great ones include white chocolate raspberry, double chocolate, and cookie dough). Below is one of the best selling flavors. It’s cookies and cream which is consistently the best selling quest bar…so if you are looking for a classic, great tasting bar, this one is a sure fire pick.

And it has no soy, it’s a whey based protein bar. Which is great because so many people want to steer clear of whey.

No Cow (vegan options- dairy free and great macros for fat loss)

So, if you are someone who wants a high protein bar without whey, then you should look into the No Cow bars. These are made with Pea Protein. This is a more popular alternative to soy, which is cheaper but not as healthy.

There are quite a few protein bars on the market that don’t consist of whey or soy, but there are not that many that will give you a big boost of protein. Unfortunately so many of them are simply healthy bars and not really protein bars in that you get that 20 plus grams. This is a good choice for people who are looking for a great boost

One Protein Bar

These are another Whey Protein bar that have a great taste…probably a better texture than the Quest bars. They are lighter and a few more calories, but they are still way less than most protein bars and they do have 20+ grams of protein. These are perfect to cycle in with your quest bars so that you don’t get too bored with the heavy texture of the quest bars. It’s a perfect protein bar for people looking to preserve muscle and stay on a cut. The best thing to do here would be to get the sample pack. The glazed donut variety is amazing, but you should try a whole bunch. Here’s a great way to do that.

Combat Crunch (the best tasting protein bar, and decent macros)

These are protein bars with a great crunchy texture. If you are someone who does not like the dense texture that a lot of protein bars have, then this is a great alternative. They are popular with MMA fighters and other athletes who train and as such you know it’s a bar that won’t mess up your cut. I cover this in my article on the best tasting protein bars. They are legit better than most candies you will see in the store…plus they help you build muscle while losing fat.

Protein Bars To Avoid When Looking To Lose Weight And Maintain Muscle

There are a lot of protein bars that are fine for when you’re bulking. But they are not a good pick for when you’re trying to cut weight and keep muscle. These bars are a bit too calorie heavy.

The number one offender is the FitCrunch. This is the one made by that bodybuilder English guy who had a food channel for a while. And yeah, these protein bars taste pretty good….but they also have a ton of calories. A snicker has less. (they also have beef fat…so they are definitely not safe for vegetarians or people who keep kosher). I would just avoid.

The second offender is Gatorade. They really don’t taste that good for the amount of calories. If you’re going to blow calories on a protein bar, you might as well get one that tastes good and the consensus is that Gatorade just doesn’t taste that good.