Actually, this isn’t just the best low carb protein bar, but the finest protein bar of any variety out there – period!
I have NEVER recommended any commercial protein bars in my life. They’re basically candy bars dressed up as something healthy. The protein and carb counts are questionable and the QUALITY of the protein leaves a lot to be desired.
So why am I recommending quest bars?
I was very impressed with this product. For the following reasons…
(1) The Ingredients
(2) The Taste
(3) How well they fit into ALL MuscleHack diets! The carb count is actually accurate (probably a first for protein/low carb bars).
Here’s a list of the ingredients:
- Whey Protein Isolate
- Milk Protein Isolate
- Natural almond and peanut butters
- Almonds & peanuts
- Sea salt
- Lo han guo (natural herb/sweetener)
- Sucralose
The protein is as good as it gets. They don’t use soy or gelatin to bump up the protein count.
You get natural, healthy fats from the nuts and their butters (everyone on ANY diet should be getting some nuts or nut butters).
Apart from lo han guo, the only sweetener is sucralose/splenda. This is the first time I’ve seen a bar like this NOT use sugar alcohols, which ARE carbs and DO count towards your daily total.
So when these quest bars say 4g of net carbs, there really ARE only 4g net carbs, and they all come from nuts. It’s about time a company came along and did this.
They happen to taste great as well. In the absence of sugar alcohols and other weird ingredients, there’s no strange aftertaste and you don’t get that feeling of, “I don’t want to eat any more of this” when you’re halfway through eating. They come in vanilla and peanut butter flavors.
Now, here’s the important part for us Muscle Hackers.
No matter what nutritional strategy you’ve employed, quest bars will fit in very well.
(1) MANS – Just 4g carbs (5g for the peanut butter bar)
(2) GLAD – count this bar as a GL of 1. They haven’t been GI tested yet, but I can make an educated guess based on the carb, fat, and high-fiber counts.
(3) Total Six Pack Abs – 4g carbs. Excellent protein, great fats, and ONLY 230 Calories per bar! So even when you’re cutting you can accommodate this bar. It’ll actually feel like a cheat meal. 🙂
So whether you’re bulking or cutting, these bars can be on the menu. Quest actually have a page for bodybuilders on their site here. If you’re scared of saturated fat, (you might want to get over that) there are only 1.5g per bar.
Here’s the great news…
Quest will send you 2 FREE bars, they’ll even pay for the shipping! So you’ve nothing to lose to try these. Click here to get 2 free quest bars (free offer for US residents only, but everyone else can still order).
When to eat them?
Apart from post-workout (a low-fat protein shake is ideal here), you can eat these any time. Personally, I have mine in the morning or last thing at night.
The low glycemic load makes them perfect for a night-time treat, but I find them very convenient if I’m running late in the mornings and need something healthy to eat in a hurry. Actually, what I do sometimes is cut a bar in half and have 1 and a half bars for 30g of protein and 345 Calories.
So I’m giving this product my seal of approval and have factored them into my diet.
Your buddy,
Mark.
P.S. If you’re in Britain or Ireland and wondering about delivery times, for me it took 7 days for them to get here from the US.
OK. I like the ingredients, now let’s see about the taste. I’ll get the free ones and let you know. I don’t normally do protein bars though
Artificial sweeteners are horrible for you. (i.e. sucralose) Which is the only reason why I would not buy this product. Now, if t hey substituted the sucralose with some yummy Stevia, I would rethink my conclusion.
Great! I go from excited about finally a bar that is sufficient to being dissapointed that its for only USA residents!? No shipping to Canada! Boooooo
@David. Yeah, some people are going to have a problem with the sucralose. A few months ago I tried to come off it and replaced it with Stevia. To date I’ve tried:
Ground Stevia leaves (green)
White powder stevia
Liquid Stevia
….and they all stink. I’ve just got to be honest about it. I really wanted it to work, because an all-natural calorie-free sweetener would be perfect, but stevia and I don’t agree with each other.
Then I switched to Xylitol. There was an aftertaste once you used more than a couple of grams.
So I came back to splenda. While not natural, I haven’t seen any evidence that it is horrible for you, especially in the quantities that people use it.
@Zipper. They don’t ship free bars to anywhere outside the US, but I’m sure they ship orders to Canada.
I agree with you 95% that there’s no weird ingredients (love whey and almonds). Everything but sucralose. Sucralose is a chemically created chlorinated sugar molecule 600 times sweeter than sugar and is fat, far from natural. If they’re trying to make a low carb protein bar they certainly can’t use regular sugar or fruit because that jacks up the carbohydrate content. But they have to make it palletable somehow or else people won’t eat it. Enter artificial sweeteners. Sorry man, I will NOT eat these bars…not with Sucralose.
Mark,
re: sweeteners, take a look at erythritol,
ZSweet
All natural like xylitol. Zero glycemic impact. I can tell you there is no aftertaste.
I’ve heard sucralose causes an insulin response?
Hey Mark, thanks for the info about free bars. just ordered free sample, told them i saw it on MuscleHack,com. What do you think of the supplement DHEA, would youn recomend it? thanks Mike in Wisconsin…. The Packers won the super bowl…
Thanks, mike.
Thanks for the pointers but I think teh shipping cost to the UK is too much – I mean over $40 for 12 protein bars ??? I can get 2.5kg of protein powder for that which is a shame as a nice bit of something sweet would be nice.
hi mark i really need your help ive lossed over 2st in weight but now am stuck at 15st 2lb how or what can i do to get my body to start burning it off again please help me with some ideas and tips please please i want to get to bout 14st 5ib many thanks for your help it means so much
Let’s go ahead and put a bullet in this whole AMIGAWD SUCRLOSE panic, ok?
Yes, sucralose (Splenda) has a glycemic index of 80. No, this is not the end of the world. Remember your math, guys. Divide the glycemic index by 100, multiply that by the weight in grams, and the result is your glycemic load which is what determines the insulin response. This is why sucralose being so ridiculously sweet is a good thing – you only need a tiny amount, so it doesn’t fling the glycemic load off the charts.
Let’s assume the 4g of non-fiber carbs are two grams from the nut content and the other 2g is the sucralose. The almond butter gets a glycemic load of nothing. The sucralose, at 2g, would be a GL of 1.6 – well within what you’re allowed for both MANS and GLAD. Even if *all* the non-fiber carbs are sucralose, we’re still only talking a GL of 3.2.
So in short, yes, sucralose/Splenda has a silly high glycemic INDEX. To avoid causing an issue with glycemic LOAD, refrain from putting it in your food by the kilo. 😉
Thanks for that Jo. I’m not hysterically anti-sucralose, and what you say about the GL is certainly welcome news.
There are lingering concerns out there just because it’s completely artificial and there are a bazillion articles out there claiming this or that health risk.
If these manufacturers would just use something like erythritol these people would gladly pay more.
Thanx for the heads up Mark.
mark you tell your answers so easy rather than making them complicated ,best site same par as mens fitness mag hope 2011 brings you good luck m8 all my best mike pearse .
Thanks for the suggestion!
Great find Mark.
What do you think about other low-carb bars out there? Specifically the Atkins Advantage Bar and the 2:1 Bars. I think they taste good, but I am wondering if they are sufficient for MANS/GLAD.
Hi Mark,
I ordered the free samples at your suggestion and…WOW!
These are really good! I’ve eaten both bars and can honestly say they are the best I’ve ever tried.
No weird ingredients, and no chemical aftertaste…what a revolution!
Finally someone made a protein bar that truly is good for you. No smoke and mirrors, just an honestly good product at a reasonable price.
These will be an excellent addition to anyone’s fitness goals…a snack or meal-on-the-go that tastes like a treat, but better!
No more free bars outside the US 🙁
Thanks everyone.
@Rob. I’ve never heard of 2:1. But the Atkins bars are the sort I’m talking about in the article – loaded with sugar alcohols which are carbs and DO count. I don’t recommend them.