Meal replacement bars

[gb155]

Hey

Ok so today I attempted to eat something new to beat my SED, I had one of these

http://mobile.fatsec...&showFacts=True

Forget the biggest loser branding, I got it as I'm keen on mints and it didn't look half as fussy as all the others with millions of "bits" in them.

How did it go ?

Well, bloody well actually , was weird having the chew so much and I freaked out a little when chewy went crunchy , but I finished 90% of it ( was full by that point) and I'll be going back for more.

My question therefore is, will these offer my nourishment lacking body anything positive ? Are there better ones out there ( that are not full of " bits") and will eating one while on a training ride of 50+ miles offer any benefit ????

As always I'm eternally grateful for any advice of the subject of food

Gaz

 

[ttcycle]

Hi Gaz

firstly good stuff for trying something new and eating most of it.

It's hard to answer your questions as the link doesn't really tell us what the bar is made of.

Most bars are made of cereal or oats which will be fairly chewy and bitty unless it's a chocolate type thing.

My thoughts are that these bars won't be enough to replace a meal as they're only 200 odd calories - at the rate you exercise you really need to have more calories in your diet by sheer volume of what you're burning off. The design of these bars are as a snack for inbetween meals or a low calorie snack/meal replacement to lower calories for people over eating in general for their activity level which isn't your case. You're probably not getting enough calories and nutrition with the SED complications. A recommended daily amount for a man is 2500 and that is not someone who is very active exercise wise.

If you're looking to race as you've posted on other parts of the forum, you need to bear in mind that not enough calories to fuel you can easily lead to serious injuries that with SED complication may take a long while to recover from as what you're eating is limited. So be easy on yourself- take your time with all this as you don't want to do any damage that can't be fixed and repaired.

You can give it a go trying to eat it whilst on a ride - some people get on well with solids but others find it too hard to digest and it can cause stitch and discomfort.

Keep at it mate - you're taking good steps with the SED. One food substance at a time!

 

[gb155]

Thanks TT

I found it on Tesco with all the Info

http://www.tesco.com/groceries/Product/Details/?id=268125488

Maybe that will help give you/everyone else, more info to assist me ?

Either way, Thanks for all the support.

Gaz

 

[GrasB]

As a general rule meal replacement bars/shakes are balance but they're won't give you full nourishment, you do need to have a varied diet around them. There's nothing wrong with having one for say lunch at work. As ttcycle said, typical meal replacement bars won't really be enough in the calorie count for an active person, they designed to be high bulk with as much low calorie satisfiers as possible. If you look at recovery/meal replacement bars you'll be killing 2 or more birds with one stone.

 

[gb155]

While i'd agree that there is nothing that could replace a healthy, nourishment rich diet, its not something that I (at the moment) have the option of.

So this bar is in addition to my poor nourishment lacking diet, as opposed to replacing a healthy option, if that makes it a little more clear?

Thanks

Gaz

 

[fimm]

My first reaction is that it is quite "processed" but then, given your eating problems, it probably isn't any worse than anything else you eat! What it does have is protien (from the soya) which I guess your diet must lack a bit? One thing I'd be wary of is the note in the instructions "Excess consumption may cause a laxitive effect"... I think it is the sweetners that are the issue...

For cycling fuel I like these:
http://www.powerbar....ide-bars-5-pack
- you can get them from Wiggle and places like that, and you may be able to buy a single bar in your LBS to try. Now I've seen the ingredients list, it is very similar to the bar you linked to! They contain peanuts, though, which may not suit (a bit like a Snickers bar, if you've tried one of those).

What do you mean by "bits" btw? Have you tried some conventional cereal bars, or is that the sort of "bittyness" you struggle with?

 

[ColinJ]

My first reaction is that it is quite "processed" but then, given your eating problems, it probably isn't any worse than anything else you eat! What it does have is protien (from the soya) which I guess your diet must lack a bit? One thing I'd be wary of is the note in the instructions "Excess consumption may cause a laxitive effect"... I think it is the sweetners that are the issue...

I'd agree with that. I wouldn't recommend those bars to someone on a healthy diet, but they've got to be better than what you eat now.

Have you tried fruitcake? It's sweet and crumbly so you shouldn't have the problem with 'bits'. It might be a bit too strong tasting for you though. They are very variable - some examples are moist, some are dry and some have nuts in which you might not like. If you know someone who could bake one for you, you could specify what not to put in it and you could get them to make it drier or moister to suit you. It might take a few goes to get the perfect recipe for you.

You wouldn't want to eat too fruitcake at a time, but a couple of big slices on a long ride would probably go down well.

Flapjack might be worth trying as well though it is quite chewy, being made from oats.

You can get energy for your rides from drinks, as discussed previously elsewhere, but I'm sure that your body does need extra nutrients too. I'd certainly suggest that you get some whey protein powder and add some to your smoothies if you are still having them. The powder will thicken the drinks up and give you some much needed protein.

At some point, we'll have to get you onto porridge! It's fantastically healthy and a great start to the day for cyclists. It is definitely an acquired taste though and you might struggle with the appearance and texture of it. You could make it nice and sweet with sugar, honey or syrup so the flavour shouldn't be a problem. I've never done it, but if you really wanted to change the taste, you could try adding some chocolate milk shake powder. I've started adding chillis to mine to give it a kick!

To be honest - if you could crack eating porridge, you'd be over 50% of the way to a healthy diet. It contains protein, carbs, fibre, good fats and lots of other fine stuff in it.

 

[VamP]

At some point, we'll have to get you onto porridge! It's fantastically healthy and a great start to the day for cyclists. It is definitely an acquired taste though and you might struggle with the appearance and texture of it. You could make it nice and sweet with sugar, honey or syrup so the flavour shouldn't be a problem. I've never done it, but if you really wanted to change the taste, you could try adding some chocolate milk shake powder. I've started adding chillis to mine to give it a kick!

Chillis in porridge! OMG I feel inspired. This definitely has to be tried. Got any recipes you want to share?

 

[ColinJ]

Chillis in porridge! OMG I feel inspired. This definitely has to be tried. Got any recipes you want to share?

Well, it's just porridge with added Thai chillis!

I like a big bowl to start the day off right so I use a 250 mL measure. Most people would probably prefer smaller portions in which case try using a 125 mL or 150 mL measure.

• 1 measure of oats

• Either (the purist version): 2 measures of water, Or (mine): 1 measure of skimmed milk and 1 measure of water

• A small pinch of salt

• A handful of raisins

• 1/3 teaspoon of honey

• 3 chopped hot Thai chillis with or without seeds (I like with!)
• Mix it all up
• Heat until the mixture starts to thicken
• Stir
• Continue heating until texture is how you like it
• I like to chop a banana into the finished porridge

I make mine in a microwaveable bowl and eat it from that to save on washing up.

Obviously, you can leave out anything you want other than the oats, milk and/or water.

Why do people buy 'instant' porridge at high cost when you can buy kilogram bags of porridge oats for just over a pound? My porridge takes less than 4 minutes to make - how instant does a breakfast have to be?

 

[VamP]

Aha, so a sweet and hot recipe. I was thinking you had some kind of savoury concoction. I am so definitely going to try this. Will report back

I see that my porridge is way more calorie laden than yours - I tend to use full fat milk (no water) liberal honey application, butter, linseed, handful of salad nuts and chopped apricots, as well as chopped banana.

No wonder I ain't losing weight.

Well, it's just porridge with added Thai chillis!

I like a big bowl to start the day off right so I use a 250 mL measure. Most people would probably prefer smaller portions in which case try using a 125 mL or 150 mL measure.

• 1 measure of oats

• Either (the purist version): 2 measures of water, Or (mine): 1 measure of skimmed milk and 1 measure of water

• A small pinch of salt

• A handful of raisins

• 1/3 teaspoon of honey

• 3 chopped hot Thai chillis with or without seeds (I like with!)
• Mix it all up
• Heat until the mixture starts to thicken
• Stir
• Continue heating until texture is how you like it
• I like to chop a banana into the finished porridge

I make mine in a microwaveable bowl and eat it from that to save on washing up.

Obviously, you can leave out anything you want other than the oats, milk and/or water.

Why do people buy 'instant' porridge at high cost when you can buy kilogram bags of porridge oats for just over a pound? My porridge takes less than 4 minutes to make - how instant does a breakfast have to be?

 

[ttcycle]

Hi Gaz

thanks for the link on the tesco page--

Just to add to the comments above - there is very little nutrition in the bar that you've mentioned as it's laden with chemicals and processed goodies; like Colin says I wouldn't be bigging these up to people with normal diets whether they had weight to lose or not as there's a whole host of chemicals in there that the body could well do without. These bars like those weight loss milkshakes seem to be designed to fill your stomach and stop you feeling full so that people don't over eat.

fimm pointed out that these bars do contain soya which is a source of protein and would from your current diet be a step up.

Porridge is really great stuff and there's also rice porridge (congee) if you can stand the oat stuff. What others have said about liquid nutrition on a ride is useful - sports drinks are good on a long ride and adding whey/soya powders to smoothies and milkshakes might be a good stop gap.

Good luck gaz, any more questions feel free to ask.

 

[gb155]

I am a little confused tbh

Is it best to have or not to have these ? Baring in mind if I didn't then it would be a bag of crisp or a mars bar

Thanks all

Gaz

 

[ttcycle]

Have them - getting the protein into your limited diet is good but there will be no other real nutrients in there ie vitamins and good stuff and the protein won't be good quality but considering what you do eat...this is better than no protein...

 

[gb155]

Have them - getting the protein into your limited diet is good but there will be no other real nutrients in there ie vitamins and good stuff and the protein won't be good quality but considering what you do eat...this is better than no protein...

Thanks mate

I am taking A-Zinc Multi Vit too

Is there any other supplement I can take, till I get my SED under control ?

 

[ttcycle]

If it's a good multivit then that should help some but nothing beats good old fruit and veg in ample amounts and of many varieties.

However, that is something to aim for.

Just a thought I've had- if the waiting list for psychological help etc is a year- have you asked your GP for a nutritionist referral? It might not be of any help but it could also be very useful if you worked with someone who could help you get some more useful nutrients/supplements etc in a tolerable way until you were at least able to tackle the SED head on with the right support?