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As a Registered Dietician, I recommend eating protein bars as a healthy snack throughout the day to stave off hunger and increase your daily protein intake.
However, I’ve had some clients consume multiple protein bars throughout the day, even up to 3 protein bars daily, and wonder whether this practice is healthy or not.
So, is eating three protein bars a day bad?
While eating 3 protein bars per day can provide a healthy amount of protein, carbs, and fats, it can be bad if you are using them to replace meals. This is because they lack vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, and can be low in fiber. Thus, eating them as a snack is okay, but eating them as meal replacements isn’t.
As well, depending on the types of protein bars you consume, some can be a higher calorie, which can lead to unnecessary weight gain if you’re not aware of the ingredients. This doesn’t mean you need to shy away from protein bars. A protein bar can be a healthy choice if you know what to look for on the ingredient panel, and pick ones that fit your overall caloric goals.
In this article, I will:
- Explore the pros and cons of eating three protein bars per day.
- Teach you what to look for in a protein bar that you’re going to consume multiple times per day
- Give you additional tips on eating three protein bars per day
4 Reasons For Eating Three Protein Bars A Day
Here is a list of reasons you might consider eating three protein bars per day.
1. Lack of Time
The most common reason for eating three protein bars during the day is lack of time.
Whether you are a busy professional or student, you often don’t have time to make snacks. Since protein bars have all the macros (protein, carbs, and fat) you need, people find it helpful to consume as a snack versus grabbing something more processed like a bag of chips.
What I’m suggesting here is that eating 3 protein bars per day is okay as a healthier snack option if you’re too busy, but not as full meal replacements (I’ll explain more about this later)
2. Budget-Friendly
Although it might seem that protein bars are expensive, compared to a bigger meal, they can be cheaper.
For example, Quests Protein Bars have a price of $1.75 per protein bar. This provides 21 grams of protein, 24 grams of carbs, and 6 grams of fat. It has the same nutritional content as 3 oz of chicken, 3 cups of veggies, ¼ cup of rice, and one teaspoon of olive oil. However, the latter option will cost greater than $1.75.
Thus, it sounds like a very appealing deal for people trying to save money or even students to get all their macros in one package.
3. Reaching Protein Intake
Having several protein bars per day can help you out if you have difficulty reaching your protein intake. On average, a protein bar contains 20-25 g of protein.
Struggling to get an adequate amount of protein occurs more frequently in people who follow a vegetarian diet.
For example, if you are a vegetarian person who weighs 180 lbs. you need approximately 130 grams of protein daily. Assuming a protein bar contains 25 grams of protein, having three protein bars per day represents 57% of the total protein intake.
Having almost half of your daily protein supplied is a massive help for people that don’t often use animal proteins.
4. Adding Calories
Another common reason people consume three protein bars per day is to add calories. For a bodybuilder in a bulking phase, sometimes it can be challenging to find different ways of including extra calories.
A protein bar can contain between 170 to 400 kcal. They are often easy to ingest and won’t make you feel full compared to having a very big meal. So for someone bulking, eating protein bars in between meals, or in addition to their regular meals, can aid in the caloric surplus they’re trying to achieve.
- Related Article: Is It Okay To Eat Protein Bars Every Day? (4 Things To Know) and 12 Best Protein Bars Under 200 Calories
4 Reasons For Not Eating Three Protein Bars A Day
Although there are valid reasons for consuming three protein bars per day, here is a list of reasons why you shouldn’t consider eating three protein bars per day.
1. Weight Loss
If you are on a weight loss journey, eating three protein bars per day is not advised for two reasons: (1) you’ll be at risk of slowing down your metabolism, and (2) you’ll be at risk of overeating.
Let’s discuss those points now.
Reduced Metabolism
A very low-calorie diet is below 800 kcal, while a low-calorie diet is below 1,200 kcal. If you are eating only three protein bars per day (and no other meals), you might fall in the range of having only 800 kcal per day.
For example, if you have a protein bar for breakfast, lunch, and afternoon snacks. Depending on the protein bar that you get, you could be consuming 450 kcal up until this point (assuming that they are on average 150 kcal per bar).
Adding a dinner that could be around 350 kcal (½ cup of rice, 4 oz of chicken, 2 cups of veggies, and 1 teaspoon of olive oil) would mean that you are consuming 800 kcal per day. This is considered to be a very low-calorie diet.
One significant consequence of having three low-calorie protein bars is that it reduces your metabolism. This means that your metabolism is less efficient when it comes to burning calories. If your body burns fewer calories doing daily activities than it used to, it means that you need to consume fewer calories to burn that fat.
A study was done over 12 weeks where people who had a very low-calorie diet had a 20% decrease in their metabolism. A slower metabolism means that you burn less energy with basic aspects, making it harder to lose weight eventually.
Overeating
Eating 3 protein bars per day can result in potentially eating more calories than your body needs. Some protein bars are considered low in calories (less than 150 calories per bar), while others might be high in calories (over 400 calories per bar). [Check out my other article where I talk about whether 400 calories is a lot or not.}
If you are not careful, you might be consuming more calories than your body needs, which leads to weight gain.
Additionally, depending on the protein bar it might not fill you up during the day. If you eat three protein bars during the day, you might likely feel hungry when it’s dinner time. If you are feeling extremely hungry it might make you overeat which can result in weight gain.
2. Gastrointestinal Issues
For people that suffer from IBS, Crohn’s disease, colitis, gastritis, or constipation you might want to avoid having three pro