Help me get over my love of Quest bars

(shane ) #1

Those who eat them, do they make you more hungry after eating?

I am trying to rationalize this, but I honestly believe that they do actually make me more hungry post eating than prior to.

I am sure it has something to do with the fact they taste like a candy bar.

Bad thing is I have 3 unopened boxes in the cabinet. I guess I could return them.

They are damn convenient and at 200 cals they could be a gut bomb to help between meals but the more I eat them the more I realize they are actually causing me to be more hungry.

I am curious to see if others feel the same way.

(Ethan) #2

Many of us have gone through this phase. I think the next step is often to pack them away as we eat more real foods. We then just skip eating the quest bars and eventually stop. They go bad, and we feel terrible for wasting.

#3

Yes, they were a slippery slope for me. I simply had to stop buying them. I couldn’t rationalize (or even ration) them. One led to two, two to three, etc. Again, slippery slope.

(shane ) #4

Good replies. I think I am going to return them.

(Brian) #5

Is there some sort of keto-friendly treat that you could make yourself that would replace them, even temporarily?

I’ve seen recipes for keto granola to keto peanut butter cups, cheese crisps to flax seed crackers. (There are probably pictures in the recipes section right here on this forum.)

When I wanted to quit drinking Mountain Dew and sweet tea, I couldn’t “just drink water”. It just wasn’t gonna happen. What I did was to replace it with home brewed mint tea and I only sweetened it with a hint of stevia, no sugar. That was enough that I could give up the Mountain Dew and the sweet tea because I had something to replace it with. Over the years, I’ve kinda let the home brewed tea go and have gone to water with some lemon in it. I find that I can drink some plain water, and I will if I have to. But I still prefer a little lemon in it. During the middle of the day, I’ll pop by the fridge and get a few cubes of ice for some plain water, both right on the outside of the refrigerator door and very easy and convenient.

One giant step, nope, wasn’t gonna happen. Broken up into multiple steps it wasn’t so bad at all.

(shane ) #6

Yeah that is a good idea. I think I am going to get some macadamia or pecans to fill their spot for now.

I also found some really good sausages that I could take for a snack that would fit as well.

(Jane) #7

Don’t be surprised if over time you forget to snack and that is a GOOD thing. Snacking is ok at first to get you adjusted to low carb, fat adapted and lower insulin response from the small number of carbs. Then the next step is to reduce your insulin response by cutting out snacking… then meals…

I don’t remember snacking as a kid. I read somewhere the food companies started pushing it as “healthy” to sell more food. Of course it worked when your body is producing insulin all day and making you hungry every two hours!

#8

Aldi cranberry, almond 2g bars don’t spike my sugar, but I use them as a treat. Christmas/Birthday etc

(shane ) #9

My lunch is what I am calling snack I guess.

Lunch for me is always:
Some kind of protein
Sardines, chicken salad, tuna salad, salmon salad, etc.
String Cheese
Celery or some kind of veggie dipped in something. Guacamole etc.
Mid Day BPC
And my trusty Protein/Quest or some kind of bar.

I have been eating some kind of protein bar since I can remember. So dropping it is going to be a bid deal.

I am not big on fasting. I like Breakfast and dinner to much to do that.

(Jane) #10

You are doing fine and fasting is not required at all - it just happens to some over time. I didn’t fast until I was keto for 7 months and only because I wanted that last stubborn 10 lbs off!

Good luck with the protein bar substitute/weaning process - long time habits are the hardest to break.

(karen) #11

That sounds like a good idea! My own experience, getting sugary-tasting foods out of my diet reset my sweet tooth in a way that was very helpful, and I started that process by eating some of my very favorite not-sweet foods as a treat (smoked salmon, fancy cheese, pate. I know, I’m a hothouse flower, but a few weeks of spendy treats and I was over the sugar hump. :grin:) . I still occasionally like a sweetened thing, but my idea of “sweet” then and now is completely different. - for me, I don’t think substituting another sweet thing like a homemade fat bomb would have worked anywhere near as well.

#12

I ate Carb Rite bars for years-- decades, even. I still have one in my purse. But they contain maltodextrin, so I keep them for “emergencies”, but I haven’t actually had to eat one in over 7 months of keto. That’s because I don’t get starving and shaky from hypoglycemia anymore.

I would still carry one with me but just don’t eat it unless you’re desperately hungry. It will probably still be sitting there in 7 months!

(Carol E. ) #13

Yep. :sunglasses::+1:

For me, bars rarely result in feeling fed/full/satiety, which is interesting because they normally contain some fiber. This is most likely due to most options being highly processed, i.e. predigested to an extent.

Mentally, they are a bit to close to candy bar/treats and are challenging for portion control. However, I do consider them as a viable alternative depending on the circumstances but I limit their use.