Protein haul!

[Katetype2]

Hiya,

Not sure if this kind of post is allowed - but if not, I will happily remove.

I’ve been to Home Bargains for the first time in a very long time. I have to say, I was very impressed - it’s really levelled up! Notably for me, they had a huge range of protein products and similar. If you’re after sports nutrition stuff, protein powders and all that jazz it really has a huge range that was pretty decently priced.

As I’m trying to lose weight and gain muscle at the gym, I am a bit obsessed with getting enough protein in to my diet. So anything that provides a bit extra on top of regular foods is a bonus to me.

I will add here that I don’t work for Home Bargains in any capacity! This is all purchased out of my own money. Very much not sponsored haha.

I stocked up on protein bars - most were priced around the £1.39 mark. Most were also very low in sugar - between 1 and 3 grams. All contain around 20g of protein. I find protein bars incredibly handy when I don’t feel like eating much.

I also picked up four bags of Protein Pops for 89p a bag. I have seen these selling for considerably more elsewhere. The bags are around 184cals each, with 10g of protein. They do have around 23g of carbs and 2.3g sugars - but on days when I don’t feel like eating much I think l these will be super handy.

Next, I picked up some cans of protein water - which I don’t typically see on sale in my area, so I was chuffed to find some. The cans are 330ml and contain 10g of protein, 0.62g carbs of which 0.15g sugars - all for 44 calories. The flavours are apple burst and tropical burst. I’ve tried the apple and it was delicious. These were £1.49 per can - which I thought was pretty good.

Finally, I have been wanting to try clear protein for a while. I use protein shakes a fair bit, but thought it would be good to have a clear drink that I could fill up a Stanley cup with, over ice - get more water in me! This one is tropical flavour, has 21g of protein, 85cals, 1.3g carbs, 0.3g sugar per serving. The tub was £14.99 and contains 16 servings. I have seen similar products that were £20 to £30.

So that is my little haul. I will definitely be going back to stock up again - as I said before, the range is huge. You probably need to go to a fairly large store to find everything, but if you’re a protein freak like me, then it’s worth the trip!

 

[Lisa65]

Sounds good, I might have to pop up there tomorrow!

 

[Martin.A]

Whenever I've looked at various brands of protein bars I've generally dismissed them as containing too many carbs for me. How many are in your bars?

 

[mashedupmatt]

Looks good @Katetype2 - but be a bit careful as too much protein can raise your blood sugar too - particularly if you are following a low carb diet as protein is converted into glucose by the liver - it takes longer though (3 to 5 hours after eating)

 

[CliffH]

Whenever I've looked at various brands of protein bars I've generally dismissed them as containing too many carbs for me. How many are in your bars?

Yes, as far as I can see most 'protein' bars consist of about 30% carbs of one form or another. It's okay if that's what you're for looking for: for example, immediately after a long cycle ride I drink a shake made from Science in Sport 'Rego' powder, which contains a mixture of protein and carbs designed to aid recovery. It sends my blood glucose shooting up - but it comes down again by itself quickly because of the exercise I've just done.

 

[Martin.A]

Looks good @Katetype2 - but be a bit careful as too much protein can raise your blood sugar too - particularly if you are following a low carb diet as protein is converted into glucose by the liver - it takes longer though (3 to 5 hours after eating)

Too much protein can also impact kidney health, I believe.

 

[harbottle]

Too much protein can also impact kidney health, I believe.

Dr Unwin (Low carb GP) was told this by someone at a conference, and he looked into it - turns out it's not true, but might be a problem for people who already have kidney disease.

 

[harbottle]

Looks good @Katetype2 - but be a bit careful as too much protein can raise your blood sugar too - particularly if you are following a low carb diet as protein is converted into glucose by the liver - it takes longer though (3 to 5 hours after eating)

It depends.

In T2D if there's liver insulin resistance or a lack of insulin the liver keep producing glucose from protein even if it isn't needed. So there might be a slight rise with a high protein meal.

If there's no liver insulin resistance (Possible in T2D) then protein has no real effect on BG.

 

[Maz2]

Looks good @Katetype2 - but be a bit careful as too much protein can raise your blood sugar too - particularly if you are following a low carb diet as protein is converted into glucose by the liver - it takes longer though (3 to 5 hours after eating)

Thank you for that. I did not realise that about protein,

 

[rebrascora]

I have more concerns about these items being highly processed. I used to buy protein bars as the Nature Valley ones were just under 10g carbs each and was an easy "grab and go" breakfast but they come in a pack of 3 (or 4) and if I had them in the house I wasn't happy until I had eaten them all. I wonder if part of that is because they are manufactured to make you want more. I now just don't buy them because I don't think they are good for me physically or mentally and I try to spend my money on real food as much as possible. That means I treat myself to a rib-eye steak every once in a while as well as other meats and I eat nuts and cheese and eggs to provide protein as well.
That is just the dietary journey that I have taken as I have learned to manage my diabetes and think more about the food that I eat and how to manage my urges to binge/comfort eat.

 

[nonethewiser]

No disrespect but just see these things as a marketing ploy, better to just buy a big bag of nuts then divide them up into portions, even a nice bit of strong cheese or somethin for protein.

 

[Inka]

I agree @nonethewiser How many people do we each know who are suffering from protein deficiency in the U.K.? And, presuming it’s so common that we need to supplement our diets with protein shakes, protein bars and protein everything, what’s the medical term for protein deficiency?

Most people eat more protein than they need just by eating a normal diet.

 

[CliffH]

No disrespect but just see these things as a marketing ploy, better to just buy a big bag of nuts then divide them up into portions, even a nice bit of strong cheese or somethin for protein.

In terms of recovery from exercise specifically, my understanding is that it's best to take in protein within half an hour of finishing the exercise, which is why I use a proprietary protein/carb recovery shake. Of course nuts and cheese are easy to eat quickly - albeit high in fat.

 

[pjgtech]

Great that you have found something that suits your needs and is relatively cheap.
However, every time I look at the energy bar / protein type snacks, although they may claim to have no sugar or claim to be low cal or low carb, they usually have lots of other ingredients, eg: sugar substitutes, additives, E numbers, preservatives, all sorts of chemicals, etc, etc, so to me are a bit like ultra high processed foods, so I tend to avoid them personally.
Definitely worth reading the ingredients list and nutritional info to be sure they are really healthy.
Cheers