The Clif Bar Diet

The Clif Bar diet is not going well.

I have been trying to shed about 5 pounds since before the holidays. I am not overweight by any stretch of the imagination, but I descend from a long line of people who were obese or had other diet-related health problems (both grandfathers dead before 50), so when my weight creeps up, I take action. In particular my weight creeps up in the winter. I blame some combination of instinctive response to shorter daylight and sloth (I am a much more physically active person from spring through fall), but the result is I gain 5-8 pounds from August into December.

Now, I'm also trying to eat more convenience foods too, so this seemed like a great opportunity to marry the two goals. And what is my favorite conveninece food?

Clif Bars! They take a second to eat, they're compact, and they're not all that expensive. They are generally vegan, they have a lot of fiber and protein. And, once you're otherwise used to them (from hiking, I suppose) they actually taste pretty good. Moreover they make it easy to calculate how many calories I'm eating (about 250 per bar) when I'm shooting for around 2,000 calories per day.

Some on the internet are not big fans, but these people seem a little loony anyhow, describing soy as somehow controversial, which is always a sign that you should avoid someone's advice (more on soy phobia in another post). I'll grant them that the sugar is kind of high. Other sources rate them as not so bad as far as energy bars go.

So I thought I'd try out eating only Clif Bars, plus some veggies and fruit.

That lasted one day. I had gone for a very long swim, and when I calculated the calories burned there on top of a 2,000 calorie daily use, I figured I could eat 11 Clif Bars and still come in 500 or so calories short of what I had burned that day.





















But Clif Bars aren't all that savory. It's like eating dessert all day - all that sugar. From the beginning I had decided to eat social meals other than Clif Bars (no apologizing at my parents' apartment and saying, "Sorry Mom, none for me. I brought some Clif Bars.").

I retreated to Clif Bars for breakfast and lunch (shooting for 1,000 calories), followed by whatever I want for dinner. So I bought some more.

Honest to God, they did not pay me for this. I paid full price for all these Clif bars. I got them online after wondering how I could get the almond-cherry ones that neither Trader Joes nor Whole Foods Market seems to carry anymore. I discovered more flavors I don't see that often, and I sort of had a binge moment.

I've eaten most of those (Seeds and Nuts, a new variety, is to die for) by now, but I haven't lost any weight. I haven't gained any either, but I'm stuck at about 7 pounds over my target. I think the problem is that they leave me pretty hungry after I'm done. I blame the low fat. I have had a wicked hard time not snacking otherwise.

 

So, I need to try something else without spending all day cooking. Wish me luck.