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RX Bar - Confused


Kaytee7

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No, it's not a reason to incorporate bars as a normal habit but it could be the "emergency" where a larbar or rx bar is an ok thing. What I was responding to was that the only emergency is being stuck out on the ocean and that being stuck in traffic doesn't constitute as an emergency. For me, if I'm stuck in traffic with a low blood sugar, I will grab either a lara bar or a bag of almonds and raisins that I keep with me as well. Just saying that there are more emergencies than being shipwrecked that might call for a larabar ;)

Yep, you're definitely right.  Like jmcbn said, I was referring to the people with no other pre-existing health conditions... your emergency would be an actual emergency and I certainly wasn't excluding that... I was more referring to the 'made up' emergencies of 30 min in a traffic jam as justification to eat a candy bar... 

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I agree with ultrarunner. I am a type 1 diabetic, and I have been told time and time again, don't do bars or grapes or raisins or what not to bring my blood sugar up. Things that need to be digested do not work -- as told to me by my diabetic nurse. Tomato juice, fruit juice, milk (not done during a whole30) and then protein and fat to hold my blood sugar level. I typically do hardboiled eggs, mayo, or chicken or tuna or whatever protein/fat we have. 

Interesting! For me, straight protein does not bring up my blood sugar. Some of the larabars do work but I never eat a whole one-a few bites is enough to bring me up and hold me. A small handful of raisins with almonds works too. I hate having straight juice but do carry organic apple juice in my purse as well for a low thats low enough that I feel I need juice. Since I've been whole30 though, my numbers are much more steady with hardly any spikes or lows so the lows are rare. And I love the CGM for catching my lows so I can dial down the insulin before I actually get low. I find the hardest time is 4-6 hours AFTER exercising. I run around 3-4 miles a day on the treadmill. I hate running with my pump on so I take it off while I run. I replace my bolus after and normally have a post work out meal of protein and a starchy vegetable but I still tend to go low 4-6 hours later. I'm working on decreasing my basals 4-6 hours after running but I run at different times of the day (due to work and my kids schedule) so it's an ongoing battle to figure out.

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Yep, you're definitely right.  Like jmcbn said, I was referring to the people with no other pre-existing health conditions... your emergency would be an actual emergency and I certainly wasn't excluding that... I was more referring to the 'made up' emergencies of 30 min in a traffic jam as justification to eat a candy bar... 

Got it! I think such a huge part of all of this (and what you are alluding to) is our emotions behind eating. I used to travel a ton for work. I would drive all over for 24 hours straight to various hospitals (organ transplant coordinator). I got so used to snacking in my car. Our work actually had a whole kitchen full of snacks that we could stock up on for when we were out on cases-lots of nuts, granola bars, chips, candy, sodas,etc. I got into the habit of eating as I drove to a case even if I wasn't hungry-a lot of times we would be working a case once we got to a hospital for 12-20 hours with little breaks (and in the operating room a lot) so we all learned to eat a lot before a case "just in case". It's been a hard habit to break! A lot of type 1 diabetics were also taught to eat 3 meals and 3 snacks a day. I've learned I really don't need the snacks as long as my meal is big enough. We had a huge chicken salad last night-grilled chicken, veggies, avocado, etc on it. I had two big helpings and was full from 6pm until when I woke up this morning. Normally, I would give myself a snack after a salad because I felt like I hadn't eaten enough. Totally off topic but just interesting to think about how I used to justify my food choices and eat when I didn't need to. :)

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Interesting! For me, straight protein does not bring up my blood sugar. Some of the larabars do work but I never eat a whole one-a few bites is enough to bring me up and hold me. A small handful of raisins with almonds works too. I hate having straight juice but do carry organic apple juice in my purse as well for a low thats low enough that I feel I need juice. Since I've been whole30 though, my numbers are much more steady with hardly any spikes or lows so the lows are rare. And I love the CGM for catching my lows so I can dial down the insulin before I actually get low. I find the hardest time is 4-6 hours AFTER exercising. I run around 3-4 miles a day on the treadmill. I hate running with my pump on so I take it off while I run. I replace my bolus after and normally have a post work out meal of protein and a starchy vegetable but I still tend to go low 4-6 hours later. I'm working on decreasing my basals 4-6 hours after running but I run at different times of the day (due to work and my kids schedule) so it's an ongoing battle to figure out.

Megan,

  I've edited my response to reflect that I am not a doctor, and didn't meant it to seem I was advising you to only eat an Epic bar, you may need something with more sugars/carbs in addition. My point was simply to make clear that other options that include protein are better than straight fruit and nut bars.

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I actually do shots -- Levemir for long acting, and Humalog (was on Novolog till January) for fast acting before meals. The protein doesn't bring me up, but keeps me steady after I have had a crash and have had juice to bring my blood sugar up. I typically get 'that old familiar feeling' right around 55 or so. I have used tomato juice and milk as well. My nurse's litany is juice to bring me up, protein and fat to hold my blood sugar up to keep me from crashing. In the 'olden' days it was regular coke and then a snack pack (6 crackers) of peanut butter and crackers -- the keebler ones. 

 

I am much much more stable on the whole30 than I was before. I know I was advised not to test my blood sugar for at least an hour after, because of my liver dumping glucose during exercise.  I wonder if you were able to eat a regular meal with in that 4-6 hour window, after having had your post workout meal, if that would help with your crashes? Or maybe have more starchy veggie with your post workout? 

 

Edited to add -- I love the freedom of not needing snacks! The only one I do have is one before bed, since the majority of my lows happen in the morning. So it is a hardboiled egg, some veggies and a homemade dip of some sort. 

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 Totally off topic but just interesting to think about how I used to justify my food choices and eat when I didn't need to. :)

That's definitely not off topic! It's a big part of how the Whole30 program was designed... to make people aware of their relationship with food... not just how individual foods affect our bodies, but how we interact with food!  So cool that you learned that!

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Thank you for your clarification of my 100% Chocolate/100%Cacao question.

 

While not diabetic, I have had instances of light headedness fairly frequently where the RX Bar have come in handy to provide energy when no food was available. 

 

I also found this on The Whole 30 Web Site, albeit 2 years old, I did find it:

 

"So we went to work researching this bar (and the guys behind it) to make sure they were a good fit for us, and for you during your Whole30.  We even made the ultimate sacrifice of trying each and every flavor of RxBar ourselves. Several times. Okay, many, many times. The good news is that RxBars are not only Whole30 compliant, they’re delicious. (Not “I’ll settle for this because I’m on an airplane and have no alternative.” More like, “I’ve been on this flight for six minutes now. I think it’s time to pull out my RxBar. Yay!”) - See more at: http://whole30.com/2013/09/whole30-approved-rxbar/#sthash.0ERPc49C.dpuf"

 

For those of us new to the program, who are not using RX Bars for an after-dinner sweet like the new "recent Email" seems to suggest, we are left wondering why these RX Bars are not approved any longer. 

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Kaytee the link provided by Chris at the beginning of thread explains why the RX Bars are no longer approved. I've copied & pasted an exert from Melissa's statement below:

We have made the difficult decision to remove RxBars, Beaver Bites, and Yawp bars as official Whole30 Approved partners. But hear us clearly: this isn’t about the ingredients, the bars themselves, or the companies behind them. It’s about the way we have observed people (mis)using the bars during their Whole30 programs, and our desire to provide the best guidance possible for your program through our partnerships.

Whilst you say you (& others) are not using RX Bars as an after dinner sweet many people are, and many people had/have been using the RX Bars as a convenience item in place of REAL food, which goes very much against the principles of Whole30.

If you are suffering from frequent light headedness I'd suspect that you may need to make some tweaks to the composition of your meals, or that you are simply not eating enough.

If you'd like to post a few days worth of your food/liquid intake, along with sleep/stress/activity levels we can take a look and check that you are on the right track, or suggest a few changes.

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I, too, used to have major issues most of my adult life with lightheadedness when going too long without eating. (I am not diabetic.) However, following the Whole30 template, making sure to have enough FAT with each meal, has ELIMINATED this issue with me. I am so thankful for that. Now when I get hungry, just my stomach is hungry, not my head too!  ^_^ and I'm only on Day 8 (uh, for the second time, lol)

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  • 5 months later...

Today on Twitter I saw Melissa doing a video about Reintroduction, while wearing an RX Bar shirt.  I am guessing RX Bar's are not so "emergency-only" now?  What changed?

 

They're still emergency only. Just because she's wearing an RX Bar shirt doesn't all of a sudden mean that anything's changed. I wore a Giants t-shirt to the gym today as required for an event (I teach group fitness there). There are pics of me in that shirt on Facebook now. Doesn't mean that I've started watching football or support the Giants. Means I needed a football shirt and it was $3 at Target. 

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They're still emergency only. Just because she's wearing an RX Bar shirt doesn't all of a sudden mean that anything's changed. I wore a Giants t-shirt to the gym today as required for an event (I teach group fitness there). There are pics of me in that shirt on Facebook now. Doesn't mean that I've started watching football or support the Giants. Means I needed a football shirt and it was $3 at Target.

Emergency only but back to Whole30 approved.

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Today on Twitter I saw Melissa doing a video about Reintroduction, while wearing an RX Bar shirt.  I am guessing RX Bar's are not so "emergency-only" now?  What changed?

 

 

Emergency only but back to Whole30 approved.

 

Got the official word directly from Melissa Hartwig: RXBARs continue to NOT be on the Whole30 approved list.

From Melissa: "I have lots of t-shirts that say lots of things. The clothing I choose to wear to the gym have zero connection to our Whole30 Approved program, or the Whole30 Approved status of any product or company. I cannot even imagine the rationale one would use to make an association there.

 

Of course they have not been put back on the list--if they had, we would have announced it and been promoting them as such on http://whole30.com/whole30-approved."

 

 

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Hmmmm. They might want to get their legal team on the RXbar site, because it's pitching as Whole30 approved and coupled with the message from the Whole30 book and seeing it on Melissa's feed, it's confusing. I understand everyone is responsible for knowing the rules for the selves, of course. Just saying there's some cleanup that could be done ;)

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Hmmmm. They might want to get their legal team on the RXbar site, because it's pitching as Whole30 approved and coupled with the message from the Whole30 book and seeing it on Melissa's feed, it's confusing. I understand everyone is responsible for knowing the rules for the selves, of course. Just saying there's some cleanup that could be done ;)

 

I don't know if you're not in the US and maybe they have a different international site, but I don't see it anywhere on their website that says they're approved

 

Their FAQ states: 

 

Can I eat this during my Whole30?

Our Apple Cinnamon, Blueberry, Coffee Chocolate and Coconut Chocolate are Whole30 and Paleo compliant (but should not serve as a dessert replacement or sugar craving quencher!).

 

Are RXBARs Whole30 Approved?

All of the ingredients in our bars (excluding Peanut Butter) are Whole30 compliant and they are allowed during a Whole30. 

A big part of a Whole30 is understanding the psychological relationship you have with food. The Whole30 Team does not want people to eat the bars to quench a sugar craving or replace dessert during the Whole30, which is why they don’t promote them as a Whole30 Approved product.

 

What does Melissa say about RXBARs during the Whole30?

“As an on-the-go or emergency food? Yes. As a replacement for your mid-day sugar boost, daily late-night treat, or to satisfy your Day 3 raging Sugar Dragon? Although it’s not a Whole30 rule, we'd strongly suggest no."

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You're right - Whole30 compliant, but not an official Whole30 Approved product - My bad. :)  (But, I think if I were the branding folks at Whole30, I wouldn't love RX bars pitching a "Whole30" sampler box in their products... especially when it says "30 bars for 30 days" which is WAY more than emergency food. But maybe that's what they worked out when the endorsement was pulled...). Luckily, I never used them for more than a backup during business travel :) 

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Approved is not the same as compliant though, right?

Most of the rxBars and LaraBars are compliant ingredient-wise.

I haven't tried the rxBars, but I chose not to eat LaraBars, because they really feel like a candy bar to me.

Totally different deal with EpicBars for me. Would not chose those as a treat to go with my coffee or as a dessert ever. I eat them quite a bit for lunch with veggies and fruit. They don't trigger anything for me and they are a tasty protein.

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Approved is not the same as compliant though, right?

Most of the rxBars and LaraBars are compliant ingredient-wise.

I haven't tried the rxBars, but I chose not to eat LaraBars, because they really feel like a candy bar to me.

Totally different deal with EpicBars for me. Would not chose those as a treat to go with my coffee or as a dessert ever. I eat them quite a bit for lunch with veggies and fruit. They don't trigger anything for me and they are a tasty protein.

Epic bars, while less dessert like than other bars mentioned are still only acceptable in an emergency and should not be used as your protein source for meals on a regular basis. It's still processed food and there isn't enough in one bar to meet the minimum template requirements so please put them aside for emergencies only.

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They're still emergency only. Just because she's wearing an RX Bar shirt doesn't all of a sudden mean that anything's changed. I wore a Giants t-shirt to the gym today as required for an event (I teach group fitness there). There are pics of me in that shirt on Facebook now. Doesn't mean that I've started watching football or support the Giants. Means I needed a football shirt and it was $3 at Target. 

 

I get the point you are not so nicely trying to make but Melissa is the author of the book wearing the t-shirt and there's is quite a difference in your example and my question.    I would think after all the discussion about RX Bars not being compliant, and emergency only, that she wouldn't be promoting them.  I thought maybe they were again part of the program. 

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