Can You Live on Energy Bars Alone?

Now that there are nutrition bars that provide not only the three energy sources, but also vitamins, greens, living Superfoods, herbal extracts and magic fairy grains, everything an adult human male needs for a day’s worth of nutrients can theoretically be supplied by a bar.

But what about actuality?

Without any hint of recommendation—because this is utterly ludicrous—we consulted with New York-based dietitian Sharon Richter M.S., R.D., C.D.N. to craft a meal plan based on the stated nutrition facts of 11 different bars. But we not only intend to present the All-Bar Diet—one of us is going to live on it.

Experiment: To see how a man would fare subsisting solely on nutrition bars for one week.

Meet Sunil Ramsamooj.

Height: 5'11"
Weight: 158 lbs.
Current Intake: 2,300-2,500 calories/day

Sunil works out, generally eats right and, despite making a religion of meal replacement shakes, has NEVER HAD A PROTEIN BAR BEFORE. Sharon has crafted a one-week plan based solely on bars and water that Sunil will adhere to strictly.
 

THE ALL-BAR DIET PLAN

Richter's daily regimen for complete, bar-based nutrition. Eat one of these per day with lots of water to compensate for the hydration not derived from consuming actual fruits and vegetables. (And to keep your poops from coming out like moon rocks.)

BAR	CALORIES	FAT	PROTEIN	FIBER	PRICE
Clif Builder's Contains the most additional vitamins of the bars featured.	270	8g	20g	4g	$2.19
Promax LS Sweetened with Stevia, so there are only 9g of sugar per bar.	220	6g	18g	14g	$1.79
Rebar Claims eight servings of fruits and vegetables per bar.	150	0.5g	1g	3g	$2.25
Kind Fruit & Nut You can identify most of the ingredients on sight because they're pretty much just fruit and nuts stuck together.	180	11g	5g	4g	$1.99
nogii Super Protein Gluten-free, but among the highest in sugar of the protein bars featured, at 22g.	390	14g	30g	3g	$3.81
GNU Flavor & Fiber Among Sharon's personal favorites.	140	4g	4g	12g	$1.99
Quest Protein The shortest ingredients list of all bars featured.	200	9g	20g	18g	$2.99
Elevate Me! A rare combination of protein and dried fruit. Most bars offer one or the other.	240	4g	16g	4g	$2.25
Kashi TLC Only 5g of sugar.	140	5g	7g	4g	$4.65 (box of 6)
Power Crunch Sweetned with Sucralose, these are low in sugar, but also the lowest in fiber of all bars featured.	205	12g	14g	1g	$1.69
Clif Mojo Sweet and salty, this is the closest Sunil's taste buds will get to savory for a full week.	200	12g	8g	3g	$1.69

We will document each stage of the experiment in photo, video and written updates that will chronicle its impact on Sunil in several categories: satiety, energy, thirst, sleep, waste, sanity and, of course, cost. Check back daily for the results!