Can candy be used as a substitute for energy bars.

[toomsie]

The office are junk food junkies. At Christmas it gets even worse. The staff are alway buying candy and cookies for other staff to eat. I wonder if I can use some candy as energy bars .

[mjr]

Not really. It'll probably be mostly highly refined quick-release sugars, so you'll get a sugar rush and then a crash. The cookies may be a bit better (they'll contain fat and flour as well as sugar) but still not as good as energy bars. I think energy bars often have a mix of sugars (much of it from fruit), plus some grains (often oats) and protein (often nuts, seeds and/or pulses) to sustain things.

I know it's tough, but there's lots of reasons to limit your intake of cookies and sweeties. Be strong and you'll reap the rewards in the long term!

[rualexander]

Candy and cookies?
Or Sweets and biscuits?

[Redvee]

I use the 10p bags of Haribo. I keep plenty in work and always have some in the pannier bag for those low moments that sometimes happen being a T1 diabetic.

[Vantage]

Jelly babies for those hypo moments here. A Kelloggs Nutrigrain bar is handy for stabilizing the glucose after the jelly babies although I usually forget the nutrigrain bar and find myself cursing the diabetes as I hit continuous hypo's all the way home.
Tesco sometimes sell them cheap at £1 or £2 for a box of 5.

[mercalia]

what about chocolate peanuts? You can get a 500g bag from lidl for £1

[Swallow]

Jam sandwich

[Sweep]

Peanut butter sandwich?

Easy to rustle up on tour by popping into lots of shops.

Lidl is the cyclist's friend I think for lots of these basic supplies. You can get a gps POI file from their web site, covers lots of Europe, lots of basic no-ponce foodstuff supplies, quite easy go find stuff as the shops are quite small. Good for veg.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
Peanut butter on rice cakes..Mmmmmmmmm................

I tend to keep to basics in the week with training then eat anything that I can get down on longer rides.
Sorry to much hype in sugar spikes, unless you are an athelete.
Carbs are still the best for energy in the body.
Cereal bars
Choc peanuts
Choc raisins
Kiddy mars, bounty, milkyway, marathon (snickers) etc.
Biscuits
Flapjack
Banannas
Never tried a gel bar / energy

Everything in Lidl

[mjr]

There's carbs and there's carbs. Cereals can be OK (big variety of those, too) but loading up on refined sugars only probably isn't a great idea.