Meal Replacement Bars help weight loss?

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I am a 36 year old unemployed college student living with my parents to save money until I graduate and hopefully get a new career. I tend to wind up having dinner with my parents and I think that makes it difficult to watch Calories and also Carbs.

I usually make my own breakfast and scrounge up something for lunch. I'm thinking of just declining dinner altogether and having a meal bar. It seems like this would make it simple to track calories.

I'm wondering if anyone has had any luck using meal bars like this and if there is a brand you would recommend.

NO. NO. NO. Almost all meal bars are loaded with sugar. On the one hand the total calories in vs out thing is true. On the other it's completely useless; sugar makes you hungry again shortly after eating it so you end up having more calories.

Read up on the glycemic index and figure out how to make the calories you eat lower on the index (less sugar or starch). This will make you less hungry so you'll end up eating less calories.

That's a good point and that's why I asked for brand recommendations. I thought possibly the Zone Diet bars or the Atkins Meal bars might be okay.

Well, this is my opinion...meal replacement bars have an awkward calorie count. Too much to be a snack, but, really, in my opinion, too little to be a meal. If you eat one as a meal, you might be so hungry later on that you'll overeat. Also, they have lots of fat and sugar. This is just what I think, but I think it's better to have a super-healthy dinner that's natural and high in protein--like grilled chicken breast with Tzatziki sauce, sweet potatoes, and raw carrots. Yes, it's a little unusual to have raw carrots with dinner, but I've heard that raw vegetables are healthier.

You could try the blend & freeze method. Blend a lot of fruit and vegetables, then freeze them. It's healthier than a meal replacment bar, lower in calories, and more likely to leave you full.

Have a hard boiled egg instead of a meal replacement bar. Hard boiled eggs have more nutrients, will keep you full longer, and are cheaper.