Not recovering week to week...

[Shrek]

I have no idea what your base calorie needs are but for myself ( 6'4" , 265lbs ) if I get less than about 3300 calories a day when just working and everyday life I start to loose weight. I would bet that the cold and climbing is more than doubling your calorie needs. If you look at the calorie content of your mountain house meals and cliff bars you will be astounded at how much you need to eat when out hunting. If you are lean to begin with your body is going to really start in on your muscles over a long season. I'm new to this and I am planning my first trip out west for next year. When I looked at food it amazed me at how much I would need to keep up my endurance. Have you lost weight over the season ? If you have then your muscles have taken a hit.

 

[HellsCanyon]

Great stuff everyone i really appreciate the input!

I'm5'11" and my normal weight is right at 163-165 lbs. As I said I'm a skinny lean white guy...

During my hunts I EASILY drink 100 oz of water a day. I'm no camel and usually am really conscious about staying hydrated on the hunt. I'll drink around 16-20 oz first thing in the morning with breakfast, my 70 oz bladder throughout the day, and another 2-3 12 oz water bottles back at camp before bed. Now at home during the week, eh not so much!

I've definitely lost weight this season. My abs are much more defined and my upper body muscles are noticeably smaller. I bet I'm eating around 3k calories a day while hunting and most of it is in the form of cliff bars and peanut butter (chocolate peanut butter as well!), fruit bars, wheat bread, dried mangos, mountain house, sometimes biscuits n sausage gravy, and for dinner we usually have a package of venison burger mixed with baked beans or manwhich mix served open face over hamburger buns... this is obviously not backpacking meals as we have been in a wall tent with a good cook setup. We also like to have some diet Dr Peppers around camp for a treat.

I think I need to just focus on eating more. I can easily put away 5-6 meals a day right now but don't have the time to cook nor do I like doing that many dishes lol

Mike

 

[sk1]

HC keep in mind having a moderate portion of food high in the right fat content can be good for you as long as you're not eating lots of it....if I can remember right from my nutrition classes it burns off slower and can give you energy benefits long term.

I would have to research it to say much more about it than that at this point

 

[HellsCanyon]

HC keep in mind having a moderate portion of food high in the right fat content can be good for you as long as you're not eating lots of it....if I can remember right from my nutrition classes it burns off slower and can give you energy benefits long term.

I would have to research it to say much more about it than that at this point

I've heard the same, especially regarding unprocessed natural fats like butter and other animal fats. Looks like I need to start packing in a few of those half n half creamers... ;-)

Mike

 

[Shrek]

Do you make jerky ? Its protien dense for the weight. Easy to pack and munch on all day and a great way to eat the game you kill. I have a friend who makes it for me out of deer I bring him. We split the jerky 50/50 , I kill and clean and he cooks it

 

[Shrek]

I'm with you on the creamers. I like my coffee like I like my women , white and sweet. Just make sure they are real half and half. The other thing to work on is when you eat your calories. You need to be eating about 40% for breakfast. Man is that hard to do when you are scrambling to get going. I know I have to force myself to eat a bunch first thing in the morning. I also hate the stuffed feeling when I'm trying to get moving but when I do I have so much more endurance during the day. Might want to go with non diet sodas when hunting , if you must have them. I have quit soda all together and feel better for it. Learning good eating habits while still young will make it so much easier when you start to age.

 

[HellsCanyon]

I'm with you on the creamers. I like my coffee like I like my women , white and sweet. Just make sure they are real half and half. The other thing to work on is when you eat your calories. You need to be eating about 40% for breakfast. Man is that hard to do when you are scrambling to get going. I know I have to force myself to eat a bunch first thing in the morning. I also hate the stuffed feeling when I'm trying to get moving but when I do I have so much more endurance during the day. Might want to go with non diet sodas when hunting , if you must have them. I have quit soda all together and feel better for it. Learning good eating habits while still young will make it so much easier when you start to age.

Lol @ the women reference!

I never buy soda myself but my hunting partner loves it and I'll admit it sure does taste good at times. Ive always been against the whole 'diet' soda or anything for that matter, but its become a part of our trips when not backpacking in... As far as breakfast goes, man there's just no way I could eat 40% of my calories in the morning! Give me 90 minutes after waking up and yeah you bet, but first thing in the morning is a cliff bar and peanut butter. About 600 calories I believe and I'm eating constantly after that or trying to!
I want to start making jerky but don't at this point.

 

[Shrek]

I understand how you feel about a big breakfast. I struggle with that myself. The old saying is " eat like a king for breakfast, a lord for lunch, and a pauper for dinner" is true.

 

[Shrek]

The point is to make the calories available when your body needs them. Keep pounding the food early in the day so your body doesn't canibalise your muscles for energy. Snacking all day to get it in you. As I have made it a habit to eat heavy in the morning and a snack for dinner it has gotten easier. When I eat very little for dinner I wake up hungry.

 

[HellsCanyon]

The point is to make the calories available when your body needs them. Keep pounding the food early in the day so your body doesn't canibalise your muscles for energy. Snacking all day to get it in you. As I have made it a habit to eat heavy in the morning and a snack for dinner it has gotten easier. When I eat very little for dinner I wake up hungry.

Sounds like good logic. We are usually the exact opposite!

 

[Jager]

HC, as we age recovery becomes more difficult. I played a sport at a decent level as well as hunting and working hard, by the time I hit 29, my body really started to take longer to recover. As they say, the years were/are catching up. Your diet is another aspect which is very important and the real secret imo is stretching and lots of it, every day.

 

[Aron Snyder]

[video=youtube;5sxhYkL7Cyg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sxhYkL7Cyg&feature=youtube_gdata_player[/video]

 

[Aron Snyder]

You need to go Beast Mode!

 

[Rizzy]

What do you type into Google to find that....LOL

 

[Rizzy]

Sounds like its diet and water for me. as it gets colder I get less hungry and thirsty while hunting...makes sense. On my last trip I went through about 1/2 a liter of water per day, not nearly enough.

 

[Hardstalk]

You need to go Beast Mode!

What happened to meat mode?? Not as catchy??

 

[Aron Snyder]

When I stopped taking "supplements" I joined that gym to help stay away from the muscle head crowd. They were filming one of those commercials the first week I joined and I've followed along ever since.

What do you type into Google to find that....LOL

 

[Aron Snyder]

Meat Mode is when I'm being serious.....Beast Mode is when I'm cracking a Joke.

I'm getting the icky feeling with all this talk of Meat and Beast's!

Drink water, change your socks and call home.

 

[Rizzy]

Guilty on all three accounts...LOL

 

[Bubba]

During the off season, when you are lifting try burning your legs out...( Example) leg curls 115 lbs to start then lower by 10 lbs with each set and do the sets back to back till there's no more weight... Do 3 sets of this. I tried this for the first time this year and it help out a lot. I did both hamstrings and Qauds this way. The one thing I found out is that I became winded before my leg got tired. So then i threw in some cardio right after my leg workout and it evened out.