What Fuels Your Energy For Hunting?
 

At times hunting can be real physical. I'm some sure of you in mountain country know what I mean. I'm in a flat area of MN, but it can still be a killer being out there!

Sometimes during a day at no specific time, I may feel down or sort of pooped. I often credit this to just getting tired. Yeah, I'm getting tired, but it's due to not eating right. When this happens, I ask myself what I ate earlier. Come to think about it, I recall eating something like a sugared cereal, burger and fries, some sort of junk food, etc.(No, I don't make a habit of it. LOL!)

Then there are times I'm feeling exceptionally well and looking back, I discovered I had a good meal earlier on. Since eating right plays a part in how we perform or feel in the field, I thought it would be nice if you guys/gals noticed the correlation too about what we eat and how we feel afterwards?

For situations in which you know you have to eat right to keep your energy levels up, what types of food/beverage do you eat or drink?

Do you have a strict regimen of what you eat daily or is it something you may only focus on when you need the extra energy?

iSnipe

I agree cereals and loads of sugar don't cut it.I have no specific regiment.On hunt days I usually have a couple fried eggs and french fries sometimes w/a small portion of meat.
Sometimes I pack a lunch w/whole wheat bread and granola bars.Water,tea,or Propel for hydration.Most of my hunts are day long trips.

When we're at hunting camp, we're eating like kings.

Actually, I don't really eat a big breakfast. Too many times I've had to take a crap while on stand. And I'm usually just sitting in a stand in the morning.

If we're doing drives, where a lot of energy is needed, I usually end up having a big sandwich or heat up whatever we had for dinner the night before.

If I start getting pooped, I generally don't think about what I ate that day. I think that I need to stay in better shape during the off-season. Or drink less beer the night before :D

i try to eat a good breakfast if im goin on a day hunt (one spot i hunt is just a huge hill lots of walking up and down hill) but also the determination to get a buck also drives me

Any carbs should be complex carbs such as oatmeal or whole grain bagels/ bread for breakfast. Eating the sugary stuff raises your glycemic index and causes your body to break those carbs down into sugar quickly and then store those sugars as fat in larger quantities. Simple carbs burn up quick giving you that energy jolt followed by the crash right around the time it starts to get light enough to see if you are in your stand an hour and a half before light as I am. The complex carbs are broken down slower enabling the body to receive a longer lasting energy source and also you won't be hungry as quick. I take 2 turkey or chicken sandwiches on wheat bread and whole wheat hard pretzels and non sugary granola bars with me as well as 2 pieces of fruit and a 30 oz Camelback filled with water or PowerAid. This satisfies me during a full day in the stand and I am awake for more of it as well. I work at a gym and my daily caloric intake is much higher than the average guy's but a packed meal like this will be enough because I am burning very little calories sitting still for 12 hours or more straight.

Here is your free diet advice from a personal trainer.

granola bars

candy bars/ snickers, etc...

Redbull and mt dew.I like to eat oat meal for breakfest with my redbull.

Eat healthy, exercise and get plenty of rest. Energy drinks and sugary foods are just a crutch for folks who don't have discipline.

Well im a hyped up, sport-loving, teenage boy so energy wise im set. ;) But everytime I go out hunting I usually pack a water or pop just for thirst. Sometimes a granola bar.

AND I JUST NOW FOUND OUT THAT MY SISTER IS HAVING HER SECOND CHILD! :)

breakfast is poptarts and pepsi, snack in treestand is jerky and pepsi, lunch is chili if have anything with a pepsi, supper is pizza and pepsi

i drink alot of pop

I know a guy that drinks Mtn. Dew all the time.If it's not an MD,it's Budweiser.Feel for that guys kidneys and liver.

breakfast is a manly traditional american meal: eggs, toast, sausage, bacon, pancakes, etc. in combination. We carry home made gorp: bulk dried fruit, cranberries, walnuts and peanuts, dark chocolate bits mixed. Keep very well hydrated. Lunch is usuallly cheese and salami with apples or oranges. Energy drinks tend to keep you pumped up but have no nutritional value, and gatorade etc. is no improvement over a good old rounded full meal.

Nothin fancy for me.
I usually eat a big breakfast. Something filling like a big warm bowl of buttery rice, and a cheese biscuit. Chase it with OJ and Coffee.
Maybe a big bowl of Raisn-n-spice oatmeal and cinnamon toast.
Actually I like all that year round :)
In the tree, I always carry Juice and a couple XL Payday bars, and a couple pieces of jerky.
I enjoy juice all the time, so I can drink it instead of soda and be just as happy. (I can't help but think that some apple or grape juice odor wafting around the air has helped bring in some meat over the years.)
If its deathly cold, I'll carry a thermos of black coffee.
I usually carry some caramel cubes, or caramel twirls with the creme inside. They really help get you by.
I admit, they are probably just a crutch caused from having a chaw of Redman in my mouth for 15 years.

nothin works better than a good servin of penutbuttter
full of protein

The high protein value of eggs in the morning seem to give me energy I will need through out the morning. Sugars area good quick source of energy but short lived and you will need to keep pouring the sugar in to avoid the crash that follows a sugar energy boost.

Well gentleman,

I must say, I'm impressed. Not only in your knowledge of energizing and healthy foods, but also by some of you and your body's ability to keep on rockin' despite the junk food you stuffed in your belly. LOL! :biggrin: There's a lot of good info here and it's nice to know you guys are aware of what a good meal can do for you.

I don't know why exactly, but my body seems to react harshly and immediately should I get dehydrated or lack a good meal. I can feel the affects almost instantly. NOT good.

I watch my fluid intake and the amount of fruit and vegetables I eat to keep my body not only hydrated, but to make sure the meals keep producing the electrolytes that I need as well. I find if I keep hydrated by drinking water, sugarless beverages and some good rest, I don't get cramps and my energy levels stay up for a long time. I too was taught to eat oatmeal for the long lasting carbs it provides. By making sure I have some fruit, they give me good energy my body seems to like. My body doesn't communicate with me all too well. LOL! I have to drink water even when I'm not thirsty. I try and drink before I'm thirsty. I heard that by the time you are thirsty, your body is already down a quart.(I think more)

Bananas, apples, plums and oranges are the mainstay of my fruit consumption. I also like to drink orange juice NOT from concentrate. Don't get me wrong, I'm far from a good eater. I too eat the sausages, bacon, some fast food meals and other greasy fattening non-energizing foods that taste real good. LOL! I'm sure you know what I mean.

Only a few years ago I learned to pack along some soup in a large mouth thermos container. Nothing like hot soup to warm you up and give yah some energy too!

Anyone else have their .02 cents they'd like to add?

Thanks,

iSnipe

There are occasions where I don't pack food or drink,unless the weather is extreme.I don't break for lunch,either.At the end of the day,Taco Bell or other fast food is a guarentee.

You are hard core! LOL.
I am a nervous eater I guess:)
The few times I went in the woods like that, I ended up breaking down, or getting stuck, and nearly eating my boots and drinking stump water:)
Anymore I always have a plan B.
At least an emergency 2Liter coke bottle full of water (Use it for hand washing, but drink it too), and an emergency tube of Ritz crackers in the glovebox(learned that trick when the kid was little).
It aint much, but It'll do!

Amen to the last sentence!! For some reason we can't get that figured out at our deer camp.

For me, my hunts would typically start really early and I'd be prepared to be in the woods all day. I've packed the following: Ham sandwiches, numerous milk chocolate bars and water. Sometimes I'd even bring cold pizza which is really yummy when it's freezing outside. Never have been big on a traditional breakfast when hunting. Instead, I'd drink fruit punch powerade and eat a sandwich. Weird, maybe, but that's how I roll.

For me, I don't need a lot to eat while hunting, even if I'm hiking in the mountains. Ironically, the more sedentary I am, the hungrier I get. :) I do need a lot of water though. I usually carry a half-gallon with me on a hunt (2 one-quart military canteens), though I wish I could carry more. I need a Katadyn water filter! That and about two or three Clif bars or trail mix.

You would be surprised at what your body would tell you if you were able to listen to it. You know how your ears ring for a LONG time after attending a concert (or a shooting session with no hearing protection, LOL)? Afterward, you are not able to hear the more subtler sounds around you, no matter how hard you try. Well, the way most of us eat is like shooting a gun 24/7 with no hearing protection.

Fasting is an EXCELLENT way to clean out your system. Think about it...when animals are wounded or are sick, they typically eat very little. The body is able to heal better that way (which is why it's a good idea not to eat a certain amount of time before going to bed...your body needs that time to heal). When I fast, either with just water, with juice or by only eating raw fruits and veggies, in the beginning, I feel pretty rotten. That's all the JUNK stuck in my fat cells, etc, being dumped into my bloodstream. After a few days (depending on method), I start to feel better (but pretty hungry!).

After I am done detoxing, I slowly start introducing certain things back into my body. And when I eat something that isn't good for me (isn't NATURAL), I start to feel like CRAP. Things containing white flour or white sugar, etc. That's my body telling me, HEY, THIS **** ISN'T GOOD FOR YOU! If I keep eating that stuff, my body gets used to it, my overall feeling of well-being slowly diminishes, and I get used to the crap and can no longer "hear" my body telling me what I need to hear.

I usualy take 3 20oz bottles of water and a bag of trail mix with me when i hunt .

Gotta confess.Sometimes,the better the bagged lunch,the harder it is to think about hunting.Sometimes I say the heck w/it and eat the stuff just to get it out of the way.It's just easier to not have to think about.I need to get a good fanny pack.My mentality is that I like to carry only that which is essential but minimal.Multiple day hunts are a totally different game.:)