Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Nutrition during off season?

Any tips or tricks for diet, nutrition, and supplements during training season? If so, please post them. It might be helpful for someone else.

I'm back to using the free Chronometer app to track macronutrients. I know that I can get lopsided with macros when I try to hit protein targets.

Made three batches of beef jerky from $2/lb London broil. Handy snack to hit protein targets without having to use supplements like whey powder. I don't care for most store bought jerky or whey powder.

Chronometer suggests that I get 147g of protein per day. If a somewhat standard serving is 30g that is five servings per day.

Don't consume soda, alcohol, and stay away from processed junk.

Water and real food.

I am not a health nut but I’ve started this breakfast routine after I bought a ninja blender with individual cups and started experimenting with smoothies. Using just fruit left me feeling hungry, then I would add some peanut butter. Then I saw some almonds and other nuts at the grocery store and figured I would see how they blend in and to my surprise it worked well. My current mix of nuts tastes great and I can go well into the evening before feeling hungry. Tossing in some coffee beans adds a nice boost instead of a cup of coffee. I feel energized quicker and longer, not to mention the savings in junk food and coffee breaks. I would typically have breakfast, coffee and pastry for break, lunch, maybe another coffee break, dinner, and maybe a dessert. Now I'm down to this and dinner. Experimenting is half the fun with this, so far just about everything I toss in worked out well, and if you have fruits or vegies that are starting to go its a great way to use them up.

Hey thanks for sharing that. Never thought to use coffee beans in a smoothie before, but am going to give it whirl. Great idea.

We bought a super juice weasel not too long ago and my wife uses it just about every day. She adds a scoop or two of protein powder. Her friend makes hot soup with one and I thought they were both nuts. Until I let the weasel run for a bit. Holy crap, it got hot fast. I think it would puree a 2x4.

I enjoy experimenting and see what works, so far everything I've tossed in has turned out pretty decent. I've always read that their are more nutrients in the peels of many fruits than in the actual fruit so yesterday I tossed a banana skin and all in and it tasted fine, it's a great way to use avocado that is starting to turn. I've always been 3 meals a day and snacks in between. Now I'm two only or sometimes just a smoothie

Nutrition should be year around,not just during season.
Thats the best place to start.
Whole foods,meat,potatos,fruit,some veggies without all the condiments and oils.
No pop or beer with a occasional diet pop if it makes you feel good.
Fast every now and then,16 hr a few times a week,24 hr every week or two,48 hr every month or two.
I think for me its a mental win vs anything else.I love to eat so sometimes i need to remind myself im in control.
10000 steps a day.

McDonalds.

Beer.

Alcohol (to thin the blood).

Donuts.

Butter.

Crisco sandwiches.

Fried Chicken.

Candy.

Pizza.

Great post. I believe the nutrition side of things is very simple for most people.
1) Eat real food.
Meat, veggies, fruits, nuts & seeds.
Avoid anything overly processed as much as possible.
2) Protein appears to be the most important macro to target. The remaining ratio of fat and carbs is less important and varies for individuals. Human evolution has made us incredible omnivores.
3) Don’t over eat. It’s tough to over eat when following rule #1 and #2.
Fasting, as mentioned above, seems to help with over eating by training the metabolic system to be very flexible and efficient. No more slave to hunger.

But according to experts in health and longevity, the thing that trumps all the variations in healthy nutrition is physical activity. Being as physically active as possible (strength, cardio, mobility, flexibility) has a bigger impact on health outcomes than the different ways of healthy eating.

For me, it is the following (with decent sleep being a given):

#1: Overall calories per week staying in check for what you are doing (fat loss, muscle gain, maintaining, etc.)
#2: Good macros for those calories. Mine is heavy on protein, moderate on fats, with more carbs on weight training days.
#3: Planning the activity level in advance and making it happen (weight lifting/cardio/physical labor)
#4: Working in some breaks and rewards here and there to "live life", as this promotes a good mental state and doesn't deplete you physically. Takes a bit longer than some plans though.
#5: Being accountable to your outlined goals (weighing in, taking measurements, tracking toward a performance goal, etc)

This also assumes you have outlined your goals and honestly assessed your level of motivation (or lack of it). I let myself get in crappy shape during this Covid business and then didn't get serious about getting it under control, so I stared Jan 1 with some goals outlined for a deadline of July 1 for getting back into what I would consider "good shape" with regards to body composition. It's 25lbs total of fat loss to be lean again. I'm down 14 so far with a break for a vacation, a bout with the flu, and most of a week with the gym closed for renovations. Things are tracking well and life is not miserable with regards to food or exercise. I have found that cutting out alcohol has been a big component for me, physically and mentally. Most food is what people would have considered "normal" in decades past, being mainly non-fried meats paired with a vegetable or two and perhaps a side of potatoes/rice. Supplements/snacks include protein powder, protein bars, nuts, string cheese, fruits, and some healthier chips like Baked Lays and such. Other than the protein powder and bars, it's just fairly useful and reasonably natural foods with maybe one meal a week of stuff like pizza, fried chicken, or Chinese food. Really not difficult.

I like that list, minus the Crisco, but I would add ice cream!

Total agreement on the "varies for individuals". I eat all that I can, every chance I have. During most workdays, I eat 4 meals. The last meal of the day is often eating over several hours....a lot of food, much of it healthy, much of it not. I'm usually going to bed right after that. It breaks all of the "good practices", but it works well for me. I am extremely active, my bodyweight is fairly constant though I can change it a bit if I work hard to gain. If I consciously eat a bit less I lose weight quickly.

I take a multivitamin, fish oil, and focus to make sure I get enough protein and constant water....aside from that, eating for me is a free for all. On any BMI scale I'm heavy for my height but my bodyfat is low. My cholesterol, blood pressure, resting heartrate, etc always impress my Dr. My dietary practices aren't what I would recommend for anyone else but it works for me. Some might say it's a blessing but I have to work to keep weight on. If we have "hard times" in our lifetime where food isn't easily obtainable I'll be a stickman in no time.

Ha ha, that’s really interesting and shows how diverse we all are. I’m 54, always been active but Ive always been on the slim side no matter what my eating habits and training has looked like. Ive had long periods of eating 6 meals a day, and also long periods of 1-2 meals a day with some 2 day fasts mixed in. It’s like my body has a narrow preset weight range and stays there. I’ve always weight trained and been active but never been prone to over eating terrible foods so I’m sure that also helps.
The only downside is it’s always been very tough for me to gain muscle mass. I have to really concentrate on eating enough food just to gain a few lean pounds. Then if I dial it back, it goes away quickly.
If the apocalypse happens I think I’ll be in trouble as well lol.

Made another batch, but carne seca this time. Just salt, black pepper, and smoked paprika (3-1-1). Same $2/lb London broil. Started hanging the meat in the oven instead of using drying racks. I think it turns out much better that way.