Backpack Hunting is filled with rich experience and the origin of many potent memories, no matter who you are. It’s a kind of hunting that isn’t for everyone, but the one’s that do cherish it, seem to live it. They thrive on the unknown and beauty that falls before them on their trips. Landscapes that are more unseen than seen. Then there are the challenges that come along with hunting the backcountry. These are things like rough country, carrying everything you need on your back, and just the general practice of living in the dirt. Another challenge though is just finding somewhere to hunt. This is especially true when coming from out of state and heading into a spot that you’ve never been before. One of the ways that I “E-Scout” is by utilizing maps to my advantage, and more specifically, topographic maps.
The end of the month is finally here! I can’t believe this 6 month dieting journey is over. It has been a long time coming and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everyone that reached out with tips along the way. Whether that was in the form of recipes or just letting me know about your overall experience, thank you. The Paleo Diet is over and I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t excited about it. Not because of the diet itself. That has been great. But because of the dieting experience as a whole this last 6 months. Not a regret exists though on my end. So, let’s talk Paleo Diet. What did I like? What did I not like? How was backpack hunting on the paleo diet? Here we go!
Let’s start off with what I liked about Paleo. Right when I started down the path of Paleo, I wasn’t too worried at all. It sounded like a slightly more restricted version of clean eating, which I did great on, and remains my favorite out of the diets that I tried. So, in that regard, I thought the Paleo Diet was great just from a livability standpoint. This stuff isn’t that hard at all to incorporate into your daily life, which is huge for me. Sometimes, we are on the go and need something quick. With some forethought, Paleo does the trick just fine. Quick snacks and or meals that I would resort to were Banana Chia Pudding for breakfast, smoothies, and maybe an apple with almond butter. Dinner was super easy as well and fit well along with what my wife would happen to be eating that night. For instance, if she was eating spaghetti, I’d make zoodles and venison meatballs. The translation was fairly smooth.
I didn’t experience a ton of weight loss during the Paleo Diet, but I also lost quite a bit from eating clean. There wasn’t a whole lot for me to drop at that point. I lost a few pounds on Paleo, but nothing to go crazy about. Something that was great though was how I felt. It was fairly identical to how I felt eating clean. Great energy levels, no stomach issues, and zero constipation. Keto left me constipated.
Another thing that has really been consistent throughout this whole experience was how these diets made me get out of my comfort zone of food. They required me to try new foods and new recipes which was both fun and eye opening. The Paleo diet was no exception here. My favorite dish that came out of it was Venison stir fry with cauliflower rice and broccoli. MY GOODNESS. This will remain in constant rotation in my house, except I will likely use brown rice instead of cauliflower rice.
This section won’t be super long at all, because I was quite pleased with Paleo. There were some minor things that stuck out to me. The first was the inconsistency of information within the Paleo community. Some people consider certain things Paleo, while others don’t. That was frustrating when trying to figure out what to eat. Sweet potatoes were one of those items that some ate, and some didn’t. I chose to eat them, because it just worked better for me. Not a ton was incorporated, but I did use them in some recipes throughout the month. There is a such thing as “modified paleo.” I don’t entirely understand how that is. From what I gathered it was basically clean eating. So, why call it paleo? Call it what it is.
Of course another thing that was a pain, which has been consistent with all of these diets, was family events. When we would attend these, I would have to eat beforehand and not enjoy any of the food that our families prepared. That was a bummer. We ate out here and there, but it could only be at certain places. One of our favorites is Chipotle. Here, I would get a salad with double meat, fajitas, mild salsa, and guacamole. Not bad, but definitely not the same.
I was fortunate enough to take the paleo diet into the field with me a few times. One of those times was a backcountry mule deer hunt to Utah. For the most part, I wasn’t too worried about this. Many of the foods that I already bring with my on hunts are actually paleo diet friendly. Stuff like almond butters, RX Bars, Epic Bars, etc. Breakfast and snacks throughout the day were a snap. It was dinner that left me super unsatisfied. I opted to go with Wild Zora for both breakfast and dinner. Breakfast was great. No complaints there. The Cliffside Coconut Berry is awesome for breakfast. Dinner though? Not the greatest. They were filling, yes, but incredibly bland in my opinion. Of course you could absolutely pack in some seasoning or something to alleviate this. The better option though is to just make your own dinners at home and dehydrate them. That way you know you are getting a nice home cooked meal that is something to look forward to. Backpack hunting is hard enough as it is. Having a nice and satisfying meal at the end of a long day is super important to me.
Another thing that was crucial for my backcountry experience was Wilderness Athlete Hydrate and Recover Paleo(ish). Just in general, hydrate and recover from Wilderness Athlete is something that I bring into the field with me on all of my trips. These hunts are physically demanding and recovery is huge back there. Being able to get up day after day and grind over and over again is the name of the game. We beat ourselves up on these trips, so taking care of our bodies needs to be on our radar. My brother didn’t take this stuff on this particular trip and he was in pain. Muscles were locking up and he was left hobbling around. This isn’t what you want to shoot for. I just pack a serving each day for the end of the day and have it with dinner. Ready to rock.
I did it! Like I said, I can’t believe this 6 month journey is at a close. What I got out of it is something I’ll take with me into my every day life. Just knowing more about what is going into your body is eye opening enough. How one’s body reacts to certain foods is also interesting. I really didn’t think I’d have an issue with Keto, but I did. Now, I know that it isn’t for me. Unless one tries this stuff out though, you’ll never know. What my wife and I have decided to do from this point forward is to eat clean, for the most part. The stuff that we buy from the grocery store will likely be 90% clean options. However, if the weekend comes and I want to take here out on a nice date for ice cream? Yeah, we’re getting ice cream. After all, we are human and I don’t think it is a bad thing to indulge here and there. I feel like if we eat good 80-90% of the time, it isn’t a big deal to have some cake or pizza here and there. The great Joe Rogan said it best. “Kale Shakes and Cupcakes.” Do you have a diet that you’ve been wondering about? Maybe it’s time that you took the leap? I say go for it. You don’t know if you don’t go.
Man, what a whirlwind this past few weeks have been. Let me first apologize for the delay in Paleo Diet posts. I’ve just been so busy out in the field hunting. I’ve just gotten back from 2 hunts. The first was in the Utah backcountry for archery mule deer. The second was here in my home state for Arizona Black Bear. Utah was a bust because of my bow getting knocked around pretty good. Ended up dang near emptying my quiver at a buck. I later found out that there was a slew of things “off” on my bow. Bummer, but that’s how it goes sometimes. Just need to be more careful. Arizona was very successful and you can be on the lookout for a full write up of that hunt in the future! We are here to talk about the Paleo Diet though right? Let’s get into how that has been.
Boom! Week 1 of the Paleo Diet is in the books. Another diet in full effect. This journey has been awesome so far and really enlightening. Thanks for following along on my 6 month diet craze and for the tips along the way. This is going to be the last diet in my experiment. For the month of August, I will be eating paleo and that includes on my hunts. I’ve got 12 days of hunting on the horizon where paleo will be on the menu. Bear season opens August 9th here and then I’ll be heading out to Utah in mid August, followed by another bear season here in AZ for late August. All of my meals are bought and I’m ready to start pounding the miles with my bow! With that being said though, you are probably wondering how paleo has been thus far?
The keto diet is exploding right now. Which is obviously one of the reasons that I wanted to try it out. To see what all of the rage was about. It’s all over the place. I see it on the cover of magazines, on TV talk shows, and it’s even the topic at hand on a plethora of podcasts. While this diet didn’t work for me personally, there are many out there that thrive eating keto. If they are a backpack hunter though, I think one question constantly pops up. That question is “How do I eat keto on a backpack hunt?” I asked the same question. Keto, in my opinion is a very involved type of diet. The thought of doing that in the backcountry kind of made my stomach turn to be honest. I assure you that it can be done though!
Yes, you read that right! After it was all said and done, I made it 17 days on the keto diet. There were parts that I really enjoyed in the beginning, but after a while, those parts actually turned negative. Being the type of person that I am, the decision to throw in the towel was a difficult one for me. I’m not one to give things up, and sometimes that is to a fault. With that being said, I’m going to dive into why I decided that enough was enough. I know that there are plenty of people out there that really love the keto diet, and that is awesome. I’m not insinuating that any of you are wrong for doing keto or bashing the diet at all. These are just the reasons why it didn’t work for me personally.
OK! It has been two weeks since my dive into the Keto diet and I’m feeling pretty good. I still haven’t gotten to do a legit backpacking trip with this meal plan, but am planning to in the future. It will be interesting seeing how that mashes up and how I feel. If I feel anything like I do now, I think I will be totally fine. Can’t blame me for wondering though! In the beginning of this journey, I was pretty pumped on Keto. Since then though? Let’s just say that my overall thoughts on Keto have definitely changed.
I have officially started the Keto Diet and am officially one week into it! So far so good, but there has definitely been some challenges along the way. It is expected at this point. Whenever starting something new, there is an acclimation period that exists. This experience has been no exception to that.
Clean eating sounded intimidating enough when I decided to try it out. Honestly, it was kind of overwhelming with all of the restrictions that would be put in place once I got going on it. They aren’t really a big deal from a bird’s eye view, but once you realize how many of those creature comfort foods you can’t eat anymore, it can become daunting. So, eating clean is one thing, but what about on hunts and not just any hunts. What about eating clean on a backpack hunt to be more specific? After doing this diet for one month during our spring bear season, I can assure you that it is entirely possible. It probably isn’t going to be what you’re used to back there, but if I can do it, you can do it too! Who knows, you might even find a few new staples in your backcountry menu!
Most focus in the hunting world gets put onto all things ungulate. That being deer, elk, moose, caribou, etc. Basically, all of things with antlers or horns. Rightfully so! All of those species are magnificent animals with a ton of opportunity behind them for the blue collar hunter to take advantage of. Arizona is no exception in that right. We have a massive amount of attention put on our huge bull elk and tons of opportunity for mule deer and coues deer, especially for the bowhunter. Those are some of my favorite hunts of the year, but they are not my absolute favorite. For me, that title rests in the paws of our Arizona black bear. Yes, we do in fact have bears here in our hot and desolate desert believe it or not. Let me tell you why they are my favorite animal to hunt here and the best hunt you’ve probably never heard of.
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