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.

Father’s Day is right around the corner and I thought it would be cool to highlight a certain product that I think would be a perfect Father’s Day Gift! If your Dad is anything like mine, he loves his firearms. He doesn’t just love them, he takes an immense amount of pride in keeping those firearms clean. Hours are spent cleaning every crease of a gun by hand. My Father’s generation was filled with craftsman who truly cared about what they did. That very trait is sadly somewhat of a lost art. Good craftsman come far and few between, so when a company like Sage and Braker break the surface, my eyes are wide open. They are the makers of a truly high quality gun cleaning kit crafted at the highest caliber. A kit that will care about your Father’s guns as much as he does.

Boots have become sort of a frustrating topic for me. It seems that I’m always looking for the right boot for my needs and am usually left scratching my head. In the past, I have always landed on a soft sole boot. These have been great in terms of comfort, but in the land of durability and being waterproof? Well, that’s another story and an area that they lack in. When I have found boots that were more durable, they just lacked in comfort. So, now I am left with a situation of give and take. Do I want my feet to be more comfortable and possibly wet or do I want dry feet and less comfort? The Crispi Wyoming GTX was a boot that stood out to me as a “tweener,” if you would. Something in between comfort and durability that didn’t lack in being waterproof.

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!

In the months leading up to a hunt you can usually find me scouring maps, spending an unhealthy amount of time on google earth, sifting through backpacking journals online, and shooting my bow each and every day, sometimes multiple times. I am a planner, and I always have been. Not knowing what is going to happen in the future, somewhat stresses me out and it’s an area that I need improvement. I try everything I can to make sure all of my ducks are in a row. If this isn’t done beforehand, it drives me crazy and I can’t think straight. Oftentimes, it will lead to me throwing in the towel, because I am left not knowing what to do with myself. It is my Pre-Hunt Anxiety. Each year that goes by it creeps up on me, and each year we throw hands at one another.

We did it! We actually made it through 1 full month of clean eating! I have to admit that when we started out with this little experiment, I was a bit skeptical of how I would feel and if I’d even be able to go through with it. The act of breaking routine can sometimes be a hard one, especially with food. Food is pretty habitual for my wife and I. We like what we like when we like it. Completely stepping out of our comfort zone was at times stressful, but ultimately enlightening when all said and done. So, what are my thoughts on this diet?

3 weeks! Cannot believe it has already been 3 weeks of clean eating! I am so close to destroying a pizza in May! I’ll probably regret that, but a guy can dream right? My food fantasies aside, I feel awesome and am noticing little differences each week that goes by. Let’s get right into it!

Man! Time has been flying by! I can’t believe I am already 2 weeks into this clean eating journey. It has been sort of refreshing to be forced to eat different foods than we are used to and in doing so, I believe that has given us(wifey and I) more appreciation for certain foods. It’s also been pretty eye opening as to how much sugar really is out there and in how many places. Things that you would never guess had sugar in them have it. Looking back on my diet before this, I realized that I was literally eating sugar every single meal and snack of the day! So, at 2 weeks clean, how’s it going?

Hey, everyone! I have officially been eating clean now for 1 week! In that time, I’ve already gotten 2 backcountry hunts under my belt as well. For the first 6 days I’ve gotta admit, things were sluggish. Really in terms of my energy levels. I felt so dragged down as my body went through sugar withdrawals. It’s pretty crazy, but my body had to essentially relearn how to harness energy that wasn’t coming from sugar. I never realized how dependent I was on it, until I took it away.

Hey, everyone! Hope everybody’s spring is treating them great and you are getting out in the hills on a more regular basis after the winter time. Some spring seasons are already upon us and I am as excited as ever to see what the coming months bring in terms of bears and turkey. Another thing that I am pretty stoked on at the moment is an experiment I have decided to do with dieting. There are 3 big diets that are being mentioned on a regular basis right now it seems. Folks are chatting about eating clean, keto, and paleo. Instead of picking one, I have decided to try them all.