[Hank D Thoreau]

We don't often talk about a very important aspect of archery performance, whether tournament or hunting, and that is, pre-shoot and in the field nutrition. As someone who has blood sugar issues, I have to plan my food carefully and eat at the right times. It is especially important in sedentary target archery, which I am starting to move away from, in favor of roving archery, where the higher activity level helps moderate my blood sugar.

So whether on the target range, or in the field hunting,

what is your usual nutritional plan:

How do you eat before the trip or shoot, such as the day before?

How do you eat during the trip or shoot?

What do you carry with you to sustain yourself while in the field?

 

[eriks]

I have nuts (usually almonds) and water with me on field shoots.

 

[stevelong]

I'm a fan of carb loading the night before a planned strenuous day of activity.
Pasta does the trick for me.
Dunno what that does to your blood sugar.
In the field I like trail mix & chex mix, nuts & bananas. & WATER.

 

[Matt_Potter]

Food is key for me - I eat a good sit down breakfast before and carry protein bars & water on the range. If possible I'll buy a subway sandwich to take with me for lunch - greasy burgers don't cut it.

 

[mamba]

Beer works pretty good at our Thursday night league.
Seriously though I try to eat meat & potatoes & vegees or I run out of steam.

 

[eriks]

I like that at Redding most of the snack shacks have hard boiled eggs.

 

[stevelong]

yes, "TAS like eggs"

 

[Salskov]

In the field, this:


Salskov's (all organic) Green GORP

100 gm Hazelnuts (628 calories/100 gm)
75 gm Pine Nuts (673 calories/100 gm)
250gm Pumpkin Seeds (559 calories/100gm)
125 gm Pistachios (696 calories/100 gm)
250 gm Sunflower Seeds (584 calories/100gm)
250 gm Raisins (299 calories/100 gm)
1 Tbs. Sea Salt
Makes slightly over 1 kg.

Combine all ingredients in large bowl and mix well with hands. As the caloric value of 1 kilo is nominally 5,175 calories, divide into 6 portions of about 170 gms/880 calories. Plenty for lunch on the trail.

. . . along with a couple of (organic) protein bars and water.

I don't eat anything special before field days, just my normal organoholic diet, which does include meat.

Regards,

Salskov

 

[Matt_Potter]

Organoholic??

 

[UrbanDeerSlayer]

Water, granola bars, trail mix.

 

[JOEU]

Cat head Biscuits and Gravy with country ham for breakfast, tuna fish, right out of the foil package for lunch, with a large piece of cornbread slathered in real butter, I like a cup of hot tea with that. I'll generally buy something from the tournament concession, because that's usually the only thing they make any money on. If I have any money left over, as much as I can buy for supper, usually a meat and three, or ribs or barbecue or maybe both, with pecan or chess pie for dessert. I've lived long enough, I eat whatever I want.

 

[Larry Hatfield]

when i shot york and field rounds in competition i just ate a balanced breakfast of fruit and rice based meat dishes. stayed hydrated and didn't eat much food of any kind until after the shooting was done.
when i hunt i do not eat at all past an early breakfast. sort of go to kill something, not to eat, mentality.
when i travel, as to the world flight competition where meal content choice is very limited, i rely on my daughters concern and have vacuum packed khmer dishes that last me for the entire trip.

 

[SteveInNJ]

You should check out the little sandwiches that pro cyclists eat during long rides (100+miles) to keep nutrition up over 6 hours. Stay away from white bread. Whole grain bread with peanut butter and honey keep you feeling full all day and they are compact. Just look out for the bears though!

 

[K31Scout]

Low carb high protein breakfast. While out and about, a bag of nuts and a couple of apples maybe and water if it's gonna be a long day. Or I can fast and just do water. I never give a thought to the night before meal except that it's on the low carb side of the food groups. My BG is stable so I don't need to think about it at all.

 

[JParanee]

You can't beat eating a healthy balanced diet

If you have the time to prepare your food that is

When I started out back pack hunting it was MRI's ,tang and candy bars

Over the years I started to take advantage of using proper nutrition and target specific exercise routines to put me into the kind of shape that extreme backpack hunting needs you to be in

If we all had time to pack the perfect meals in the field we would not need nutritional supplements

I started using portable packable products like whey protein shakes to help fuel me in the field and to help me in my day to day life when I just do not have time to grab something good to eat

Sports nutrition is coming to the great outdoors

top tier athletes are using proper nutrition thru eating correctly and using supplements to attain their goals in the field

I am not a competitive shooter but from speaking to a few of the very best they tell me how their archery has improved thru regular work outs and eating correctly and using a blend of real food and supplements to augment their training routines

In the hunting field I have hunted high elevation from the Pamirs to you name it and I can tell you with out a shadow of a doubt that a hard core work out routine and trying to eat right and using products to supplement my diet has helped me achieve my goals in the field

Good luck Hank if you have any supplement related to archery specific questions let me know I can call Jake Kaminski and ask what his thoughts are. He is using a wide range of supplements to great effect . I also can put you in touch with a nutritionalist which I am not

I pretty much day to day eat anything I want. I work out 5 days a week and use a lot of weight protein to augment my protein intake and as meal replacements when on the run.

Which I always am

 

[Hank D Thoreau]

All interesting answers. I have discovered my go to breakfast before a tournament.

The Denny's Fit Fare Vegetarian skillet. It has eggs whites for protein, potatoes for carbs, broccoli, tomatoes, onions and peppers. I order mine without mushrooms. I had one this morning and it kept me satisfied for hours.

On the course I rely on low carb Adkins bars for quick snacks. I will also get the grilled burgers if I am at that kind of shoot. It is the only time that I eat a burger any more. I would take cans of tuna to target shoots. Cans of tuna were always my go to lunch on day hikes or climbs where I had room for food.

The mountains is another story. I used to not eat or drink when I was rock climbing. There really is no place to put it once you are loaded down with a rope and gear sling. I would climb all day and then gorge when I got off back. It put a terrible strain on my body and led to Monday headaches. Now, I have to make sure that I eat, so that I have something to burn. Not drinking enough is always a problem I have to address. I am learning to do a better job keeping hydrated, but food and water are not things I think about when I am focusing of climbing or shooting.

 

[Matt_Potter]

Treat it like part of your shot routine - eat and drink at every stake weather you think you need it or not.

 

[Hank D Thoreau]

Matt,

I have to be real careful how I eat. I generally get a slight crash after eating food, even small amounts. It could affect me for a couple of targets. It makes things complicated. I am hoping that I have fixed some of that with my health improvements and with the more active feature of field shooting. Exercise help to moderate blood sugar, and getting rid of the spare tire takes stress off the pancreas.

 

[Glynn Sluder]

3-D or Field I like to eat a protein breakfast an hour or two before and then carry cashews and almonds and maybe a banana or apple or a Lara bar. Stay hydrated.

Hunting from a camp is a lot harder to not rely on carbs that have enough calories for the amount of exertion required. Good planning and a dehydrator can help a lot.

I struggle with eating right all twelve months of the year but my simple saying is "protein,veggies, fruit,.. no processed. Try to stay away from words on the label you can't pronounce, but if it's something you could make at home, like salsa, well I buy Pace instead of making it.

http://www.larabar.com/

 

[Larry Hatfield]

hank, are you dealing with type 2 diabetes? all your exercise regimens will help you a lot but you still have to keep yourself aware of and avoid "fast carbs" like white bread and rice etc.. that will lessen or eliminate your swings in glucose levels and the crashes of low blood sugar. takes a bit of study, some pro dietary help, and a lot of patience! i dealt with it a few years ago. age related type 2. i do not have any symptoms now.