Ketosis, backcountry endurance burning body fat.

nphunter

WKR
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Jul 27, 2016
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Oregon
I normally go into fall season making sure I’m fat adapted and in ketosis, I’ve been fasting and eating keto for a long time so it’s pretty easy to me. I use to crash out and get hypoglycemic while working long hours or hunting/hiking. Becoming fat adapted has made hypoglycemia a thing of the past and I love hunting while in ketosis.

For a 2-3 day backpack hunt I normally only pack a sandwich bag full of almonds, a bag with rolled up pepperoni or salami and cheese, some honey straws for a sweet tooth and wilderness athlete electrolytes.

I’m sure people think I’m crazy but I really enjoy not having to think about my next meal when hunting. My buddies are usually crashing out and having to stop and eat, most of the time I just sit and watch them or maybe eat a honey straw or two. I went backpacking 7 miles deep for an overnight trip with my wife last fall on days 4 & 5 on a water fast and felt amazing and full of energy!! Last year I killed my bull 4 miles from the truck in the desert, we leap frogged the meat out from 11am until dark. All I needed was a little electrolytes after a few hours of sweating in the sun, i took zero food on that hunt. Came back and hunted 7 miles deep up the same drainage the next day.

I’m going to be going into season quite a bit leaner this year but still plan on going keto, I think I’ll still have sufficient fat to burn. 3500 calories in a pound of body fat, even a fairly lean dude can go for days.

I’m not suggesting anyone not take food, just curious how many people have or do hunt in ketosis? I feel like this is a huge advantage in the back country or just in general when grinding day in day out for a month straight.


Here’s the hell hole we packed my bull out off. A couple big water crossing and had to go up over two big saddles before getting back to the truck. I killed him on the only bench in the drainage, the whole walk out was in and out of those canyons.
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Curious about this as I a diabetic and constantly have crashes. I am always snacking to maintain having a clear head.
 
Curious about this as I a diabetic and constantly have crashes. I am always snacking to maintain having a clear head.

I too am diabetic. I would not even consider not taking not only foods high in calories, but also high in carbs. Carbs are what diabetics need to maintain glucose levels over long periods of time of high exertion. All of my meals are high in carbs, fat and protein while hunting, and I take fast acting carbs/sugars for when I drop.

I am snacking at least every hour on hi-chews, gummie bears, shot bloks, just anything to help maintain by glucose and keep from tanking. I rather my blood sugar be a little high while hunting than worry about lows.

It’s just part of life for me - you have to plan for things and I dont want to end up short on food when in the backcountry.

Even with eating everything I possibly can while hunting I still lose weight and have low BG.

I don’t think ketogenic diet is good for a diabetic. That’s my opinion.

Sorry if this derailed the OP intended direction.
 
I get it, I have been eating carnivore for two years. Last year during a 14 day backcountry hunt in Sept I went a few days without eating (only because I wasn’t hungry) and felt amazing. We started each day with an hour long 1,200’ steep hike to get to our glassing point in the dark. I never crashed and felt amazing. It took awhile for my body to adapt and this obviously isn’t for everyone but to the OP, I get it.
 
I too am diabetic. I would not even consider not taking not only foods high in calories, but also high in carbs. Carbs are what diabetics need to maintain glucose levels over long periods of time of high exertion. All of my meals are high in carbs, fat and protein while hunting, and I take fast acting carbs/sugars for when I drop.

I am snacking at least every hour on hi-chews, gummie bears, shot bloks, just anything to help maintain by glucose and keep from tanking. I rather my blood sugar be a little high while hunting than worry about lows.

It’s just part of life for me - you have to plan for things and I dont want to end up short on food when in the backcountry.

Even with eating everything I possibly can while hunting I still lose weight and have low BG.

I don’t think ketogenic diet is good for a diabetic. That’s my opinion.

Sorry if this derailed the OP intended direction.

I’m not diabetic but I do watch my blood work. I started eating keto or at least very low to no carb about 5ish years ago. Not sure what all blood work a diabetics watchs but I’m happy to share.

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I’m not diabetic but I do watch my blood work. I started eating keto or at least very low to no carb about 5ish years ago. Not sure what all blood work a diabetics watchs but I’m happy to share.

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I am type 1 with an a1c of 6.4.

I find it super hard to keep from having a lot of lows without having carbs.

Even more so when hunting.


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I wish I needed to gain weight prior but I don’t have that issue. I also don’t eat breakfast while in the woods unless we get weather and I’m just bored.
I do it,I try to gain 10 lbs before hunting season and burn that for energy.I carry almost no food with me and never eat breakfast.
 
I’m not suggesting anyone not take food, just curious how many people have or do hunt in ketosis?
I don't even know what that means.

All I know is that I rarely eat breakfast year round, or if I do it's at 10:30 or 11:00. I don't have much appetite at high elevation, and I lose an average of 1lb per day while hunting. So I normally lose about 20lbs every September, then it takes me 11 months to get back up to my pre-hunt weight.

A few years ago I went 44 hours without eating anything on a hunt. That was probably about 15 days into a hunt. I ate something small for dinner at 5pm one evening. The next morning I shot a bull around 0730. Spent all day breaking him down and then packing him out. Was dead tired and not hungry at all that night, just went to bed. The next morning I packed up camp in the pouring rain and drove home. I stopped and finally ate something at 1pm (a carne asada burrito). Even then, I didn't feel all that hungry, and physically I was pretty beat up but felt fine. Even at home, I rarely "feel" hungry. I just eat because it's lunch or dinner time. 🤷‍♂️
 
I am proponent of being fat adapted not only the hunting season but for life in general. If can’t burn fat you are metabolically unhealthy. That doesn’t mean everyone has to be strict keto all the time but it does mean you have to mindful of what you put in your mouth and training zones.

I shoot for roughly 80% of calories from fat oxidation at low exertion. For me and most people you can go a really long time without needing to eat at that level and maintain your mental acuity. One of the biggest issues with needing to eat carbs all the time is that you are reliant on that for mental clarity. Most people get in trouble in the backcountry due to poor decision making and having a low blood sugar will lead to bad decisions.
I also like metrics that let me know where I am at and we can easily measure fat adaptation on a VO2 test.
For those that are interested , there is a great book called, the art and science of low carb performance by Drs. Phone and Volek who are the pioneers in this field.
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Following along this thread so I can pickup some nuggets maybe. I'm no stranger to keto, feel great on it so do a couple months at a time all year long with breaks in between and my body transitions quickly. The only time in my life I ever had altitude sickness/exhaustion was hiking in the mountains in keto though so I tend to hammer carbs for trips like that now. I was solo and a few miles in, didn't think I was gonna make it back to the truck. I wouldn't mind revisiting things but I had all the snacks and mct oil and all the things so in theory should have been fine, but I wasn't. Feel great at home though, mental clarity is the biggest thing and good consistent all day energy rather than the ups and downs.
 
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