Getting lean and staying warm

[bear bowman]

My wife and I decided to live a more health conscious life style. We joined the gym and have cut processed food from our diets. I'm down a solid 30 pounds maybe more and one of the side affects I'm noticing is that I'm not staying as warm as I used to. I'm sure age has something to do with it also. I know as soon as I hit 40 a few years ago, I wasn't staying as warm either.
For you people out there that struggle to stay warm, what are some of the ways that you've found to keep yourself warm on stand? I've been buying more light and medium layers made from synthetics. I'm hoping some of these items help. I'm also looking to buy wool foot beds for my boots.
Any thing else?

[ChuckC]

I think you are correct and you are on the right track.  We lost ( i did too) some adipose insulation and we need to replace it with clothing, or be cold.
ChuckC

[sleepyhollow]

Try to incorporate foods such as herring and others with a high oil content into your diet

[sleepyhollow]

Try to incorporate foods such as herring and others with a high oil content into your diet

[sleepyhollow]

Oops, double tap

[bruinman]

I have lost a little over 100 pounds in six months, and My hands and feet stay freezing. I have not been in the woods yet this year, but I am going to hunt Arkansas for a few days next month. Been wondering how I will handle it. Never worn gloves before while hunting.

[Bob B.]

bear bowman,

you are experiencing a very common problem.  You ahve lost basically 30 pounds of insulation - gonna feel cold for sure. Also, you ahve less mass but are likely similar in size - in effect, gaining surface area, you more efficiently radiate your heat away.  that is a good thing - except being stationary in cool to cold weather will make you shiver a lot more, hand and toes will get colder faster etc.

You will need to add to the insulation you have lost. Wear a wool hat, keep your core warm, like smart wool t-shirt, perhaps a vest under hunting clothes.  Sometimes adding a thin silk sock under your wool hunt socks helps to keep warm without adding bulk.

Good on ya for losing weight, best of luck keeping warm and good hunting!

     

Bob.

[two4hooking]

One word.  Wool. Layer with it.
A good vest will keep diwn bulk in your arms.
Solid wool undergarments. I like woolpower but others work also.

Use deodorant on your feet to keep them dry and warmer. Goid thick wool socks.

Good wool hat.

If it is really cold try to sit during peak deer times and learm to still hunt during other times.

[TIM B]

Hand warmers
My dad even had my mom sew pockets on the back of a vest where the kidneys are- so he could put hand warmers there too

[EwokArcher]

I like the hand warmers idea, I decided last year that I would be including them in my hunting gear gear this season.

[bruinman]

Yeah I thought about the hand warmers myself. Never used them but they sound like they might be the ticket. Along with a lot of layers lol.

[Pine]

Hand warmers over kidneys , very old trick , but it works .

[J. Holden]

I use the hand warmers quite a bit.  In my boots, under my toes.  Also in my pockets.  My toes are cold right now and I'm in my house, 70 degrees, with slippers on!

I have also found that if I cover my neck I'm much more comfortable.  I have a fleece balaclava that just works wonders.  Then I make sure my head is covered as well.

I've read about taping hand warmers to your kidney area.  The thought is that the kidneys filter blood.  Why not try and filter warm blood.  One of these days I'm going to try it.

I also used to sit all day.  Now I sit for a few hours at a time.  If it's public land with lots of pressure I try and sit longer than the next guy.  But I'm also done not enjoying my hunt because I'm so uncomfortable.

Good luck, I learned through continuing education at work (paramedic) that as we age we loose the ability to thermo-regulate or body temperature.  I'm only 40, can't wait.

-Jeremy  

[J. Cook]

Use the hand warmers a lot.  One tip - buy some of the larger hand warmers...I believe they are called "body warmers" and put it right on the nape of your neck. That radiates heat right along the nerve channels and it makes a BIG difference for me.  Also, the toe warmers that stick to the bottom of your feet are awesome.  

The biggest key of all for me to stay warm when back in the late season back home in WV is to not sweat in the first place.  On real cold stand sits, I pack in a new shirt to put on as my base layer when I get to stand.  I take the sweaty one off (after climbing the mountain with stand on pack) and put it in a plastic bag in my pack.  That makes a world of difference!  That's a pretty cold 30 seconds though when standing there shirtless!!!

[RedShaft]

Eat foods high in fats. Stay away from sugars. Your body used and burns fats better that foods you eat that turn to sugars.

You burn more calories staying warm on stay sitting on your but than you do going to the gym. Give your body long burning fuels.

[bear bowman]

Thanks for all of your input. I like the kidney idea.

[Msturm]

Congrats! Welcome to skinny guy problems!  Wear many layers of wool.

Msturm

[YosemiteSam]

I'll be watching this thread.  I'm dealing with this problem myself, although a long-standing problem for me -- my spring/summer training includes 20+ mile runs in the mountains.  I've only recently gotten back into archery and hunting so the issue has resurfaced.  I went out last week for an evening hunt in the mountains.  It was probably only in the 40s when I started shivering.  I'm fine when I'm hiking but I get really cold sitting still or even still hunting.  At the moment, I'm thinking about making a blanket shirt and/or figuring out some sort of layering system that will work better.  Weight and quietness are a hard compromise when I have to hike 1-4 miles to get to my hunting area and the temps can be anywhere from 20-85 degrees, depending on the time of day or year.  As ridiculous as it may look to bystanders, I may opt to just bring a wool blanket and use it like a cloak or poncho that I can take off when going into the woods but can wrap up in when sitting still.  But the jury is still out.  Wool is heavy but nylon/down is noisy.  I have a month to figure something else out before I get to spend a few days on a late season coastal hunt.  Thankfully, the coast isn't as cold as the mountains in late Nov.  I may luck out and have it be 75 degrees & sunny.

In the meantime, what I found helps a little is getting up to do some isometric exercises.  Wall-sits against a tree, chair pose, etc.  It doesn't warm me up much but it does take the edge off a little to slow the shivering.  I still need a better solution.  So far, all I've been able to come up with is spending hundreds of dollars on expensive clothing or spending many hours and fewer hundreds to make it myself.

[ron w]

I hear ya.......some of it can be age. I'm 64, last year I got sick and lost over 20 lbs in less than a week. I was very weak and had to work my way back to better health. I gained the weight back and most of my strength but I can not get or stay warm. The only time I'm warm is when it's hot out. Sat in a tree today for 3 hours with wool and layers at 45 degrees.......had to take a hot shower when I got home to warm up.

[Mike Bolin]

As others have mentioned, layers. It is a pain sometimes, but carry your outer layers to the stand, then take a moment to cool off from the walk in and then dress before climbing into your blind or stand. The few days we have had into the 30s this year I have worn a silk base layer with a mid weight merino wool layer. I have Gray Wolf Woolens Wolfskin that I wear over that until it gets single digits on 20s and windy, then the wool comes out. Depending on where I am hunting, I have carried my entire outer layer and walked to the stand in my longjohns with a pair of gym trunks over them to keep from overheating.
 
I use a fleece stocking hat until it gets really cold, then I sometimes put a wool stocking hat over that.Unless it is single digit temps, I don't even wear my hat when walking in. Face is easy as I wear a facemask or use a neck gaiter all the time and I have a full beard that helps too.  

For my hands, I found a rechargeable hand warmer that uses an Android phone hook up that works great, but the hot hands chemical warmers work well too. I wear a light weight glove with the little rubber gripper type dots on my bow hand and only my shooting glove on my other hand. Hands go in my hunting shirt pocket with hand warmer when the cold gets too bad.
 
Feet are tough for me. I have had surgery on both feet and ankles and my feet are always cold. I have been using the stick on toe warmers on wool socks with some success but would like to try the thermacell battery powered heated insoles, but of the guys I know that use them it is either they love them or they wasted their money.

Most people don't realize how much they sweat in cold weather and I have had people tell that they don't sweat in the wintertime. If you ain't sweating, your dead! Really important to take your time walking into your hunting area, not only to keep from spooking deer, but to keep your sweating down to a minimum. You may be chilly or even cold by not wearing your outer layer(s) on the walk in, but once you cool out for a few minutes and put the outer stuff on you may be surprised as to how warm you are and how long you can stay on stand. Good Luck!!