hatenik_the_barbarian

Thanks lady! <3 Week 4 Day 1: 1. Didn't work out. 2. Fasted. 3. Protein isn't usually tracked on fasting days, but I think I'll start for the last three weeks. 65g. 4. Drawing later this week. Tonight? Week 4 Day 2: 1. Just had my first taste of Tabatas. Woah. Sold. Core workout from the YAYOG's week 7 of the beginner course. 2. n/a 3. Projected 91g protein. 4.....? I asked my best friend, who is in design school, to send me a list of assignments she's had to do in her classes, so I can generate a little experience and portfolio fodder. I'll try to do one of these this week.

http://derpnikdrawing.tumblr.com/ Here's my art for Week 3!! The first drawing isn't actually finished, but there's a sketch for the remaining part of the idea.

Oh my what a rough Week 3! The aforementioned wizard and another friend of mine came to me with an assignment, which I completed over a few days. As such, I had to sacrifice working out time for art time. But the completed work will be seen by many people who may or may not have an open position for me as a designer. Week 3 Wrap Up: 1. Only worked out once. 2. Fasted twice. 3. Hung around 50-60g protein with a top score of 85g one day. 4. Finished lovely art that is also my second freelance job ever! (link soon)

I've been curious about Khan Academy too. What's the word, lady?

Week 2 Wrap-up: I'm not very good at following through after the first 4-5 days of a week. 1. Worked out 3 times. 2. Fasted twice. 3. Was bad at tracking protein again on days I didn't post. Unless I'm actively TRYING, I can't seem to bust 100g protein, so I imagine I hung out around 80-90g protein on Thursday-Sunday. 4. See above for artwork. Week 3 Day 1: 1. Didn't work out, but I've got a whole heap of plans for it tomorrow. 2. Fasted today. 3. n/a on protein. 4. Planning on drawing tomorrow. My best days to draw are nights when my husband is practicing with his DotA2 team, when I have plenty of time to workout, get focused, draw, and get a little housework done too if I feel like it. He's moving from practicing two of my workdays a week to three. Here's hoping I make the best of these hours. I may also try to fast every other day to help balance my habit of sweets and social eating (generally on Fri and Sat evenings).

Lots and lots of doodling of horses/horse anatomy/monster horses. Here are the ones I'm proud of! Counts as art for Weeks 1 and 2: http://derpnikdrawing.tumblr.com/image/52764731542 http://derpnikdrawing.tumblr.com/image/52764794338 http://derpnikdrawing.tumblr.com/image/52764834806 http://derpnikdrawing.tumblr.com/image/52920917103 Some marker on dry erase board, some pencil on paper, and some good ol' Photoshop. Also got DC Comics Guide to Digitally Drawing Comics and I'm super excited to read through this!

Week 2, Day 3: 1. no workout 2. fasted 3. n/a 4. Doing some horse studies, some posted on my tumblr Week 2, Day 4: 1. Worked out. Makes 2x this week. Aw yeah. 2. n/a 3. 176g protein, 2493 cal (approx. 2025 net cal) 4. More horse studies tonight, to be posted on tumblr. Also, new tumblr link to be updated in my signature. Just a note, I guess: I'm a little worried about my calorie consumption. On average, I ought to be shooting for 1500/day but I think I'm over that. The calories aren't a goal, though I'd hate to have to ask for the next uniform size bigger at work at the end of six weeks. Something I'll try to mess with. Maybe fast more than twice a week. We'll see. Tomorrow is a fast. I have almost the same downfall as always - there's yummy sweet stuff that's not that bad on its own, but it adds the hell up. I shall consider collecting multiple flavors of protein powder and ditching most of my other sweets. Grocery day tomorrow!

I love multi-group workouts: it's like seeing a double rainbow with my whole body. Which means doubling up on stuff for YAYOG. Today I did days 1-2 of Week 6, which were a push routine and a leg routine. Week 2, Day 2: 1. Worked out, hardcore. 2. n/a (tomorrow, though, for real) 3. About 130g protein and about 1966 calories (myfitnesspal says about 1592 net calories for working out) 4. Doodled some monster stuff a little, about to do some more while tomorrow's lunch is cooking.

Week 2 Day 1: 1. Worked out! Got to failure on my pull routine, then some core work. About an hour together. 2. n/a 3. About 135g of protein today! Yay!! About 500-600 over on calories though, so tomorrow's a fast day. 4. Started drawing a horse monster for my friend's video game - pics later. Meeting with the wizard went well. He told me about some places where I might solicit freelance work, as well as a couple names of other wizards I will meet with later. One of them I think I've met before though, at an advertising contest where I didn't do well, and so I don't know that he'll have an open(ish) mind for a second impression.

You'll get it, it's ok. One week down, five weeks to go, with every day being another chance to reset from yesterdays mistakes or continue yesterdays successes. Get it!

Chauncilay, IF has been described to me as a tool used to lower your weekly caloric deficit, and/or as a tool to get your body to switch from burning carbs to fat. http://www.leangains.com/ is where I learned what I know about it, although Steve of NF has done an article or two if you want to search through what he has to say about it. Yes, I started out thinking this is just a bad, ludicrous idea, that maybe works, but HOW CAN YOU GO SO LONG WITHOUT FOOD??? Actually, if I fast on a work day when I have a lot to do, it's pretty easy. Finish dinner by 8-9 the night before, get ready in the morning, work, keep drinking water. When you get to feeling hungry, it actually passes in a few minutes. Might happen two or three times before I finally eat around 1pm. That makes about a 16 hr fasting period, followed by an 8 hr eating period. As long as you eat pretty healthy, there's pretty much no way you can eat "too much" on a fasting day, as far as calories and macronutrients go. BUT, this is all just my experience. When I was sticking with IFing it up every work day (not days at home), it was dropping body fat at a pretty good pace. It is hard to keep up if it's something you want to do everyday, but I'm finding 2-3 times a week is pretty good. Week 1 wrap up: 1. Only worked out the once, but spent two days walking about 20-30 min, an evening dancing all hardcore, and walking all day at Worlds of Fun. 2. Did end up fasting 2x, but the second day was a little shorter fast than I should've done (by an hour or two, but I'll count it this time). 3. Unfortunately, was really bad about tracking protein on days I should've, but I was roughly in the 80-95g neighborhood. Not where I want to be by the end. 4. Haven't posted any projects, but I have some lined up - one of which is sort of a job application/initial interview. Meeting with the wizard today! Excited to learn whatever he can tell me about projects I need to do on my own time to prove my stuff to future employers.

Chauncilay, IF has been described to me as a tool used to lower your weekly caloric deficit, and/or as a tool to get your body to switch from burning carbs to fat. http://www.leangains.com/ is where I learned what I know about it, although Steve of NF has done an article or two if you want to search through what he has to say about it. Yes, I started out thinking this is just a bad, ludicrous idea, that maybe works, but HOW CAN YOU GO SO LONG WITHOUT FOOD??? Actually, if I fast on a work day when I have a lot to do, it's pretty easy. Finish dinner by 8-9 the night before, get ready in the morning, work, keep drinking water. When you get to feeling hungry, it actually passes in a few minutes. Might happen two or three times before I finally eat around 1pm. That makes about a 16 hr fasting period, followed by an 8 hr eating period. As long as you eat pretty healthy, there's pretty much no way you can eat "too much" on a fasting day, as far as calories and macronutrients go. BUT, this is all just my experience. When I was sticking with IFing it up every work day (not days at home), it was dropping body fat at a pretty good pace. It is hard to keep up if it's something you want to do everyday, but I'm finding 2-3 times a week is pretty good. Week 1 wrap up: 1. Only worked out the once, but spent two days walking about 20-30 min, an evening dancing all hardcore, and walking all day at Worlds of Fun. 2. Did end up fasting 2x, but the second day was a little shorter fast than I should've done (by an hour or two, but I'll count it this time). 3. Unfortunately, was really bad about tracking protein on days I should've, but I was roughly in the 80-95g neighborhood. Not where I want to be by the end. 4. Haven't posted any projects, but I have some lined up - one of which is sort of a job application/initial interview. Meeting with the wizard today! Excited to learn whatever he can tell me about projects I need to do on my own time to prove my stuff to future employers.

Thanks, Elastigirl!! I kinda just needed some time away to adjust to new work hours and find some diet/fitness methods I can actually carry through. After a few months away, I've come back with a more confident plan than ever. Also, I'm glad to be back. <3 Chauncilay, you'll do great. Also, you know the wizard of whom I speak. I mentioned the other night at Cask that I was going to reach out to him, and it's a relief to know he's pretty patient and receptive, willing to help me get the information I need. Today's recap: 1. Not really a workout, but stretched my sore legs for two episodes of Adventure Time. 2. Fast day 1 of 2 this week. 3. protein n/a 4. Got a design concept. My husband is getting pretty serious about DotA2 and has asked me to design logos for his team, Danger Zone DotA. I'll post it when I've got it heading in a good direction.

Solid start, girl. Get it!

Wow, that was quick. I already have a response from the Wizard. Hatenik, if you want to do commercial stuff, let's get together and chat. Your portfolio is very personal and needs to showcase your ability to meld with different client needs along with your personal style. I would try to put you in contact with [This Other Wizard] as a mentor or sounding board as he is way more versed than I. But I'd be glad to chat some time soon.

Grading today: 1. Worked out. Yay! 2. no fast 3. Looking at about 98g protein today. Woo! 4. Sent the following to the business wizard: Hi there, Wizard. I was hoping to ask you a little advice and pick your brain some. I want to work in a creative/design job, but everything I find wants more experience than I have to offer. That said, I know I can work independently to boost my portfolio. Now, if you hire a designer(for graphics, advertising, etc.), what kind of work do you want to see in his/her portfolio? Here's the link to my current work (I need to update the About page, but I'm more concerned about my material). http://karcher.carbonmade.com/ Thank you for your time and I appreciate any advice you might offer. -Hatenik Probably the best start I've ever had to a 6 week challenge. Reps from tonight's workout: Back lunges - 10 each side Toyotas - 9 Back lunges - 5 each side Toyotas - 9 Lunges - 5 each side One-Legged RDLs - 20 each side Squats - 12 One-Legged RDLs - 20 each side Squats - 12

KHAAAAAN!!!! I'm sorry. I had to. Great to see you on NF! I hope you enjoy the challenge and maybe we'll even get to work on some of it together in real life. Totally algebraic!

A hush fell over the guild hall as a compact, grounded figure half-filled the doorway. In her long absence she had changed - her hair was dark, her jaw hardset, she wore a collection of oddities, the most prominent of which was a carnivore's jaw bone strung on a golden chain around her neck. Some finally recognized her as the barbiarian, returned from her wandering.... Hello, I'm back!! In the last few months I left my two part time jobs for a full time job I've held for two months now. Did some more research on macronutrients and did a proof-of-concept to myself for intermittent fasting (spoiler alert, it doesn't scare me anymore). Got a friend to join NF who talked me into doing this challenge (like I really needed my arm twisted!) and she and I are accountabilibuddies for this round. My goals: 1. Work out 4-5 times a week. This is a challenge because I'm still adjusting to a 50hrs/wk schedule and I only work out in evenings...which is when friends want to hang out too. My body image goals have changed considerably as well as my methods to measure my progress. I'm still following the YAYOG app on my phone and I love the structure. I'm supplementing these workouts with a little work on the weight machines at my gym - mainly just pulldowns to strengthen for pull ups, but I may try a hypothesis I have about rigging me a deadlift option. 2. IF 2 times a week. My proof of concept to myself was trying a 16/8 feeding window, and it really didn't kill me like I thought it might. It saves time in my morning routine, and as long as I drink a lot of water, I'm good until my 1pm lunch. Even if I pig out over dinner after a moderate lunch, it's hard to breach my calorie limit. I actually IF'd for about two weeks straight except on my days off work until I went on vacation. 3. Meet protein goals (100g/day on non-fasting days). According to research suggesting I strive for about 1g or more of protein per pound of body weight (which I believe to be a good idea for my goals), I'm supposed to be shooting for between 150-200g of protein. This is so hard for me to reach on a daily basis. Most days, I CANNOT EAT ENOUGH FOOD to hit this protein goal before I'm just too stuffed. Hitting about 100g of protein is really good for me, so far. This is with eating high-protein foods as snacks and supplementing with protein shakes. However, I do find focusing on eating protein MUCH easier than focusing on avoiding carbs. So, I think this is something I can stick with and 100g is much more realistic for me to hit than 160g. 4. Produce 1 good drawing/sketch/painting/design a week. Each drawing doesn't have to be totally finished, but it does have to be headed in a good direction and demonstrate my acquisition and practice of new techniques. Since I want a creative/design job, but lack stunning portfolio fodder, I'm going to ask a trusted acquaintence, a leader of a collection of businesses, what kind of material he wants to see in a designer's portfolio. I will take his advice to heart and apply accordingly. My grading method: If the RPG element of this challenge is still a thing, I'm changing how I distribute my attribute points for leveling up. Instead of assigning values to my goals at the beginning, I will divide 15 points at the end between my goals according to which ones I accomplished best. Maybe I was horrible with the protein, but damn if I didn't work out every day that I said I would? Maybe one point will go to the protein goal where 3-5 points will go to the work out goal. I did everything about equally well? Divvy up the points as equally as possible. I think this redirects the pressure I put on myself to meet my goals in a positive way. I do believe I'll do better this challenge than past experiences. For Goal 1: Easy enough. I either meet this goal, or I don't. I will track my workouts via my app and a spreadsheet and copy numbers into this thread. For Goal 2: See above. I will enter times I fasted and fed on IF days. Goal 3: Every day or every few days (non-fasting days), I will enter the grams of protein I ate. I'm only tracking non-fasting days because it's hard enough as it is to meet this protein minimum. 100g would be impossible for me on a fasting day unless I ate only bowls of ground beef. Goal 4: I will post my correspondence with the business wizard so I may be held accountable for the direction he suggests. I will also post links to my tumblr with my drawings, as well as probably launch a separate tumblr for my "best of" stuff. AND GO!

Challenge wrap up! Haha, oh holidays, and enjoying them to the fullest. Ok, so I did very little for weeks 5 and 6, partially being so busy, partially due to holiday parties, being a wimp about the cold and going outside, etc. Let's barrel right into capping off the goals: 1. Low-carb eating to reduce weight and body fat - In the last 6-8 weeks I've dropped about 6 lbs, and gone from approx. 30% body fat to approx. 28% (my pre-honeymoon bf was 27%). I'm very happy with this. I also found that low carb is not nearly as hard as I thought it could be. Got my annual physical and blood work done, the results of which gave me a huge confidence boost. I'm in the normal-to-ideal range in fasting blood sugar, triglycerides, cholesterol, etc. I probably didn't have a problem before, but slamming back bacon, butter, heavy whipping cream, and egg yolks made me want to be careful. And this is even WITH enjoying some kind of decadently sweet junk food once every few days. Pretty ok with this. Full credit! +4 CON. (My sister got me the greatest cookbook ever, What the fuck do I make for dinner?, which has several meat and veggies recipes great for low-carb!) 2. YAYOG 10 week beginner's plan - I only finished the first 4 weeks. As mentioned above, this is partly due to a lot of things, some of which boil down to "I just wanted to be comfy for a few days around the holiday." Not full credit, but I was pretty happy with my progress from Week 1 to Week 4. My muscles are shaped just a smidge differently now, noticeable to me in my biceps, abs, and the little dip above me knee that never used to be there! Credit for strength, but not stamina for not following all the way through. +2 STR 3. Sledgehammer once a week - I really do like it, and I don't mind being the weirdo bringing a big-ass hammer to the gym to swing around in my own bubble. But I only completed it 4 out of 6 times this challenge. 2/3 credit! +2 DEX 4. Launch my business - This didn't happen, because I don't have enough relevant work to throw up onto a site. And, my interests shifted a little. I started focusing on improving the parts of art that I love and need to do, like drawing people, architecture, creatures, etc. instead of designing wedding invitations. I did a ton of creative writing, and I successfully built up a habit of sketching a few hours a week. There's even a blog where I put up my work. I still plan on putting up wedding paper mock-ups and other personal design products, but I want to gear up for the huge comic book project with my best friend. Of the several possible "dream jobs," making art with my best friend and having control of our content and distribution is ranking pretty high. Now to put in the hours to make it all happen! +2 CHA Happy Holidays to everyone!

Week 4 wrap up! YAYOG W4D1 (intervals of 60/30) Push ups - 3 real/4neg., 8 neg Military pushups 13, 11 Close grip pushups - 3 reg/5neg, 8 neg Seated dips - 18, 20 W4D2 (60/30) Bulgarian split squats - L 26, 27; R 27, 30 Side lunges - 31 alt, 33 alt Squats with pause at bottom - 18, 22 1-leg RDLs - L 24, 24; R 23, 22 W4D3 (45/30) Let me ins - 15, 14 Let me ups - 12, 11 Let me ins w/ palms up - 11, 11 Towel curls - 16, 17 At the time of writing this, I haven't finished W4D4 yet or my hammertime for Week 4. But it'll get done. This week is gonna be a little slower on everything as I have an unexpectedly heavy work schedule and several social engagements. Hooray for holiday hours doing retail. Eating for Week 4 has been 1 bad, 3 good, 2 bad, 1 good. Best chain of good-eating days has been 3! I keep trying to push it to 4, but it's pretty hard. If I can get to 4 by the end of this challenge, I'll be really happy with myself. I'm now getting more comfortable with updating my art blog, sitting on 7 entries. I hope to become more regular with it and even keep a schedule. Looks like a wedding-design site isn't happening this challenge, but on the bright side, my best friend and I have been writing out tons of material to draw into our comic book series! We even bought a domain name today for our brand. Keep a weathered eye on the horizon for FictiveStudio.com! Meanwhile, enjoy my latest updates at http://kasketchbook.tumblr.com/

It's ok. There was a huge, and I mean RIDICULOUS, platter of doughnuts at my restaurant job today. I planned on zero, but I ate two. Can you recruit the chirrens to help on the scrapbook?

Ok! Here's tonight's workout: W3D3 - intervals 60s work/45s rest Let me ins - 17, 14 Let me ups - 17, 12 Let me ins w/ palms up - 12, 13 Towel curls - 23, 27 W3D4 - intervals 60s work/45s rest Leg lifts - 28, 32 Hyperextensions w/ hands under chin - 28, 26 Russian twists - 35, 33 Swimmers - 30 alt, 32 alt Plus 14 min hammertime. Dragging a little to finish my Week 3 goals, but here's hoping I get it in gear for Week 4. Eating - Mon-Sun was 1 good day, 1 bad, 3 good, 1 bad, 1 good. Today's a bit of a rough start for Week 4. YAYOG - Kicks my ass every time, but I'm liking it. Gonna see about starting week 4 of it tomorrow. Hammer - Finally caught up!! Just once this week, instead of trying for twice. My sleeves on my restaurant polo are getting a little tight around my biceps though, lol. Art - Been writing a lot, but updated my tumblr a couple times. I want it to have a lot more material before I try to post the link in a dozen different places. My client with the wedding invitations is super happy with the work I did for her, and she says to use her for a reference for whatever I need! I plan on asking her if she'd say a kind word on the Offbeat Bride Tribe. Other stuff - I swear I'm going to post new wedding pics. And those honeymoon pics of me with cornrows. And progress pics. Basically I need a serious camera dump. Truckin'!

Thank you kindly. As for tonight, I'm just finishing up Week 3 of the challenge and YAYOG. Dragging a little. W3D3 - intervals 60s work/45s rest Let me ins - 17, 14 Let me ups - 17, 12 Let me ins w/ palms up - 12, 13 Towel curls - 23, 27 W3D4 - intervals 60s work/45s rest Leg lifts - 28, 32 Hyperextensions w/ hands under chin - 28, 26 Russian twists - 35, 33 Swimmers - 30 alt, 32 alt Plus 14 min hammertime.

Oh wait! A victory I forgot to add: This week, I was able to wrestle into my size 6 jeans that I haven't been able to put on in over two months! (Recently had to buy new restaurant pants because mine were falling apart, and I was a little sad to require size 8.) I tried to wear these jeans during the honeymoon, but they were just way too uncomfortable to even pull up all the way. Monday night I squeezed in, with leggings on too, no less, and it was comfortable enough to stand and walk for my three hour shift. Bending was a little uncomfortable, and I wasn't about to try any lunges, but still. To put on clothes with a layer underneath that I couldn't do in September has to mean a weight loss of about 5 lbs. I think in another 5 lbs these jeans will fit like a glove, and in yet another 5 they'll probably be a little loose. In the short, mid, and long term, I would be ecstatic to stay in the size 4-6 range. Let's try to say farewell to size 8 forever!

Reading this after the ridiculous stuff I did today...makes me so exhausted..... I need to lie down. Great. Job. Seriously, your progress and dedication are very impressive! You're just rippin' it up!!