Bryce Westervelt's Blog

Hi everyone – I’m back. Did you miss me? I never expected to take this much time off my blog, but I have, but now I’m back – and I now have something to write about.

When I started this journey a year ago, I summarized the idea behind this blog in eight simple words:

Lose Debt, Lose Weight, Lose Fear, Gain Freedom!

By the end of 2013 the debt hadn’t shrunk, my weight was at an all-time high, I was still not singing enough, and overall – aside from a successfully funded Kickstarter project and getting married (both incredibly awesome things – don’t get me wrong) I was treading water.

Well, 2014 has started much better and now it is time to share some great news. First of all, the Pomodoro Penguin books are days away from going to the printer. How exciting is this? I have launched a new publishing company – Opera Gobbler Books. I will certainly let everyone know when new websites are up and the books are available for purchase.

Secondly, after reaching a high-water mark of 286 lbs on January 5th, I have made some dramatic lifestyle changes that I am finally comfortable starting to share publicly.

Over the last 8 1/2 weeks, I have lost 30 lbs. You may be asking – How has he done it? Was it Atkins? Did he cut carbs? Did he join Weight Watchers? Is he going to the gym? What gives?

Pineapple – Veggie Thai Coconut Curry with Brown Rice.

Actually, I have changed my personal food policy – on a budget – while not counting a single calorie. I have gone (mostly) to a low-fat, whole foods, plant-based diet. I say mostly because there has been a little meat (at most once a week), very little dairy, and almost no oils. I have tried to avoid all processed food – no white flour, white pasta, white rice, sugar,  high-fructose corn syrup, or oils. Goodbye processed, fried foods, candy, junk, chips, etc. Hello fruits, vegetables, beans, and whole grains.

The changes are noticeable and I have started fielding the questions about whether or not I have “gone vegan.” I prefer not to box myself in like that, though what’s on my plate doesn’t lie. I would say mostly.

The thing is – with family histories (on both sides) of obesity, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and hyper-tension – if I continued down the path I was on I would have a full pill-box like most of my family. I was a walking time bomb. To be honest, the only pill I want to take is a multi-vitamin to get enough B-12. That’s a lot less expensive than hundreds of dollars worth of meds every month.

When I was in graduate school, I was advised (235 lbs) that I should lose weight if I ever wanted a career singing the roles for which my voice was most suited. Instead of losing, I gained – up to the 250′s. Then over the next 15 years I hovered between 255 and 275. I would lose 20 lbs on some crazy diet or exercise regime and then lose momentum and balloon back up. The last six months, as I have been writing and illustrating more – sitting in front of the computer – all while eating junk, I jumped to 286 lbs.

…and I felt miserable.

The first step was to get moving. Having received a FitBit pedometer for Christmas from my wife (I asked for it – it wasn’t a “hint” from her), I started to walk. The walking was mostly in front of my computer as I streamed health documentaries, the last couple seasons of Biggest Loser, and more health lectures. Names like Campbell, Esselstyn, McDougall, Barnard, Ornish, Fuhrman, and Klaper became staples of my YouTube and Hulu watching while walking.

Since January, I have only missed walking 12,000 steps once (Super Bowl Sunday) and will pass 1 Million steps tomorrow. Last week, I started running for the first time in years. I ran 1.5 miles once last week (stopping to walk 4 times) with no knee, ankle, or lower-back pain – though I was pretty sore for about 5 days. I ran again today – the same 1.5 miles – still no pain, only walking for about 30 seconds. We will see how my legs feel tomorrow.  If I feel good, I might up it to 3 miles since the weather is supposed to be nice.

However, the biggest change has been my diet. At first I started cooking meals – mostly right out of Cooking Light magazine, but as I started watching all of the documentaries (Forks Over Knives is a particularly eye-opening one) – the one thing that kept coming up was living a “low-fat, whole foods, plant-based” lifestyle could actually reverse heart disease, cut your cancer risk, reverse type-2 diabetes, lower your blood pressure – all the things that my family has dealt with for generations and I was clearly heading toward myself. Oh, and the big side-effect of these diets – weight loss.

How could I live a longer, healthier life? If Lisa and I start a family, will I be around to enjoy it? Not in the direction I was headed. I was headed for a lifetime of pill-popping. Something needed to change – now.

I started looking for more and different recipes. I am a foodie. I love variety and I don’t mind experimenting in the kitchen – but the food has to taste good. So, how hard could it really be to cook foods using things that don’t have a face, a mother, or come from something with a face or a mother? Is it really possible to eat healthy on a budget?

Well, I have been doing this for the last several weeks and I honestly can say I feel better than I have in years. It isn’t that difficult to stick to, I don’t miss meat and cheese(and salt, sugar, and fat), and Lisa and I are actually SAVING MONEY!  By the way – this is what works for me – I am no medical doctor – but the research looks really solid.  Lisa has been really supportive and has (mostly) enjoyed the new menu.

What am I eating? Pretty much unlimited fruits and veggies, brown rice, whole grain pasta, beans, legumes, unsweetened almond milk (for smoothies) and that’s about it. We have had soups, stews, stir-fries, and pasta dishes. I have oatmeal for breakfast every day. I have learned to braise veggies in low-sodium veggie stock instead of cooking them in olive oil. I have been using all sorts of spices. I have cooked, Indian, Thai, Moroccan, African, Tex-Mex, Irish, Italian, and American cuisines. And we have stayed under budget.

How so? Well – I don’t have all of my grocery receipts in front of me, but I will start to share them (and our recipes that we have used) with you. Who knows, maybe I will inspire you to add a meatless day or two (or 6) into your week. I promise, if a recipe is a dud, I will tell you – I love food too much not to.

Our goal is to stay under $120 ($100 is better) a week on groceries. I don’t have my receipts for the first 6 days of the month and tonight I am mostly cooking with things already in the house. Starting today, I thought it may be fun to see the grocery list and the corresponding recipes to show how Lisa and I are able to eat a healthy diet on a budget of less than $10 a day, per person.

Here is my grocery list of what I picked up at the local grocery store this morning.

2 cans of no-salt added diced tomatoes – $2.50

3 sweet onions – $3.08

1 Cucumber – $1.25

8 oz sliced mushrooms – $2.49

4 apples – $1.87

3 lbs. Bananas – $1.51

________________________________________________

Total bill – $12.70

Total through 1 day – $12.70

Tonight I am choosing the next 4 days worth of meals/recipes and heading out the Trader Joe’s (and Whole foods if I can’t find something) tomorrow morning to go shopping.

I will share that list with you – along with our recipes – tomorrow!   In case you are interested – here is Forks Over Knives - which I found so inspiring:

Kickstarter Projects are fun – they are also full-time jobs to run.   As I type this, I have 13 days, 8 hours and 40 (now 39) minutes left in mine to get Pomodoro Penguin into print – and the best news is that, together, we have reached 45% to goal!

I would be fun to have a billboard like this someday!

If you haven’t visited, shared, liked, tweeted, and or made your pledge to help get Pomodoro Penguin into print yet – please consider doing so now… I promise, I’ll wait – and thank you profusely when you return!

In true “Throwback Thursday” fashion, I looked back recently at my first Kickstarter project where we recorded a CD of a cycle of Schubert Lieder.  I launched the project with no prep work, had a larger goal…and set the time frame for 71 days instead of the 31 that I did this time.

Last time I went into the project completely blind.   I had researched what things would cost, but things were all over the map… and with delays in the recording process and the editing process (due to weather , illness of the piano tuner – and added travel expenses) things ran behind.

Still, in the end, I have a CD that I’m proud of which people enjoyed and which got a nice write-up in Gramophone magazine.

Fast forward back to this Kickstarter project.  Using what I learned from the first time, I am actually really far ahead of the game.   The books are written (so the “recording” part is already done).   Now what is left is the editing and the printing.   The editing should go pretty smoothly, as I’m just converting my digital versions into print-ready versions.

I learned to be really ready to roll.   I’m proceeding right now as if the project WILL get funded.  And that’s the biggest difference.   I could never believe that the CD was possible.  The recording project taught me that ANYTHING is possible if you want it badly enough and are willing to work hard to get it!  

So thank you to everyone who has been a part of either or both of these stories.  I am so honored that you are a part of the story.  Yes, Kickstarter projects really are fun!

After today, there are less than 17 days remaining on the Kickstarter project to get Pomodoro Penguin into print.

So far, we have 26 backers on the project and are about 36% to goal.    This is awesome!   This group of 26 people are part of “Team Pomodoro.” They are a huge part of the story.

When this project is completed and the books are printed, not only will they have the books they ordered, but they will have a story to tell.   They have part ownership in the success of Pomodoro Penguin.

When the books go to print, they will forever have bragging rights!  ”I was there to help get the first Mickey Mouse… Peanuts…Where’s Waldo… Fancy Nancy… Curious George… Pomodoro Penguin book into print.”  

So, how much does it cost to get the thrill of helping the cause and being part of the community?  How much does it cost to be a part of an awesome project?   How much does it cost to have bragging rights for a lifetime?

How does $1 sound to you?

So will you join team Pomo?   The price of admission is a dollar, the story is priceless!

Join “Team Pomo” for only $1

What does the fox say?  Yak ka ka ka kakakaka kow!   I know, unless you have been living under a rock, you have seen this silly music video.   I clearly have been living under said rock.  I had hear the expression, but I finally watched the video for the first time yesterday – on day 50 of 100 days of penguin.

The Giraffe says “Thank you backer No. 18″

The video left me thinking one thing – what does the penguin say?

We may have reached the half-way point of our 100 days of penguin, but more importantly we have reached the final 20 days of our Kickstarter project to get Pomodoro Penguin into print.    Yesterday we hit a huge milestone.  We passed $1000 (or the 25% mark).

So, what does the penguin say?  Two things:   “Thank-ank-ank, ka-ank-a-ank you!” and “Ple, ple, ple, pa ple pa please pledge!”

Don’t make me create a parody video!

There’s a saying in baseball that momentum is only as good as your next day’s starting pitcher.    Sometimes, even good pitchers have off-days.

After pushing through to get the Halloween book done – before Halloween, and then launching a Kickstarter project right on its heels, I took a much needed couple of days to recharge.

The llama is telling me to get back to work!

Actually, the plan was to take  Saturday off, spend a day with my wife and then get to work on Monday.  Now, I’m not complaining about Saturday’s adventures, but I went into them already exhausted.  So the trip to the llama farm, coupled with pumpkin picking, dinner and drinks at a local brewery, and a trip to the outlet mall and Barnes and Noble left me more exhausted than I would have liked.

That 7 am alarm on Sunday morning to get up and go to church for my choir gig was was like torture.  My Saturday, day-of-rest was anything but.  So yesterday, I watched football and baseball and took the day off from spreading the word about the Kickstarter project to get Pomodoro Penguin into print.    That’s right – I vegged on the couch.

The Pros:   I am rested, and ready for a good three week push to the finish line.    The Cons:  I went from being ahead of the curve to being a bit behind the curve to make the funding goal.

It’s okay, it was the weekend.  People are busy with their families.  So, I’m not going to kick myself.  No, I’m just going to put in a new starting pitcher and try to make this week just as good, if not better than the last!

Today is day 45 of ’100 days of Penguin’ and things are going swimmingly.

I started this morning with a brand new coloring page Friday.   This 7th image is from the Halloween book.    I wonder if there is a better way to let people know about the coloring pages.  It would certainly be fun to see more art in the Flickr gallery.

Great Start – $8 from 20%

That being said, the last 4+ days have really been centered around one thing, and one thing only – getting the books into print.   As I write this, Pomodoro goes to Print is only $8 short of 20% to goal in getting the first four books into print.   There are currently 26 days remaining in the campaign.

Am I confident that we will get there?  Sure.   Am an overly confident?  No way!   There is a lot yet to be done.   Lots of friends and family to email and call.  Press releases to be sent out, bloggers to contact.   The one thing that I learned from my last Kickstarter project is that this is no “set it and forget it” sort of campaign.

People don’t just discover it by themselves.  If you want Kickstarter (or any crowdfunding project for that matter) to work, you have to put in the time and effort to spread the word.  On Tuesday, I began tracking my efforts using the Harvestapp website.   To this point I have logged over 15 hours just in promoting the project.   I expect that before this is all said and done, I will log more than 100 hours in promotional efforts.

And every minute will be worth it.  You see, Kickstarter is my friend by my backers are my heroes.    Kickstarter gives me the vehicle by which to get Pomodoro Penguin into print, but the backers are what fuels all of this.

They are what the story is really about.   This project really isn’t about me, or even the books.  It is about the people who it touches – the kids that will get to read the books.   I have spoken with a couple of backers who can’t wait for their children or grandchildren  to read the books.   There are people genuinely excited to give the books as gifts.

It is for the backers that I will work to the end to make sure the project is a success.  They believe in the project.  It for them it isn’t about themselves, rather it is about their own kids.    That’s what make this story so compelling.

That being said.    I will work hard for YOUR kids to make this project successful and to make these books really awesome.   YOUR KIDS deserve it!

It’s here.     Though Kickstarter said that it would take 2-3 business days to approve my project,  by 6:30 pm yesterday, it was up and running.   It only took them 7 hours to approve it.

The Kickstarter Project is up and running! Woohoo!

That might have been the longest 7 hours of the week – constantly hitting refresh on my email.

Check out the project here and consider pre-ordering your first-edition copy by making a pledge!

Still, now the real work begins.   The clock is ticking.  Is there enough demand/excitement/enthusiasm to get Pomodoro Penguin into print?   I sure hope so!   It has been a wild ride to get to this point of the journey, so why stop here?

So far, Pomodoro has 3 backers – at about 8% of the way to the goal.   The idea of an all-or-nothing campaign is a little scary, but it also is very exciting.

There are a few things that I see differently this time that I didn’t see the last time I ran a project.  First, I am running the project for only 30 days instead of 61.   Hopefully this will  help with the project “buzz” and eliminate the mid-project lull.

I also am finding that the Kickstarter App is my new best friend.  I don’t have to keep running to the project page refresh and see if I got more pledges.  Nope, I get push notifications sent right to my iPhone.    How cool was it to wake up this morning to see that Pomodoro had a new backer.

Well, no rest for the weary today.   I need to write a backer blog, share the project in a few more places, set up tomorrow’s “Worksheet Wednesday,”  start drafting out the plot for the next book (about the Library Lemur), and get to work on updating the illustrations for book 1 so they are ready for print.

Today is officially “sit around and wait” day!     After what seems to be a constant “deadline” for the last several weeks,  I finally finished building the Kickstarter project that will hopefully lead to the printing of the first four Pomodoro Penguin books.

The dreaded “Pending” as I wait for Kickstarter to approve my project!

I am exhausted.   Perhaps I should take a nap… or make a bunch of lists about what to do next… or organize my desk which looks like a bomb went off on it.

One thing is for sure, as soon as I get approval from Kickstarter (which they say can be 2-3 business days) it will be 30 days of crazy for me – followed by another 12 weeks or so of continued crazy.

I can’t wait to share the project with everyone, but will wait on the details until the project actually launches.   Until then (sometime between now and Thursday), I will just sit here, watching the paint dry!

I am going all-in.   You heard it here first, ladies and gentlemen!   I am diving in and it all starts on Friday.

Two big things are happening with Pomodoro Penguin on Friday.  First, the release of book 5 -the first holiday book – Pomodoro Penguin and the Halloween Costume Conundrum.   By children’s picture book standards, this one is a bit long, but let me explain.

I got the idea to do an alphabet book, but not the typical alphabet book –  A is for Apple, B is for Ball, C if for Cat… etc.    Instead.  I opted for a much more fun approach by brainstorming Halloween costume ideas.   For instance, pictured is the “Letter C.”

The Letter “C” from Pomodoro Penguin and the Halloween Costume Conundrum

In doing this, I drew a ton of art with each letter getting its own page.

This sets up a conundrum for me – the book will have to be longer than 32 pages (the standard length of a children’s picture book) if I want to actually turn this into a story.

I decided to let it all hang out and gave the book a plot, added a couple of new characters, and even a pair of recurring characters – the library lemur and the history hedgehog – are revealed at the end of the book. I plan to introduce both of them in 2014.

Of course, turning the alphabet into a story made the book 44 pages long.  Frankly, it is a quick 44 and was a ton of fun to draw.   There is even a twist at the end.

And, as if the new Halloween book wasn’t enough, I plan to launch a Kickstarter project on Friday to fund the printing of books 1-4.  That’s right!  This is the ultimate “going all-in,” as I put the fate of Pomodoro in the hands of fans, friends, family, and complete strangers for the next 30 or so days!

I am committed to Pomodoro for the long haul.   I believe in my character and think the concept is great.   It is one of the rare times I have been so excited about a project.  I even sat down last week and sketched out the next three years worth of book topics.

The only question is whether Pomodoro gets the “Kickstart” he needs to accelerate his growth.      On Friday,  I will ask that question.  By November 18th, I should know the answer!

I really, really, really needed a couple of days to recharge.   I took off Sunday and Monday and then ended up taking off Tuesday as well.

Perhaps I just needed to recharge.  It doesn’t mean that I did no work, but I does mean that I didn’t sit in front of a computer for 10+ hours a day.  Now I am working to catch back up.   There is a Halloween book to finish, a Kickstarter project to budget and design.   There are future coloring pages, worksheets, blog posts, social media posts to develop.

Needless to say… there is plenty to do to keep the momentum rolling.    We had a great month of September and are off to a solid start in October.   Momentum can be a fickle thing if you take the foot of the gas pedal for too long. Still, a couple of days of rest certainly can’t hurt anything, can they?

Time to jump back on it … see you on the other side.