A healthy pan seared hog snapper filet over grilled vegetables with pesto cauliflower puree and a lemon- basil drizzle meal offering by Chef Keshlah Smith
Chef Keshlah Smith is easy to overlook — and actually that’s what I did recently while at a popular coffee shop. I was looking into a young lady’s face as I passed by her, but paid her no mind because I did not know her. It wasn’t until I heard my name called out in a voice that I knew, that I turned around and realized the voice was coming from the young lady who I had passed. I had overlooked Keshlah, because she was literally half the person she was the last time I saw her. Today she weighs in at 147 pounds and wears a size eight — down from 268 pounds at her heaviest, when she wore a size 23.
The last time the chef wore a size eight was more than 20 years ago. She was in high school. And the reaction I had she said is par for the course nowadays — she said people who haven’t seen her in a while never notice her until they hear her voice.
The classically trained chef, for whom butter, sugar, fat and bread were once favorite items, did a 360-degree turnaround. It was reflected in the 19 months of dedication to eating properly and incorporating exercise to get to where she is today. She can vividly recall the July 18, 2014 date when she came to the realization that she had to make a change.
“I had been trying to get pregnant for a while and nothing happened,” said Smith, 40. “I went to my doctor who told me he wanted to lose 30 pounds before I even started trying. He told me if I could cook for people for 20-plus years, that I should be able to cook for myself. He needed me to cut out sugar, carbs and anything white and processed for six months. He told me to not go out to dinner because I don’t know what’s in the food.”
Chef Keshlah Smith at her heaviest in a size 23 pants in January 2014
The proprietor of Essence Catering approached her weight loss goal cold turkey.
“I went home and cleaned out the house.”
It was early in September of that year that she started feeling ill. She went to her doctor. She discovered that she was pregnant and had lost 38 pounds between July and September, simply from eating properly. It wasn’t until after that she began incorporating a 40-minute walk into her daily routine.
In November, at approximately four months pregnant, her baby’s father died in a car accident. The chef sought an outlet to deal with everything she was going through, including facing having to be a single parent when she hadn’t planned to. She hit the gym. By the time she was five months pregnant the combination of healthy eating and exercise resulted in a 62-pound weight loss. She said her doctor encouraged her to keep up her exercise; her daughter, Kataylea, who is now eight months old, would let her know if she was uncomfortable in her womb while she exercised.
“I didn’t have juice. I didn’t have any sugars. I went to agave and honey, or Stevia. I stopped drinking dairy and drank almond milk. My skin looked better… I felt better,” she said.
Classically- trained chef Keshlah Smith no longer allows pots and pans to dictate her diet. She began to use them to create healthy meals and has seen a drop of 121lbs, down from 268 at her heaviest in July 2014 to 147 pounds and a size eight today. To be able to offer healthy foods to people at affordable prices, she created Healthy Concepts, a sister company to her Essence Catering through which she delivers healthy meals to people who may be on special diets or just don't have time to cook. She also operates Smooth Moves Cafe out of Jemi Health and Wellness Centre for people who opt out of a meal plan, and would like to have healthy offerings a few times per week. (Photo: Scharad Lightbourne)
She travels with a gallon of water in her car at all times to combat the temptation of stopping someplace and being thirsty and drinking empty calorie, sugar-laden drinks. She said in her mind she had made a decision that would have to be a lifelong one.
“Going cold-turkey was one of the hardest challenges of all. As a chef, my best friends were butter, sugar, fat… bread, and I had to cut that out. And if I had a client to cook for, I had to taste the food — but I had to cut that out.” She said she knew that she could not even open the door to temptation by a crack.
Having to cook and eat proper meals to attain her weight loss goals birthed a meal plan service through which she brings healthy foods to locals who don’t know how or don’t want to cook. It has also resulted in Healthy Concepts and Smooth Moves Cafes located in Jemi Health and Wellness Centres.
In the Healthy Concepts model, patrons can have a healthy lunch delivered wherever they want, Monday through Friday at $80 per week; or they can take advantage of the lunch and dinner package at $170 per week. It’s a plan which a number of doctors and nutritionists have encouraged their patients to ascribe to. The chef has people who are diabetic, hypertensive and morbidly obese on her plan.
The chef encourages her patrons to visit a nutritionist, who in turn emails Smith about the patients’ meal needs, including portion sizes and caloric needs. Those clients receive special meals outside the meal plan for her regular clientele.
“We have a client that isn’t 40 years old, and who has had two strokes in the last year. She was 467 pounds when she first came to us. It’s been nine weeks and she’s dropped 39 pounds. She gets lunch and dinner. She does not have to guess,” said Smith.
The Healthy Concepts menu changes daily and weekly to stave off food boredom. When signing up, clients make a list of their likes, dislikes and any allergies, and the chef and her team take the meal planning from there. Clients receive an email on Sunday informing them of the menu for the week.
Healthy Concepts branched out into Smooth Moves Café located in Jemi Health and Wellness at the Caves Village, (the eastern location café opens on February 22), as an outlet for people who don’t want to sign up for a meal plan to be able to take advantage of the chef’s healthy creations which are mostly organic. Everything is made from scratch, down to their bread, which the chef said is made without dairy or sugar. With a number of gluten-free clients, Smith said they are now doing spelt bread. Some of the café menu offerings include a popular quinoa and mushroom burger, albacore tuna sandwich, stuffed salmon pita, Moroccan lamb curry wrap, roasted chicken and salads, and grilled wings.
The food Smith serves is the food she has been cooking and consuming in her own kitchen in her weight-loss quest. As other people make their foray into a healthier lifestyle, she encourages them to find what works for them, and to get started.
“The hardest thing to do is to get started, but once you get started you will start seeing results,” said Smith.
She may have done a complete 360, but she said it’s a change she will have to make for life. Even though she has lost weight that could add up to a whole person, she says she still watches what she eats, does cleanses, meditates and works out in the gym. She also allows herself a treat, to ward off any cravings and over-indulgences. On Fridays she allows herself a martini, some appetizers and maybe a cigar. But on Saturday, she’s back to being all business.
“Sometimes I want guava duff on Friday, and I have a piece, but I don’t eat the whole duff.”
The one thing she used to eat mindlessly that she no longer stomachs is macaroni and cheese. She says she’s not even interested.
“You have to find some type of balance for you, because everybody’s body is different. I am at the point where I don’t pick up anything unless I read. We use fresh herbs. I get stuff from Chiccharney, Good Fellow Farms, small farmers, my mama and my grandmother’s backyard. All of my seasonings are basic, but I use a lot of fresh herbs.”
The chef’s goal is to wear a size six, and to be able to wear a G-string at the beach. She’s in the process of toning her body, after her big weight loss, and realistically says what does not firm up through exercise she will have nipped and tucked next year.
“Realistically, losing 128 pounds, your skin is going to go in the opposite direction. And I ain’t shame — next year, I’m going to get plastic surgery to pull in what won’t tighten in the gym. If I need to tuck something, or pull something, I will get it cut and tucked.”
Smooth Moves is open from 10 a.m. Monday through Friday. As of February 8, Healthy Concepts also offers family-size restaurant-quality meals in serving portions for four people or eight people. The meals can be picked up, or delivered at an additional nominal fee. The food comes with heating instructions, and all you do is place in the oven and reheat.
While she tries to bring Bahamians along on her quest for health, Smith said she looks back at a picture she took on January 1, 2014, with her mother and sister at a dinner and she’s left wondering as to whom that person was.
“I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t sleep good. Now I sleep like a log,” she said.
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