Here's What I Think… – Page 4 – A Blog by Kelly McIntosh

New Year Resolutions: Beyond Hype, More than Hope

There are those who greet each New Year with gusto, setting lofty goals, brimming with energy and “up-and-at-’em, Uncle Scooby” enthusiasm about all the things they’re going to do and going to get. Then there are those who REFUSE to set resolutions, telling themselves and others that they exist above the fray, not needing to get caught up in the short-lived hype and emotion that surrounds those particular 24 hours between December 31 and Jan 1. Which camp do you fall into? Or do you fall somewhere in between?

Keto Turned me into a Baker!

I can cook. I cooked my first full meal for my 10th birthday. I was guided by my late maternal grandmother who is one of the best cooks I’ve known. I chose the menu: steamed fish, stewed beef, white rice and vegetables. Those were some of my favourite foods. Grandma was patient with her young apprentice, and I remember acquitting myself fairly well if I may say so myself! My desire to learn to cook never waned, and I was able to give full expression to this desire when I left home for university. In those days we didn’t have Google or YouTube or Whatsapp for instant easy access to recipes and methods. But I had Grandma. I’d ask her how to do this, and how to do that, over the telephone and then go do it. Since then, I’ve become a pretty good cook. But baking has always intimidated me.

Meal Prep for Keto Made Easy! Tips and hacks for even non-cooks.

It’s still not a low-carb world, but with a little planning and a little effort too, you can stick to your desire to eat low-carb and improve your health and your life. Recently, a friend who had lost 30 lbs on keto, asked me for help. He said that he is bored with his food. That he feels stuck rotating the low-carb foods that he has been eating for the past year or so, and that on the road, his options are so limited. He knows he doesn’t want to go back to the bread and rice, so he finds himself not eating. Someone else in his position is likely to find themself eating those unhealthy foods again. No bueno. Food is good. I believe we were meant to enjoy food (function AND pleasure). And we need to nourish our bodies. Sleep and nourishing food are critical to optimizing weight and health. I already shared my own hacks for Eating Keto on the Go in Jamaica. In this post I share my hacks for making meal prep easy and tasty!

Three Reasons Why Keto Is Not Working for You & How to Turn it Around.

“I’ve been doing keto for a month now and I haven’t lost a pound.”

That was a comment I received from a prospective client. I immediately told her that I suspected hidden carbs as the culprit. She insisted that she ate low-carb, with the occasional fried chicken or shrimp in batter. I explained that the batter is made from wheat flour which is carb rich. She explained that she didn’t think “that little bit of flour would make a difference.” She recently shared with me a picture of her meal: fish and vegetable salad. Sounds good, right? Except that the fish was done brown-stewed style, which means it is first fried than cooked down in a ketchup rich sweet and spice sauce. Ketchup is unbelievably high in sugar. There are 11g sugar in 100g coca cola, 9 g sugar in 100g orange juice and 22g sugar in 100g ketchup.

“Lest We Find Gold” A book review

Domestic violence is not a novel theme at all. There have been many movies and books that deal with this painful yet very real theme. Melanie Schwapp’s newest book “Lest We Find Gold” tackles this awful reality. But her treatment is anything but trite, tired or trivial.

A First Class Honours Degree: The Back Story

She was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. And no, it wasn’t motherly bias. She really was beautiful. We had named her Rachael long before she was even a “gleam in her father’s eye.” Rachael means “gentle, like a lamb”. And she was aptly named.

Road Trip to Portland, Jamaica: Goblin Hill & Swift River

We normally take a family vacation during August and disappear to a villa somewhere in Treasure Beach or in Trelawny. This summer though, H’s schedule did not allow us to plan this treat. So we decided to make this summer one of weekend road trips. Can I just say it has been wonderful! Two weekends ago, we went to the eastern end of the island, the lush parish of Portland and we spent one night there so we wouldn’t have to rush back once the sun set. Here’s what we did in Portland: absolutely nothing. And it was simply wonderful and even magical. I’m about to write a whole post about doing nothing and how wonderful it was. Sit back, clear your mind and come along…

5 Ways my Relationship with Food Changed on Keto

August 28, 2017. Almost 2 years ago… I decided (for the millionth time) to try and lose some weight. And it’s funny, because at the beginning of that same August, I cleaned out my wardrobe and ditched all my “slim” clothing. I had somehow told myself that I was going to get old, fat. I had given up apparently. Then my daughter took a picture of me in my happy place, at the beach, and I simply hated what I saw. I have always been fat, but the face that stared back at me was bloated, my neck was MIA and I almost didn’t recognize myself. I decided to give it a go again. I knew from past experience that cutting carbs was the way for me to lose weight (I simply functioned better and it had worked in the past). A 30-day trial was in order. Here’s what happened next…

Jah B’s Place, Blue Mtns: Our Get-Away with a Difference

H climbs to the highest point in Jamaica quite frequently. He took our then 11 yo son with him once, he’s been up with friends and family. Our daughter did it once with a group a few years ago. I did it once when I was 13. I have no plans for a repeat performance. Anyhows, back to H and his peak climbing ways. Last year he set up base camp at a little hostel practically at the foot of the highest point in Jamaica, the Blue Mountain Peak. The peak stands 7,401 feet above sea level. I’ve been encouraging H to document his last peak ascent experience. I sat fascinated as he described it. No spoilers here. I hope he writes it one day. But what grabbed my imagination was his base camp experience! He stayed at a hostel called “Jah B’s Place”. When I saw the pics he took I immediately wanted to go there and spend a night. It took us almost a whole year, but we finally made it two weekends ago.

Sprinter, The Movie. A Review.

Sprinter is a movie written and directed by a Jamaican, staring many Jamaicans, shot largely in Jamaica. Note I didn’t say that it’s a “Jamaican movie.” I think it’s important to make this distinction. It’s a movie. And it’s a damn good movie that can easily hold it’s own in terms of the production, the plot, the script, the acting, the sound track, the cinematography and sheer entertainment value against any other movie out there, including the Hollywood block busters that have the might of well resourced marketing organisations behind them and the draw of big names that are paid big bucks to headline those productions. What follows is my review of the movie. I am not a technical expert. I am simply a movie goer, and yes, our perspectives count. We are the ones that buy the tickets and rack up box office sales. Simple.