Sophie Sirota

[00:00:00] Welcome back to the Rice and Egg Podcast, where we delve into the delicious and nourishing

[00:00:14] stories of food, life, and passion. Today, we're stirring up something special with

[00:00:19] a guest who embodies the essence of health, vitality, and entrepreneurial spirit. Joining

[00:00:25] us is the incredibly dynamic Sophie Soroda, a young entrepreneur who's not just living life.

[00:00:31] She's seasoning it with zest and purpose. Sophie is a whirlwind of energy and inspiration.

[00:00:38] As a fitness lifestyle in nutrition coach, she's not just about counting calories or reps.

[00:00:44] She's about crafting a lifestyle that's as fulfilling as it is healthy. Under 30 on already making

[00:00:51] her mark, Sophie is a testament to what happens when passion meets purpose. In our conversation

[00:00:57] today, Sophie will share her journey from being an athlete to becoming a beacon of good vibes

[00:01:03] and healthy living. She'll dive into her personal experiences with body image, the transformation

[00:01:09] into a fitness and nutrition coach, and how she's helping others find their path to wellness.

[00:01:14] So, whether you're a fitness enthusiast, a budding entrepreneur, or just someone looking for

[00:01:21] a sprinkle of inspiration, this episode is for you. Let's welcome the vibrant and visionary

[00:01:28] Sophie Soroda to Rice and Egg.

[00:01:44] I am so excited to be on your podcast. Thank you so much.

[00:01:48] Oh my God, me too. You are awesome. I know you and I just had lunch and met each other in person

[00:01:58] recently, but oh my God, your energy and everything that you're bringing just period is amazing.

[00:02:05] So, just for the listeners, let's introduce everyone to Sophie. Sophie Soroda is here with me

[00:02:13] and she is what let's just describe you a bit. She's a young entrepreneur,

[00:02:20] she is a content creator, she is a fitness lifestyle nutrition, good vibes, good health,

[00:02:30] woman extraordinaire under 30.

[00:02:35] Right, is that fair? I appreciate the introduction. Thank you so much.

[00:02:40] Was that accurate? Is that pretty good? Yes, that was amazing. Yeah, all of the above.

[00:02:46] That is me. I am her.

[00:02:49] And if you follow, if you're on Instagram, you can follow her and what she does,

[00:02:55] loaf underscore underscore, I think. Yes, at loaf and then my business name is body by loaf.

[00:03:01] Body by loaf. So, let's get into that because I think this is super exciting and the stuff that you

[00:03:08] put out there in just the nature of what you do as a business is super not only relevant, it's timely

[00:03:18] and I'll let you I won't kind of spoil it for folks as to what it is. I'll let you talk about

[00:03:22] it but the fact that you're doing it, I'm going to say at a young age, I mean I'm my age, right?

[00:03:31] And I think people probably who know me know how old I am but it's inspiring for me to see,

[00:03:37] you know, young women like you just crush it and just have the passion to do what you feel like

[00:03:43] you need to do and kind of do it in a non-playbook way if that makes sense. Yeah, definitely.

[00:03:50] I don't even know where to start. I guess I can start from my journey because that's kind of

[00:03:57] where all this is stemmed from was growing up. I was always active, I was always in sports.

[00:04:05] It was always brought upon me to be strong and to be tough and you know we're eating for performance.

[00:04:13] So just like growing up on that was kind of like the sole foundation and then I think

[00:04:20] somewhere along the lines somewhere I kind of lost sight of that and got tidied into,

[00:04:25] you know, the social media that comparing myself and went through this phase of I actually am

[00:04:32] trying to lose weight and I actually want to be the smallest version of myself because I thought

[00:04:37] that for so long like that's what I wanted just because that's what I would see.

[00:04:43] I was always like deep bigger girl the more strong girl. And like yes, I guess I was bullied

[00:04:51] growing up but I wouldn't say that that was the firm driver of it. I just really struggled with

[00:05:00] like body image as I like hit puberty got older, I would say this was probably middle school, high

[00:05:06] school time. So I went through this phase of you know restricting what I was eating and running a

[00:05:14] bunch doing a bunch of cardio trying to lose weight which is what I see a lot of women are doing

[00:05:19] now. And what shocks me is that I was due, I went through this at 18 and a lot of women that come

[00:05:28] to me are going through this and they're in their 20s and in their 30s. And it's like did I just

[00:05:34] have a jumpstart on the body dysmorphia or I don't know what it was but so yeah that's kind of where

[00:05:43] my fitness journey I guess started was at 18. I started running a bunch, I started making

[00:05:50] healthier eating choices growing up. My family didn't really prioritize like you know healthy eating

[00:05:58] and as a kid in sports being busy I was always on the move so it was what was that whatever was

[00:06:03] quickest and easiest. So it wasn't really until I started to cook when I was like 18 that I started

[00:06:11] to learn you know like what foods are fueling my body so like I remember this one time I made chicken

[00:06:17] and peaches on the grill. And I was like wow like eating good quality food can actually taste good.

[00:06:28] Like I felt like there was such a stigma of oh you know when you want to lose weight and eat healthy

[00:06:33] it tastes bad and it's boring and it's bland but it's really not. It's what you make of it

[00:06:41] and I'm a very creative person so I think that that allowed me to bring that creativity with what

[00:06:47] I was cooking and really helped me fall in love with eating good quality good tasting foods rather than

[00:06:56] just like you know the boring chicken broccoli and rice that people tend to get sick of and that's

[00:07:03] they can't stay consistent on this like eating healthy wave because they haven't really built it into

[00:07:09] a lifestyle that they really enjoy it kind of feels like they're forced to do it. Right so yeah

[00:07:18] wow I've really got off track there but no let me ask you I think so as a teenager right and getting

[00:07:25] into your what senior year of high school you were an athlete you mentioned right what did you play?

[00:07:32] I played softball soccer and basketball through high school and then softball in college.

[00:07:39] Wow okay so you played college ball yes um so this this requires another level of fitness right

[00:07:49] and discipline I suppose um yeah in nutrition and all that so so you let's touch upon what you

[00:07:57] mentioned earlier you ate for performance what does that mean for folks who really don't know what

[00:08:00] that means. Yeah so eating for performance is fueling your body to do the things that you want to

[00:08:07] do with food because the science behind it is food and calories are energy and we give off energy

[00:08:16] by doing activity so we need to replace that energy with food. So if you're someone who's a

[00:08:23] high performing athlete eating is super super important because you're expelling so much energy

[00:08:29] that the only way you're going to be able to perform at a higher level or at a competitive level

[00:08:35] compared to whoever else your competing against is to bring energy back into your body.

[00:08:41] So and that was not something that I knew until probably until college when I actually started to

[00:08:50] like understand like okay if I eat more or if I eat before my game or whatever it was like okay

[00:08:57] I was actually going to perform well and if I didn't eat I was in a bad mood I had a headache

[00:09:03] I felt weak and it really tested me in college because I was a catcher and I was catching like

[00:09:11] six to eight games a week on top of practicing so my full-time job was playing a sport and

[00:09:20] if I wasn't fully nourished and hydrated there was no way that my body was going to be able to

[00:09:28] perform. And what was that what did that look like for you as far as like what what were you nourished

[00:09:34] by at the time? So initially I mean I was I had a dining hall so it was like whatever like I ate

[00:09:43] everything and anything it would usually be like a protein so like a chicken or a burger with

[00:09:51] vegetables usually they had like a mixture of vegetables like a zucchini and peppers and onions

[00:09:58] or green beans or something like that and then a lot a lot of carbs so like rice bread pasta

[00:10:08] sweets cereal I would always eat cereal after like every meal in college.

[00:10:16] Now looking back not the not the smartest decision but at the time it was good it did what it needed to do.

[00:10:23] I also my junior year of college I went vegetarian and I really saw the toll that it took on my body

[00:10:36] because I wasn't eating protein and I had it was grown-up eating protein like red meats,

[00:10:42] chicken, fish and when I cut that out of my diet it was like I could not perform. My joints were

[00:10:49] hurting I felt weak I was having digestive issues so I think that the eating per for performance

[00:10:58] really became super apparent once I cut out those protein sources and I was just eating like a lot

[00:11:05] of processed foods and yeah yeah what got you to be vegetarian at that time? I went on a trip I

[00:11:15] went on my birthright trip I'm Jewish so I went to Israel and everyone there was vegetarian

[00:11:23] like okay yeah and the food that they were feeding us was all vegetarian and I was like oh

[00:11:31] maybe I should try this you know I was kind of just looking for like something new maybe like answers

[00:11:37] to you know losing weight or living healthier eating healthier and so I was like oh like

[00:11:44] maybe I should try this and it's definitely an easier thing to do in Europe than it is in the states

[00:11:51] especially living like on a campus and eating dorm. Oh yeah yeah it was I had very limited options

[00:12:00] and I didn't have the knowledge that I have now to like fully create a balanced diet with vegetarian.

[00:12:07] Mm-hmm interesting yeah interesting so fast forward you're an athlete did that so did the diet

[00:12:20] and nutrition in all the you know the dining hall menu sustain you did that did that pretty much

[00:12:28] was that pretty much the case all through your college years? Yeah so well okay so freshmen

[00:12:34] in sophomore year yes spring of my sophomore year is when I went vegetarian and that's when

[00:12:41] that there was like a lot of digestive issues that were happening and I was also drinking a lot

[00:12:47] of alcohol at the time so it was definitely kind of all combined messing with my whole inside.

[00:12:54] And then totally can understand that yeah yeah and I actually didn't even realize the effects

[00:13:00] that alcohol had on our bodies until I did go through that and I was like wow you know this is

[00:13:06] this isn't really not worth it um and then my junior year I studied abroad in Barcelona and I stopped

[00:13:16] being vegetarian because there's a lot of great food in the spring. The humble and all that stuff

[00:13:23] yeah that's delicious yeah I was like I'm not gonna live in my stuff. Well the seafood do you eat seafood?

[00:13:28] I love seafood. Oh they're seafoods great I've been yeah I've also been to Barcelona. So what a treat?

[00:13:34] Yes so there I lived in a student hotel I had a kitchen and there was also a restaurant at the bottom

[00:13:43] of the place that I was living so I'd go there every night for dinner I'd eat bread with olive oil

[00:13:50] balsamic vinegar and then usually like a paella or some sort of like protein and carb source um

[00:13:58] and then I also did some grocery shopping some cooking there as well so that kind of like

[00:14:03] sustained me my junior year and then COVID happened so then yeah that was that was big change for me.

[00:14:13] Um once that happened gyms closed movement stopped because I wasn't really actively playing a

[00:14:23] sport anymore that kind of all got put on pause I was spending a lot more time in the house I moved

[00:14:29] in with a bunch of friends so you know how that goes we're we're baking cookies three nights a week

[00:14:34] we're drinking right um I was also a manager at a pizza place during that time and I was a

[00:14:44] broke college student so I was getting pizza all the time because it was free. And so once COVID happened

[00:14:53] I put on like 30 35 pounds within a few months and that's kind of when this whole new era of my

[00:15:05] journey began was navigating that because I was out of softball from time I was living on my own

[00:15:16] um and I was just like I was down bad I was like this is this is not the way I want to live my life

[00:15:24] and when I hear women come to me now with all of these struggles and stuff that they're going through

[00:15:30] I'm like I was in your position in fall of 2020 like I know exactly what you're going through

[00:15:39] and I've been the same exact thing and I think that that's really what drove me to do what I do

[00:15:45] to help women overcome that because I know how that feels and it's like the worst feeling ever

[00:15:52] to feel so stuck and like it's overwhelming to like take that that leap of faith of like

[00:16:00] I am going to change my habits and I am going to get better but it's hard to see the end goal

[00:16:06] and make that first step because that is the hardest I think if you it just to get yourself off of that

[00:16:16] mode yeah that mode get out of that state but then you have the desire which is key to no longer be in

[00:16:23] that state right right and I think accepting is that first step of like okay I'm unhappy in my body

[00:16:32] or I'm unhappy in my ability to do daily tasks or keep up with my kids or fit into my clothes

[00:16:40] and just accepting that is the best place to be at because when you're super avoidant of it

[00:16:48] you can't do anything about it but when you've accepted it it's okay I've accepted it now I can take

[00:16:53] a step to improve my situation and a lot when a lot of women come to me they'll reach out like

[00:17:00] they'll say the same things like I get the same exact things it's like one my clothes don't fit

[00:17:06] I used to weigh this and now I'm 20 pounds heavier and I want to go back into that person I was

[00:17:11] because I was able to keep up with my kids I was able to fit into my clothes I wasn't out of breath

[00:17:17] going upstairs you know I felt strong I felt powerful I felt confident and that is the reason why

[00:17:26] I do what I do I want people to be able to see their potential and get there like get to that

[00:17:35] place where they can be happy and be strong and live a fulfilling life because they're prioritizing

[00:17:40] their health it's awesome that's awesome Sophie so let's talk about this then now what do you do

[00:17:47] because it's just been specific because I think we kind of alluded to it um and thank you so much

[00:17:53] by the way for just sharing your your journey it's it is inspiring it's relatable I think all of us

[00:18:02] you can see ourselves through what you've just said I sure did and do um and it's a daily thing

[00:18:09] it is it's your point um because just the acceptance part which is so key and it's so important

[00:18:16] and it's so true that it's the even the acceptance thing isn't just uh oh it's just the

[00:18:21] big it's just for the beginning of the journey um right like the acceptance is every day through

[00:18:26] it which is like your commitment to changing and bettering and just being stronger faster whatever

[00:18:34] through this you know in your case the fitness journey and nutrition journey healthy living

[00:18:39] journey that you're that you're taking your clients on right boy it's hard it really is hard

[00:18:45] so thank you for being that partner to folks that work with you to do that of course um

[00:18:53] so let's talk about exactly what you do body by loaf body by loaf so I am loaf

[00:19:00] why can you talk about why love yes so honestly it's really not that fun and special

[00:19:07] like I wish it was a cool backstory but my mom used to call me so full of growing up oh yeah and then

[00:19:15] in high school my friends I was looking for a new Instagram name and they were like well why don't

[00:19:20] you just make it loaf and I was like that's kind of cool like loaf and no one had the Instagram

[00:19:25] names I was like okay I'll just make it look shocking actually yeah yeah so I made it loaf and then

[00:19:32] when I went to college everybody at college knew me as loaf like nobody knew my name

[00:19:40] oh my gosh you're a loaf on Instagram you're a loaf you're a loaf my friends love me

[00:19:44] love my coaches my teammates my teachers everyone started calling me loaf and I was like oh wow

[00:19:51] this is like this is for real this is me that's like I said to me yeah yeah and

[00:19:57] like ever since then and even like when I moved to California like everyone was like oh my gosh you're

[00:20:04] a loaf like honest oh my god yes okay that's me so it stuck and I just stuck with it I'm like

[00:20:13] I've really just embraced that whatever it is the the aura of loaf and I stuck with it and

[00:20:22] originally I went by the name of macro muscle that was my coaching like combination of eating and

[00:20:31] training so like macro so like pounding macros because that's what I do is I coach macros

[00:20:36] and then muscle because you know muscle building muscle is really the key to longevity

[00:20:43] so I originally went by macro muscle and then it just didn't really align with my target audience

[00:20:48] which was women it was kind of clunky and not appealing so I changed the name to body by loaf

[00:21:00] just because like I said like I love and I help women live their most confident body

[00:21:10] with love the healthiest most confident body so live loaf laugh love

[00:21:19] something like that yeah yeah so that's kind of how that developed um I so basically what I do

[00:21:28] I am a trainer nutrition coach I focus on holistic wellness so yeah seeing the bigger picture rather

[00:21:38] than just you know giving someone a workout plan and a meal plan I sit them down I talk about

[00:21:45] morning routine I talk about habits I talk about mindset water steps daily activity um

[00:21:54] what they're eating you know prioritizing whole natural foods when you go into the gym make sure

[00:22:00] you're lifting weights you're not just you know throwing your body on cardio machine for an hour

[00:22:05] and burning the calories and then we're eating the calories so we do a lot of balance sustainability

[00:22:12] I really really live and breathe and preach balance because I have been through those extremes of

[00:22:20] you know I'm super on and when I'm super on it's like friends are out the window family is not even

[00:22:27] considered like you know if I'm on a vacation no I have to go to the gym and that is just not

[00:22:32] the way to live life you know it's like for what for what so I really really try to preach

[00:22:40] balance and that you know if you're if you're going away on a vacation like here's what you can do

[00:22:46] to make smarter choices and maybe you're not tracking your macros while you're on vacation because no

[00:22:52] one wants to do that and I understand that and I'm not prepping anyone to step on a bodybuilding

[00:22:57] stage to win a competition unless they want to unless they want to prepare them would you do something

[00:23:04] like that actually if they're like hey you know what I'm actually at a certain point of performance

[00:23:09] and I have balance can you get me to certain levels of that personally I would not coach someone

[00:23:15] through that just because I have not done it myself okay I would probably refer them to a bodybuilding

[00:23:22] specific coach um yeah yeah I don't know it's another it's another level of it is it's specialty

[00:23:33] I haven't been through it myself so I cannot go through it makes sense yeah so I do lifestyle

[00:23:40] coaching you know how do you just live a healthier more balanced life to achieve um you know the goals

[00:23:50] that these these women are looking for whether it's weight loss whether it's muscle growth

[00:23:55] um fat loss just general health making healthier choices prioritizing protein etc

[00:24:03] what's the biggest um you talked about it earlier kind of the themes of why women come to you

[00:24:12] yeah um what's the biggest theme that you have among your client base I think the biggest

[00:24:20] thing that I hear is I want to lose that extra few pounds I want to lose those extra five to ten

[00:24:27] or I want to lose just 20 pounds and in my head I'm like weight loss is not sustainable

[00:24:35] like general just weight loss is not sustainable and that might be a controversial topic

[00:24:43] but just losing weight is really just an exchange of energy it's you're losing

[00:24:52] and that is not sustainable because the moment that you increase your calories you're going to

[00:24:56] put the weight back on yeah what need to be paired is muscle building and fat loss

[00:25:04] and so so my clients or when women come to me it's normally I want to lose weight

[00:25:09] and I say okay like do why do you want to lose 20 pounds oh well I want to be toned I want to

[00:25:16] be able to like see more muscular definition I want to like aesthetics aesthetics I want to have a

[00:25:21] tighter stomach I want to have nicer thicker fuller more defined legs and I go okay well

[00:25:31] having that that toned look what that really means is building muscle

[00:25:38] because you could stay the same exact way I mean I'm talking for someone that's in a normal

[00:25:42] healthy range so someone you know if they're a five three woman you know someone within like

[00:25:51] a hundred thirty to a hundred eighty pounds something in that range not we're not talking like

[00:25:58] two fifty plus because then that is the point where it's like yes weight loss is the priority

[00:26:03] to get you down to a healthier number but as a woman once you're under that you know two hundred

[00:26:10] hundred eighty five threshold it's like okay we can focus on losing the fat building the muscle

[00:26:17] that's kind of my like general rule that I have with my clients but I will say okay you want to lose weight

[00:26:26] and then they're like yeah you know I want to be toned defined and I'm like okay well what that

[00:26:30] really looks like is actually building muscle and when you build muscle your body burns fat

[00:26:37] by itself because muscle takes it requires more energy to sustain than fat so

[00:26:47] when you have more muscle on your body your body at rest is burning more calories

[00:26:53] so it's how can we build your body to a point put enough muscle on your body so that it increases

[00:27:00] your metabolism so now when you go on a vacation you don't feel like you're back to square one

[00:27:04] when you get back because you ate everything in sight it's you know you ate everything in sight but

[00:27:10] now your muscles got bigger which is great so that's such a myth though what you just said around

[00:27:17] because I've heard that before and I don't think people believe it around you can have you can

[00:27:23] actually also get the aesthetics and not lose a pound absolutely and that's exactly what happened

[00:27:28] to me on my journey and that was the craziest part to me is I started out fall of 2020

[00:27:36] about almost almost 200 pounds I was like in the 190s and I'm 5 foot 1 so that was like a lot of weight

[00:27:43] on my body and I got down to about 155 in I would say seven eight months so

[00:28:00] what does that match that's like 35 40 pounds in less than a year and then I've pretty much

[00:28:09] teetered between like in the 160s for the past year year and a half and my body has changed

[00:28:18] so much in the past year and a half and for the number on scale to stay the same is kind of crazy

[00:28:25] to think about that is interesting because I mean all of us are pretty much conditioned to see

[00:28:32] the number and think certain things right yeah and but then it's all on the inside it's just an

[00:28:37] outcome right it's a weight loss or right yeah it's literally just the number and it really doesn't

[00:28:45] mean it really does not mean a lot and I had people tell me like really you weigh that much

[00:28:54] like if I'm like yeah 165 look really you weigh that much and it's like doesn't really look like it

[00:29:02] because a lot of it is is muscle and like as you know I'm sure as people know muscle does weigh

[00:29:11] more than fat so you know when you have a muscular build like even you know you see the the

[00:29:17] influencers and especially the women and crossfit those women are like 170 pounds of like

[00:29:24] straight up muscle but you see them and you're like wow they have an amazing body

[00:29:29] and it's like they weigh the same amount that you weigh so why are you comparing your number on

[00:29:37] the scale to that like it it's really not what it's about it's about how much muscle and that muscle

[00:29:43] of fat ratio on your body fascinating let's talk about what what kind of nutrition and what

[00:29:52] do you like to offer your clients as far as you talked about macros as well

[00:30:02] talk to me about or talk to us rather about like what's the general vibe of your nutrition

[00:30:09] council yeah so a lot of women when they come to me they're like I need to be in a calorie deficit

[00:30:16] because that's what you read on Google yeah that's what you read on Google everyone says in order to

[00:30:22] lose weight you have to be in a calorie deficit and that's it yeah so so what happens is women see

[00:30:28] that and men too but I don't necessarily works like with men so that's why I'm kind of just referring

[00:30:34] to women here um they see that they're like okay so I need to eat less calories less calories less

[00:30:41] calories that's how I'm gonna lose weight oh it frustrates me when I hear that because

[00:30:47] when you when you step on like an in-body scan or you do like a body reading it tells you your

[00:30:52] basal metabolic rate so that is the amount of calories you burn at absolute zero rest so if you

[00:30:58] laid in bed and didn't even pick up your phone that's what you would burn for most women it's between

[00:31:04] 13 to 1500 so for me mine's like 1450 calories if I were to eat less than that then that would mean

[00:31:16] that I am in an extreme deficit because I burn 1450 calories from laying in bed and doing not a

[00:31:25] single thing now you add walking cooking cleaning working out working on top of that and that's

[00:31:33] 100 200 300 400 500 more calories any day and so women are putting their bodies through so much stress

[00:31:42] by limiting their calories like I have women say you know I'm eating like like 1200 calories a day

[00:31:48] now like you know that your body requires at least 1500 calories to function like 1200 calories

[00:31:55] is the the recommended nutrient intake for a toddler like for a five-year-old you are a grown

[00:32:06] human and you work out six days a week seven days a week and so you see these women who go through

[00:32:13] these crazy cycles of like I'm working out three hours a day and I'm eating two bites of a cucumber

[00:32:22] and I'm not losing weight and it's like don't you think that's a signal from your body that's

[00:32:28] telling you like you know we need more you know like so I know I'm going far off your question but

[00:32:37] to preface it this what I'm trying to do is we need to to provide nutrients to our body in order

[00:32:47] for our bodies to function properly and when we go into this state of starvation it may not seem

[00:32:55] like starvation like on the outside but that's that's really what it is when you're eating less than

[00:33:00] what's required when you go into that state your body is in survival mode and it's it needs to hold

[00:33:06] on to every single thing you eat so let's say you're eating you know you're 1200 calories and then

[00:33:11] at night you binge because you're so hungry and you eat 500 calories of cheesets now your body's like oh

[00:33:18] we're giving a little bit more food now we need to hold on to every single gram every single calorie

[00:33:24] that this food is because we're barely given enough to nourish so that's why you the like women

[00:33:31] tend to hold onto that body fat when they're restricting so much is because I know with restriction

[00:33:36] comes binge like that's just a natural cycle and in that binge you're not bingeing on apples

[00:33:42] and chicken you're bingeing on processed food exactly exactly and so what I really try to build

[00:33:51] within my clients is again the balance of nutrition so I coach macros macros are basically the three

[00:33:59] components that create calories so carbs fats and proteins this for the people listening who

[00:34:06] don't know what macros are thank you of course of course so carbohydrates fats and proteins are

[00:34:13] the three macros nutrients that make up your total calories so carbohydrates and proteins are

[00:34:19] four calories for every one gram and fats are nine calories for every one gram so what I do

[00:34:28] is when they come it they come on board I get them in my program I take a look at all of their

[00:34:33] like statistics like body weight height age activity levels etc there's a lot of mathematical

[00:34:40] formulas on the internet and there's some three calculators to figure out what the maintenance calories

[00:34:46] would be what a calorie deficit and then what a calorie surplus would be so I pretty much keep

[00:34:52] all of my clients at maintenance calories meaning they consume about the same amount of calories that

[00:34:59] they output that is because I have my clients lifting weights and when you're lifting weights

[00:35:08] you need to eat in order to build muscle and if you're in a calorie deficit there's nothing for

[00:35:14] your muscle to grab on to to grow now it's just hungry your muscles are hungry so when they come

[00:35:21] to me and they're like I want to be in a calorie deficit I'm like well that's really not what's

[00:35:26] going to get you to your goals and normally they don't trust me and I'm like just please trust me

[00:35:32] just please please trust me like you hire a coach for a reason trust the coach trust the process

[00:35:39] so it's a hard concept for women to understand or for anyone to understand

[00:35:44] that you know we're told you have to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight and I'm sitting here

[00:35:49] saying actually we're going to consume the same amount of calories that you burn because

[00:35:55] that's how your body is going to function properly that's how your metabolism is going to stay

[00:35:59] at a normal level and not completely slow down because you're not going to be depriving it of food

[00:36:05] I mean some some of my clients I put into a surplus you know if they come to me and they're like

[00:36:09] all I want to do is build muscle I don't care about the number on the scale I'm like great

[00:36:13] we're going to put you in a calorie surplus so that way you can put on muscle

[00:36:20] so that's what I do I coach macros I help them understand what that breakdown looks like

[00:36:26] and how they can eat the foods that they still love without you know that binging and purging

[00:36:34] on cardio and like prioritizing protein understanding that like you know your protein goal is let's

[00:36:44] say 150 grams how can you eat 150 grams protein coming from someone who has never eaten

[00:36:50] that much protein in their life that seems like an outrageous number but it usually takes a few

[00:36:56] weeks for them to kind of get the get the gist of it and and learn you know like what is 150 calorie

[00:37:03] what has what does 150 grams of protein actually look like you know it's six ounces of chicken breast

[00:37:09] here it's adding egg whites into your breakfast it's a scoop of protein powder switching out

[00:37:17] your high sugar yogurt to a non-fat Greek yogurt so so helping them understand that like

[00:37:26] you can still have dessert but here's here's how we're going to have dessert so that way you can

[00:37:31] reach your your macro girl grilled peaches and cinnamon or something like that oh so good

[00:37:36] I was the drizzle of honey or something no delicious and you the cool thing is you

[00:37:43] on your Instagram and for again follow all when I post this obviously I'm gonna link everything to you

[00:37:50] so that everyone can follow you through through this but we have some pretty cool recipes very yummy

[00:37:55] tasting and very visually like appealing yeah I'm a very big aesthetic scroll when it comes to food

[00:38:03] likewise if I don't think my food looks good I'm not gonna it tastes good yeah especially

[00:38:09] if you make it yourself yeah I'm so like that as well yes and people call me extra for it but

[00:38:15] I'm like you know what love is my food welcome to the club yeah we're both in the same club yes

[00:38:22] it's and you know what I can only imagine too because you talk about folks who are moms

[00:38:28] that you're that are your clients and people who are busy I'm sure

[00:38:33] how do you like what's your advice to them as far as you know alternatives to the non-quoton

[00:38:40] quote-unquote convenience foods that people usually go to when they don't have time yet we still need to

[00:38:46] eat to plan right yes this is the hardest thing that people struggle with is you know I have a

[00:38:55] nine to five I have kids I have a husband I have a side job whatever it may be like how do I do this

[00:39:03] and my answer is preparation there is no success without preparation and it sounds simple but

[00:39:11] like really setting aside an hour a week like I always have my clients do it on Fridays or

[00:39:19] Saturdays depending on what their schedule looks like but sitting down for an hour and planning

[00:39:24] your meals for the following week so if it's Friday or Saturday you plan your meals for Monday through

[00:39:30] Sunday so that there's no question you know you're not left like okay I don't know what I'm gonna

[00:39:36] eat so I'm just gonna have these bag of chips right because in the moment you're not going to make that

[00:39:41] that consciously smart decision you're gonna make whatever emotional habitual you know action

[00:39:49] is fast exactly exactly so I have them plan ahead of time for people that are always on the run

[00:39:58] I recommend you know like certain foods like um adding like egg whites into anything is easy so

[00:40:08] like overnight oats because a lot of my clients you know wake up and go right to work or go to

[00:40:14] the gym and then you grab something on the go so overnight oats is a big one so combining oats

[00:40:19] with egg whites instead of water because egg whites have interesting to you and they kind of give

[00:40:25] it more of like a thickness to it and for everyone listening yes you can eat egg whites raw as long

[00:40:31] as they're non-pasturized or as long as they're pasteurized. Interesting I've heard that

[00:40:40] and then also adding non-fat Greek yogurt or like the higher strained ones have higher protein in them

[00:40:47] that's like you could get like 50 grams of protein just in an overnight oats

[00:40:51] but you wouldn't know unless you plan it out and you log in you log your macros and you see like okay

[00:40:59] I need a cup of yogurt and 150 grams of egg whites to meet this protein goal but you wouldn't

[00:41:06] know that unless you actually log your food and you actually like visualize what that looks like

[00:41:13] and manage it because yeah before you know it you're like oh you have no clue if you're over under

[00:41:21] right and without measurement there is no you don't know. Interesting interesting this is so good

[00:41:36] for you let's talk about you and what you eat yeah what's been your go-to because of course I

[00:41:42] asked folks that come on like what's their rice and egg well first of all let's let's break it

[00:41:49] into two questions one is like what is like your favorite thing that you're like oh chef's kiss

[00:41:55] whenever you make it at home doesn't have to be like your go-to but it's just like yeah that's mine

[00:41:59] and I do it pretty good and then the second is what is your go-to what's your version of your

[00:42:04] of rice and egg okay when I make something at home um something that I'm really good at making

[00:42:13] that I really enjoy and I don't eat it then that often is steak and like potatoes

[00:42:22] um I make this steak I usually get like tritip or like top-round and I do like on like a

[00:42:32] one of those a cast iron yeah cast iron or the grill and I'll do blue cheese crumbles and caramelized

[00:42:39] onions okay yeah that is chef's kiss yeah and then potatoes I usually toss them in the oven and

[00:42:52] I'll like do like roasted potatoes like chopped up into like small cubes with like rosemary and like

[00:42:59] olive oil um and then like dip them in ketchup and that's it simple yeah yeah oh man take a bit

[00:43:09] meat and potatoes like me potatoes I'm also really into sweets so anything that has peanut butter

[00:43:17] is your baker you know I'm I'm really bad at baking as good as I am at cooking I'm really bad at

[00:43:25] baking I don't like to follow recipes and I I feel like uh okay I could see yeah I feel like

[00:43:31] because that's important for baking yes scientific I was gonna say baking is a science and cooking

[00:43:37] as an art indeed yes and and I'm not gonna fall in directions so baking is not my strong point

[00:43:45] however usually peanut butter doesn't require baking so I normally just like to throw it in like

[00:43:53] everything well good thing you're not allergic good thing I am not allergic and I hope in the future

[00:44:01] whoever I marry or my kids that's like a game changer that is yes exactly oh boy yeah what is my

[00:44:12] rice and egg hmm I think that my rice and egg is just chicken I think it's just chicken I think

[00:44:24] it's just chicken like chicken anyway like chicken chicken of the day yeah yeah um I think that it's

[00:44:33] the most versatile food it takes on whatever flavor you get it but it give it but it also like has

[00:44:40] its own flavor I used to hate it I used to hate it because my dad would make it like every night

[00:44:47] of the week and the way he cooks chicken is not great sorry dad still to this day it's not great

[00:44:55] so I used to hate it and then once I started cooking it myself and throwing it into different

[00:45:00] recipes trying different ways to cook it you know there's baking stove top grill totally air fryer

[00:45:07] the crop it in soup yeah exactly I was like wow you know this is such a versatile food and

[00:45:15] it tastes good it can taste so good and it's also such a macro friendly high protein food

[00:45:21] so and I can eat it cold you know like if I meal prep it and I have to take it on the go I can eat

[00:45:26] it cold over a salad I could throw it in the microwave you know whatever it may be it's just

[00:45:32] such a staple for me it's awesome I love chicken chicken it's awesome yeah yeah and it's

[00:45:40] it's a good safety food as well like when I go out to eat um if I like don't know what to eat or if

[00:45:47] I'm nervous to order something wrong I'm like you know I'll just get the chicken chicken safe

[00:45:52] it is awesome yes uh well that's awesome what would you have today what's for dinner

[00:45:58] it's around evening here so what's the plan I made yesterday actually you'll love this

[00:46:05] I have never made homemade french fries hey well done yeah so yesterday I had this craving for

[00:46:15] a burger and fries and I'm not the type to go out and buy food pre-made usually I like to cook

[00:46:22] good so I had ground beef and I mixed it in a bowl with like some chopped up onions some spices some

[00:46:31] ketchup and then I made some burgers yesterday and then I made homemade I had a bunch of sweet potatoes

[00:46:38] so I cut those up into like fry shape yeah I coated them with just a little bit of oat flour

[00:46:47] olive oil and some spices I threw them in the air fryer for 20 minutes and yeah

[00:46:52] I was so shocked they were so good it's good huh air fryer's are game changing

[00:46:57] game changing I highly recommend for people who don't have air fryer's and kind of decide

[00:47:02] by that it's just you will it will change your life it's the most convenient you put it in

[00:47:08] you walk away yeah yeah I and I and that's funny because I literally made sweet potato fries

[00:47:14] today too for me and my daughter and we I we go through one whole big fat potato in one sitting

[00:47:21] yeah I was like wow like this is so filling and so delicious it's good yeah it's one of those

[00:47:27] things where it's a good thing to just keep eating yeah it's different than you know the regular

[00:47:34] potato right and its benefits as well yes it is it has more fiber I believe and better for

[00:47:43] digestion um then regular potatoes um yeah delicious that sounds great so that's what I'm

[00:47:53] gonna have tonight I'm gonna have a burger no fun just like straight up meat hey naked bird that's

[00:47:58] great and sweet potatoes that's delicious Sophie yeah yeah it can be done it can be so delicious

[00:48:09] and so yeah it can be good and it's it's simple it is but you just you got to have the time though

[00:48:15] I suppose right because like no it's like 20 minutes well there you go see 20 especially with the air fryer

[00:48:22] you can you can make your burger while it's air fraying and I stepped away I I literally just

[00:48:27] threw everything in a bowl I mean it does come with like being intuitive so I've been doing this

[00:48:32] since I was 18 like I've been cooking for in at 24 so you know they're like I have learned

[00:48:40] what can I do like what ingredients taste good together how can I throw a burger together so

[00:48:46] I've learned and you know like one of my clients has never had to cook her either her parents

[00:48:52] cook or her husband cooks and she's like I don't even I don't even understand that

[00:49:00] um and I'm like you know just just try it and like that's where I started is I didn't know how to cook

[00:49:07] anything like no one really taught me how to cook I just watch other people and try to replicate

[00:49:13] what I saw so it does take practice and for anyone listening who's like I hit that's so crazy to

[00:49:20] me I don't even know how I you know I know you spend a lot of time on your phone and I know you

[00:49:25] spend a lot of time on social media so make some of that time construct him and teach yourself how to cook

[00:49:31] or get on you to find a cooking video or something or I Instagram there's tons of cooking

[00:49:37] stuff on Instagram that's fantastic so much so much yeah also this morning just to go back to the food

[00:49:44] I tried something new it's not often that I try a lot of new things when I cook because I feel like

[00:49:50] I've tried so many things um back to the sweet potato wave I put sweet potato as the base of my

[00:49:58] avocado toast instead of oh so I cut the sweet potato in half longwise and I have like two flat

[00:50:07] sweet potatoes and then I topped it with avocado and tomato oh that sounds good a slice of turkey

[00:50:14] bacon on each and then an egg on each that's yeah yeah that will be on my Instagram that was delicious

[00:50:23] that is good see like I can totally relate because I am very much the same um love food

[00:50:30] love making food I'd rather make it than buy it um you know and it's just awesome what you end up

[00:50:38] creating that isn't done in a recipe and you're just like hey I'll throw in this or put this

[00:50:44] or whatever and it becomes like yep you end up being very proud you know and it can be done right

[00:50:52] can be done it can be done it takes effort it takes priority as well like if like being on a fitness

[00:51:00] journey cooking and eating healthy isn't something that you're just gonna be able to do mindlessly

[00:51:07] like and that's kind of what I what I try to preach to my clients is that like you know let's say

[00:51:13] someone's 35 they've lived 35 years of their life on on autopilot when it comes to eating

[00:51:19] of just like oh I'm just gonna eat whatever's convenient whoever feeds me whatever the menu says

[00:51:24] I'm just gonna eat that and so it's flipping that switch of like now you need to be intentional

[00:51:30] and now you need to understand what are you putting in your body and over time you're gonna learn

[00:51:36] and you're gonna change your habits but it doesn't happen overnight it doesn't happen over a week

[00:51:41] doesn't even have an over a year like it is a lifestyle it is not just a 12 16 six month program

[00:51:50] absolutely yeah because I mean on the flip side if you continue to be on autopilot and

[00:51:56] use you know certain choices or processed or whatever you know like you referred to

[00:52:03] then you you end up having these health issues later in life and then you start wondering why

[00:52:10] where what you're saying and what we believe you know why I believe on this podcast in myself as well

[00:52:15] as there's very much a lot anyone everyone can do and should do to to be able to to lead that life

[00:52:25] and make certain choices because they can right um right healthy healthy choices

[00:52:31] definitely and that is another big thing too is you know

[00:52:36] most diseases stem from lifestyle lifestyle choices and nutrition choices and yeah

[00:52:42] that in Terry and I mean at times are changing which is great like my generation is now prioritizing

[00:52:49] these things but you know like my parents and that age is like that was not a priority you know

[00:52:57] right for them for them it was we just need to put food on the table puree right

[00:53:02] right and now we have all these resources and we have all these advanced ways of

[00:53:08] you know we have air friars now different types of foods and you know the whole GMO

[00:53:16] controversy as well like right yeah there's so much so much more now so much knowledge

[00:53:24] everything absolutely well with that thank you so much for the knowledge

[00:53:31] the knowledge and everything that you shared um this is such I mean you you're an inspiration

[00:53:39] because I think there's folks out there right on Instagram on social media trying to do that

[00:53:46] fitness thing or whatever and it's great right but I think what's different and unique and

[00:53:54] what's so great about the way you do it is the holistic aspect in my opinion of course um and

[00:54:00] that you you know you come at it with a whole person in mind you take into account all of that

[00:54:08] person whatever they have right to work with and unlock a little bit of that potential you know

[00:54:16] with with your time with them so thank you so much I think keep it up the more uh and it's funny

[00:54:22] how I referred he was a young person it's just because you are but like at the same time um

[00:54:29] I say that only because there is a I mean

[00:54:32] I mean there's folks under 30 or whatever that just don't right who don't lead this lifestyle and

[00:54:41] they kind of also create this vibe of um what is it like yolo but on the other side

[00:54:49] of things on the other extreme where they don't you know there's not even a care of it or you know

[00:54:54] so god it's unfortunate it is right and so thank goodness for you

[00:55:01] uh keep it up and it's been such a pleasure I really I'm really proud of you Sophie thank you

[00:55:10] so so much I really really appreciate the opportunity I am I love what you do and I I love how

[00:55:19] uh knowledgeable and how excited and passionate you are about food and about nutrition

[00:55:26] about you know like general health and how can we help people because at the end of the day

[00:55:32] like good good people want to help people and you guys are like we are both in that that um

[00:55:38] category of just wanting to provide the knowledge and provide the resources and you know

[00:55:43] we can't help everyone and people can only help as much as they're willing to help themselves

[00:55:53] and connect where they find the connection right if they listen to it that's great if they connect

[00:55:58] with it even better yeah um see that in the the platform your podcast having me on so amazing

[00:56:06] and I really do appreciate it oh thank you so much thank you thank you thank you

[00:56:11] and um with that enjoy your burger thank you so have a great evening thank you thanks

[00:56:31] and that wraps up another enriching episode of the rice and egg podcast a huge thank you to Sophie

[00:56:37] Sarota for joining us today and sharing her incredible journey her insights on fitness nutrition

[00:56:43] and embracing a healthy lifestyle are not just inspiring but also a reminder of the power we hold

[00:56:48] in shaping our lives to our listeners we hope today's conversation with Sophie has sparked some

[00:56:53] motivation and perhaps even a new perspective on your own health and wellness journey remember it's

[00:56:58] about finding balance joy and nourishment in both the food we eat and the lives we lead

[00:57:05] don't forget to follow Sophie on Instagram at loaf underscore underscore and check out her business

[00:57:10] body by loaf for more of her amazing work and always keep tuning into rice and egg for more

[00:57:16] stories that feed your body mind and soul until next time stay nourished flourished and keep cooking

[00:57:25] up your own unique recipe for life