Mexican Style Chicken Salad published in WLC magazine!

One of my favourite healthy salads was published in Whole Life Magazine. This is also one of the recipes in my 7 day Meal Plan - Spring into Summer.  Read the article for the recipe directions and read about why  this salad is so good for you!. Let me know what you think. https://www.wholelifechallenge.com/mexican-style-chicken-salad/

If you would like to purchase my e book, click on this link: https://sophiadrysdale.squarespace.com/springintosummer7dayplan/

DIscount code is: LAUNCH10 for 10% and only for this month!!!

My 7 Day Meal Plan - Spring into Summer is ready!!!

My new e book, 7 Day Meal Plan - Spring into Summer is ready!!! I am really happy to share with you all the recipes that I enjoy year round. The book is loaded with yummy meals and snacks for you to use for 7 days as a cleanse, detox and boost as well as a guide for future use.

 One of the biggest reasons people fail with diets is because they don't eat enough and they are also stuck eating the same boring food every day. There is only so many days in a row one might be able to eat bland chicken breast and steamed broccoli. My meals and recipes are different, delicious, full of variety and goodness. I tweak normal recipes and make them healthy- making sure they still taste just as good. I change the way some recipes are cooked and exchange some ingredients for healthier options that are whole, unprocessed, free of trans fats or heavy saturated fats, refined flours, sugars, chemicals and preservatives.

Grab your copy now while the  discount is available. Only for the month of May. Type LAUNCH10 for a 10% disount! 

https://sophiadrysdale.squarespace.com/springintosummer7dayplan/

Sophia's 5 Day Challenge, done and dusted!

Last week I held my 3rd 5 Day Challenge. This was about the mental aspect of health and fitness and the focus was on goal setting and planning. I arrange a task where the ladies had to work backwards from their long term goals all the way to their daily goals. This was probably the toughest of all the tasks.  The next task was to create a vision board, to help manifest all that they wanted in life. The 3rd task was provided by Sheila Kennedy who has a business, Sounds From Source and The Athlete Sportsbag where she focuses on getting that athlete to the next level by working on the mind and body. She contributed with a wonderful  relaxing meditation that was filled with some positive affirmations. You can check out here work here: http://thebestworkoutforyou.com/ 

the 4th was all about snuffing negative thought patterns and replacing them with positive affirmations and understanding that you deserve to have all that you desire and finally on the last day I provided a workout that was a yoga/zen workout. The focus was strengthening through stretching and breathing through the movement. My aim was to offer a way to de-stress through moving the body. 

For those who would like to see this workout it is on my YouTube Channel. Please subscribe to stay tuned for more workouts. https://youtu.be/moj63s3YB6c

I truly hope that everyone enjoyed the challenge and found it worthwhile. You can join the group for future challenges here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/248316812183450/?fref=nf

Sophia's 5 Day Challenge Starts Today!!!

Who is ready to do this 5 Day Challenge? It starts today!!! You can join the Facebook group here!. https://www.facebook.com/groups/248316812183450/ This will be the best one yet since it focuses on the mental aspect. For those who compete, it is all mental. We will be looking at creating positive affirmations to help with all this so you can get out there and do your absolute best. For those who don't compete these skills can be used for other goals you may be striving for. So we will be covering goal setting strategies as well as meditation and yoga to eliminate stress. Sheila Kennedy from The Athletes Sports Bag Featured Athletes has provided the meditation which is such a blessing. She focuses on getting that athlete to the next level. Join the group and add your girlfriends!!! 

Bitter Sweet

Refined Sugar has become a buzz word within the health industry. So what actually is refined sugar. Refined Sugar is essentially sugar that has been processed to a level where it is depleted of its naturally occurring vitamins and minerals. The results leave a pure, refined carbohydrate which equates to nothing but easy calories with no nutritional value. As well as harmful effects on the metabolism it can also contribute to all sorts of diseases!

Sugar can be disguised as the following:

* High-fructose corn syrup
* Honey
* Invert sugar
* Lactose
* Maltose
* Malt syrup
* Molasses
* Raw sugar
* Sucrose
* Syrup

* Agave nectar
* Brown sugar
* Cane crystals
* Cane sugar
* Corn sweetener
* Corn syrup
* Crystalline fructose
* Dextrose
* Fructose
* Fruit juice concentrates
* Glucose

Because nutritional labels are required by law to list their most prominent ingredients first. By putting two or three different types of sugar in the food (and calling them each a different name), they can spread out the sugar across three ingredients and have it show up much further down the list!

Hence, READ THE LABELS OF FOODS THAT YOU CONSUME! 

Excess amounts of refined sugar may affect your body in the following ways:

Liver

The effects of eating too much sugar can be likened to the effects of alcohol on your body. Excessive amounts can overload the limited space in your liver therefore causing it to expand and have to work harder! When your liver reaches it full capacity the sugar is converted into fatty acids and deposited on your thighs, stomach and butt!

Weight Gain

Yes this is the obvious effect but there is more to it! Fructose which the main sugar found in high fructose corn syrup aka HFCS (which is the primary sweetener in pretty much all fast food) tricks your metabolism by turning off your body's appetite-control system. It fails to stimulate insulin, which in turn fails to suppress "the hunger hormone," which then fails to stimulate leptin or "the satiety hormone." This causes you to eat more sugar and develop insulin resistance.

Addictive

Sugar fuels every cell in the brain and as your brain sees sugar as a reward this will make you keep wanting more of it. Therefore, if you eat a lot of sugar often you are reinforcing the reward hence making it tougher to break the habit. Yes, eating refined sugar will give you the fastest serotonin boost, this is very short-lived as you will be crashing after an hour or so!

Next question you are probably thinking is Fruit has sugar! So is fruit bad for you? Yes fruit does contain sugar but whole fresh fruit also is packed with fiber and many other nutrients, vitamins and minerals which help slow down the release of sugar into your system which does not cause damage to your liver. Our bodies are designed to metabolize the amount of fructose derived from whole natural foods such as fruit, not HFCS that is essentially made in a lab. Fruits such as Kiwifruits, blueberries, raspberries, grapefruits & pears are good options to stick with!

The majority of the health issues that I have mentioned can occur over time and come about as a result of excessive sugar consumption. The occasional treat is ok! Food is fuel, so it is important that we are aware of what we are putting in our bodies and the effects it can have.

My Spring into Summer 7 Day Meal Plan will help eliminate refined sugar from your diet and will kick start you into finding your bikini  body!

my 7 day meal plan - spring into summer is available for pre order now!

My 7 Day Meal Plan, Spring into Summer SophiaFIT Body Guide is available for pre order now!!! The book will be launched on May 1st! it is designed to give you a healthy kick start to get into bikini body shape. This book consists of many of the meals and snacks that I enjoy on a daily basis. This is how I eat that keeps me lean but also to give me the energy I need to train/workout and to feel my best.

Basically if you want to be as healthy as you can be, and have a toned, tight body with a flat tummy and a firm butt, this is how you should eat.  Click this link to order your copy. where all pro orders get 20% off. Type the code PREORDER20 at chckout! https://sophiadrysdale.squarespace.com/springintosummer7dayplan/ 

Spotlight in Girl-Jitsu interview

http://www.girl-jitsu.com/2017/03/27/sophia-mcdermott-spotlight/

I was honoured to be interviewed by Girl-Jitsu about my the health and fintess aspect of my business. This article really captured the essense about what I do and why I am doing it. Thank you Girl-Jitsu for such a great article. 

Sprint into Summer 7 day meal plan campaign

I am launching my 7 day meal plan - Spring into Summer bodyFIT guide were I will be sharing with you my recipes and all the meals and snacks I eat on a daily basis.  What do you think of this photo? I wanted to pormote the whole spring theme with the blooming flowers.