Today we’d like to introduce you to Sophie Teixeira de Abreu.
Sophie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
WHERE I COME FROM. I am 38 years old and happy mother of three children – 9, 7 and 5-full of energy! I consider myself more a French “citizen of the world”, as I left my home country when I was 24 and only come back to France twice a year for a “refill” of family and friends (and to indulge in incredible wines and cheese in sunny Aix en Provence, with them!).
I grew up near Paris and, with a master from ESSEC business school, I started my career in Luxury Cosmetics in London, where I lived for seven years. In 2011, I had my first baby, and quit my job as we decided to take an opportunity my husband had to move to Barbados, where we spent six beautiful years and added two little boys to the “Tex Family”. In 2016-2017 it was time for me to challenge myself and get back to the “real world”, so I prepared a professional move to Miami.
WHAT DEFINES ME BEST. I am a very positive person, enthusiastic, optimistic, idealist at times, but highly determined and action orientated. I am a “do-er”. My level of happiness in a day is highly determined by the amount of things I do, the challenges I overcome, the boxes I tick on my to do list. I surround myself with people with positive energy as often as I can as it brings out the best in me. And it is the only way I can give back that energy to others. My close circle of friends and my family are essential in my life.
I also need time alone (self-care) to recharge and move forward. I love the times I get to spend just with my husband (to ‘recharge’ the love), as well as quality times with our children. We both enjoy a lot of physical activities (staying still drives us crazy!). Some activities we enjoy doing together, like playing tennis, cycling or skiing in winter. Some others I practice with friends or alone (pilates, yoga, bar method, strength training…) on a daily basis.
MY JOURNEY TO WELLNESS. My health and energy took the first toll in my early 30’s when I became a mom. Who did not experience that, right? Then when I hit 35, It suddenly became clear to me that my body wasn’t recovering like it used to anymore… late nights, alcohol & cigarettes… followed by the usual headaches, coffee, painkillers. A vicious circle that can become overwhelming.
Long story short, I went through a long period of very poor sleep and extreme fatigue, migraines, coupled with hair loss, anxiety, irritability, mood swings… I met with different conventional doctors: a gynecologist, a hematologist, an endocrinologist, and did various blood tests, but without any real answer to my problems. I was diagnosed with “hypothyroidism”, but I decided I didn’t want to take hormone replacement medications… yet. The idea of taking one pill every morning for the rest of my life, like most women in my family, just didn’t sound right. Instead, I was determined to “biohack” myself and learn how to heal myself naturally through food and lifestyle changes.
So I went on a mission to learn as much as possible about Food and Nutrition, about Mind-Body connexions, about Gut health, Hormonal balance, Meditation, Stress management (through my training at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition). I started incorporating all these new “healthy habits” into my own life, one step at a time.
The first thing I discovered was an incredible new source of energy that I never thought would be possible without coffee. I also stopped taking pain killers or any form of medication (which I no longer needed). Organic, nutrient-dense foods slowly took over my whole fridge and freezer, while cooking and eating with mindfulness were becoming a real pleasure.
My insomnias became a nightmare of the past and I discovered how much you can achieve in a day after sleeping for eight restorative hours! My thyroid results came back normal after six months. I still check my levels every six to twelve months as I know that low thyroid function is still latent in me. That being said, I spent the past two years with virtually no mood swings or irritability, no migraine, no more intense fatigue, and an energy that was spreading positively on all aspects of my life. With some form of daily exercise playing an important role in my well-being. I continued on my “cleansing path” by freeing my home from toxic products and diving into essential oils therapy.
I could go on and on about my health transformation… But it just leads me to realize how much I wanted my life to take a new direction and to help other women heal like I did- through food and lifestyle shifts.
THIS IS HOW I BECAME A NUTRITION & HEALTH COACH.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It all seems very natural for me, now, this change of path, career, doing a job I am deeply passionate about. I still am grateful for this every single day. For the first time in my life, I feel completely aligned with my values, my lifestyle, my love for healthy food, my relationships… But it wasn’t always the case.
My first real challenge was in 2011 when I decided to stop my career in London, and dived into the unknown. On an island! Finding your place as a woman who “doesn’t have a job”, is not easy, and I admit it took me a good two years to find peace with that decision and honour myself for everything else I was, and everything I was doing for my family. My husband played a huge role in this, always being so supportive and grateful. A lot of women still struggle finding their purpose and to define themselves when they stop working. For me, going through this uncertainty, I developed my creativity in a big way. It started with painting (which was a great way to release emotions), then I immersed myself into sewing and almost started a brand of clothing for kids. Something I long considered a failure but was just not the right thing at the right time for me. It wasn’t my purpose.
My last year in Barbados, I got an opportunity to work for a beautiful association, SLOWFOOD, and was in charge of developing School educational gardens, which is where my passion for teaching the powers of real food started. The next challenge was my health struggles the first year I moved to Miami- linked to the amount of stress I was under. I cannot stress enough how much STRESS can impact your entire health- your gut, your hormones, your immune system, your energy, your mental strength, your sleep. That first year, my husband was still living in Barbados and I was taking over a new business in south beach, kids in a new school, a new home under construction, without speaking the language yet- Spanish- and without “the father”.
But “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”, right? I now look back at this time of exhaustion and stress with a different eye as it did make me such an independent woman, able to take on any problem now, one at a time, with the calm I didn’t have back then… And my life transformed the minute I started adding a variety of new, real wholefoods into my life, naturally “crowding out” processed foods and drinks, coffee, and experimenting with new healthy rituals. My certification in Nutrition and coaching at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition was key in this transformation.
Please tell us about ROOT Mindful Nutrition.
After graduating from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition with a certification as “Integrative Nutrition Health Coach”, I had several options ahead of me, which needed refining. Over the past two years, I have been relentlessly researching and exploring the world of functional medicine and holistic health – through books, podcasts and events from well-known doctors and advocates in that field.
Meanwhile I was slowly reframing my approach to health coaching through nutrition, using both my own experience and my training as a base for building successful private coaching sessions and workshops. I knew I wanted to help women who struggle with their health. I just had to refine how it would look like. I created “ROOT Mindful Nutrition”, very early in the process, knowing that it would challenge me to pursue my goals, keep me moving forward and developing my coaching practice.
I needed a platform to start reaching out to people, so I started my instagram page (@root_mindfulnutrition) with a goal to post daily nutrition tips, simple recipes, cooking videos, always personal, real, and with one goal in mind: to inspire women to live a healthier life, one new idea at a time. I also built my website as platform for women to understand more about who I am, what training I have and what my approach to health coaching is. What services I offer too. ( Note: currently my website root-mindfulnutrition.com is down as it is being redesigned)
Anyone interested in hiring a nutrition health coach or simply knowing more about my services can reach out to me through Instagram. I still manage it myself and respond very quickly.
I have also been connecting with different “communities” in South Miami (workout studios, healthcare practitioners…) to start spreading the word about my work. And it all came together very naturally. I guess in our modern world people are really interested in ways to feel better. Most people are ready for a healthier lifestyle. But most of the time, they just don’t know where to start! Or what/who to believe.
HOW I WORK. I like to work with women, one on one. Women who are in different stages of their lives (hormonally). Most women I work with either want to lose weight or are struggling with a variety of health issues like digestive problems, poor sleep, lack of energy, regular migraines or body pains, PMS, skin or hair issues. Some of them are already dealing with known or unknown hormonal imbalances, autoimmune disorders or other serious health conditions. These women are looking for a guide, an expert in nutrition and a healthy lifestyle, to help them reverse their symptoms, heal their bodies naturally and get back the energy they once had, to finally get to do the things they love most!
Nutrition is at the centre of everything I do and teach, but my work goes way beyond food, to incorporate other important areas of a person’s life (relationships, physical activity, career, spirituality…). The coaching aspect of my job is crucial, because new habits are difficult to implement (to last), and I believe that it is precisely where all the value of a coach lies.
Today, no matter what form my coaching takes (six-month one-on-one coaching program, private cooking lessons, kids cooking sessions, group nutrition or lifestyle workshops, selling my healthy granola or raw energy balls ), my ultimate passion and purpose hasn’t changed: I want to touch and transform the lives of people around me, one person at a time.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
It’s funny, they all started coming back to me when I had my first baby. Now, watching my children grow, images of happy moments are all coming back to memory. I always like to share them with my parents, almost like an act of gratitude towards them, for offering me the stability I thrive on today.
I grew up in the suburban area of Paris, neither rich nor poor. My parents were very fair- they still are and I have a deep admiration for them and the four kids they raised. We are still very close as a family, despite the distance that separates us physically. Growing up, my parents were firm enough when necessary, but also let us breathe, laugh, and cry. They gave us the necessary freedom to grow into responsible adults.
I have amazing family memories from my childhood. It’s tough to pick one. But I would say going fishing at 6 am with our dad, on our little fishing boat, during the summer holidays, is probably the one I savour the most now. At that time, back in the 80’s, the sea in Brittany was full of incredible fish and delicious seafood, and we would eat them all summer long surrounded by cousins and friends.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/root_mindfulnutrition/
- Website: www.root-mindfulnutrition.com (Note: currently my website is down as it is being redesigned)
- Phone: 786-247-2560
- Email: sophie@root-mindfulnutrition.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sophie.t.deabreu
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