For many people on a weight loss journey, the dream body is just a few cut calories away, but between where you are and where you want to be is oftentimes the hurdle we all know so well: food! Raised in Luxembourg with a passion for healthy living, Sophie Niederkorn dishes out healthy nuggets on how to shed kilos from her personal journey.
How did your weight loss journey start?
About three years ago, I started my weight loss journey, but at the beginning I didn’t have a plan. I didn’t wake up and say, “Today I want to lose 60 pounds”. I just got up and thought: maybe today we’re going to start losing a little weight. At first, I thought, maybe just five kilos. And then I lost 15kg, 20kg, until I lost 60 kilograms! And it never occurred to me it was that much because I was really into it. There was a point when I weighed almost too little and my parents said, OK, that’s enough [laughs]. But that’s when I really got into healthy eating. So not only calorie restricting but assessing what my body needs. And how to enjoy food more without restricting too much.
How did your weight loss journey transition to blogging about healthy eating?
During the pandemic, I had so many people write me to ask for tips after seeing my pictures on my personal Instagram page. At the time I was rounding up my bachelor’s degree, so I didn’t really have the time, but my parents encouraged me to just share pictures, as it may help some people out. And that's how I started blogging about food, weight loss and hacks to shed some kilos on my food blog.
What are two or three tricks for weight loss?
It’s all about calorie-counting: switch to lower-calorie options, that’s the biggest secret! Be honest with yourself, and account for what you’re eating. Don’t forget the ice cream you had; write it down! You can eat as much as you want and enjoy it too, but account for the calories. Also, don’t starve yourself. That’s a mistake I made. I started with 800 calories a day and that’s just not enough. Then, there’s the social implications of weight loss--the way people see you, problems with loose skin--please talk to a friend about it. There are people who may not want to talk to a nutritionist or a doctor because these are hard topics. Again, mental health is a subject we’re not talking enough about in Luxembourg. I try to include mental health issues on my blog as well. All of these go hand-in-hand with nutrition, which is the main factor, but you need the other sides too. Besides calorie-counting, being active, doing sports and eating right is key. Because I couldn’t run, I started out by walking a lot and then I went to the fitness centre at a later point. I am not a weight loss coach, I’m just someone who had the same struggles and who did it.
Do you have special recipes you work with?
Most of the recipes I share are the same ones I used during my weight loss, and I still use them today. I mostly turn normal recipes into healthier versions and I’m always on the hunt for food swaps and lower-calorie options, for example, switching from rice to cauliflower rice or my chickpea cookies made from chickpeas without flour.
It’s not very easy to switch eating habits. How did you do it and what motivated you?
I like to eat fresh food and I prepare my own meals. This helps me monitor the sugar, fat, salt content and [other ingredients]. For fruits or ingredients without labels, I honestly google the number of calories and multiply by the number of grams I have. I have my little kitchen scale to weigh food items. At first it may seem like a lot of work, but it gets easy with time.
Also, get your surroundings to help you. I have three marvellous friends who were extremely supportive. And when I wanted to switch out a meal, they’d gladly join in. It’s hard to do it on your own, so find someone to help you and be honest with them.
According to Eurostat, over half of adults in the EU are overweight, and although Luxembourg has a lower overweight population, it has …
I think every country struggles with obesity, and sitting all day in front of a screen is a huge problem, in addition to all the processed food in supermarkets and people not being educated enough about food. There are a lot of families who still don’t know about healthy eating.
Get to know your food, cook, prepare your food on your own, and get the little kids to participate as well. I am currently completing a master’s degree in special needs teaching and as part of a short traineeship with special needs children in a school in Switzerland, we teach little kids in kindergarten about healthy eating by cooking with them. We discuss food and its impact on the environment and on the body. And they’re very young but they get to understand it. In my previous traineeship, we had home economics classes in high schools, and the students went to the supermarket, planned out a meal with a budget, and then we cooked together. I can’t remember doing this while in high school.
Obesity is a big concern for me, especially since I now work with children. Every time I see an obese child, I remember this was me a while ago, and as a special needs teacher, what immediately comes to my mind is: “How can I help this child without putting too much pressure?”
How is your current weight affecting your life right now?
Oh, I’m a lot happier and bubblier now!