After spending years in the nutrition and fitness industries, she has helped hundreds of women to adopt healthy eating habits and brought this knowledge and experience with her to Endeavour – where she has worked for over seven years, creating and teaching nutrition courses.

Are you as inspired by Sophie as we are? Well, if you’re not already, let’s keep going!

Her career in the health and fitness industry started with instructing group fitness classes at a gym in Vanuatu. Sophie then moved to Wellington, New Zealand to launch her own business, before moving back home to Australia.

When she’s not educating or creating within the nutrition industry, she acts as a proud Lululemon Athletic Ambassador for the New Zealand market. Ok, now that we’ve spoken about Sophie, how about we speak to her? She kindly took some time out of her busy day to answer some questions for us.

What made you decide to pursue a career in nutrition and fitness?

Mum has always been into healthy food and has a library of diet and nutrition books. Growing up, she used to hide the 100s and 1000s – they were the only sugary thing we had at home! Health, fitness, experimenting in the kitchen, and being connected to nature were all important components of my upbringing.

Environmental science was my first career. I worked for the Australian Conservation Foundation on the GreenHome program, designed to help people to ‘green-up’ their lives at home. I learnt about the close connection between food choices and the environment, so decided to become a nutritionist and merge the two fields. It’s quicker to become qualified as a fitness professional than a nutritionist – so I did this first, which allowed me to get into the health and fitness industry fast and work as a PT and group exercise instructor. I studied nutrition at the same time, then built my business, fitandfed and brought it all together.

What is the most rewarding thing about your job?

Teaching nutrition and developing courses at Endeavour allows me to reach more people than conducting one-on-one nutrition consultations. I know that one student, over the span of their career, can speak to hundreds of clients and motivate them to change their eating patterns.

I love researching new information and am so excited about our new short courses, which include emerging nutrition topics from the gut microbiome and food and the environment, to more popular areas like nutrition for weight loss, eating disorders, wellness coaching, and mental health and food psychology. There is so much to learn and I’m lucky Endeavour places a strong emphasis on quality education and thoroughly researched course content.

What motivates you?

I have a strong desire to share nutrition information based on evidence and the belief that we can turn around this obesity epidemic, through education and changing habits coupled with policy change.

Is there a piece of advice you can share with people interested in pursuing a career in nutrition?

There will always be jobs for people who can coach people toward healthier eating patterns. Nail your LinkedIn profile and network within the industry, because many jobs are sourced from word of mouth. For me, being selected as a Lululemon ambassador really lifted my profile.

What’s one piece of wisdom that you apply to your career?

If something scares you, then you should probably give it a go.

Which short course would you recommend to people interested in pursuing a career in nutrition?

The online short course Nutrition Essentials: eating well to live well allows students to explore fundamental nutrition concepts, like the five food groups, macro and micronutrients, as well as learn new healthy recipes. The course includes insightful reading materials, videos, quizzes and loads of extra resources and is backed by the most up to date nutrition research and evidence.

Can you share a career highlight?

Presenting Channel 7’s Eco Reno program on the Sunrise program was a pretty big highlight for me. This fast-tracked my career in presenting. Although I was nervous during the first episode, it got easier as I gained more practice – this set me up well as a teacher and presenter in the health and fitness industry. Being on billboards across New Zealand’s capital, Wellington, was also a surreal experience!

What’s the most memorable experience or moment you have had at Endeavour?

I would say launching our new short courses, which is the culmination of two years of research, industry and graduate consultations, planning, filming and writing. I also love writing blogs about nutrition for the Endeavour short courses website, as this enables me to share the latest tips and ideas around nutrition.

What does a day on your plate look like?

Breakfast — Porridge (1/4 cup oats, 150ml milk, 1 Tbs sultanas, 1 tsp peanut butter, 1 tsp coconut sugar, ½ banana and ¼ cup stewed apples)

Snack #1 — 8 cashew nuts + 2 dried apricots

Lunch — Wrap with smashed boiled egg, lettuce, tomato, grated beetroot & carrot + mustard & Pilpel’s hummus

Snack #2 — 5 chocolate covered goji berries + 1 Tbs yoghurt

Dinner — Pan-fried salmon + coconut rice and steamed broccoli

Dessert — Walkers shortbread and a Lindt chocolate square

Your favourite recipe or food?

My go-to meal to prep for the week is quiche: Fry up some onion and bacon, add spinach and capsicum. Add this to a quiche dish lined with a puff pastry sheet (or make your own base) and add in beaten eggs and cream, topped with pecorino cheese. Pair this with a salad, and lunch for two people is done for the next three days.

You can follow Sophie’s super-charged journey via her socials:

LinkedIn: Sophie Scott

Instagram: @fitandfedau

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