Bio
Sophie Pachella
Born in Switzerland, Sophie came to the United States at the age of 18. After receiving her BA in psychology from Hamilton College, she spent six years in the executive search industry while completing her nutrition degree. As a licensed broker, Sophie ventured into the financial services industry for a short period before returning full time to her true passions, nutrition and fitness. The years in search and finance were far from wasted: they gave her insight into the frantic lives of busy executives and shed a sobering light on how often health and fitness is relegated to the wayside.
In 1999 Sophie founded EatStrong as a private practice. She has been engaged by corporations and health clubs to set up fitness and nutrition programs, and currently partners with a number of physicians in Manhattan. Having experienced first-hand the demands a busy, inflexible schedule can put on an exercise and nutrition program, Sophie formulated a plan that works despite these constraints. Further, since the most essential ingredient of any program is implementation, her recommendations realistically accommodate even the most demanding lifestyles.
To a large extent, Sophie credits her healthy, balanced nutritional viewpoint to the environment in which she was raised. “I was always surrounded by natural, unprocessed foods – whole grains, real butter, fresh eggs,” she relates. “I was encouraged to eat well-rounded meals and there was never any pressure or negative association with food.” She recognizes that growing up, she was fortunate to have been sheltered from many of the fads and trends that predominate today.
With the success of her coaching practice, and the popularity of her interactive website, www.EatStrong.com, Sophie is also regularly invited to write feature articles and columns for iVillage.com, iVillage UK, American Baby, Best Body Magazine, and has been featured in Shape, Body + Soul, Women’s Health, Cosmopolitan, Family Circle, and many other widely read publications. She also writes a regular EatStrong Newsletter, which is distributed by free subscription to thousands of men and women. Further, Sophie is a popular weight loss expert on the WB11 morning news, has appeared on CBS news and has been quoted in women’s, men’s and general consumer magazines on all aspects of nutrition, dieting and exercise. She is also a popular speaker at spas and corporations.
In addition to private consultations, Sophie has lectured at the State University of New York and regularly speaks at the New Age Health Spa. She was appointed as the nutritionist for the New York City chapter of the American Heart Association, and is working with the AHA on several health-related initiatives, including the “Raise the Paddle” campaign – a childhood-obesity awareness project as well as the “Chose to Move” women’s health campaign. She has worked as a fitness model for several publications and works with a team at AmericanBaby.com to create feature articles on post-natal weight loss strategies and family nutrition. Most recently she was engaged by a Mustela to deliver the message that "health starts from the inside out," and is the new spokesperson for Chobani, a national brand of Greek yogurt.