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24 hours with… Sophie Waplington aka Soph’s Plant Kitchen

Soph from Soph's plant kitchen in front of yellow background
Fancy a peek into a plant-powered life? Let's spend a day with personal trainer Sophie Waplington, redefining plant-based living with her vibrant, vegan cook-a-longs

Summary

1What is in your bag?

"Does a hair brush count? I'm very low maintenance when it comes to beauty. I'll probably stick a lip gloss in my bag..."

2Get on the rye bread hype

“I always have mine with peanut butter, sliced banana, a little bit of date syrup and…”

3Get up and go

“If I let the day drag on too much, then I find it harder to concentrate…”

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With a staggering 1.3 million followers, Soph's Plant Kitchen star Sophie Waplington is taking the vegan world by storm, and now you can get a backstage pass to her day. Known for whipping up mouthwatering, plant-based meals, she’s on a mission to smash myths around building muscle on a vegan diet. And she's proving that fitness and nutrition can be as joyful and flexible as they are effective.

Let's sample a taste of her daily routine with a behind-the-scenes chat...
What time do you wake up and what's the first thing you do?
6:30am – I don’t like getting up before I can see natural light. And I quickly try to get the blood pumping by jumping up and down a few times. Then it’s a couple of big glasses of water and I start writing my to-do list.
What's your go-to breakfast?
I'm on the rye bread hype, which I have with peanut butter, sliced banana, a little bit of date syrup and milled flaxseed – it’s really good. If I'm in a rush, I grab a couple of dates, take the stones out and add peanut butter to them.
Soph from Soph's plant kitchen in front of yellow background

How do you manage that morning rush?
I make a list the night before. Without that, I’d get distracted by the first thing on my phone. I like to know exactly what I'm doing as my schedule changes quite a lot. 
Why do you like working out in the morning?
Honestly, it's when I have the motivation to do it. If I let the day drag on too much and I know that I've got loads of things to-do, then I find it harder to concentrate and focus on my workout.
What’s your exercise routine?
It's mostly strength training with two upper and two lower days. Then I have one day where I do a long run, a day for sprints and a day which I call a “mess around day”, where I might focus on mobility or explosive power and just test my limits.
Which workout day do you dread the most?
Friday! It's my sprint day, but it sets me up for the weekend.

"I make sure I have a plant-based protein source in every single meal"

What’s your post-workout food?
I’m a creature of habit. When I come back from the gym I like a huge bowl of oats with two scoops of chocolate protein powder, soy milk (as it’s higher in protein than oat milk), frozen berries, peanut butter and some seeds – it’s delicious! You need to replenish that lost glycogen in the muscles, which is why I add the carbs and protein.
What beauty product can you not leave the house without?
Does a hair brush count? I'm very low maintenance when it comes to beauty. I'll probably stick a lip gloss in my bag and a brush, and that's about it.
What's the most and least stressful part of your day?
Most stressful is when I have a last-minute deadline and the least stressful is when I’m in the gym, I can focus for an hour and remove everything from my brain.

How do you take care of your mental wellbeing?
I think it's recognising those signs of stress in yourself, for me I feel super tense and get quite breathless. I then take a step back and take 10 minutes to go out for a walk without my phone or with it on aeroplane mode. I also like meditation – sometimes I just set my timer for five minutes, shut my eyes, focus on my breath and then when the timer goes off, I feel so much calmer.
Portion of Soph's plant kitchen, creamy chickpea tempeh pasta
What does dinner look like in your household? 
It's usually whatever I've filmed that day, which can be quite a lot, but my partner has a very big appetite which is great. If I'm not filming, it’s usually a pasta or a bean bowl.

What’s your priority when planning meals?
I think about nutrition and gut health, which is important with having a plant-based diet. I make sure I have a plant-based protein source in every single meal – whether that's tofu, tempeh, soy, lentils, beans, all types of legumes, nuts and seeds, those sorts of things. Then build the meal around it.
What time do you go to bed and what's your secret to a good night's sleep?
I try to aim for 10pm, and I’ve started taking magnesium before bed with no screen time or food after 8pm. I also don’t drink too much water because it wakes me up in the night.
How do you rest on the weekends?
It's been all over the place recently but when I do get the opportunity to have a restful weekend, I plan a hike or a walk somewhere that I haven't been before as I love exploring new places and the UK is full of amazing walks. I also love going to the cinema when I can.
What are your must-have vitamins and supplements?
Magnesium, a multivitamin which has B12 in it, which if you’re 100% plant-based will be good, plus probiotics.
I can't get through the day without…
Coffee and peanut butter! I eat so much peanut butter every day.

"If you're under-fuelling, then you won't be performing or getting the most out of your sessions."

What can our readers do to enhance their sports performance?
I think fuelling appropriately is key. If you're under-fuelling, then you won't be performing or getting the most out of your sessions. If you do strength training and you haven't fuelled properly, you're likely to burn muscle over fat. So, if your goal is to reduce body fat and increase mass, you must fuel yourself.
If you could give one piece of advice to women on staying healthy, what would it be?
Don’t reduce carbs – they are your friends as they're the body's preferred source of energy. If you’re not eating enough to fuel yourself, you might feel tired and run down. The most common thing I see is women and girls thinking that they're eating enough, but they're just not.

Sophie’s also set the record straight on if you can build muscle on a vegan diet. We’ll let you in on a secret though – you can!

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed in this interview are those of Sophie Waplington and do not necessarily reflect Holland & Barrett. The mentioned supplements and routines are based on personal preference and should not be considered medical advice. Please consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new supplement.
 

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