Soheefit: Miscellaneous Musings Of The Month: February 2013 Edition

You have to try this dessert. I don’t care if you’re dieting or trying to gain mass or you just like to eat food that tastes good and that’s it. This meets all of those requirements. this dessert is for everyone who loves dessert – and I mean absolutely everyone. Unless you hate coconut. In which case, we probably shouldn’t be friends anyway.

Jay’s image, not mine

Packed with quality protein and healthy fats, this is the perfect bedtime meal. You know what I like best about this? It only takes me 3 minutes to whip up. The less time I have to spend in the kitchen, the happier I am, and this just took healthy dessert to a whole ‘bother level.

You can even tweak it to suit your fancy. Don’t have coconut milk? Throw in some extra whey protein instead. Add a handful of spinach to get in your daily veggies (and you can’t even taste the greens!) and sweeten it up with some Stevia.

Go on, give it a whirl.

Quick tip to get more water in. I’ve struggled to keep my water intake up for a long time now. It mighthave something to do with the days when I regularly knocked back 8L a day because… I thought if 4L was good, then 8L would be even better. Maybe related. Just maybe. (Kind of like how I used to be THE cardio queen – and now I do absolutely none.) If I’m not making an active effort to drink more, there will frequently be days when the only liquid I consume is my morning coffee and the water mixed with BCAAs during my training session. Sad, no?

So I bought a bunch of lemons the other day. Then I took one and I cut it in quarters. I squeezed two wedges into my water bottle (stainless steel or bust!) and added a dash of Stevia.

So easy and so good! All the taste without the calories.

I call it… Fit Lemonade. FitLade. Oh, uhh – nope. Fit Lemonade it is. I’ll chug this baby down in about 20 seconds flat.

Another thing I do is to take dark cocoa powder (the kind that has 10 calories per tsp), a dash of sea salt, and Stevia mixed with hot water. Faux hot chocolate. Honestly, the taste takes some getting used to, but it’s helped me on nights when the hunger’s been unforgiving.

Alternatively, throw the above ingredients into a blender with some ice cubes. Chocolate milk. And maybe it’s just me, but I swear this tastes just like the real thing.

Hip thrusts, I love you. This is my public confession. We parted ways for a brief 6 months, but now we’re happily reunited. Thank you, bret, for all your incredible work on women’s glutes (and even this post that I thought, quite frankly, was humorous) and thank you, society, for being such ardent fans of the badonkadonk. My glutes are quite possibly my strongest asset, so the stars have surely aligned for us.

Bret’s observations

The Bikini Body girls have hip thrusts on plan once a week, and it’s been so much fun loading that bar up with the big plates again. Of course the bewildered looks from fellow gym goers never get old, either.

Where’s the silver lining? On a more serious note, these past few weeks have been relatively trying for me. Dealing with a lot of logistical headaches, taking up arms in completely unnecessary wars, living through nightmares. And you know… I’m still alive. I’m healthy. I’m blessed. And to be honest with you, I’m having a hell of a great time. I just received some fantastic news last week and all of a sudden, I see everything with the glass half full again.

So where’s the silver lining? All around, baby. All around.

But yes, I’m moving to New York! Yep, it’s true. As I write this, my apartment is entirely packed up save for one box’s worth of clothes, cookware, etc. that I’ll need over the next few days until Thursday morning rolls around. Then I’m packin’ up and heading out of here for good. It’s been a solid run, Connecticut, but New York calls.

I’ll always be a California girl – and I’ll return to the west coast (best coast) one of these days, God willing – but for now, there’s no better place for me to be than in the Big Apple. I don’t know the first thing about New York City besides the fact that it’s busy and it’s got an awful lot of concrete. Nevertheless, I couldn’t be more excited to start this new chapter of my life.

See you all on the flipside.

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About Sohee Lee

Hi there and welcome – I’m so excited you’ve made it here! My name is Sohee Lee and I’m a formerly California-, now NYC-based fitness buff. I recently graduated in June of 2012 with a BA in Human Biology (concentration in Psychosocial and Biological Determinants of Health) from Stanford University. I’m also a nationally qualified NPC bikini competitor (though my opinion on competing at this point is pretty mehh) and am currently studying to become a Precision Nutrition certified nutritionist and obtain my NSCA-CSCS.

If you don’t feel like reading everything below (which I completely understand – I mean sometimes I don’t shut up), then here’s a bullet-point version of me in a nutshell:

• eating disorder for 8 years, discovered weightlifting and fell in love
• shipped off to Stanford thinking I would study sports medicine, but discovered that fitness was my true calling
• graduated in June 2012 and spent the summer interning at Cressey Performance, the nation’s elite baseball training facility
• currently working in Connecticut as a strength coach
• also an online training and nutrition consultant and a contributing writer to Bodybuilding.com (woohoooooo!!)

How I Got Into Fitness

I’ve been physically active my entire life, starting with swimming at the age of 2. I’ve since participated in gymnastics, tap dancing (yeah, really), cheerleading, baseball, track, soccer, swimming, and cross country. I was an endurance athlete and, at one point, dipped into some dangerous territories. Read more about my battle with my eating disorder here and how I climbed my way out of the abyss.

My Take on Training

I believe in prioritizing the compound movements and saving the accessory movements for later, if at all. I believe in lifting heavy, regardless of whether you’re leaning out or trying to build mass. I believe that training should complement your diet, not compensate for your crappy nutrition. I believe that pink dumbbells should be used for rehab purposes only (ladies, I’m looking at you), and that nothing is quite more badass and sexy than a man or woman who can dominate in the weight room.

My Take on Nutrition

Hearing the following statements make me cringe:

• Too much protein will damage your kidneys.
• Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and if you skip it, you. Will. Die.
• Small, frequent feedings keep your metabolism up and everybody should eat this way.
• Not eating for more than 4 hours at a time will cause your muscles to atrophy.
• You should never, never eat junk food lest the calories race straight to your hips, ass, and face. And stay there forever.
• You can say goodbye to alcohol.

Why I Created This Site

I made this site for you, dear reader. For years, I’ve spent every minute of my free time absorbing everything I could about fitness. I’ve worked with a number of trainers, learned what worked and what didn’t, and stumbled through many roadblocks to get to where I am now. Also, I like to write, and I want to share my stories with you. I have many.

I’m a lover of all things psychology (hence my academic area of focus); I’m intrigued by everything that makes us who we are as humans. Social relationships, the psychology behind our decisions… they all play into making us unique individuals.

When it comes down to it, fitness in and of itself is not what I’m passionate about; it’s you and what’s inside that noggin of yours. It’s what exists between me and you – this thing called a connection. A bond. I get such a high off of nurturing something so intangible and watching as we help each other in some way. How can you help me? You can start by helping me help you. Ask me questions, prod my brain, contact me! I’m here to make your life better. Whether that’s by providing you with a thought-provoking or entertaining blog post in the morning as you sip your heavenly java or by working with you as your training and nutrition consultant to transform your physique, I’m here, and I’m ready.