“Sometimes your cardio can be very high, two to three hours a day, and your food can be very low,” he said.
“Being with little food, it plays with your head, it is a mental game. It is telling yourself as if you are hungry, do you want extra food or do you want to win? If you have the extra food, will you win?
And the question is: is it worth that longing?
“You’re paying a lot of money to compete, to reach that goal of yours… So if you were to eat that to sabotage yourself, do you want to sabotage yourself like that? And then on the day of the show, when you don’t look good, are you going to regret it?
This is especially difficult for athletes who enjoy eating.
“The funniest thing is a lot of people think that people who go and compete are okay not to eat, that’s why they’re okay to compete, that’s why they can’t eat,” Lee said.
“The thing is, most of the competitors I know, we all love food.”
While in “preparation,” Lee is often unable to fully participate in meals with family and friends.
“It’s a struggle when you go out to dinner with friends and then you can’t eat anything and everyone is eating. You just sit there like with your own food and after you are done with your little food they are still eating.
But she has a strong support system, Lee said.
“My husband has always been there with me. It was my main support system for every preparation.”
Given how difficult it is to pursue the sport, some question why he does it, Lee said.
“For some of us, it’s something we can focus on, think about. For some of us, the gym is our “me time”, it helps with our mental health.
“When you are struggling with other aspects, you can focus on this and this is yours. There is no one who can take this away.”
Having a specific routine to follow is also something he enjoys, Lee added.
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