Lifestyle Minna Lee Lifestyle Minna Lee

Current Clean Skin Favorites

Healthy skincare has been having a MOMENT for the past two years. Women (and men) everywhere are trading in Saturday nights out for Saturday nights in, with sheet masks and green juices because they have to get up at 8am for their Sunday yoga class. Sound familiar?

Everyone is all about caring for their skin as much as possible these days, and that extends from skincare to makeup to internal well-being and care. So after struggling with so many skin issues, I wanted to share my favorite clean skincare and makeup favorites that have made the biggest difference for me, since I know my fellow sweat-tribe can also struggle with this! 

I transitioned over to all-natural clean beauty products awhile ago because some unique issues. After struggling with exhausting autoimmune issues for the past...

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Well-Being Minna Lee Well-Being Minna Lee

Why Do We Call Stoicism "Staying Strong?"

Of all things, a tweet about the recent Bachelor finale got me thinking about how we as a society regard the display of emotions. During the finale, the bachelor had to break up with one girl before he went onto propose to another, naturally (lolz), so this girl gets her heart broken on national television; which, is feasibly quite a mortifying and emotional event.

Then former contestant of the show applauded the runner-up on Twitter as "the strongest bachelorette I've ever seen. She didn't fall to pieces after all that. Bravo." 

...Wait. So if she...

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Lifestyle Minna Lee Lifestyle Minna Lee

Favorite Friday Finds 40.0

Happy Friday, everyone-- hard to believe it's St. Patty's day, and there is a lot of snow still getting cleaned up here in NYC.

I've highlighted 4 amazing women so far on my Women Who Inspire Interview Series, and while we will certainly be returning with quite a few more awesome women to come, I've been stockpiling some amazing finds that I wanted to share before some of them become irrelevant. So, Favorite Friday Finds is back for this week!

9 awesome reads are coming your way + 1 RIDICULOUSLY cute surprise at the end. So either save it for reading over coffee tomorrow morning, or tear through some of the stuff that will make you feel all the feels, and inspire some thought!

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Lifestyle Minna Lee Lifestyle Minna Lee

6 Musts when Cold-Emailing or Asking for a Coffee Meeting

I'm a huge advocate of being forward when it comes to your business. It may go against my introvert tendencies sometimes, but as an entrepreneur or a small business owner, you are essentially your only advocate. If you don't drive your business's train, it just doesn't move. 

When you are trying to create a business or further your career, you can't be complacent and wait for opportunity to come to you. You have to get out there, and yes, that tired word: network. Cold-emailing and asking people for a breakfast meeting or to coffee can be intimidating, because no one likes to be ignored or rejected right?

Well, that chance of rejection is always still there. But today I'm going to help you guys boost your chances at getting responses from people, as well as covering THE most important thing when cold-emailing someone: HOW you ask them. These are absolute musts when cold-emailing, pitching, or asking someone to meet over coffee.

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Well-Being Minna Lee Well-Being Minna Lee

5 Important Things You Might Not Know About Stretching

You hear it's good for you, that you should do it to take care of your joints, so you don't get stiff, etc etc etc. This seemingly simplistic thing is actually far more complex than a simple sit and reach, and it doesn't help matters that every other trainer, instructor, and physical therapist is saying something different.

At the end of the day, every person has different needs, restrictions, and abilities, so this post is not to tell all the best stretch poses-- it's more about giving you the information you need to be able to strive for your goals more efficiently and safely. 

Here are 5 important things you might not know about stretching:

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Well-Being Minna Lee Well-Being Minna Lee

How to Get Back on the Fitness Wagon

Happy hump day and first day of March, everyone! It's been awhile since I've done a Wellness Wednesday, and what's a better topic to jump back in with, than talking about how to get back on the fitness wagon?

I'm a big proponent of doing the little bits of effort everyday to stay on the wagon, because it is much easier to maintain being on the wagon than it is to get back on it. But sometimes life and shit happens and you go through phases. And suddenly, you find yourself on your butt, off the wagon. A basic principle of behavioral modification that my Precision Nutrition coaching taught me to teach my clients, is that you need to master a goal before you can add a...

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Well-Being Minna Lee Well-Being Minna Lee

The 1 Way You're Sabotaging Your Contentment in Life

We all fail. I'm not talking about the inevitable life failures that happen. I'm talking about the fact that we tell ourselves that we fail, all the time. And that is the one way we sabotage our contentment in life.

Don't think you do this? Sounds ludicrous, right-- why would you tell yourself you fail, all the time? Have you guys thought any of these things, even just this morning?

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Lifestyle Minna Lee Lifestyle Minna Lee

Wanderlust in Switzerland and Italy

You know that feeling when you are looking for something in your coat pockets, only to discover that there's a crisp $20 bill in there from last year? Yep, it was that same feeling I had after searching for some photos on my hard drive and found some gems I never shared from my Europe trip to Switzerland and Italy two summers ago. I've shared one or two of these on few on my city travel guides to Zürich (hike on Felsenegg-Uetliberg) and Rome, but I also just re-edited these photos in the vibes of the aesthetic palettes I've been drawn to lately-- more muted colors and softer shades. 

Am working on some fun content for you guys, but it's been a busy week over here with a photoshoot yesterday (check out some sneak peeks on Instagram!), training sessions, and some apartment-hunting. So today, I'm just going to leave you to soak up these wanderlust-inspiring handful of favorites I found the other day. Take a trip to Zürich, up in the Swiss mountains, Roma, Positano, and Amalfi. Happy humpday!

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Recipes Minna Lee Recipes Minna Lee

6 Quick Post-Workout Breakfast Ideas + Tricks

One of my new training clients asked me what would be some of the best breakfast meals to eat after our workouts in the morning, and it's a super commonly asked question. A post-workout meal should be healthy, protein-packed, and filling because you want to make sure that you're reaping in the benefits of that hard workout you just sweated your butt off for. But then combine that with the morning rush of trying to get out the door on the weekdays for work, it can make things a little tricky sometimes, leaving some people to skip breakfast. And that is the worst thing you can do after a workout. So, I wanted to share some of my favorite quick and easy post-workout breakfast ideas and tricks...

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Lifestyle Minna Lee Lifestyle Minna Lee

The Best Way to Be a Better Communicator

Being a strong communicator is one of the few key skills that helps you in every single aspect of your life. Good communication helps you be a better colleague, boss, intern, parent, husband/wife, boyfriend/girlfriend, friend, daughter/son, sibling, and the list goes on. 

When I ask you, "what's the best way to be a better communicator" what is the first thing that pops into your mind? Word-choice? Body-language? Thinking through your thoughts before you speak? Talking confidently and clearly?

Actually, I really don't think the answer doesn't have anything to do with talking at all...

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Lifestyle Minna Lee Lifestyle Minna Lee

Favorite Friday Finds 39.0

Happy weekend, everyone!

This edition of Favorite Friday Finds is coming to you a day late, because this past week has been quite topsy turvy in terms of changed schedules and last-minute appointments- sorry guys! But I've got a great roundup for you that I've been amped to share, because there have been a lot of great reads I've stumbled on in the past two weeks. This will also be an abbreviated version like this one for time's sake (on my end), so you can have some fun weekend reading while sipping that morning coffee 😊

You know that feeling...

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Lifestyle Minna Lee Lifestyle Minna Lee

5 Strategies to Be a More Productive Entrepreneur, Freelancer, or Blogger

More than ever, time has become our most precious commodity. So many professions now don't rely on punching in on a clock-- it's not about how much you're working, it's how much you're producing. Because we all know that busy  productive. In a world where distractions are aplenty, it's really difficult to really utilize your time to the max. We all would love to nail how to be more productive, but working as a small business owner or freelancer can bring unique challenges since you have to be your own boss, secretary, and worker all by yourself. 

Working remotely from home also can make it tempting to run an unstructured day, but this leads to an unhealthy work-life balance because you're...

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Lifestyle Minna Lee Lifestyle Minna Lee

Weekend Guide to Nashville: Best Eats, Drinks, and Things to Do

In the past few years, Nashville has become THE "it" destination for all kinds of weekend getaways: it's Bachelor/Bachelorette party central (seriously, I was on the plane with a crew 10 girls deep that were very awake for a 7am flight), girls weekend destination, couples getaway, you name it.

After a whirlwind weekend in this southern city, it's really easy to see why Nashville is such a hotspot. It's got AMAZING food, an endless amount of options for live music and nightlife, shopping, sightseeing, and it's also relatively affordable to do all that fun stuff. For a quick trip like this, it felt fitting to try out a more streamlined version of my city guides-- so here is my weekend guide on the best eats, drinks, things to do, and places to explore in Nashville!

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Lifestyle Minna Lee Lifestyle Minna Lee

Favorite Friday Finds 38.0

Before we get to a few personal updates and my Favorite Friday Finds, I cannot not mention the biggest thing happening today.

Today is... an interesting day in our nation and world's history. Without jumping in, I will say that more than ever, I firmly believe that we all rise together. I believe in individual accountability for a greater good. It is ALL of our responsibilities to love harder, empathize more fiercely, speak up louder, and fight like hell for what is just. Today, in a day that many are inclined to feel trepidation, disappointment, fear, I encourage you to actively love on one another because we are stronger and more capable together ❤️️

+ personal updates, and a super edition of Favorite Friday Finds...

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Recipes Minna Lee Recipes Minna Lee

Roasted Cranberry Orange Maple Chicken

Now that the new year has begun and everyone is in full-fledged health mode, this is also the time to remember that sustainably healthy eating should be delicious, fulfilling, and convenient. 

Meal preparation doesn't have to be all about that tupperware or steamed chicken. Especially after your body is still likely used to the heartier eating over the holidays, it's more realistic to not go from full family dinners with no holds on the butter to steamed dry chicken and bland asparagus. Eventually, that will usually lead you to dive headfirst into something not so desirable for your health goals-- I think we've all been there! Enter this roasted cranberry orange maple chicken that keeps things healthy but is...

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Well-Being Minna Lee Well-Being Minna Lee

New Year, New Gear: Workout Inspiration

Everyone's new years in full swing?

I've talked before about how I don't believe in New Years resolutions (here's what I do instead), particularly when it comes to health and fitness, but what I am not at all opposed to is kicking the new year off with some cute new workout gear.

Admit it: there's nothing quite like having a new outfit or workout gear that helps get your butt back in the gym after some time slacking off.  And I think we all could use a little extra kick in the butt to...

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Well-Being Minna Lee Well-Being Minna Lee

7 Hacks to Kickstart Your Health

Before you start jumping down the rabbit hole of 0 to 60mph New Years resolutions, a juice cleanse/detox, or any type of “health reset” I want you to pause for a moment.

If you're in need of some bigger changes with your health that you've been scared or reluctant to start, ask yourself these 4 questions to help you roadmap your way to lasting success. But if you're generally pleased with where you are and just have a couple habits you'd like to improve upon or if you just want to start one little step at a time, I've got 8 easy hacks to kickstart your health.

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