Sophia helped me build sustainable, healthy habits that made cutting weight much more manageable and effective.

Thanks to her guidance, I successfully reached a weight where I could make the final gut cut for the competition. She was with me every step of the way, from planning the cut to executing it perfectly, even providing support and advice on the day of the competition through WhatsApp.

Her expertise, dedication, and constant encouragement made all the difference, and I couldn’t have done it without her!

— Kibria Ali (@kibria.ali1)

Sophia's addition to my comp team has made it tremendously easy for me to manage my recovery. The hardest part of preparation for any competitive athlete would be making weight and she made it so seamless each time. How does one lose 5kg in 4 weeks and still not cramp in comps?

I've been able to train at a much higher bodyweight during comps, making progress so much easier to facilitate. 

I totalled 611kg right before working with Sophia, and finished the year off with 652kg at Asians. Strength was at it's all time best.

I can't thank her enough for the daily reminders and prompts. As a PT, I now also have more knowledge to advise my clients. 

I hope to continue working with Sophia for the years ahead!

— Tristan Ho (@kaito_66)

I enjoyed having the aspect of accountability while simultaneously learning how to improve my food choices and eating habits in order to better support my performance goals.

I am much more mindful about what I’m eating now, not just in terms of the food choices (e.g. incorporating fruits and vegetables into my meals), but also in terms of honouring my hunger cues. Being able to stop when I’m satisfied is something I was not able to consistently achieve in the past.

I am also very happy with the guidance I received during my acute weight cut process in order to make weight for my meet. Being my first international meet, having your guidance was pivotal in helping me make weight with the least amount of stress possible. Making weight has never been this easy.

One takeaway would be the importance of micronutrients in my diet. In the past, I would neglect getting my fruits and veg in because I didn’t know how crucial they were for my recovery, but after being stricter with my micronutrient intake, I have definitely felt a difference in my recovery.

Second takeaway would be how to track food portions when eating out on a deficit. I used to be very anxious that I would derail my progress due to inaccurate tracking, but after working together I found that I got more confident in my estimation skills. As a result, eating out is much less stressful for me.

— Yue Ning (@deadliftning)

Before engaging Sophia, I thought that I would need to give up eating out and depend solely on meal prep in order to make weight for competitions. After being on board, I realised that I can still eat as per usual and tracking macros is not that hard after all.

Competition prep has never felt so stress free with Sophia planning and monitoring my weight manipulation as well as my refeed plan for the competition.

I now understand what my body needs and know how to fuel it with essential nutrients so that I can have a better recovery. I realised we are often too focused on the calories consumed that we neglect the micronutrients.

— Amanda Seow (@sbdwithseow)

The experience was one that I found to be quite exhilarating. Going into this Asians prep, I told myself that I’d like to give it my all for my first international meet representing the country. Albeit me having some basic understanding of nutrition, I thought that investing into a nutritionist was something I’d like to try not just to keep myself accountable but to also learn new things about sports nutrition without the worry about how true one’s statement is and evidently, but everything went according to plan 🤝🏻

Throughout this prep, going through phases of eating deficit, maintenance and surplus calories has made me feel the best whilst looking better compared to my previous preps where I tend to be heavier than my weight class 8 weeks out. Being able to walk around at 93+KG 6 weeks out from my comp whilst being stronger than ever made me super happy and gave me confidence going into the meet without having to worry about any drastic weight cut measures whatsoever.

Few of my biggest takeaways namely are the fact that calories in calories out is a good place to start for managing your bodyweight but the combination of proper nutrition in terms of macros, food selection, proper sleep and the final touch of supplementation all adds up to perfect externals management which equates to performance when it matters on the platform 🤝🏻. Definitely thankful for everything you’ve done to help me this prep and would definitely recommend your service to anyone looking for it!

— Norman Visser (@nhv_lifts)

Sophia sets small and achievable goals each week. These goals can be as small as having X servings of fruits & vegs per day, X hours of sleep, X amount of water per day. It is very rewarding to check these boxes off in the sheet at the end of the week.

Sophia is also really easy to talk to. We communicate via text at least once a week and sometimes she would recommend me products or foods which I appreciate! We have a call every 4 weeks to check-in and align on the goals as well. These sessions are usually very beneficial and I learn a lot. 

In my most recent meet as a U63, I had the opportunity to experiment gut cut with Sophia for the first time (so exciting!). We had to cut quite a huge % for this as I made a silly mistake of consuming TWO times more sodium for a few days one week out. I was also having my period during this time so my body was holding on to so much water and my weight did not drop until a few days out. I was the heaviest I have ever been in a while too. We made it in the end, with ease and no cramping whatsoever. Apart from some nausea, I felt great on meet day! It was honestly so fun because I truly learned a lot from this experience. I was well fueled most of the time and did not feel like I was cutting at all.

 Sophia also looks at other external factors such as sleep, stress and mental well-being, which I also appreciate. There was also a period of time I kept falling sick (towards end of each block). I was getting a bit worried as my immune system was quite poor. We broke the cycle when I started to prioritise sleep and fruits & veggies! 😊

I joined Sophia with the goal of rebuilding my relationship with food and to manage my nutrition/externals better for powerlifting. I learnt that tracking does not have to be stressful and it is okay to estimate macros sometimes. Do not be too reactive to daily weight shifts. And there is no such thing as ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods. This is HUGE for me as I used to have a very bad relationship with food. This is one of the first things I told Sophia when we first started working together and I cannot thank her enough for the support she has provided the past year. For so long I felt trapped in a cycle of compulsive eating and guilt, which made it hard to enjoy life and take care of myself. I have definitely learned to fuel my body effectively over the past year.

— Claudia

Prior to Asians 2024 prep I knew I’ve always had issues with my nutrition when it comes to prepping and trying to make weight. I knew the basics but never really found what worked best for me.

Since Asians was going to be my first international meet, I decided I want to try and go all out to see how far I could reach. That’s when I reached out to Sophia because from my research she was a very reputable nutritionist amongst powerlifters especially in the Southeast Asian region.

From my experience working with Sophia I learned so much more that I expected and cutting weight through prep has never been easier. I felt like my energy never depleted that much and I was always ready to perform.

The gut-cut into Asians also went smoothly and making weight was hassle free. The refeed protocol made sure I was energised and that energy was maintained throughout the meet. Unfortunately, I caught a cold right before the meet and I didn’t perform as well as I hoped to, but I did perform much better than if I were not to have Sophia guiding my nutrition.

— Cezorio J Konsoh (@cjk.rio)

This comp prep has been super smooth, almost no hiccups at all, and very stress-free on my end, which allowed me to pour more energy into other aspects (e.g. recovery, training, life). The results definitely reflect how well this prep went, especially manipulating my bodyweight for ideal performance.

General health has improved alot (e.g. digestion, guthealth, recovery) as my micros are taken care of. This is definitely something i missed out and neglected prior to nutrition coaching, as i did not understand the important of the various vitamins/micronutrients, and only focused on the main 3 macros (P/C/F).

Biggest takeaway is understanding my body better, eating better to fuel it and optimize training, learning to make changes to food/activities to adapt with work/life, and finding that balance while not sacrificing performance in the gym.

— Xin Miao Koh (@_xinmiao)

Have been coaching under Sophia for close to 6 months now. Started with her to level up on my nutrition, not just to support powerlifting alone, but to work towards an overall healthier lifestyle, including fat loss. While I already had some fundamental knowledge in nutrition, coaching under Sophia I always learn something new. 

Not just a purely nutrition coach in practice, she has also been a key mentor, helping me to navigate sleep habits, overcome unhealthy coping mechanisms with life stressors. She puts in great effort to understand the individual holistically, providing customised support in a structured manner that is designed to enable the athlete to continually progress towards realising their best selves. 

Her dedication really motivates me to be the best version of myself, and I have a greater peace of mind that as long as I don’t give up on myself, she’ll never give up on me 🥹

It’s been an overall amazing — even life-transforming — and I’m excited to continue working with her!

— Monisha R. J.

Sophia was an easy coach to work with, offering constant encouragement even during my injuries. Her assistance in organising my time and managing my priorities was invaluable, making her feel more like a life coach than just a nutritionist. 

As an organised person, I appreciated how her advice aligned with my principles, and I loved that she communicated more like a big sister than a coach. 

In just a few months, I saw significant body recomposition, gaining muscle while losing weight, and improved my relationship with food, transitioning from one meal a day to three meals plus snacks. Sophia taught me to understand macros and micros, and now counting them is second nature. 

My biggest takeaway is to always follow my hunger cues and be mindful of my food choices, planning meals even when not training. This mindfulness has reduced my guilt over occasional deviations from my macros and calorie goals, enhancing my daily routine. I’ve learned so much and gained confidence in my body, all thanks to Sophia’s guidance.

— Ardini Sofri (@ardinisf)

I decided to get nutrition coaching because I have been gaining weight ever since I first started going to the gym. I had no experience in cutting, and I didn’t want to risk losing too much muscle and strength cutting down without guidance. I wanted to cut down because I was getting too heavy for my weight class, and holding quite a lot of fat. 

The experience was very smooth, I was able to lose about 6kg, while still maintaining my strength. I am currently eating in a slight surplus, trying to put on quality mass to fill up my weight class. The cutting process wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be, and I was still able to eat the foods that I enjoy!

Nutrition coaching has helped me make better lifestyle choices according to my goal. I am able to make better food choices that fits into my macros, and the diet that I have is not restrictive at all. Having quality food has also helped me to feel better energised during training sessions. 

Getting nutrition coaching has been a game changer in my powerlifting journey, and I recommend Sophia to everyone!

— Low Jing Yi (@cheaterlifter)

What I really like is that things have been customised and tailor-made to match my requirements and my ability to commit. It is also very dynamic and flexible with constant reviews of whether or not I was able to adhere. That was very helpful for whatever goals I had and made it a very good experience.

I was on a 8-week meet prep and the goal was to fuel my workouts and make weight. Both objectives were met.

Sophia's approach wasn't just prescriptive, she also made the effort to educate on the "why" behind each "what" and "how". She helped break down big lofty goals (which sometimes aren't realistic) into bite sized achievable ones because it's better to stack small wins slowly than to have a plan that isn't ever adhered to, leading to failure.

Did a health checkup and everything better this year!! Last year had higher BP, higher LDL. Had the gall stones from ultrasound, higher creatinine. This year BP, cholesterol, creatinine all normal?! And no more gall stones from the ultrasound! It’s so different and good that I could not believe it at first

— Josh E Lim

I first decided to pursue nutrition coaching to learn more about my own body and to get more out of nutrition to be a better and stronger powerlifter. Previously I’ve worked with The Strength Guys (TSG) which wasn’t a very good fit, so I contacted Sophia because a) many powerlifters in our region work with her and b) she’s based in Singapore which means easier communication and more understanding with our similar cultures.

The experience from the first call was already different to my previous nutritionist. Sophia was not solely focused on the calories or macros but more of my lifestyle and habits. 

She made it very clear to the things we wanted to work on and gives weekly and daily tasks, making me more accountable day in and day out and lets me make better decisions!

Our main goal was to recomp my body to be a leaner u105 athlete, I was sitting at around 106 at the beginning so we started with a very slow cut. Strength did not stall, and energy levels were good throughout (maybe just towards the tail end I could feel it a little). 

At about 8-10 weeks out from the Asian Championships, we did a surplus back up to 105 and my waist was 2 inches smaller at the same bodyweight! A huge success 😭🫢

Going into the Championships, making weight was super smooth and extremely easy with no stress at all, so I’m extremely grateful for Sophia for her knowledge and attention to detail week to week 🙏🏽

— Ming Lau (@_gymming)

Was always skeptical towards getting a nutritionist because I assumed it would just be a lot of meal prepping and was afraid that I would be unable to have the freedom to enjoy dining out. I was also afraid that heavily tracking my macros would contribute to a lot of stress and would require an extremely high level of commitment that would be unsustainable for my lifestyle as a university student and athlete. However, after working with Sophia, not only has she made it extremely effortless for me, I actually enjoy tracking my intake and feel rather weird if i don’t HAHA… Sophia has made nutrition a piece of cake for me by teaching me how to track using the MFP app as well as eye-balling food portions in the case where I’m unable to find the particular food option on the app.

I approached Sophia during my prep for worlds where I weighed 96kg. Prior to this I have never tracked my intake including protein. It made me realise how much protein I was actually lacking hence being consistent with the intake by tracking ever since has improved my quality of training and recovery significantly. I was able to weight cut and weigh in for worlds at ~92kg almost effortlessly it didn’t even feel like I was in a deficit. Post worlds leading up to Asians was when I saw the most amount of progress in the gym all while maintaining my body weight at around 93-94kg. Sophia suggested a mini gut-cut 3 days out from Asians in which I was able to consume a good amount of whole food and even have a breakfast buffet on the morning of my meet which I'm confident contributed significantly to my performance on meet day. I'm the lightest i’ve ever been, physique is the best it’s been at this weight, and more importantly I'm the strongest I’ve ever been as well.

My biggest takeaway would be how nutrition is severely underrated and overlooked for an athlete and ever since working together with Sophia and seeing the results for myself I continuously urge my peers to monitor and track their nutrition to maximise progress. Nutrition and food intake is a huge external variable and being able to nail it and be consistent will undoubtedly lead to huge strides in progress in the gym. Many people know this but they still don’t do it. I believe it’s not how much you work in the gym, it’s how much you can recover from, so nutrition from now on is always going to be a huge staple for me.

— Woei Jin Seah (@_woeijin)

I've learnt so much from Sophia about my body's nutritional needs and what I respond well to.

I lost a significant amount of body fat while maintaining most of my strength and training did not take a big hit. Felt better mentally about my body image and training has felt a lot better. Also learnt to form habits overtime that were beneficial in sustaining a healthy diet, and to fuel my training.

One of the best parts about coaching, was looking at small things to optimise week to week and learning to take small steps instead of big drastic ones. Also learning that I don't have to be perfect day to day to reach my goals, as long as I'm consistent the goals will come.

— Ryan Lee

Sophia is extremely meticulous, compassionate, and intelligent. She has the rare ability to make arduous nutrition habits gel easily for any individual. Furthermore, she was able to coach me through a tough emotional period and facilitate adherence to my goals via her expertise with behavioural and mindset coaching.

Currently, Sophia and I are no longer working together because she's done her job so well that I don’t require her assistance, but the inculcated habits never left and I’m still practicing them as we speak!

Anyone who knows me would confidently say that the physique I achieved this year was very impressive, even for an elite powerlifter. At my best, I was around an 8% bodyfat whilst still packing on lean muscle mass day-by-day. My silhouette as a, then, u66 lifter was so deceiving to the point that other gym goers were very convinced I was a u74 lifter. 

On top of that, I felt rejuvenated day in, day out, and was the healthiest I had ever been with the cocktail of beneficial habits she had ingrained in me e.g consuming sufficient fibre through fruits and vegetables, introducing fortified bread and milk into my breakfast, and replacing redundant supplements with science-backed ones.

This resulted in me snagging 2 deadlift national records held across 2 weight classes within the span of 3 months.

Whatever it is you desire, I dare say Sophia can deliver.

— Samuel Kwan (@samuelkwxn)

I originally started nutrition coaching because I was “having some trouble losing stomach fat” (I now understand there’s no way you can isolate stomach fat loss) despite my efforts in eating less.

The experience was nothing short of amazing and educational. Sophia always answered my questions without making me feel uncomfortable, and I never felt scared to ask anything I was unsure about! She also puts in a lot of effort making sure that her nutrition plans for me are personally catered to my needs and activity. I remember once, when I was asking a simple question about the difference between eating breast and thigh and her opinion on it, I was only expecting a short and sweet message. However, she actually sent 2 voice messages explaining the intricacies behind it and helped me form a better perspective on something which I thought was trivial.

My biggest takeaway is learning how to maintain a calorie deficit while balancing my life, which I still use to this day even after stopping nutrition coaching. I honestly felt quite bad because it felt like I was giving a lot of excuses like eating with my girlfriend, but she not only took it in her stride, but also came up with many different plans to see if it could fit within my life. I was very appreciative of the fact she kept trying to give me different ways to incorporate weight loss into my life. She always puts things into perspective, and I’ve learnt that weight loss isn’t as scary as many make it out to be.

If you’re afraid to get nutrition coaching, be it because you might be afraid of the commitment, or because you’re not sure where to start, I implore that you give yourself a chance to work with Sophia — I’m sure you’ll learn a lot!

— Jeremy Tay

Sophia's coaching aims at how we can make sustainable changes and habits that can be tailored into our daily lives.

We learnt so much from her. From how to gauge how much portion we should be eating to how to track our calories on MyFitnessPal. We benefitted the most from her Nutrition resource page & personalised nutrition tracking sheets. 

The bi-weekly online check-ins/zoom calls made it easy to commit to the coaching as we could fit these sessions into our busy professional lives. Each sessions allowed us to review our progress, discuss the next steps and clarify nutrition-related questions.

All in all, the coaching session made us realised that managing our nutrition is not as complicated as we initially thought. It was the impetus to get us started on better eating habits while we train hard in the gym!

— Liang Kai and Valerie

From the beginning, Sophia's approach was refreshing and different from what I had experienced with other nutritionists before. My main goal was to lose weight and maintain it after achieving it. The way she introduced and taught me how to relearn eating, in a very natural and gradual manner, was the best approach that worked for me.

I started at 84kg and after 90 days, I reached 76kg. I lost more weight than advised, but adjustments were made in collaboration with the training. I also experienced psychological management, almost like that of a psychologist. Because this entire process takes place in conjunction with both physical and psychological changes and choices.

I realised how deficient my diet was up to that point. My protein intake was very low, and as a consequence, I tried to compensate for this lack with other foods. Understanding quantities was crucial for a quicker adaptation to the diet. 

Through the various phases of this process, the weight loss goals kept changing, and the solutions you provided for each difficulty I encountered allowed me to relearn how to eat, and my relationship with food became more harmonious and balanced.

— Maria Rita

Although I had peculiar dietary requirements, she still managed to provide solid advice on how to hit my protein targets. Because of this, my lifts have benefited greatly and I have put on quite a bit of muscle and lost substantial fat! Family and friends have noticed too.

Sophia managed my macros so I didn’t feel hungry all the time. She is always very responsive to questions and very patient with explaining. I’m now able to understand the impact different foods have on my training. I’ve learnt a lot about weight management, how to reliably hit my macros, and how to lean bulk. 

— Cheng Hian Tan

I've lost around 5kg in 3 months and look more toned now. I've improved my eating habits by ensuring I get proper meals, which lowered my craving for snacks. Sophia's given me a lot of ideas on how to eat better rather than just a salad 😅

The biggest hack for me has been learning how to balance good nutrition, food I’m craving for and eating out. I've learn “bad” food once in a while is still okay and I don't need to feel guilty.

— Belinda Tan