Lee-Ann Watanabe

training vs straining and why motivation don’t mean jack shit

Any SHITTY trainer can kill you for money. I am not THAT shitty trainer. I give you what your body NEEDS, not necessarily what you THINK you need. I always strive for a happy balance between the two, but I am the EXPERT and the one in tuned with your BODY in a way that you won’t necessarily understand right out the gate.

But why is that your standard of a GREAT workout? That you need to feel sore; feel like you are knocking on death’s door in order for THAT to be your WIN?

Some people depend on intense exercise to feel good about themselves.

Some people feel like Intense exercise gives them a sense of control over their body and life.

Sometimes, less is more. Putting in a consistent good effort over the long haul is much more sustainable than cycles of “crash and burn”.

The problem is not balancing stress with recovery.

Exercise is a stressor. Usually a good one. But a stressor nonetheless.

But in terms of a physical demand, we still need to help our bodies recover from all the stress we experience.

The right amount of exercise, at the right intensity, and the right time:

We train. We learn. We get healthier and stronger.

Too much exercise, with too high an intensity, too often:

We strain. We stress. We shut down. And break down.

You don’t get to decide if you need recovery or not.

Your body will decide for you.

If you don’t build recovery into your plan, your body will eventually force it.

Exercise should make us feel, look, perform and live better… not crush us.

Movement should help us function freely… not incapacitate us.

What if you could leave your training session feeling energized, not exhausted?

What if, instead of doing more, you could do better?

What if, you reverse-engineered the statement: If someone said you could feel, look, perform, live better and move freely if you were simply motivated to do so, what would happen? Would you think, “Nah, I’m good. I’m not motivated today, tomorrow, this week, this month, this year to live my best, healthiest self.”

track fat loss from home

WHAT do you need? You need a scale & tape measure

Every Friday, weigh yourself naked after using the bathroom before you eat or drink anything. Then measure your waist right above your belly button. Write the two numbers down.

Possible outcomes:

If your weight and waist are dropping, you are losing mostly fat.

If your weight goes up and your waist goes down, you are losing almost all fat.

If your weight goes down, but the waist goes up or stays the same, you are losing weight, but that weight is not fat, it is water — or worse, muscle.

hunger + cravings + energy

It is true that in order to lose weight — and more specifically, fat — you do need to have a caloric deficit. Did you know that diets have a 95% failure rate?

What if we took a Hunger Energy Cravings (HEC) approach?

What if we you can keep hunger at bay, diminish cravings and stabilize your energy? By doing things this way, your body will want to eat less, naturally, without relying solely on willpower.

Here are 6 tips from Dr. Jade Teta and Dr. Keoni Teta’s book Lose Weight Now, to keep your HEC in Check:

Eat more of the right foods more often. “Right foods” are foods rich in water, lean protein and fiber. These foods are digested slowly so they fill you up quickly and help you stay full for longer. They are also lower in starch, sugar and fat. This means you should eat unlimited quantities of vegetables, low-sugar fruits (berries, apples, pears) and lean protein.

Exercise smarter. Leisure walk — not power-walk — as much as you can, which lowers cortisol, and engage in short, intense bouts of activity for 10-30 minutes, three to five times per week. This type of exercise will burn fat and create far less compensatory eating reactions. Try these workouts to start.

Get at least eight hours of sleep a night. Sleep is a hormonal reset button for your body. It lowers cortisol and balances ghrelin and leptin, which means less hunger, balanced energy and decreased cravings the next day.

Practice “rest-based living.” Build restorative and relaxing practices into your life (quiet time, nap time, hot baths, nature walks, tai chi, restorative yoga, physical affection, reading, massage, meditation, conversation and time with loved ones). This lowers cortisol and elevates feel-good brain hormones, so you are less likely to have nighttime cravings.

Pay attention. Learn how diet, exercise, lifestyle, and stress impact your HEC, then adjust your approach accordingly in a direction that balances and nourishes you. I call this learning your “metabolic formula”.

Change your mindset. Give up the idea that linear, predictable and sustainable results will be yours if you simply work hard. This is about learning and mastering a new mindset. It is not about working harder, it is about learning, practicing and mastering this over time.

will eating fat make me fat?

Are you afraid of fats? If so, you’re not alone. Fat has been vilified in America since the low fat diet craze in the 90’s. Remember Snackwell products? Or the flood of any fat free, low fat dessert treat on store shelves? I do. I was an avid Snackwell eater, despite all the GI distress that came with. It was zero fat, so it must be good for me right? Boy, glad those days are over. And my gut is grateful too. But, over the past few decades, studies have shown that eating fat will make you fat is one of the biggest nutrition lies that we’ve been told.

WHAT WE KNOW:
1. Low and no fat products have added chemicals making it worse for us, even being linked to increase risk of heart disease and other illnesses.

2. Plenty of high-fat foods are perfectly healthy. However, fat is still more calorie dense than either carbs or protein, so it can have mixed effects on weight loss.

3. The type of fat matters, since saturated fats are linked to more risks of heart disease and other illnesses than unsaturated fat.

4. Experts still recommend a balance of fat, protein, and carbs for an optimal diet.

WHAT FAT SHOULD WE EAT THEN?
Watch my video below for an in-depth look at the 11 healthy fats you should include in your eating pattern.

1. Avocados
2. Extra virgin olive oil
3. Coconut oil
4. MCT oil
5. Butter and Ghee
6. Nuts and Seeds
7. Full fat dairy
8. Omega 3s
9. Eggs
10. Grass fed organic beef
11. Dark chocolate

4 steps to hack your habit

THE FIX FOR CRAVINGS! Dr. Jade Teta and Dr. Keoni Teta have released a great book, Lose Weight Now! I’ve listed their recommended steps to hack a habit you are trying to change. These steps helped me curb my late night TV watching which created one too many glasses of wine! Be sure to watch my video where I give you the play by play for each of these steps!

Step 1: Pay Attention: Start noticing your cravings and paying very close attention to the environmental reminders that trigger them. Some of these are returning home from work, turning on the TV, sitting down at a restaurant, going out on a weekend night with friends, smelling doughnuts, seeing a friend eating a biscuit, having an emotional day at work or a poor night’s sleep, and so on.

Step 2: Hack & Reward: Once you recognize the habit and the craving it creates, try to pinpoint the reward you are really after. Once you do, find a way to eliminate the trigger and/or change the routine so that the reward is the same but the craving that leads to it is different. Here is an example: Let’s say you return home from work and you feel that combination of expectation, desire, and anxiety that tells you a craving has just been triggered. Now, identify the real reward that you are after. Is it relaxation? If so, instead of pouring a glass of wine and eating a wheel of cheese and a box of crackers (which in the end is anything but relaxing), draw a hot bath, light some candles, and take 30 minutes away from the world. Practice this new routine over and over until a new craving develops.

Step 3: Make a Swap: There are several natural compounds that can be taken prior to getting cravings or even when cravings hit to stop them in their tracks. Cocoa powder (1 tablespoon in water) Branched-chain amino acids (5 to 10 grams).

Step 4: Assess: Cravings can be used as a biofeedback tool and are useful in helping you understand how your metabolism is functioning. Low blood sugar, too much or not enough exercise, missing meals or eating too frequently, sleep deprivation, and other lifestyle factors can impact cravings.

Always check in and ask yourself how your cravings have been. We have our patients assess their cravings, along with their hunger and energy, on a 1-to-10 scale (with 10 being strongest or highest). Obviously, you want the intensity of cravings to remain low, preferably less than 5. If this is not the case, then it is an indication that the diet and exercise regimen you’re on is not sustainable. Understanding this allows you to manipulate several factors to correct it and turn short-term weight loss into long-term fat loss.

Register today for my 6 week lean muscle building program #LevelUP for women ages 30 + who want to lean out, get Strong as F and Feel AMAZING!

4 spots left!

#LevelUP Your Body

fat loss myths revealed

When you join my 6 week lean muscle building program #LevelUp, you’ll receive weekly, juicy content all things fitness and food related. Here’s a sneak peak of the very things we will cover together so that YOU can become your OWN BODY DETECTIVE.

Diets make you believe that you are ONE SIZE FITS ALL. WTF?! We are unique bodies, with unique chemistry and hormonal panels. We are all genetically gifted in our own unique way. WHY WOULD YOU FOLLOW A COOKIE CUTTER DIET AND WORKOUT PROGRAM FOR THE MASSES?

With #LevelUP, I provide the exact workouts and nutritional guidelines meant for YOU! After you enroll, you will complete my questionnaire that will guide me to coach you through the right path. I take the guess workout out of it all.

And to give you a sneak peek of what’s ahead, here’s today’s igTV mini training on fat loss myths BUSTED! I discuss if building muscle and burning fat is possible; the signs and symptoms of a slow metabolism and the best carb based foods for weight loss and/or weight maintenance.

I am only accepting 10 women aged 30 plus for this lean muscle building program. I have 6 spots left. Don’t wait – it is the best opportunity with the least barrier to entry to work your very own customized program with me, accessible 24/7 via text, phone, email and Zoom.

What are you waiting for?

how strength training saved me from a life of starvation

In 1997, I was young and heartbroken. I literally weighed my worth with well, my scale weight. I joined Jenny Craig because I believed if I was skinny, I would be lovable.

In 7 months, I lost 45 pounds and I was skinny, but I was miserable. I was losing hair. My period stopped. I was barely existing on a 600 calorie diet because well, my 5 foot 3 inch height was REJECTING a goal scale weight of 125lbs – a goal that my Jenny Craig “Counselor” picked based on my – yep, you guessed it – height. I became obsessive; compulsive and extreme. I was ADAMANT to reach that 125lb “goal” no matter what. And when I did, I was EVERYTHING BUT HAPPY.

While on Jenny, my “Counselor;” she told me NOT to lift weights or to strength train. She said all that mattered was the number of the scale and that lifting weights would make the scale read heavier. I was CLUELESS, so I just listened. After all, thinness was the answer to it all, wasn’t it?

I could have joined their LIFETIME program. And if at the time, I had the $$$, I would have. I was torn between knowing in my right mind that a lifetime of Jenny would make me much worse and the FEAR of having to go at it alone; the FEAR of gaining the weight ALL BACK and then SOME. Thank the Universe, that during this time, my pocketbook won (or rather, lack there of) and I broke up with Jenny for good.

And then I met Lindsay at her 24 Hour Fitness booth at the University of Hawaii Manoa campus where I sheepishly approached to find out more info about a gym membership. Before this, I was DEATHLY AFRAID of joining a gym. I was intimidated and I had no idea what to do. I told myself, “Who am I to join a gym, where FIT people go to make themselves FITTER.” I definitely told myself I was NOT A FIT PERSON.

Lindsay, she had a strong athletic shape. She wasn’t skinny, but she held a frame to me, that read STRONG AS F! And I liked that. She made me feel confident about starting my fitness journey and so at that time, (broke college student), I went into debt to join 24 Hour Fitness Kapiolani on their cheapest, 3x per week membership (you guys remember those memberships??? LOL a thing of the past, right?). Lindsay, if you are out there – THANK YOU!

With that membership, I received 2 free personal training sessions to learn the lay of the land. I remember clearly the female trainer telling me, “WOW you are dam strong for a girl.” HAHAHA and so this is the beginning of the rest of my life. And Trainer lady at 24 HF Kapiolani whose name I can’t recall, THANK YOU!

This would be the first time someone made me realize that I was CAPABLE of something that I had never associated with my ABILITY. I was never athletic – EVER. I was a BOOB TUBE child. My dad, he was afraid to let us play outside. My mom was an avid church goer, so my childhood was watching TV and going to Church, for real tho!

This is why I am adamant that my female clients over 30 STRENGTH TRAIN, at least 3x per week, lifting heavy and eating to fuel their performance. And my personal experience is what has compelled me to create my 6 week lean muscle building program called #LevelUP which is now open for enrollment.

I am taking a total of 10 women, aged 30 years plus to develop a 6 week customized metcon and macro program for THEIR UNIQUE bodies. 100% tailored to your Ability, your Access and your Availability. And the best part? All workouts are 30 minutes or less!

My only requirements include: 1) you are aged 30 plus 2) have at least 3 times per week to dedicate to your 30 minutes or less customized lean muscle building programs and 3) promise to not disengage throughout the 6 weeks.

You will have complete, 100% access to me 24/7 via text, email, phone as well as access to our private Facebook community for support and camaraderie.

You will use the free app called True Coach to view your 6 week workouts along with workout videos and how to demos.

I’ve filled 4 of the spots right now. I have 6 spots remaining. Enroll today!

are you a woman over 30 years old? you need to hear this!

My female clients come to train with me and are surprised when I include a good amount of strength training into their programs. They are usually shocked and fearful of lifting weights because they do not want to look like those female bodybuilders.

Usually women enter the gym and head straight to the treadmill or stair master and spend hours on these cardio machines, day in and day out in hopes of changing their bodies. What they don’t know is that to make real changes, you need to lift weights. And when you hit your 30’s, throwing some weight around is even more important!

Strength Training Increases Your Metabolism (to Burn More Fat)

If you lift weights, obviously you build muscles. And the more muscles you have, the faster will be your metabolism.

Did you know that one pound of muscle burns about 6-7 calories every hour? The fat cells burn only 1! So, get more muscles to burn fat.

You may think now (again) that how will you look like if you pack on so much muscle mass. Don’t worry! The hormone system of women does not allow to grow incredibly big muscles. Plus, your muscles will look more shaped, so visually you look more fit as well.

You Are Going to Be Stronger

It is logical that by lifting weights, you are going to get better strength that you can enjoy across across all of the activities in your daily life. It will be easier to go up the stairs with heavy bags, and you will not have to beg your husband to move this or that around the house.

Typically, women can be 30-40% stronger thanks to the weights without looking bulky.

Prevent Injuries & Illnesses

If you have a strong body the possibility to get an injury from a daily activity is much less since you muscles and joints are much powerful. It will not be a problem if you have to make a sudden move or move that requires more strength.

Another benefit is that weight training helps to compensate the adverse effects of the sedentary life style. It helps you to get rid of and prevent lower back pain, headache, etc.

Do you want to transform your body into a lean muscle building machine in 30 minutes or less per day while enjoying food freedom & flexibility?

Join my 6 week #LEVELUP lean muscle building program starting on May 25th, 2020!

For less than a cup of coffee per day, I’m giving YOU the metcons and macros suitable for YOUR body so that you can become a calorie burning machine!

I talk to women every day who tell me “It’s been a struggle. I’m in a slump. I need to be using my free time better. I am getting so lazy and I have to get motivated again. I just don’t know how to begin or even where to start.” This is why I am so stoked to announce that my 6 week lean building program #LevelUP is now open for enrollment!

pb-nan-pro muffins for yo mama

Peanut Butter Banana Protein Muffins

1 ripe banana

2 Tbsp. Peanut butter

1/4 cup rolled oats

1 whole egg

1/2 cup egg whites

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

1 tsp. Baking powder

1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract

2 Tbsp. Chia or flax seeds (can omit)

Mix ingredients together and bake at 350 F degrees in muffin tins for 15 minutes

up your veggie game, even if u don’t like em!

Vegetables are a nutritional powerhouse, packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. We’re here to help you get a great start to your week with tips on how to eat more vegetables.

Vary Your Veggies

Try them both raw and cooked. Vegetables like carrots, celery, and peppers can offer different flavors and textures depending on what form they are consumed. Try eating them raw and cooking them in a variety of ways to know which you like best.

Incorporate them into casseroles, stir fry or soups. Adding vegetables into mixed dishes will allow them to complement a dish rather than being the focus. They can add flavors and textures as well as great nutrients into your dish.

Try a smoothie. Smoothies made only with fruit may be high in sugar due to their natural sweetness. Decrease the sugar content of your smoothies by swapping some of the fruit with leafy greens or non-starchy vegetables such as cucumber, beets, or zucchini.

Use vegetables as a vessel for more savory foods. Stuffed peppers or mushrooms and zucchini boats are a great base for mixed dishes. They inherit the flavors while using the entire vegetable. Try replacing a tortilla for a bell pepper on your next taco night.

Use dips and sauces when appropriate. Guacamole and hummus can make raw vegetables more palatable. Try making your own dip with herbs and plain greek yogurt.

My Challenge for You: Eat at least one vegetable each day this week!