Loads of Christmas Parties? No pounds to gain!

Hiiii,

Open your diary... How many nights out have you got over the next 5 weeks...? I would imagine, loads. Christmas is a wonderful time of the year and lets be fair, you've worked hard training and eating clean this year, so it's ok to let your hair down!

There are loads of tips to be shared around Christmas, but here are three for this morning!


1. Eat. 

Continue to eat well, everyday, keep eating clean. Eat before you go out (unless you're going out for food, then go hungry), but if you eat before you go out for drinks, it'll stop you nibbling or ordering junk food. I know most women like going out hungry, because they feel leaner.... If you're hungry, your willpower will need to be stronger and with 5 vodka's in you... your judgement may be tainted.

Throughout the festive season, I'll post up on instagram great dinners to eat before you go out. One's that'll fill you, but not make you bloated.

2. Water.

I feel like a broken record when it come's to the water topic, but seriously, we don't drink enough of it. Water is key! When we drink alcohol, we get massively dehydrated, so it's vital that you're
drinking loads of water everyday throughout the holidays. Drink a glass of water in between each drink too. You'll be amazed at how much it helps!

3. Make a commitment. 

Before you go out, have decided that no matter what happens that night, you will not binge eat the next day. We all know that the biggest problem with night's out is the next day, where we want nothing else apart from a Pizza or Chinese take away and coke. DON'T DO IT!!!!!

Have food in your house and MAKE yourself eat well! I'm not saying that you'll always stay committed to your commitment, but it you make one with yourself, there's more of a chance.

Hope these three help! I'll post up more over the festive season :)

Erica xx

Ps.

(Go to the gym, even if you're dying.... go! 10 minutes on a bike will make you feel better.)

Hangover Protocol:
- Water
- Heap load of supplements
- Water
- Shower
- Water
- Eat - eggs
- Herbal Tea
- Water - healthy snack
- Gym - do anything
- Water
- Lunch - healthy, but filling
- Water - herbal tea - supplements - healthy snack
- Dinner
- Water
- Herbal Tea
- Water
- Bed - early.

Make Up

Hiiiiiiii,

Okay, here's a short and sweet one for this Winters morning :)

Have you sensitive skin?? Is wearing make up is the biggest pain because it makes your skin break out with spots or it makes your skin itchy and all you want to do is rub your eyes all the time??

I'm always looking out for chemical free, organic, ANIMAL FRIENDLY products :) On Friday I ordered lots of goodies for myself, and I thought I would share them with you today because so many girls do find it extremely tough in terms of cosmetics - you want to wear make up, but eh the  consequences aren't worth it!

 My top three favourite cosmetics:

1. Sonya Lipstick - one word, AMAZING. I have dry lips all year round and I hate having nothing on my lips, it drives me bananas. You'll never change lipstick brand when you start using these. My fav colour is "Almond".

2. Sonya Mineral Make Up - Awh, just fab! I put this on over my creme de foundation, and it makes your make up sit so well on your face, all day! Really good, pop some blusher over this = bob's your uncle! A light yet steady coverage that'll last all day! My colour "Natural"

3. Sonya Creme de foundation - An amazing alternative to thick gloupy foundation. I used to always wear MAC or bobby brown, but they're just too thick and they irritate the hell out of me. I love this foundation, it's fool proof to apply and again it'll sit so well on your face. My colour "Rose Beige"

The big point about all of the above is that they ARE chemical free and that they can be used on sensitive skin. They contain an amazing property called "lignin", which is natures carrier. This means that the over 200 compounds and all the vitamins and minerals (yes) that are in the makeup are carried down to your deepest layers of skin. It means that the make up isn't just sitting on your top layer of skin, it's actually penetrating down to give a finished look :) I also love the fact that they're REALLY good value! You could get an entire new make up collection for a VERY reasonable price!!!


I love them! There's a massive range, so if you want to have a browse, check them out: ericabrennan.flp.com

Have a great Sunday and enjoy the season finale of #lovehate

Choc - Coconut Protein Balls

Good morning girlies,

Hope you're all happy and healthy :)

I know, a lot people want to start baking protein healthy treats, but are a bit unsure and don't have many of the ingredients that a lot of recipes need you to have. So today, I made a very simple yet delicious cacao treat :)

Yum yum yum!!

So, what you'll need:

- 60g Chocolate protein (I like this one...)
- 1 tsp Honey (I like this one...)
- 1 tbs Designated Coconut (keep more for later)
- 1 tbs Ground Almond
- 1 tbs Coconut Oil
- 2 tsp Vanilla Essence
- 1 tbs Chocolate Chips (only a few...)

What you'll have to do for 5 minutes to make these treats:

- Mix all the dry ingredients together
- Melt the coconut oil and throw in the wet ingredients
- Roll into little balls and cover in designated coconut
- Place in the fridge and enjoy with some herbal tea

 DELISH!!

Enjoy them and have a lovely bank holiday weekend :)

Erica xx

Are you healthy???

Hi girls,

Okay, so we're in Autumn. I love Autumn, scarves, boots, tights, jumpers... layers... they all come back :) Wahoo!!

So, today, i'm going to talk about "health". What is health??

Health is the ability to adapt to our environment and maintain optimal function. 

So, being very healthy, means that our bodies can adapt and handle any situation. So like, let's take the example of food poisoning. If someone who is not very healthy gets food poisoning, the result is... you're in bed vomiting for two weeks. If you are very healthy, you have a bit of a dodgy tummy for two days. Same thing with a cold, not very healthy... you're in bed, full on man flue, runny nose, sore ears, sore throat, can't eat, can't move and in bed for two weeks. If you're a healthy bunny... 1-2 days feeling weak... then you're back to your bubbly self.

How healthy are you? What has your year, sickness, been like?

Did you know that the average women in the UK, pops 60 Paracetamol/ Ibuprofen, per year... How mental is that!! Overdosing in pills like this is a road to High Blood Pressure.

Digestion, circulation and absorption are just some of the jobs that your body has to do every second of the day. Your body is a network that needs to communicate together - you are the guardian of your body. Treat it well.

Your immune system is the doctor within you. Your immune system identifies the body's enemy and destroys it. Strength of our immune system is based on optimal vitamins and minerals, another reason why we need to supplement. Our food, environment and lifestyle depletes our vitamins and minerals in our body. For example, one cigarette, depletes 25mg of Vitamin C or the fact that B Vitamins are depleted by alcohol, stress or a dirty digestive system. Please remember, 80% of the average person's diet is sugar... Sugar causes an imbalance, it does many things, but it uses up chromium in our body. Our bodies NEED chromium to build muscle (exercise depletes chromium too, so we need to supplement it!). If we have low chromium levels, our B vitamins get depleted and if we are deficient in B vitamins, we feel low.... :(

There was a study done - an orange was picked and it contained 180 mg of Vitamin C. By the time it arrived in the store it had 60mg of Vit C!!! All the goodness lost in the travels!

For you to get the correct amount of Vitamin A, you need to eat 10 organic carrots a day, how many do you eat per day? And to get recommended amount of Vitamin E, you need to eat 10g of Wheatgerm... Anyone?

So, are you healthy???

If you want some advice on what to do to get healthy, click here and send me your email, so I can get in touch with you via email.

Link to healthiness!

Have a great Sunday,
Erica xx

Ps. Something's coming......

My Forever Story + Holiday Guidelines

Hi girls,

Want to change things up a little... so my blog today is on video :)

No equipment workout:

a1: Step Ups x20
a2: Push Ups x20
a3: Burpies x20
a4: Wall sit x30sec
3-6 sets

b1: Full Sit Ups x20
b2: Leg Raises x20
4 sets

For details on how you can start your Forever business, pop your email in the link below and I'll get back to you as fast as humanly possible :)

http://bit.ly/YYde3w

Byeeeeee
Erica xx

Eating in hotels...

Good morning.... or is it morning in Ireland? Hello either way :)

At the moment, I'm in the USA, the company I work with give each and every person in the company a chance to travel all expenses paid twice a year - and if it's available - I will avail of it :) I will post my blog next week on the whole amazing experience that I am having! However, today, I want to chat about surviving in hotels...

I am always chatting with people who spend a lot of time in hotels, whether working or on holidays. Hotels are amazing, but it can be hard to eat well in them... all those pastries are just eyeing you up all the time!!!!

So, firstly, when you're in hotels, make sure you:

1. Are always fully hydrated; a lot of the time, we eat when we are actually thirsty, so if you make sure that you have a full bottle of water before you leave your room in the morning, it'll help your cravings.

2. Take some supplements; it's well known, that if we lack certain nutrients, we crave more things. So stay healthy. If you don't supplement, the first supplements that I would recommend would be Aloe Vera Gel, Artic Sea Fish Oils and Bee Pollen (see my store for more info on all of these: www.ericabrennan.flp.com)

3. Eat eggs; there are always eggs in hotels, so eggs are defo on the menu. Stay away from the pastries, toast and jam and go for the eggs, bacon, oats route...!

4. Pop two Garcina Plus twenty minutes before you eat: Garcina is a fat loss supplement that basically makes you feel fuller! If you're at a buffet, I know that all I want to do is to keep going back up and grabbing more little mini croissants - here's a brief clip of me talking about my top three fat loss supplements!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUm1It7gNOM&list=UUf4-nCt3dfyQ2KHEiGPQAWA

5. Buy nuts in your nearest shop and snack on them throughout the day! Do not go hungry... if you go hungry you're much more likely to binge! No binging in hotels!

Travelling is fun and when you're on holidays have fun, don't be too hard on yourself but if you follow these 5 simple tips, you'll not be punishing yourself but you won't come home feeling shit!

Happy Sunday,
Erica xx

Spotify for training

Good morninggggggg...!

Okay, so as we all know, music makes such a massive difference to our workouts, so my question is;

Do you use Spotify?

If you don't... you NEED to! Spotify has awesome playlists, so many, no matter what mood you're in, spotify will have a playlist to suit what type of workout you're going for! Whether it's feel good, fast for cardio or motivation for weights, Spotify will really help keep you going!

I know this sounds pretty obvious, but also having good powerful earphones are a must too! There's nothing worse than low quality music in your ears!

I feel that sometimes if I'm not in the form to train (which is normal), if I force myself into The Gym and just put in my earphones with a great playlist, I find that after 2 minutes, my heart rate is going, I'm warming up and boom - off we go!

Here are three cool Spotify playlists that I have on the go at the moment :) One is Dancey, one is a general pop mix and the last one is a punk rock throwback with some classics!!

http://open.spotify.com/user/blancoynegromusic/playlist/089GyNArqFs9lvrSkp7XVm

http://open.spotify.com/user/12123631385/playlist/1C1yZ3aDDBG5YLRNQrrzwT

http://open.spotify.com/user/11121811457/playlist/6k0Iz4Ge2SNzWHnKvcHhGy

Enjoy!

Erica xx