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

How to survive when you have PMS

1. 
   PMS means premenstrual syndrome and is something that three out of every four girls will experience just before or during their periods. The symptoms can include feeling tired, headaches, finding it hard to concentrate, being sad for no reason, or just generally feeling depressed and being miserable about everything. 

   
   

   That is the definition of PMS... My definition of it is as below...

   
   

   

   
   

   The Urban dictionary defines it well "PMS stands for pre menstrual syndrome or pass me the shotgun".

   
   

   So, how do we actually not go completely bananas and dive into the ocean and destroy everything we have worked hard on for all the other weeks of the year?

   
   
   

   

   
   
   

   1. KNOW YOUR DATES - (download an app) you need to prepare (organisation is superb for eating clean so it is vital that you know your dates so you can be on the ball!)

   
   

   2. BE ORGANISED - you need to make sure that you have a fridge full of good healthy foods. 

   
   

   3. DRINK LOADS OF WATER - you will retain fluid now, make sure that you're staying well hydrated, water helps combat cravings. 

   
   

   4. MAKE SURE YOU'RE HEALTHY - by this, I mean, make sure you're fuelled up with good quality supplements, so that you're not lacking any nutrients. Good example of these would be Fields of Green (wheatgrass, alfalfa, greenies), Bee Pollen (b complex, multi vit and multi mineral), Vitamin C (self explanatory), Fish Oils (superb for brain function and helps us women stay calm and see clearer). 
   
   5. TRAIN - I know sometimes you'd prefer to chop off your own foot than to train when on PMS, but just do it! Even if it's not an amazing workout - any workout is better than none!!
   
   6. EAT - Follow all your healthy eating. Make sure that you're eating, don't go hungry, it'll only enhance your chances of eating crap. Start making some #cleancheats (check out my blog and other instagram bloggers for some ideas - they're are loads of great ideas out there!)
   
   7. HERBAL TEAS - They are so handy, esp at night when all you want is sugar... drink your herbal tea!!! You can have a piece of dark chocolate too along with your herbal tea :)
   
   8. DON'T USE IT AS AN EXCUSE - You need to stay strong!!!! This is your willpower test. Don't let your cookoo-ness destroy all your weeks of training and clean eating. Be strong and you certainly don't need to eat 10 dairy milks!!!
   
   
   

   

   
   Erica xx

Cross Fit... Yay or Nay?

Hellooooo,

Ok so CrossFit has gotten HUGE lately, and I felt it fitting to write my blog this week on CrossFit as we have just purchased an AWESOME 4 bay double sided crossfit rig for The Gym Howth!

CrossFit has some really brilliant ideas. It is a really social and team based form of training, and CrossFit athletes seem to have a great team mentality. They push each other hard…. Maybe sometimes a bit too hard. A major strength of CrossFit is that it helps people in the gym who might not like training alone.

Things I like about CrossFit:

1. They work their asses off!

2. They use the big lifts. Squats, Deads, Chins, Olympic lifts.

3. They eat well.

4. They don’t make excuses.

5. They have a huge focus on mobility work, stretching and foam rolling.

Some things that might be a problem for people doing CrossFit:

1. Technique can be quite bad. (This is not exclusive to CrossFit, there are bad coaches in every sport)

2. Exercises can be too advanced for the “athlete”.

3. Program design can be pretty bad also. I’ve seen videos online of people testing their 1RM Deadlift before moving onto 1RM Snatches. That’s just bad. Again, this is not exclusive to CrossFit.

Overall I think it is great. It has gotten a massive number of people up off their asses and taking an interest in their health. As with any sport, there is a likelihood of injury. But I do think that it suits the more advanced trainee.

I feel most people would find it far more beneficial to get Personal Training and proper coaching focusing on structural balance, good technique and workouts that are unique for what each individual is looking for. A good Personal Trainer will design a program that are tailored for YOU – this is the difference between people who train and get results and people who train and don’t get results.

Happy Training,
Erica xx

Flapjackkie Thingie

Hello :)

OK, here's another good recipe one that I invented during the week - inspired by my training buddy @sfitz1 on Instagram (give her a follow, her cooking is unreal!!)

This is a healthy, sugar free flapjackkie thingie :)

The ingredients look long, but you can basically put whatever nutty - seedy stuff that is in your house in. These are what I used yesterday :)

Dry Ingredients
Whole Chia sees (2tbs)
Flaxseed mix (2tbs)
Shelled hemp (2tbs)
Linseed crunch (2tbs)
Milled linseed with blueberries & raspberries (2tbs)
Sesame seeds (2tbs)
Chopped walnuts (2tbs)
Chopped almonds (2tbs)
Mixed seeds (2tbs)
Flaked almonds (2tbs)
Dried raisins (4tbs)
Coconut segments (4tbs)
Vanilla Ultra Lite Protein Shake (2scoops = 50g)
Organic Porridge Oats (4 scoops = 100g)


Wet Ingredients
Organic coconut oil (2tbs)
Almond nut butter (2tbs)
2 Bananas
Almond milk (200ml)

Method:
1. Preheat the oven, Gas 6
2. Mix all the dry ingredients together with an electric mixer (low speed).
3. Put all the wet ingredients together in a bowl.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredient mixture and mix on high speed for about 1-2 minutes.
6. Put the mix into a greaseproof papered tin.
7. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes


   

Result:

Please not: Coconut Oil =