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

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

Chocolate Almond Banana Bread

Morning :)

Okay, so it's been a while since I've experimented in the kitchen! So here's what I made for my Saturday night #cheatclean treat :) :) It is DELISH!!!


Chocolate Almond Banana Bread :)

What you'll need:
- 1 Chocolate Chunk Quest Bar (chopped into small chunks)
- 6 eggs (6 whites, 2 yolks)
- 4 tbs of filtered water
- 100g of vanilla protein
- 1 tbs Cacao powder
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 medium bananas (mashed)
- 5 tbs flaked almonds

What you need to do:

  


1. Preheat your oven (Gas 3) + line your bread tin with paper
2. Sort your eggs out + add your water
3. Mix your egg mix with your protein + cacao + cinnamon + baking powder (if it's too thick add some more water, but this mix was good for me!)
4. Fold in your bananas, almonds + quest bar :)

5. Pour into your tin and in the oven for 40 mins
6. Let it cool, pop in fridge and enjoy :)

It's delicious with goo in the middle.....



Enjoy your Sunday,

Erica xx

Cheat Clean Snacks

Feeling adventurous today?? Today, I'm going to do a big shop and prep loads of food for the week!!! I'm also, going to make some healthy snacks! For anyone that's on my facebook private group, you've probably noticed that my meal prep has been pretty brutal of late! So organisation is on!!


Baking is so much more fun than cooking so here are some treat's i'm going to make: *the links to all the recipes are on the names :)

1. Granola Bars

2. Health Krispy Squares

3. Nutty Protein Bars

4. Chocolate + Coconut Balls

 5. Flapjacks

6. Protein Balls

Happy Baking :)

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

Holiday Tips to not throw you completely off

Morning girls J

Holidays are great, the sun in shining (hopefully), which encourages us to eat lighter and drink more water. We’re resting and sleeping better (which is very important when leading a healthy lifestyle) and we’re re-energizing our bodies, which is so important of our mental and physical functioning. 

Before I go through my ten tips that I think make an awesome difference to going on holiday, I want to make sure you understand – you are on your holidays – it IS important that you enjoy some more of life’s pleasures for your short time away. However, you are not a dog, you should not be rewarding yourself with food. 

This is a holiday –NOT a binge trip :) 

So here are ten tips to hang on the healthy living boat while on holiday;

1.      Drink plenty of water – this is not hard to do. It’s hot. You’re thirsty. Choose water over coke.

2.     Meditate every morning on your deck chair.

3.     Pick a time of day to enjoy your alcohol - either lunch or dinner. Do you really need to drink at both meals?

4.     Bring your supplements (see below for the three I brought). Supplements are vital for keeping your body functioning, decant them, they’re easy to bring and will help you feel good when you eat crap.

5.     Watch the carbs at dinner, there are so many wonderful restaurants abroad; try to avoid pasta and pizza every night…

6.    Choose nuts over crisps. A lot of people may have a nightcap or a pre dinner drink, have nuts as your snack instead of crisps.

7.     Get a minimum of 8 hours sleep per night. 

8.    Make sure you eat lots of fibrous foods (leaves, veggies + lentils) so you don’t get bloated and clogged… 

9.    Walk or cycle when you’re going out… Twenty minute walk to your restaurant and back is still a little bit of exercise – something is better than nothing.

10.  Let your skin see the sun (even if you’re very pale, just for a few minutes) –Vitamin D is a very good mood booster J

My Top Three supplements:

1.      Aloe Vera Gel: Well, you know how much I swear by this stuff (full blog on it here) I need this every day – it is amazing! It makes my feel so much cleaner inside; it’s full of nutrients, vitamins, minerals etc. It is amazing for your digestive tract and that means you don’t get bloated J so this is the most important thing that I bring with me. I try to always travel with hand luggage (my wardrobe is flip-flops, bikini, shorts, top #casualchick) So I decant it into little bottles. 

2.     Garcina Plus: A well-known appetite suppressor supplement (I always say to make sure that you’re drinking the gel, when you’re taking these – they can be prone to clogging….) these basically make you feel fuller… So that’s good for eh well you know… not overindulging in the magnums. 

3.     ForeverLean: This is a supplement blend of fiber (super for a healthy gut) and chromium. Chromium is a well-known tool for stopping you craving sugar. Truthfully = I LOVE sugar, I would dive into a bag of sweets if I had the opportunity to. I am not joking you – I do not have a sugar craving when on these bad boys!

If you guys want to grab some of these, you can on my online store: www.ericabrennan.flp.com (and please feel free to send me an email if you’re unsure)

Hope these tips help you with your holiday pounds, but remember, have fun, laughter and don’t come back being disgusted with yourself – it’s not worth it!!!

Erica xx

My Fitness Journey

Good morning all,

So it was my birthday on Friday (thank you for all the lovely birthday wishes), so I did a bit of reflecting. I decided to root up some old photo's of myself (that in itself was a good laugh) and I compared a few things. We're always getting amazing testimonials from clients in the gym about their fitness journey, so today for the first time EVER, I'm going to share mine...

"As a child, I hated sports, I was no good at them and I had no interest in becoming good at them. As a teenager, the only sport I was interested in was chasing boys and drinking like a fish. So how am I a fitness fanatic now?

The truth is, as a teenage girl, of course I was self conscious, like every teenage girl is...? I joined gyms a couple of times, but never stuck at them. I felt awkward going into a commercial gym, a spare lemon walking around having no clue what to do, I was shy. So I decided I'd start running... Yes, running, I could do that...?

The truth is though, I THOUGHT I was being good! Honestly, I thought I was (special k for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, pasta for dinner... that not healthy no?). Anyway, long story short, I got injured. Two discs in my lower back wedged together, this shot pain around my front into my hips and down into my knees (great crack).

I went through a bit tough time in my life then, as both my grandparents died (I was VERY close to them) within 9 weeks of each other (this and teenage hormones #cookoo). So, nervous as I was, I joined the local women's gym. This was the best thing I ever did. I lost a couple of inches and was delighted, also the endorphins from training started to clear my head. I was taken under one of the trainers wings in this gym and she asked me would I be interested in doing the course and become a fitness instructor - this NEVER, EVER, EVER had crossed my mind before. I went home did my research, and bam - bye bye retail management course in DIT, hello fitness world. I had all these idea's and I was excited.

I knew that if I wanted to be a coach, I would need to get my own ass in gear, so I hired a personal trainer for 6-months, I spent €180 a week doing three sessions. I spent literally every single penny I earned on this. I gave up alcohol and furthered my education by doing a nutrition course (and anyone in this industry know's that you also have to read a serious amount of books if you want to stand out from the crowd in this field... so did that too) therefore I started to eat right. I still wasn't very strict on food, but better then before. All of this got me down to 14% body fat.

My own fitness career started to take off and this September, I'll be going into my  6th year being a Personal Trainer, Pilates Instructor, Fitness Coach and Nutrition Consultant. My interest in health and well being lead me to a fantastic company: Forever Living Products where I now coach other like minded people on how to build their own health and well being business from home (not fitness professionals, just people who are interested in wealth and health). My body fat and weight has been a constant battle since I was 16 years old. I'm not claiming that I was morbidly obese or anything, I wasn't. However, my diet was brutal and I had a lot of fat on me.

Today, I am the leanest I have ever been and going forward, my goal is to stay at this body fat percentage - I'm quite happy here :) I met Ciaran (in the gym...) and healthy living is SO much easier when someone is doing it with you. We live clean: sugar, dairy, yeast, alcohol (unless a very special occasion) and it suits us! My favourite thing about training, is that it doesn't require skill. It's not like a sport, you don't need any skill, you just need determination and commitment.

I firmly believe that everything in life happens for a reason. As distraught as I was when Granny and Tom died, it lead me into this training world - sunshine always follows the rain. Over the past few years, my weight, inches and body fat has gone up and down, up and down. Always trying my best to train, but other factors come into play too: stress levels, sleep, deficiencies. It's not black and white, weight and fat management is a whole big sea of grey!

You know when you see those pictures on facebook of "a year from now, you'll wish had started today...", I actually said to myself yesterday, thank God I started that day, and I'm extremely grateful to all the people who helped me along my journey. These days, I weight train 3-5 times per week, I do Hot Yoga/Pilates 3 times per week and I run on the Alter-G once a week (I go through phases, sometimes more, sometimes less). I also eat as strictly as I can, take supplements and drink approx. 2-4 litres of water every day. I get minimum 8 hours sleep and I handle my stress levels with Pilates/Yoga, Meditation and Reiki."

Well, that's me. If you want to start your fitness journey. Make the decision now and stick to it.

If you want some support PLEASE email me on facebook (www.facebook.com/ericabrennan.pt). You don't need to be the spare lemon!!

I wish you guys the best of luck whether your continuing or just starting your fitness journey :)

Much love,
Erica

Losing weight PITFALLS

Good morning, good morning :)

OK, so this morning, I want you guys to be aware of one of the major pitfalls that people who are trying to lose weight encounter. One big one is that; they listen to those who know nothing about losing weight and don't listen to those who do know how to lose weight. 

I know that sounds silly... but it's actually true. If you are on a fat loss mission - like most things in life, people do like to voice their opinions on the subject to you, and that's ok some of the time however sometimes you need to ignore the negative Nigels (that's what I call the negative people that I come across).It's amazing, people go to health experts all the time. They tell them how and what to do and yet they choose to eat a pack of biscuits with their pal at 4pm on a Tuesday.

If you want to lead a healthy lifestyle and perhaps you're on your fitness mission, then you do need to educate yourself on what you should be doing - food, stress, training, supplement etc. wise. You can do that by going to a good personal trainer or nutrionist, by researching online and by taking advice off people who live and breath a healthy lifestyle.

If your family cooks unhealthy dinners - then make your own! If your friends like getting fizzy drinks and croissants, then be a strong person, stand your ground and order water. If you want to reach your fitness goal then you need to man up and sacrifice the popcorn. Have food in your house and be prepared. If you cook unhealthy food for your family (you should re-think this), then eat your healthy dinner before theirs, so you're not hungry and you won't finish theirs!

The most important thing you need to do, is decide what you want? What do you want? What are your health goals? Is it to gain weight? To increase fitness? To lose weight? To shed body fat? To become healthier?  To get stronger? The one thing that is VERY important is that you need to know what you want. You need a clear vision of what you want and why you're being good.

If you set your goal - clearly. Write it down and visualise it daily then you need to reach into your inner strength and stay strong! The matter of the fact is losing/gaining weight is hard. Yes. They are. It will challenge you, it will make you sometimes want to quit and you will fall off the wagon. The problem isn't falling off the wagon though, the problem is STAYING off the wagon. You need to GET THE HELL BACK UP! Like anything in life, you must persist. You need to be eating well and training consistently. Not for a day or a week for like weeks and weeks! Persistence is key!

Choose who you're going to take advice from, and teach yourself what to do to get in the shape you want to be! Heck, email me and I'll try and help as much as I can.

Erica xx

Beach Bod - swim wear - choose carefully

So we were chatting yesterday in The Gym about summer holidays and what not. So the big thing is, what swim wear is on the cards for you?

Swim suits? 
Want to cover up your midriff? Then swim suits are for you!
Here are a couple of nice ones on the market (click on the image to bring you to the website):

Bikinis 

One of my pet hates is tight bikini bottoms, don't do it!! They don't do ANYONE any favours! So we've bandeau ones (these are my favourite because I've no boobs). I also like these because I hate getting strap marks...... 

Or the bra type ones :) These are very flattering... 

Don't forget there are so many bottoms to choose from and it all depends on how good your bum looks in them!!

Low Rise: 

Pants:

Hipster:

High waisted:

My favourite one altogether AND it's from a great online store: Custom Vintage Dublin

Hope this fun, happy visualising your holiday :) Hopefully Ireland will be sunny and we can actually wear them here :)

Erica xx