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

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

"Work Bitch"

I'm quoting Britney today... Although she is a long away from the pigtails and mini skirts, she has a lot of serious points! Like she is amazing, her story is incredible... my blog today isn't about me loving Britney, but it is about her song "Work Bitch". This song is vital for your workout playlist!!

We all have wonderful intentions but the people who actually reach their goals all have a few important things in common:

- They all set goals
- They all perfected visualisation skills
- They are all self motivated
- And they all SERIOUSLY GET OFF THEIR ASSES AND WORKED!

The process of reaching fitness and health goals seems to be very similar to succeeding in business. You will fail, whether it's eating those biscuits when you promised you were off them or when a business idea fell flat on its face. We have to fail at things, it makes us learn. It makes us grow. Failing is a major part of succeeding.

No athlete has just strolled into the Olympics, they sacrificed drinking at parties, eating McDonalds, late nights due to early morning training and a lot more. They were not lucky. They worked bloody hard.

That phrase is one of my serious pet hates.... "Oh they were lucky..."... No they were not lucky. They trained their ass off, they worked 100 hours a week, the went out of their way to get to where they are now. Successful people, it doesn't matter what department of success they're in, they all have one major factor in common - they will do what it takes to get where they want to be. No objection is going to stand in their way.

It's very easy to say "oh I want to be fit" or "I'd love to just fit into my clothes comfortably..." but how much would you love to fit into your clothes properly? Like how much? The reason, why people quit is because they'd kinda like to fit into their clothes comfortably, but you know, not as much as going out every weekend, and not as much as lying on the couch watching tv, instead of going to the gym. They want to be fit, but every excuse is better than actually getting up off their ass and doing it.

I'm not trying to dampen your efforts, everyone will fall off the bandwagon but it's vital that you stand back up and go again! This is the difference between where you want to be and where you are now. You need to not let a hiccup stand in your way. Get up and go!!! (and if your friends are giving you stick about you trying to become fitter or healthier or successful in business, if they give you grief - they're not your mates.)

Switch on and surround yourself with like minded people!!

So my point of all of this is, whatever you want to do, whether it's to succeed in whatever you do or to lose body fat or gain healthy weight, whatever it is - you have to work, bitch. You need to believe in what you want, you need to eat, sleep, drink it and you need to put 100% into your workouts (hence why you need it on your gym playlist)!

You need be 100% sure of what your outcome is, you cannot be fickle, you have to accept that there are going to be challenges, but overcoming these challenges will make it worth it.

Here's a million dollar question? Lets set the scene, you're at a BBQ and there's load of meat and salad, so you can be perfectly good, but all the desserts come out, you're dying for one.... Ask yourself this; " If someone was to give me a million dollars today for me NOT to eat any dessert would I eat it?"

Your answer is decision!

Nutty Protein Bars

Hiiiiiiii,

So it's been ages since I've actually baked something fun, so yesterday morning I decided to experiment :)

Simple recipe and no joke, it only took like 5 minutes prep and 30 minutes in the freezer!

Ingredients:

• 2 scoops Forever Ultra Lite Protein Shake
• 60g of organic oats
• 100g of flaked almonds
• 60g of flaxseed mix with cranberries
• 30g of sunflower and almond mix (I had them toasted from previous, but I'm sure they're as nice as if not toasted)
• 60g of almond butter (peanut would do too, I'm sure)
• 1tbsp of Organic Bee Honey
• 20ml of almond milk (just a drop...)
• A little dark chocolate for topping (although, I put it on first time and you actually don't really need it!)

Method:

1. Mix all the of the dry ingredients together
2. Chuck in all the wet ingredients
3. Give it a good mix with a wooden spoon
4. Pop it into a bread loaf tin, pop dark chocolate on top
5. In the freeze for 30 minutes 
6. Boom - out and in mouth

Easy peasy lemon squeezy....

Enjoy :)

Erica xx

Gaining weight but not fat!

Firstly, I want to thank everyone so much for their lovely emails and texts in relation to last week's blog. I'm so touched to have gotten so many kind messages. I really hope that if someone is really nervous about training or concerned about food to please get in touch. Honestly, I will truly try my best to help and give any advice and support that I can.

So, today, lets talk about... gaining weight! I know that most of the time my blogs are about fat loss, so today I think I should mention some pointers for girls who actually want/need to gain some weight.

Gaining weight, for anyone who is trying will agree, that it is one of the hardest things to do (I have never personally had this problem, but I've had plenty of clients who have taken my advice)! So the first thing you need to do, is discover why you want/need to gain weight? Are you just naturally really skinny and want to get toned and muscly? Have you had injuries or health problems that have caused sudden weight loss? Have you in the past or do you currently have an eating disorder? Do you struggle to gain weight even though you eat whatever you want whenever you want?

All of the above are questions you need to ask yourself and see where you personally lie. Obviously if you're reading this, you're interested in being healthy and training. So the first thing, I suggest is that you make sure you're a member of a gym (where you can go in and train on your own). Here you need to follow a program that is designed for you - not a one for all program. It's important that you're training in the right rep range, taking the correct amount of rest and following a 4 - 6 week plan, so that YOU can see your progressions!

Secondly, what I would suggest you start developing (and I suggest this to any client I meet, weight loss or gain) a food diary. This is a simple yet very effective task. Literally, write down what you eat/drink and at what time you do this. Then leave a comment 40 minutes after you've eaten saying how you feel e.g. sick, tired, bloated, happy, skinny, clean, healthy, emotional, etc. Oh, and don't lie! The only person you're cod-ding is yourself.

Food diaries are essential for the trainer who will be working with you and for yourself. You'll actually start to see what you are or what you're not eating? A food diary should be for around 10 days and make sure that you get a weekend in there.

Thirdly, just because you are trying to gain weight, doesn't mean you should go out and eat as much fast food as possible to gain a few lbs. You need to be a clever clogs about it. Up your healthy, good quality food and make sure you're having six meals a day (yes, I say six).

1. Breakfast
2. Snack
3. Lunch
4. Snack
5. Dinner
6. Snack

You need to follow all the healthy eating guidelines, trying to increase your protein, lower your empty calorie foods, avoid dairy and gluten and eat plenty of high (good) fatty foods (e.g. nuts, avocado etc.).

This is a ROUGH gist:
Breakfast: 4 poached eggs, 4-5 slices of smoked salmon, half an avocado
Snack: 2 handfuls of nuts, blue/raspberries, protein shake (good quality)
Lunch: 3 turkey/beef burgers, broccoli, spinach, green beans and sweet potato
Snack: 2 handfuls of nuts, blue/raspberries, total greek yoghurt with protein powder
Dinner: 2 salmon fillets, big plate of veg, and sweet potato
Snack: Porridge (almond milk)

Now, I know that if you're not a big eater, that'll look like a mountain, but it's important that you take it day by day, step by step and gradually build up so that you can eat bigger portions. All of those foods are good quality and you all probably recognise them as I suggest people trying to lose body fat eat them (but not as much of them... don't panic fat loss readers!)

I hope that this is a little insight an food for thought for those of you who would like to gain some weight (but not fat!). As always, please PM on facebook and I can help you out with a program for your training. Don't forget, if you would like to be in my skinny mini club (tis a facebook foodie group), please add me on facebook (www.facebook.com/ericabrennan.pt) and I'll add you to it :)

Happy Sunday,
Erica xx

Ps. As I was looking through to find some pictures, I found this....  #ilovegerard

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

#cleantella

The latest craze is a yummy yummy substance called.... cleantella and it's a great way to cheat clean :)

Cleantella is a healthy "cheat clean" chocolate nut butter.... and my God... It. Is. Amazing. 

Without stating the obvious, it's healthier than nutella. Have a look for yourself.

My FAVOURITE way to eat clean-tella is on top of my Protein Pancakes... have a look at them. They are a fantastic combo!

You can grab Cleantella in our gym: www.facebook.com/thegymhowth. If you want to see some more cheating clean recipes that I share, follow me on instagram :)

Cleantella is all over Instagram, I screen-shotted some fantastic people's ideas for what you can eat it with. Or you can just eat it with a spoon!