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

#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!

2-5% Body Fat... Byeeeee

If you've been following my blogs for the past 4 weeks and sticking to each weeks tip... You're probably down about 2-5% bodyfat by now, so well done :) If you haven't... Read todays and click through tip one to four (I promise they're not long).... 

So last Beach Body Tip for summer 2015!

Focus on Food Quality & Up Your Protein

There is no special or secret formula to having a good body composition: A high-quality, high-protein intake, a lot of vegetables, beneficial/good fats, and other nutrient dense REAL foods.

Why is this way of eating so effective for reducing body fat?

First, whole foods require more energy for the body to digest and utilize than processed foods... hence why processed foods are a no go! They are also more filling and haven’t been scientifically engineered to stimulate food intake, so you eat fewer calories without even trying.

Second, eating a high-protein diet and lower-glycemic carbs leads people to eat fewer calories, and it maintains lean muscle mass for a higher metabolic rate. Proteins make you feel fuller faster... You wouldn't sit down and have four steaks in one sitting, but you could easily have four slices of cake... This makes a huge difference when you are trying to lose bodyfat!

If you make the mistake of cutting your calories without upping protein, you will lose muscle along with the fat, so the amount of calories your body burns at rest plummets. This will cause you to gain the fat back very rapidly once your diet is over and you increase your calories. This is why yoyo starvation diets DO NOT WORK!

How To Do It: 

Eat high-quality protein and fat at every meal, focusing on getting 10 grams of essential aminos acids. This is most easily done by eating meat, fish, or eggs because animal products are more amino acid dense than plant proteins.

De-emphasize carbohydrates, getting the vast majority of carbs from veggies and fruit.  If you go very low in carbs (below 50 grams a day, for example) consider cycling whole food carbs, such as starchy veggies (potatoes, sweet potatoes) or boiled grains every 5-7 days. NOTE: THIS IS NOT RECOMMENDED LONG TERM! This will only work in short term, and I am in no way telling you to go this low carb all year round, but in short term goals, it works. I would recommend majority of your carbs post workout, when you are more insulin sensitive!

So that's it!!

Erica xx

*** STEP 4 *** Get your summer body ready to rock

Hi Girls,

I hope you're all enjoying the bank holiday weekend! Things have been very busy for me lately. I'm in the process of opening a new gym (that is really busy) and I'm just back from an amazing event in the o2 in London. I work part time for myself with a company called Forever Living and they just paid for myself and my partner to fly to London and enjoy the amazing event that they hosted. I am going to write a blog up on how I work my Forever business as you know how important it is not to be stressed.

Stress will completely inhibit your ability to drop body fat. Forever really stopped me from getting stressed about money. I pump everything I've got into the gym so it'll grow and become an amazing fitness destination. Forever has given me the opportunity to work my gym full time and work my Forever business part time (5-10 hours a week) yet earn a full time salary. It's amazing. Needless to say, email me if you would like to see the business presentation online :) However, I'll be back on more of that...

Today...

*** STEP 4 ***

#2: To Put on Muscle, Focus on “Stressing Out” Your Muscles

This is really important = The more muscle you have, the less fat you have.

There is a misconception out there that " muscle turns into fat ". This is untrue. Muscle and fat are two completely different substances. Steaks don't turn into chicken breasts if uneaten!

Therefore the goal is to gain muscle (we don't need to look like Arnie, but muscles are good....)

If you want to build muscle, you need to apply a lot of “stress” to the muscle... we do that by weight training. This will cause the muscle to adapt and grow stronger. In general, training is putting stress onto your body making your body work harder and in turn your body will react by growing stronger muscles and the more muscle you have, the less fat you have.

How To Do It: 

Most people don’t do things... like tempo, volume, and intensity when training. You need to start!!

Count the tempo of every exercise and focus on longer time under tension to build muscle—(a great one is 4 seconds eccentric (down) and 4 seconds concentric (up).

Also, alternate between high-volume training (at least 4 sets of 8-10 reps) and high-intensity training (4-8 sets, 4-6 reps) every 2 to 3 weeks.

You are going to be in great shape in no time if you follow these simple steps!!

When I was in the UK, Forever announced their latest fitness program. It's a decision, not a diet. It works all around healthy fats and proteins, taking high quality supplements and keeping your gut clean. They introduced their latest product called "Therm" (this is going to be AMAZING!)" Therm, raises your body heat which in turn produces more GH (growth hormone), which in turn burns more fat. If you have every done one of my weight training classes, you'll notice that I keep the windows closed, this is again the same idea. The warmer you are and more GH you produce. Anyway my point is, that this program isn't on sale yet in Ireland, BUT I got to buy a pack of it, so guess what I'm starting it tomorrow. It is a 69 day plan to train you how to eat clean, exercise and supplement correctly. It'll be amazing! I'm hoping that Forever F.I.T program will get my down to 12% body fat!

So i'll keep you posted in that!

Happy Sunday, don't eat junk!
Erica xx (ericabrennan.pt@gmail.com)

Step 1
Step 2
Step 3

It's little chocolate balls of love

Here's a short one today girls :)

Since it is St. Patrick's weekend, I decided to make some healthy treats so the one I want to share with you!

Ingredients:
1 tbsp of cocoa
2 tbsp coconut segments (and keep for the end process)
3 tbsp of chopped almonds (toasted on the pan)
2 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp linseed crunch (a little bag of seeds that you can buy in aldi)
2 scoops of forever lite ultra chocolate protein
1 tbsp coconut oil (melted in the pan)


Method:
1. Throw all the dry ingredients into a bowl and mix around.
2. Add in the coconut oil and stir around.
3. Roll into little balls and roll in the coconut segments
4. Pop them into the fridge and eat when they slightly harden!

YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY

If you want to purchase the low carb/sugar tasty protein that I use for all my treats to #cheatclean, have a scoop around my online store here :)

Also, I post up more recipes on instagram, so if you want to see daily food tips, follow me @ericabrennanblog

Have a fantastic Paddy's weekend,
Erica xx

Granola Bars... and crumbs

Looking for something quick and handy to keep in the press and have with a cup of tea?

Here is my recipe for healthy granola bars :) Here are all the ingredients that you'll need!

Now, I know that all these ingredients make it look like it's a lot of effort, but it's really not. If you go out and buy all these seeds then they'll keep for whenever you need them (and they're not that pricey)

These are the one's that I buy in Aldi:

Use the protein shake scooper...

One scoop for these four:

Two scoops for these three:

Three scoops of these two:

So put all of the ingredients in a bowl and then add the wet ingredients!
- Almond butter (1 tbsp)
- Almond milk (40ml)
- Coconut Oil (2 tbsp)

Blend them all together, put in a tin and in the oven (gas 6) for 40 minutes :)

They are delicious and you can enjoy them with a cup of herbal tea .... healthy and filling and full of fibre to help your digestive system work properly!

Protein Pancakes

Good Morning Y'all,

OK, so it's not pancake Tuesday yet, but everyday can be pancake day.... Protein Pancake Day :) So my fantastic work colleague Tom, came in with this last Tuesday with this delicious looking breakfast!

Tom's Pancakes:

Now, I have tried many protein pancake recipes, but never would they stick properly on the pan... but these ones do!!! So Tom gave me permission to share he's awesome recipe with you all :)


Ingredients:

Teaspoon of coconut oil
30g Porridge Oats (organic if possible please)
30g Aminotein Vanilla Protein (as it is gluten free)
2x Eggs
1x Mashed Banana
Dash of almond milk
Almond Butter for serving (again, organic, glass jar if possible)


Method:
1. Put your oats, protein shake, eggs and banana in a bowl and mix together.

2. Add in enough milk to get the "pancake" consistency.
3. Heat the pan and melt the coconut oil.

4. Pour in the your pancake batter and make pancakes

5. Serve with delicious almond butter and green tea and BOOM healthy fun breakfast!

Happy Pancaking :)

Erica xx

Order your gluten free protein here http://bit.ly/MobKti

#healthieselfie

Hi,

So I spotted this idea on Instagram from Sweaty Betty (a fantastic company with a brilliant gym gear collection) and I thought it was pretty awesome!

#healthieselfie
So as you know "selfies" are everywhere (if you don't know, a "selfie" is a picture of you taking a photo of yourself) BUT I think that #healthieselfie is a much better idea!!

Here are some of mine (obviously if you're doing something revolved with fitness, you may need to get someone else to take your picture):

Why not Instagram me your #healthieselfie @ericabrennanblog

Chat soon,
Erica xx