Lately, I have been feeling a little behind the times on our social media savvy at Borracha  LLC and Granada Bistro.. Facebook vs. Twitter, Fan page vs. Person page..

With so many ways to communicate I can never decide what’s appropriate content for each application.. So I am studying each application/social media one step at a time..

Some of what I’ve uncovered so far:

Every 1 in 12 people in the world have a Facebook profile. Twitter, on the other hand, has more of a cult following. It can’t do as much, but that’s the beauty of it! Twitter keeps things simple, whereas Facebook is following in the footsteps of Google, taking over the world one app at a time.

Twitter is for one thing and one thing only. Updates. On Facebook, status updates are only a feature, but Twitter relies on updates to run. Twitter has been made famous with the creation of “tweets”- posts of 140 characters or less, which pop up in real time and keep members and followers interested. For people who don’t have time to keep blogs, Twitter allows people to communicate literally anything to others instantly and easily through this new method of “micro-blogging.” From Obama tweeting about policy changes to a friend tweeting about their morning coffee, everything becomes instant news on Twitter.

So why not just use Facebook? Then you can also post pictures, videos, write on people’s walls, and so much more. Well, one reason Twitter has become such a hidden treasure is the shorthand and symbols that give it an exclusive appeal to those willing to figure them out. So what does all this mean? I have no idea.. but its a start

Ah, at last it’s spring. The flowers are blooming and days are getting brighter. For me and some of our beautiful staff, it also means it’s triathlon season! Wildflower is just around the corner. Knowing it will not be an easy competition, (in fact, I believe it will be one of the most challenging things I’ve done) we’ve been seeking to find ways to improve our training. Have you considered that what you eat and when you eat affects your athletic performance? A wisely selected meal plan can help us be stronger, train harder, and compete better.
FUEL: The best foods to fuel your muscles are carbohydrates, either simple sugars (such as the naturally occurring sugars in fruits) or complex carbohydrates (starchy foods, such as whole grain pastas and breads). These carbohydrates provide not only energy but also important vitamins and minerals. Your muscles store only carbohydrates–not protein or fat–in a form of sugar called glycogen. During hard exercise, your muscles burn this glycogen for energy. When you deplete your glycogen stores, as can happen during repeated days of hard training and a low carbohydrate diet, you feel overwhelmingly exhausted. Eating high carbohydrate foods on a daily basis can help.
QUICK ENERGY: If you are hungry, tired, and craving a quick energy boost prior to exercise, having a simple snack of fruit, or a granola bar (Mojo bars are the best ) can perk you up.
FLUIDS: Just as lack of carbohydrates can hurt athletic performance, so can lack of fluids. To prevent yourself from becoming dehydrated, drink lots of liquids before, during, and after strenuous exercise. Water is fine for exercise that lasts less than an hour, particularly if you have enjoyed a pre-exercise snack to fuel your workout. If you are exercising for more than an hour your body needs water and carbohydrates.
RECOVERY FOODS: You should eat or drink carbohydrates as soon as tolerable (within two hours after hard exercise) to replace depleted glycogen stores. Muscles are most receptive to refueling at this time. A simple post-exercise refueler is fruit juice–a rich source of fluid, carbohydrates, vitamins. For athletes who do exhaustive exercise, consuming a little protein along with the carbs may enhance the speed of recovery and reduce soreness.

Cheers to taking fitness to another level!
~ Mojo

Sadly, we have a nation that is addicted to sugar. Refined sugars offer insignificant amounts of vitamins and minerals and rob our bodies of precious nutrients. This inevitably leads to diseases.

While the human body is a remarkably flexible instrument, it cannot adapt to foods that have been radically altered from their natural form. Basically our cells weaken with respect to the response they have to insulin/ leptin because of over stimulation and subsequent indifference.  So what?  Well, because your cells are not responding..your body in its infinite wisdom pumps out more insulin/leptin. In doing this, it tends to go into over-kill and then there is too much insulin/leptin around, leading to premature aging and degenerative diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

Removing processed grains and refined sugars seems tough, because they are everywhere. Yes, this includes white rice, white pasta, and white bread. These are processed grains that turn into sugar and raise glucose and insulin the same as sucrose, fructose, or any other “-ose.”

One-third of refined sugars consumption comes from soft drinks, while two-thirds of our sugar intake comes from hidden sources, including lunch meats, pizza, sauces, breads, soups, crackers, fruit drinks, canned foods, yogurt, ketchup, and mayonnaise.

To identify acceptable grains, the words whole, stone-ground, or sprouted must be before the word wheat or other grain’s name. For example, if it doesn’t say the words whole wheat, it is processed. Wheat flour is not a whole grain and is thus disease-causing to your body. Some acceptable sugar alternatives are natural honey, organic raw agave nectar and pure maple syrup.

So, I challenge you this week, rethink what you eat and consider your health. Swap out refined sugar and flour in your diet by eating more real foods like fruits and vegetables and healthy grains like quinoa. I am confident you will see a significant increase in energy levels, a change in mood and your skin will look healthier.