Back-to-school is approaching and dancers are gearing up to dive back into their rigorous schedules— a balance of dance and academic coursework is the norm. For dancers returning home from summer intensives, fatigue, and injury might be the reality. As a dietitian for dancers, August is one of my busiest seasons. A spike in stress […]
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Nutrition for Dancers
For dancers, there are five fundamental values to consider when building your fuel plan. Nutritional Adequacy (Are you eating enough?), Macronutrient Balance, Mealtime Consistency, Food Variety, and Food Flexibility. A dancer’s diet should consist of at least 55–60% carbohydrate, 12–15% protein and 30% fat. Carbohydrate is the major energy source for an active dancer. Honoring cravings and prioritizing a dancer’s relationship with food is essential.
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How to support a friend through disordered eating
When you suspect that a dance friend is struggling with disordered eating or an eating disorder, it can be challenging to know how to offer effective support. Fears of “saying the wrong thing” leaves many dancers at a loss for words. And while the conversation is one to tread lightly, avoidance can drive even the closest of friends further apart. If you suspect a dance friend is struggling with disordered eating or an eating disorder, here’s what to do.
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Comparisons in dance: your ultimate guide
Comparisons in the studio are, unfortunately, a common obstacle facing many dancers. Constantly comparing their skills, progress, and achievements to fellow dance peers— it can feel like an uphill battle for dancers to not compare themselves to others. This mindset isn’t just detrimental to a dancer’s self-esteem, it can also impede their creativity and overall performance potential. In this article, we explore why dancers are vulnerable to the comparative mindset, along with practical strategies to overcome it. The goal is to not strive for what feels impossible, but rather, to foster productive behaviors and a more fulfilling experience both in the studio and at mealtimes.
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A Dancer’s Guide to Stress, Fatigue, & Overwhelm
It’s common for dancers to find themselves exhausted mentally, physically, and emotionally. Balancing a packed dance schedule with academic coursework is hard enough. Chronic fatigue can be detrimental to your health, well-being, and your ability to perform to your greatest potential. While a dancer’s schedule is notoriously difficult to manage, you owe it to your mind, body, and soul to find moments to breathe.
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How to stop counting calories
Dancers have long been counting calories in attempts to gain a sense of comfort in micromanaging the amount they’re eating. But with popular diets recommending calorie targets that are much too low for even the inactive non-dancer, counting calories can be a gateway into more severe disordered eating. If you’re tired of the constant calorie calculations and want to break free from this restrictive habit, here are five steps to help.
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Misleading marketing
Marketing is a powerful tool in shaping our purchasing decisions. But when it comes to food and nutrition, it is crucial to be aware of marketing phrases that are particularly deceptive. Those that might seem harmless, but in reality, mislead us into developing restrictive food rules, food guilt, and worse, disordered eating. In this blog post, we’ll explore the most common marketing phrases that dancers should recognize and steer clear of in their mealtime decisions.
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What is staying power? How can it leverage our meals?
The staying power of a meal or snack refers to how long it keeps you satisfied and energized before feeling hungry again. Simply put, your meal’s staying power helps to support feelings of fullness— at least until your next opportunity to eat. In this article, we’ll uncover specific tips for leveraging your meal’s staying power to support energy and metabolic functioning.
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What Is A Healthy Body Weight?
How do we measure a healthy body weight? Body weight, as a measured number, encompasses a spectrum of components of body composition.
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A Dancer’s Complete Guide to Hormone Balance
For dancers, balanced hormones support strong bones. These ten foods will boost your hormone health. If you’re looking to support hormonal balance, start by adding these foods to your next grocery list.
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Detox for Dancers- will a cleanse help?
Dancers are known for their discipline and dedication to their craft. Maintaining a strong, agile body is essential for their performance on stage. However, undeniable food and body ideals can lead dancers to explore drastic measures, such as cleanses and detoxes, in pursuit of rapid weight loss or supposed “detoxification” methods. In this blog post, we will explore why dancers should avoid cleanses and detoxes, and uncover how to embrace a more inclusive approach to nourishing their bodies, along with The Healthy Dancer® Diet Detox [FREE] 5-Day Challenge.
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10 Things I Wish I Knew Before My Summer Dance Intensive
For an aspiring dancer, attending a summer intensive can be an exhilarating and transformative experience. Some of my favorite dance memories come from the various intensives I was fortunate to attend. But there are certain things that, in hindsight, I wish I had known before embarking on this exciting journey. I’ve previously discussed how dancers […]
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The Controversy of Seed Oils- are they healthy?
Using oil as a cooking medium or ingredient isn’t an uncommon practice for dancers. Edible oils are vegetable oils—this includes seed oils. Common examples are olive, canola, grapeseed, avocado, coconut, soybean, palm, corn, flax, and safflower. In order to extract the oil from the seed. But recently, cooking oils have received a ton of criticism. In this article, we’ll uncover the claims and debunk the fears surrounding this nourishing mealtime addition.
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Food Sensitivity Tests: Unraveling the Controversy
Food sensitivity tests have gained significant popularity as a means to identify potential triggers for various health concerns. These tests claim to pinpoint specific foods that may cause adverse reactions in individuals. Some believe that testing for food sensitivities provides the knowledge needed to guide treatment— oftentimes, elimination diets to remove the potentially triggering food. But there are major limitations to these protocols and as a registered dietitian, I don’t support their use.
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Dining out without stress – is it possible for dancers?
Dining out can support all realms of a supportive relationship with food for The Healthy Dancer®. Dining out can be a wonderful experience, filled with the anticipation of creating fun memories, catching up with friends, and savoring delicious food. But for many dancers who are in the depths of disordered eating or even well into their journeys of building supportive mealtime habits, dining out can elicit feelings of overwhelm and stress.
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Dancers, Hypermobility, and The Role of Nutrition
For many dancers, hypermobility can feel like a plus in the studio. Aesthetic ideals often depict lines that boast hyperextension. There are several different subtypes of hypermobility, with some being less problematic than others. According to the Ehlers-Danlos Society “…hypermobility that does not cause pain…[asymptomatic joint hypermobility] does not need to be treated.” But when hypermobility presents alongside joint instability, problems arise.
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Restrictive thinking and how to overcome it
Food thoughts bear a heavy impact on our relationships with food. Feelings like “I shouldn’t be eating this” and “I’m so bad for wanting this!” often come alongside food guilt, paving the way for challenging eating experiences. If you’ve ever ridiculed yourself for eating “too much” and/or eating the “wrong” foods, then it’s possible that you’re struggling with restrictive food thoughts or restrictive thinking. Restrictive thinking is a type of food restriction that may or may not involve an actual caloric restriction or food avoidance.
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Are Genetically Modified Foods Safe?
If you’ve ever examined the packaging of a standard snack bag then chances are you’ll notice a label touting “Non-GMO.” Dancers who struggle with clean eating often find themselves questioning the safety of processed foods and since nearly 80% of processed foods contain at least one genetically modified ingredient, it’s imperative that we unravel the […]
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Healing from diet culture- am I ready to eat intuitively?
Intuitive eating— especially for dancers, cannot be the first and only step in your journey towards building a supportive relationship with food. A supportive relationship with food can look different for every dancer, but generally, it allows for food to be pleasurable while honoring the options that are accessible to you. Part of the intuitive eating paradigm is to support adequate nourishment— this means relying on flexible meal planning. But if your goal is to transition out of such a flexible meal plan, then you’ll want to first assess whether or not you’re ready. This article uncovers 5 key identifiers to support your readiness for intuitive eating.
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Mindless eating- here’s why you shouldn’t worry
Mindless eating is often scrutinized as a behavior that needs to be intervened upon to avoid “over”-eating. But mindless eating can provide us with good feedback— a sign that our bodies are needing something to move through distress. This article will discuss the most common reasons why dancers might mindlessly eat, and offer actionable steps to navigate the experience.
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