A budget of nearly 72 billion dollars unfortunately gives the diet industry lots of power over how we feel this time of year. Many can’t help but feel overwhelming amounts of guilt in the aftermath of what is commonly a more indulgent meal. How can we move past these valid feelings and discomfort? This article will break down 3 critical points for dancers to consider as they move forward with their post-Holiday eating plans.
Read More...
Holistic Nutrition for Dancers
A holistic approach to nutrition is not prescriptive but rather, guided. Dancers utilize self-discovery to inform their decisions around food and movement. Ultimately, this supports a dancer’s whole being, including their physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.
Read More...
How To Manage PCOS Without Restrictive Dieting
Hormonal imbalances is often an experience that leaves many dancers overwhelmed and confused. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder that impacts approximately 5% to 10% of women of reproductive age. This article will dive into the complexities of PCOS and how those with a diagnosis can navigate without the pressures of diet culture.
Read More...
Ideal Height Weight Chart for Dancers
Using a charting system such as ideal weight charts to determine a dancer’s performance potential is extremely harmful. Dancers have a three times higher risk of suffering from an eating disorder when compared to the general population. This article discusses what an Ideal Weight Chart for Dancers is and whether they’re helpful or harmful.
Read More...
A Dancer’s Guide to Food Allergies
Food allergies are serious and can be life-threatening. It can also be difficult for dancers who have been medically diagnosed with food allergies to construct an overall balanced diet, especially given the commonality of busy schedules and financial constraints. This article will deconstruct the nuances dancers face when navigating food allergies.
Read More...
How to Eat Healthy on a Budget- Dancer Tips
Research suggests that eating fruits and vegetables can help to lower the risk for many chronic diseases such as heart disease, and may protect against certain types of cancer. But for many dancers, income is limited, and knowing how to incorporate these nutrient-dense options without breaking the bank can be challenging. But all dancers can […]
Read More...
Food Neutrality & How To Heal From Diet Culture
Food neutrality doesn’t disregard the nutritional value of food. Food neutrality enables us to make choices based upon our whole being, including the mental, emotional, social, and physical elements of our “health” and “wellness.” Use food to honor all facets of life, including your nostalgic memories, new experiences, pleasures, joys, comforts, and so forth.
Read More...
What Is Food Flexibility & Why Do Dancers Need It?
Dancers require flexibility both in the studio and out. Heal your relationship with food using Food Flexibility. The more flexible you are in your food choices, the more willing you are to move through life’s vast experiences with agility and ease.
Read More...
Reduce The Risk of Disordered Eating & Eating Disorders In Your Studio
Dance educators are on the frontline: from cultivating an environment that supports the longevity of a dancer’s career to identifying challenges that occur inside the studio. Dance educators have the upper hand in helping to reduce rates of disordered eating, eating disorders, and body image challenges in the industry. This article will break down 5 specific strategies that dance educators can implement to cultivate a healthier environment in their studios.
Read More...
What Is Diet Culture?
Diet culture is a system of beliefs that idolizes weight loss. In diet culture, it’s believed that thinness equates to health, and in this pursuit of thinness (or “health,”) certain foods are either demonized or glorified. Diet culture also imposes moral value upon our food choices and as a result, we’re “good” for eating “healthy” and we’re “bad” for eating “unhealthy.” Removing the weight diet culture can help dancers flourish in physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.
Read More...
A Dancer’s Guide to Pre-Performance Fuel
I often stress the importance of making time in your schedule to sit back, relax, and enjoy the mindful experience of a meal. However, busy days are bound to fill our schedules, especially during the summer intensive season. It’s in these instances when meal planning becomes key to a dancer’s diet. Since intense dance schedules can leave hunger cues unnoticeable, planning meals and snacks is critical for preventing energy dips and appetite surges later in the day.
Read More...
Starting A Journal- A Guide for Dancers
Do dancers benefit from journaling? When it comes to food, is it possible to keep a journal without turning to obsessive behaviors like calorie counting and macro tracking? In this article, we’ll discuss the benefits of journaling. We’ll also decipher between food journaling and meal tracking and how dancers can utilize a journal in a helpful (and even intuitive) way.
Read More...
How To Understand Nutrition Research
Nutrition research plays an integral role in how we understand the impacts of various foods and/or behaviors on our health. In an ideal setting, researchers conduct experiments with the hope to draw conclusions based on direct interventions. But nutrition research gets messy. This article will dive into the reasons why. Christy Harrison is a fellow dietitian who covers these facts and more in her book, Anti Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating.
Read More...
Hydration for Dancers: Fueling Strategies
While recommendations vary among dancers, most pre-professional and professional level dancers should aim for a planned approach to staying hydrated throughout their day. Dehydration is one of the leading factors negatively impacting our performance, whether it’s in the studio or in class. Keeping your body hydrated can even help with balance, flexibility, and muscle recovery.
Read More...
The Truth About Processed Foods
I’m guilty. As a Registered Dietitian (a board-certified EXPERT of nutrition!), I’ve used the phrase “limit processed foods” time and time again. I’ve previously unraveled the harms of clean eating in an article that you’ll need to read and bookmark ASAP. I’ve even given you three reasons why the idea of “empty calories” is a total sham. But what about processed foods? Should we really be avoiding them?
Read More...
Brain Health: 7 Foods to Sharpen Focus and Support Retention
First, let’s uncover the obvious: diet culture likes to use this idea of “brain food” to sell us an eating regimen that oftentimes moralizes some foods and demonizes others. Honestly, there’s no single food that can completely make or break your brain health and functioning. But we can utilize aspects of gentle nutrition to ensure that our body receives a variety of building blocks that support focus, retention, and overall mental clarity. Let’s dive into 7 foods that can help to provide the building blocks of brain health.
Read More...
15+ Plant-Based Breakfast Recipes for Dancers
For dancers choosing a vegan or vegetarian lifestyle, focusing on abundance and variety helps to ensure that that you’re eating enough to support your performance. But for some dancers, choosing a lifestyle that is 100% plant-based can risk vitamin and mineral deficiencies (if not well-planned) and even trigger disordered eating (if not implemented with the help of professional support). Here are our favorite vegan breakfast recipes!
Read More...
Is Clean Eating Healthy?
What I didn’t know at the time, was that my pursuit to “eat clean” was actually a guise for disordered eating. But how could eating ample amounts of “whole” foods not be healthy? Colorful fruits and veggies, a variety of unsaturated fats, and antioxidant-rich dark chocolate… if “clean eating” isn’t actually healthy, then why does the research draw conclusions between these nourishing foods and a number of health outcomes?
Read More...
How To Stop Eating When You Feel Full
Are you having difficulty honoring your fullness cues? Are you frustrated about constantly eating past a comfortable fullness? Do you find yourself “overeating” more times than not? In this post, we’ll discuss what it actually means to feel full after eating and how to regain the ability to feel when enough is actually enough.
Read More...
Mindful Eating For Dancers
When you begin to utilize the tool of mindful eating, you add back a major nutrient to your balanced plate: experience. From that experience, whether it is positive, negative, or neutral, blooms a unique learning opportunity that allows you to move forward with building trust with your body’s intrinsic cues of hunger, fullness, and satisfaction.
Read More...
