Nutrition

How to Eat Healthy on a Budget: Practical Tips for Dancers

For many dancers, eating healthfully can feel challenging when income is limited. It is possible, however, to eat healthfully— mindful and respectful of your body’s needs— even on a budget. It doesn’t require expensive food, but rather, a shift in our relationship with it. This article provides actionable tips for dancers who want to nourish their bodies and maintain a healthy relationship with food while sticking to a budget.

What Is Food Flexibility & Why Do Dancers Need It?

Mental Health, Nutrition

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.

Food Neutrality & Healing From Dancer Diet Culture

Mental Health, Nutrition

For dancers, food neutrality means viewing food as simply fuel, not as “good” or “bad,” and making choices based on hunger and satisfaction, rather than guilt or restriction, to support physical and mental well-being. Viewing foods as “good” or “bad” (whether for health or performance) evokes anxiety and guilt, making us vulnerable to an all-or-nothing mindset. In this article, we uncover the benefits of a food-neutral lens for dancers.

Navigating Summer: Am I Ready For An Intensive?

Summer intensives offer a unique opportunity for dancers to refine their technical skills and make important career connections. However, the intense competition and pressure to perform can also bring significant stress. Deciding whether a dancer is ready for an intensive involves assessing not just their physical abilities but also their mental resilience. To help guide this decision, here are three strategies for navigating the most common challenges dancers face during summer intensives.

Reduce The Risk of Disordered Eating & Eating Disorders In Your Studio

Mental Health, Nutrition

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.

Managing PCOS As A Dancer

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.

Diet Culture in The Dance Industry

Mental Health, Nutrition

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.

The Essential Guide to Pre-Performance Fueling for Dancers

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.

5+ Foods to Sharpen A Dancer’s Focus and Retention

We’ve all heard of “brain food,” but what does it mean? Can certain foods boost mental clarity, sharpen focus, and even improve memory retention? For dancers, the idea of enhancing brain function is particularly enticing— retaining choreography is vital not only for solid performances but also for successful auditions. In this article, we’ll explore foods that can support mental clarity, focus, and retention, especially for dancers.

The Truth About Processed Foods

Processed foods range from minimally processed (e.g., cooked vegetables) to highly processed or ultra-processed (e.g., packaged protein bars, and frozen meals). Generally, the more processed a food is, the longer its shelf life. This often results from the addition of ingredients like sugar, sodium, and fat— three words demonized in our culture. This article unravels the confusion. If you’ve ever been told to “limit processed food” read this.

Body Image Support for Dancers

Body Image, Mental Health, Nutrition

How can dancers build a supportive body image? This article deconstruct various tools like body neutrality and body image resilience to help dancers build a supportive body image and lifelong body confidence.

Diet for Dancers: Are Foods High in Fat Bad?

This article will break down the confusion surrounding dietary fat, shed light on its essential role in your health, and highlight why demonizing it has far more risks than rewards. We’ll also explore the limitations of nutrition research and why the focus on food as a cause of disease often neglects the bigger picture: the damage done by stressing over what we eat.

The Truth About Gluten and Dairy-Free Diets for Dancers

For over a decade, wellness culture has deemed gluten and dairy as the foes of “health.” When it comes to health, diet culture likes to point a finger at food as having a direct impact on various health and lifestyle outcomes. Interestingly, the obsession over gluten and dairy surfaced back in the early 2000s. But what can seem like an innocent “lifestyle change” can often be a slippery slope into disordered eating.

Intermittent Fasting for Dancers

If you’ve ever considered intermittent fasting, it’s important to understand the facts before committing. In this article, we’ll explore whether intermittent fasting is a good choice for dancers and how it may impact your performance.

Is The Keto Diet Effective For Dancers?

The ketogenic diet, commonly known as keto, is a high-fat, low-carb eating plan where fat comprises over 75% of your daily calorie intake. The primary goal is to enter a metabolic state called ketosis, where your body burns fat for energy instead of carbohydrates. In this article, we’ll uncover whether the diet is suitable for dancers.

5+ Language Shifts To Improve Your Relationship with Food

Linguistics, or how we talk about food, profoundly impacts our feelings about eating it. The goal is to, eventually, build a neutral lens toward food. Redefining your approach to nourishment is one of the most powerful things you can do. The work begins with dismantling restrictive language. This article explores linguistic shifts and breaks down common food-related terms to create a more freeing and enjoyable mealtime experience.

How To Build New Years Resolutions That Last

Mental Health, Nutrition

The voice of diet culture is loud in January. The idea is that if we meet our “best body” or master the perfect extension, everything will fall into place. But here’s the reality check: This cycle of unrealistic, quick-fix resolutions is not sustainable. How do we set ourselves up for success this year? Let’s start by swapping out the pressure-filled resolutions for habits that work in real life.

Meal Prep for Dancers: A Practical Guide

Meal prep involves setting aside time to prepare meals and snacks for the upcoming week, ensuring that you have nourishing options ready to go. While many dancers understand the importance of meal planning for health and performance. In this article, discover practical meal prep strategies for dancers to heal their relationship with food. Learn how to save time, reduce stress, and nourish your body with balanced meals and snacks tailored to your busy lifestyle.

The Importance of Satisfaction with Food

Satisfaction is what I call the fourth macronutrient of a balanced plate. It’s that essential piece ensuring you fuel and nourish your body in a way that supports your relationship with food. For most, however, it’s often overlooked. This blog post dives into why satisfaction matters, how it plays a role in your performance, and how you can identify more satisfying options at meals.

Home For The Holidays: Strategies For Dancers

While going home for the holidays is normal for busy dancers, it often presents challenges. The key lies in creating routine while making room for flexibility— much of what we master in The Healthy Dancer®— without the stress of extremes or obsessing over food and movement. In this blog post, we’ll discuss strategies for dancers looking to maintain supportive eating and movement habits while at home for the Holidays.