Nurturing healthy mind and body for dancers
Have you heard of Vitamin C? Not the one you get from lemons and oranges but the one you produce yourself? (No? then read here first) Compassion is the vitamin that nourishes your mind and body. If you are truly trying to achieve the best performance nutrition, opt out of the commercialised pre-/post-Christmas dieting and… Continue reading Dance Nutrition 101 – This holiday, enjoy a big dose of Vitamin C
Eating can enhance your performance, but not-eating can't. No matter how much nutrition knowledge you get, you're not making use of it until you start eating plentifully! Take a moment and absorb these important roles of eating: Eating plentifully will support your ability to dance, physically. Eating plentifully and healthfully can help prevent… Continue reading Dance Nutrition 101 – Eating can enhance your performance, but Not-eating can’t
Your value as a dancer lies in being YOU. Losing weight doesn't automatically make you a better dancer. And this may be a challenging concept to acknowledge at first because of the limited dance-body ideals out there. But if you truly appreciate dance, you would know that ballet was never about thinness. It's… Continue reading Dance Nutrition 101 – Thinness does not define your worth as a dancer
"How often should I eat" "Should I eat three big meals or six small meals?" "Am I allowed to snack or not?" Well, for most dancers, snacking helps with re-fuelling and replenishing vital energy and nutrients so you can dance with precision for longer. Remember that exercise has an effect of suppressing your appetite… Continue reading Dance Nutrition 101 – Fuelling frequently helps
Weight loss dieting is harmful for dancers and should never be recommended. Dancers with more disordered eating (dieting) behaviours have greater incident of injuries. When the majority of dancers are only getting approx. 20-30% of their energy and nutrition needs, this isn't surprising and it is very concerning. If we - that's… Continue reading Dance Nutrition 101 – Weight loss dieting is harmful for dancers
Protein is, like many other nutrients, important for dancers. You can get enough from food so supplements are only needed when eating is not adequate or there's some benefit with convenience/travel. U;ve answered the common questions around protein supplements before and you can read it here. Fumi x
Dancers, Your body needs carbohydrate to function optimally. Carbohydrate will help keep you focused so you can work on refining the details in technique; give you stamina during lessons/rehearsals/shows; and help your body metabolise and utilise protein and other important nutrients to build a strong and resilient body. Bread, pasta, rice and potatoes… Continue reading Dance Nutrition 101 – Your Body Needs Carbohydrates
When you hear "Body Image", what do you think of? Is it... how you see yourself in the mirror? Is it... what you think of your body? It is... what you think others may be thinking of your body? Understanding Body Image is crucial for dancers (and teachers!) because you're expressing your emotions,… Continue reading Body Image, Dance and Eating
Whenever I mention Dancers Don't Diet, I'm asked more often than not the reason why I don't promote dieting in dancers. When people ask me this question I can see this speech bubble popping up above their head like that in a cartoon: "but don't dancers need to be thin to dance and so… Continue reading Why I don’t promote dieting in dancers
It's not an uncommon occurrence where a dancer tries to "eat clean" and avoid the often demonised sugary or fatty foods in order to "get in shape". But the more you try to restrict yourself from eating particular foods, the more your body will fight against you. Your body doesn't want to… Continue reading Restriction (aka dieting) will lead to overeating and negative self talk
