Nutrition for Dancers
Jun 21st, 2008 | By Blog Editor | Category: Young Adult DancersAs a dancer, you need the proper fuel to perform well. But you also need to maintain a target weight. Sometimes, this might cause you to eat too little, leaving you running on empty.
Balancing energy and excess requires a good understanding of nutrition. In this post, we’ve outlined some of the dietary basics that dancers should remember.
The First Mistake of the Day
Classes and rehearsals take up much of a dancer’s time. To get through everything, they probably start each day very early with a long to-do list. Such a hectic schedule makes for rushed mornings. The result: many dancers skip breakfast.
Does this sound familiar?
According to the majority of nutritionists, skipping breakfast is a bad idea, even for people who don’t use as much energy as dancers.
Breakfast for Weight Loss
Eating breakfast will help you maintain your healthy weight. And, it can actually help you lose weight. This is because a quality breakfast wards off daytime hunger attacks, as well as late-night overeating, according to nutritionist Nancy Clark MS, RD at SportsMedicine Associates. Also, a good breakfast can stop you from craving sugar and poor forms of carbohydrates.
If you want to lose weight, don’t skimp on breakfast. You can maintain, or lose, weight by eating between 500 and 700 calories for breakfast each day.
If you do need to cut calories from your overall diet, Clark says that you should trim these calories from dinner and late-night snacks.
Breakfast for Energy
As breakfast helps you maintain your weight, it also gives you the fuel you need to make it to rehearsal.
Clark recommends several options for “grab-and-go sports breakfasts.” Combine a bran muffin with a vanilla yogurt, for example. Or, have a large cinnamon raisin bagel with a can of vegetable juice. If you’re really in a rush, Clarks says, you can even grab two slices of the thick-crust pizza in the refrigerator from last night.
Power Snacks for Practice
Even with a good breakfast, you may need an energy boost before dance class. A good snack before practice will help keep you alert and sharp. This will decrease your chance of injury, and it will increase your focus, helping you gain more from each class.
Varsity.com suggests eating a snack one to two hours before your dance class. A good snack might include:
- Whole grain crackers with peanut butter and raisins
- Low-fat yogurt with walnuts and dried apricots
- Chocolate milk and a granola bar
- Fresh fruit salad, low-fat yogurt, and a sports drink
- Turkey, veggie, and mozzarella on whole-wheat bread
About 30 minutes after a class or rehearsal, nibble on something similar to your pre-practice snack. This will help rebuild muscle energy and it will keep you from feeling drained.
Staying Hydrated
You’ll work up a sweat during a 1-hour practice. Are you drinking enough water to replace what is lost during that workout?
Varsity.com’s article on nutrition for dancers lists several dangers of dehydration. These include nausea, headache, muscle cramps, irritability, physical and mental fatigue, and increased risk of injury.
Proper hydration keeps you feeling well. And, beyond that, when you drink enough water during your workout, it can help you perform up to 33-percent longer.
As a general rule, a 120-lb female will lose half a pound during an hour of practice. The Sweat Rate Equation tells us that this dancer has lost 32 ounces of water during that workout. To recover that water, she should drink 8 ounces of water every 15 minutes.
Because the Sweat Rate Equation is a bit complicated, an average high school or college athlete can use the following guidelines when deciding how much water to drink.
- Drink 17-20 ounces 2-3 hours before a practice or performance.
- Drink 5-8 ounces every 15 minutes during a performance if you’re a female; or drink 7-10 ounces every fifteen minutes during a performance if you’re a male.
- Drink 20 ounces for each pound of weight that you lose during a workout; drink this within two hours of finishing your workout.
Nutrition Takes Work
Although good nutrition is just one part of a dancer’s life, it affects everything you do. Managing your eating habits will not only help you feel good, but it will help you perform well.
As you devote more time and energy to dance, your body will require different amounts of nutrition. Make sure that you talk to your dance instructor about healthy eating. He or she can help you decide on a diet that is right for you.
What are Your Experiences With Dance Nutrition?
Are you a dancer who wants advice on what to eat?
Are you a dance instructor or a nutritional expert who can offer advice?
Comment on this post with advice or questions!
[...] Geniusbeauty.com wrote an interesting post today onHere’s a quick excerptVarsity.com’s article on nutrition for dancers lists several dangers of dehydration. These include nausea, headache, muscle cramps, irritability, physical and mental fatigue, and increased risk of injury. … [...]
Hydration is so important! I always knew I should be drinking, but never had an idea of how much. I never thought about the sweat aspect.
You’re right, Megan. Sometimes it’s easy to forget about drinking water until you’re absolutely dying of thirst!
The effect that dehydration can have on your body (and performance!) is definitely something that takes conscious work to remember!
Thanks for the comment!
I’m doing a project about lunch nutrition for dancers who do dancing in the afternoon.
Your site has been really useful!
Annalee,
I’m glad to hear it! Good luck on your project, and thanks for leaving a comment.
Another way to stay hydrated is to consume water with Glycerin.Do some research and you will see what they do when taken together.
Chris
Chris: thanks for the comment on ways to stay hydrated.
If you are not familiar with Chris’s recommendation, glycerol is a substance that is naturally produced when your body breaks down fat during metabolism.
Glycerol use has been studied as a way to hyperhydrate before strenuous exercise, and it’s sometimes used as a sports supplement. Long-distance runners and cyclists are often among the athletes who use glycerol.
Because of differences in the types of athletes tested, the conditions in which they were tested, and the amounts of glycerol used, studies have come to different conclusions about the effectiveness and dosage levels of glycerol.
Many studies did show that glycerol reduced dehydration, sometimes by 30%. They also showed that glycerol can decrease heat stress.
But, these same studies also showed that the side effects of using glycerol can include nausea, heartache, blurred vision, headaches, gastro-intestinal problems, dizziness, and light-headedness. And, because you need to drink so much water with glycerol, you may feel bloated.
Many studies conclude that you should only try glycerol if you’re performing in events where substantial dehydration will be a problem, such as long, endurance running in extremely hot conditions.
As a dancer, if you hydrate properly with water, you should be fine.
I can’t recommend the use of glycerol. There is not much information on its long-term use as a supplement. And, I haven’t found any studies testing its effectiveness for dancers.
I’m glad that Chris commented on glycerin/glycerol. I don’t know his personal fitness needs, but it’s important for us to know what supplements are out there and why they’re used, even if we aren’t use them.
If you ever try a supplement, first ask your doctor or nutritionist if it’s safe to use. Certain substances (even if they’re labeled “natural”) can act on your body in ways that you might not be aware.
Thanks for the comments!
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