Healthy Eating in Dance
HEALTHY EATING IN DANCE
Growing up, I was taught good nutrition. My parents stressed eating organic and always made sure I had balanced meals. I remember my mom making me breakfast in bed until I was in 7th grade and always packing my lunch, in addition to making gourmet meals for dinner. While I was one of the lucky ones, many of us are not raised with this kind of awareness of food and therefore, when we start dancing it’s that much more important to learn how to fuel your body for a session. Dancing can involve a lot of cardio, for which it’s important to feel awake, alert, and functional rather than run down, full, nauseas, etc.
First off, it is important to never eat a large, heavy meal before dancing. Your body will be confused and instead of having the energy you want, you’ll probably get the post-Thanksgiving feeling of, “Can I just lay down on this couch and unbutton my pants while I lifelessly watch TV?” And that is not the feeling you want when you are trying to dance.
Instead, you’ll want to eat at least 45 minutes-1 hour before a class. During this small meal, you will want to make the nutrition count. You want to eat things that are going to benefit you rather than weigh you down (literally and figuratively). Protein, fruits and veggies, whole grains, water, and anything with potassium is very helpful for a dance class. Not only will these foods help to fuel you for a long amount of time (protein), they’ll also help give you energy (fruits and veggies and whole grains) while preventing 
dehydration and cramping (water and potassium). Thus, you have foods that are providing you with a trifecta of dancing life-energy.
These foods will help to fuel your dancing and keep you feeling like a professional. Healthy eating in dance is so important. Enjoy your session!
Article by Office Manager, Shelby.
