Dancers ask a lot of their bodies, and it’s so important that you’re fueling yourself with enough nutritious food to replace all the energy you use in the studio and on stage! Read on for some tips and tricks for staying strong this competition season.
Make sure you’re eating enough.
I know, this sounds obvious, but I bet at least half of you aren’t eating as much as you need to – even if you think you are. The tricky thing is, there’s no magic number of meals or servings or calories you need to eat each day. The most important thing is to listen to your body. This takes practice – especially if you’re someone who might not experience hunger like everybody else. We’ve all felt our tummy growl and realized that we need to eat. But sometimes, our bodies skip the obvious signs and skip to more sneaky ways of letting us know we need to eat. We might feel cranky, sleepy, weaker than usual, or like our balance is off. If you’re having an off class, guess what? You don’t have to keep feeling that way! Grab a snack! You’ll be surprised at how much of a difference a good quality snack can make. Some people prefer 3 full meals, others prefer lots of smaller snacks throughout the day. That’s for you to decide, but make sure you’re listening to your body and never ignore signs that you’re hungry!
Eat nutritious food.
How do you know what’s going to fuel your body the best? Start by learning how to balance your plate with protein, complex carbohydrates, fat & color. This takes practice too, and I recommend doing this as a family or with a trusted adult in your life. If you feel like you might be missing something in your lunch or snack, you can always ask a dance teacher too! You need protein rich food to help rebuild your muscle and sustain your brain throughout the day. Protein rich foods are things like meat, fish, eggs, nuts & nut butters. Carbohydrates are important to give you more energy. This can includes things like chips and candy, but processed or refined foods won’t give you as much long-lasting energy as fresh, whole foods will. Try to incorporate some whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and beans into your meals on your long dance days. Fat is important too! Fat gives you longer lasting energy, helps with vitamin absorption and makes your food taste better! Olive oil, avocados, nuts and eggs all are a good source of fat. Adding some color with some fresh fruits and vegetables will make sure you’re getting the vitamins and minerals you need to keep your body fully nourished and ready to keep dancing!
Pack your meals and snacks realistically.
It’s easy to look online for some well-balanced meal ideas, but be sure that you’re choosing things you’ll actually eat. Ants on a log is a great snack, but if you don’t like celery you probably won’t eat it and you’ll end up hungrier than if you had packed a bag of chips. You don’t need to go over board on “healthy” items. All food will fuel your body in some way. If you really like Takis, then pack them! Just make sure you pair them with other things that’ll help you feel full and ready to dance. Takis are corn chips, so you have your carbs taken care of. You could add some nuts like cashews or almonds for protein and fat, and a piece of fruit or baby carrots for color. Now you have a well-balance snack that you’ll actually eat! The other thing to consider is storing your food in a way that keeps it fresh and at a temperature that will taste good when it’s finally time to eat. You might want to ask your adults to invest in a better insulated lunch box, a thermos or even and electric lunch box if you prefer hot food!
Pack more than you think you’ll need.
This is especially important on convention and competition days. Start with the things that sounds extra yummy and that you know will keep you going throughout the day, then add a few extra things in your dance bag. I don’t like to waste food, so I like to have things like granola bars, protein bars, whole pieces of fruit and trail mix on hand. That way if I don’t end up eating them I can save them for another day. Or you can share with a friend!
Pack some things to help calm your nerves.
During competition weekends, you might not feel like you have much of an appetite because you’re so nervous. Don’t worry – this is so normal! But I promise you’ll dance and perform better if your body is properly fueled for the long day. I recommend doing two things. The first is to practice some nerve-calming techniques like breathing exercises, bilateral tapping, visualization exercises or journaling. The other is to eat or drink something to calm your stomach. My favorite things to calm a nervous tummy are peppermint tea, sparkling water, ginger chews and candy canes. In really extreme cases, it can even help to have some tums or Pepto Bismol on hand! And remember – even professional dancers get nervous! Nervousness is just your body’s way of showing you how excited you are and how important dance is to you – try not to let it take over completely!
Ok, dancers! Your challenge is to pick at least one of these tips to help you this competition season! Which one is your favorite?