New Year's resolutions for dancers N2: Eat Better

New Year's resolutions for dancers N2: Eat Better

The Importance of Nutrition for Dancers

 

As a dancer, to perform at your best you need to have the right amount of ‘fuel’ on board for classes, rehearsals and performances.
A healthy diet will optimise your energy stores, enable you to train effectively, allow your immune system to fight off infections and illnesses as well as help you recover from injury.

 

Calorie Needs

To perform your best, dancers need to be well fueled for classes, rehearsals, and performance.
A huge challenge for dancers is not ingesting sufficient quantities of food to meet the energy demand of dance.
An easy estimate of caloric needs during heavy training for a female is 45-50 calories/kg of body weight (kg= lbs weight / 2.2 example: 100 lbs / 2.2 = 45.45 kg).
The caloric needs of a male are higher at 50-55 calories/kg body weight. While these are average estimates, each individual has different caloric needs based on a variety of factors.1 

Consuming too few calories will compromise your energy availability and therefore may affect your ability to perform at your best.
Of course with low calories comes low intake of micronutrients which will also alter growth, performance, and overall health.

As an overview, the roles of the main nutrient groups are:

  • carbohydrate and fat, which provide energy
  • protein, which is essential for muscle growth and repair
  • vitamins and minerals, which have a huge number of functions – the immune system requires an assortment of vitamins and minerals from Vitamin A through to Zinc.

A lack of any one nutrient over time will affect your ability to dance.


 

Top Chef Meals Home Bistro
Top Chef Meals Home Bistro

Chef Prepared, made to order meals made fresh and delivered right to your home.

Top Chef Meals seek to create deeper connections with people by delivering delicious ready-to-eat meals that meet their lifestyle and wellness needs. Their meals are Chef prepared, made to order fresh, customizable and we ship nationwide. As a family owned business,they maintain the level of quality that our customers are accustomed to. They offer a full range of meals in, Low Carb, Paleo, Diabetic, Renal and Keto plans with customizable a la carte meals as a home meal replacement service. Their healthy and delicious meals provide nutritional balance and are perfectly suited for those looking to make more time to do the things they love, without giving up on delicious foods they crave. With affordable pricing, free shipping and discounts for older adults and veterans, we stand to be the peoples' champion for freshly prepared meals. 

Home Bistro specializes in hand crafted gourmet meals that are freshly made and naturally frozen. Their meals are shipped frozen throughout the contiguous 48 states. Home Bistro is one of the only gourmet meal delivery companies that doesn’t require a subscription or membership. Home Bistro also has a steady website conversion rate of 2-4% daily. Home Bistro is an established company that opened it's doors in 1999.

New menu items are added seasonally. Freshly Prepared, Home Delivered, Restaurant Quality Gourmet Meals.

 

 

Carbohydrates

Why? Energy from carbohydrates are a dancer’s best friend. A dancer should have a diet rich in whole grains and complex carbohydrates.
Fifty-five to 60 percent of their diet should be carbohydrates. Carbs are the main source of energy for any athlete because carbohydrates break down into glucose and quickly fuel muscles.
Without glucose, a dancer’s skills and strength would be compromised and the feeling of muscle fatigue would take over.

Carbs

 

In addition to meals, a dancer should also ingest carbohydrates before, during, and after class or performance.
At least one hour before any activity begins a dancer should consume a quick energy carbohydrate to start glucose fueling.
During longer training sessions, you may want to consume a simple snack to help fuel you midway through class.
After rehearsal, refueling your energy stores with carbohydrates and protein will also be important. Sources of carbohydrates include whole-grain pasta, rice, beans, whole grain bread, and fresh fruit. 

Try out!

Omega Bun
Omegabun website

Omega Buns are a delicious and healthy flaxseed-based alternative to bread. In fact, Omega Buns are the only low-carb, USDA-certified organic bread on the market.

Omega Buns can currently be purchased here, on Amazon.com, or at the following locations accross the USA: https://omegabun.com/retailers/?v=79cba1185463

 

Fats

Why? Fat provides structure for all cell membranes, they are the insulating layer around nerves, and fats form the base of many of our hormones.
Healthy fats are needed for the absorption of fat
-soluble vitamins and are used to fuel the muscles for energy. It is estimated that people need 1.2 grams of fat/kg of body weight.
Muscles and adipose (fat) tissue store fats called triglycerides. During exercise, triglycerides are broken down into fatty acids and produce energy for muscles to contract.
Fatty acids are very important during endurance activity such as dancing, where one is continuously exercising for over 20 minutes at a time.
Examples of healthy fats to include in the diet are nuts, nut butters, canola oil, olive oil, and avocado.

Healthy fats

 

Protein

Why? Protein is extremely important for young dancers and all athletes whether the goal is to build muscle or not.
With constant use of muscles during competition and practices, protein is needed for building and repairing used muscle tissue.
Protein is also used as an auxiliary fuel when one doesn’t have enough of glycogen on board.
The estimated need for protein is 1.4 to 1.6 grams of protein/kg of body weight.

Healthy sources of protein include animal meats like chicken, fish, turkey, lean pork, or beef
Vegetarian sources of protein are beans, quinoa, rice, and tofu. If you follow the recommendations above you are getting enough in your diet protein powders are not necessary.

Enjoy fully-prepared paleo meals delivered to your doorstep with Top Chef Meals

Lean protein

 

 

Try out!

Egg Whites International
Egg Whites International

An egg is made up of 2 parts, the clear portion is the white and the yellow is the yolk. The yolk is removed and the whites are pasteurized, filtered, and remain in liquid form making them deliciously smooth, safe, and easy to use for both adults and children.

Egg Whites International are 100% Pure. There are no additives, preservatives, artificial ingredients, flavorings, or food colorings. They are gluten-free, lactose-free, odorless, tasteless, USDA inspected, and Kosher certified.

They ship to the U.S.A (All 50 States)

 

Micronutrients

Dancers also can frequently forget about obtaining key micronutrients called vitamins and minerals, especially the B vitamins and Vitamin C (water-soluble vitamins) and Vitamins A, D, K, and E, which are fat soluble vitamins.
Our B vitamins are a part of energy production. The B vitamins don’t give the body energy but are used in the body to make energy from carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. These vitamins are also part of making red blood cells.3

Why? If you compromise your intake of these vitamins, you will compromise your performance over time. 
Vitamins A, C, and E play a role in cleaning up damaged muscles that are overstressed and overused, while vitamins D and K play a role in healthy bone metabolism. 

Calcium is a mineral used for bone growth. The most important years of bone development are the first 30 years of life --- which just happens to be the prime years for dancing.
Low bone density will result in increased chances of bone stress fractures. Iron is also a highly important nutrient for dancers, since iron is what our bodies use to carry oxygen to the blood.
Of course, oxygen is what we use to help our bodies produce energy.

Vitamins and minerals are found in a variety of foods: if you are eating balanced meals that include a mix of carbohydrates, fats and protein, you will get adequate nutrition and perform at your highest!

 

Micronutritients

Try out!

Balance the Superfood Shot MUDWTR - #1 COFFEE ALTERNATIVE
Balance - Superfood MUD/WTR Coffee Alternative
Balance the Superfood Shot is a company of equal parts biological innovation and honest, simple living. They understand how difficult it can be to incorporate the necessary nutrients into your daily life, which is why life is all about Balance. They don’t want to change your life, we just want to make it effortless. By micro-focusing on the daily nutrition of individuals, they can bring about long term behavioral changes that will have an impact on connected relationships, families, communities, and society as a whole.  Balance features 15 superfoods and 1/2 a day's fruits and veggies in one 2 ounce shot. 

MUDWTR™ is a coffee alternative consisting of organic ingredients lauded by cultures old and young for their health and performance benefits. With 1/7th the caffeine of coffee, mud gives you natural energy, focus and more without the jitters and crash.

 

Tip: Frozen fruits and veggies are a favorite! Not only are they budget-friendly, but these options are picked while in season- giving them a larger nutritional punch! They’re also just as nutritious as fresh fruits and veggies!    

 

Spice up your meals with healthy, fun, seasonal cooking!

 

Global Spices Piquant Post
spices-spice-sets-spice-subscription-gifts-organic-paleo-vegan-keto-gluten-free Piquant Post

RawSpiceBar is the best way to get freshly ground spices from around the world, delivered direct to your door. They offer e a subscription membership service offering freshly ground, small batch, recipe ready spices & spice blends. 

Piquant Post sends 4 handcrafted, unique spice blends and 4 chef-developed recipes in a monthly subscription box. The spice blends are made small-batch each month and are always all-natural, and filler-free and preservative-free. Our mission is to help our users create healthy, globally-inspired meals with less time and effort. 

Piquant Post takes advantage of two of the largest trends in food:

  • Desire for global flavors incorporated into everyday food
  • Subscription meal kits / specialty food boxes

 

 


Do you want to become an expert on nutrition? Please see below a list of our recommended online courses:

  • The healthy dancer: https://pointenutrition.com/dancers/
  • Nutrition for Dancers | Dietary Supplements: https://dancenutrition.com
  • To The Pointe Nutrition: https://pointenutrition.com/

References

Dance Nutrition: https://dancenutrition.com

ShareASale: Promote Your Online Store.  shareasale.com

 

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