Dancers and Weight: A Delicate Balance

Weight is a topic many dancers tend to dwell on. I first became conscious of my weight when I was studying ballet at Butler University in the early enrollment program for high school students. Once a month we were weighed, and a few dancers were counseled based on the numbers the scaled returned (either too high or too low). Fortunately at that time my weight was right where it was expected to be, and I didn’t have to think about it much.

As a teacher I was never in a position to demand any student to focus their attention on their weight. For the most part, I taught kids who were still growing and really shouldn’t be worrying about it. Now that I have my own children, I think it’s important for them to concentrate on eating right and getting exercise however they enjoy getting it, but I would be concerned to learn that either of my daughters, at ages 12 and 14, thought they needed to go on a diet.

When I was a young dancer I had heard about people being anorexic or bulimic, and I was aware of the heightened sensitivity in the room whenever a teacher made mention of someone’s weight. I knew of one girl who was taken to the hospital to have her stomach pumped, and another who was addicted to exercise and couldn’t gain weight no matter how hard she tried or how much she ate. For myself, I was always grateful that these were not issues I had to worry about. During my undergraduate years I was a healthy weight for a dancer, always around 100 pounds at 5’2”. But when I was doing graduate work I lost weight as I went through a period of severe depression. I was working all day at the university and most evenings with a local company, teaching classes and dancing at least eight hours a day, if not more.

At that time, I went to the campus health center for a sinus infection and was very abruptly introduced to fear, handed on a platter full of desserts and whole milk (just kidding) from the doctor who threatened to put me in the hospital because I was under weight. I ate regularly, although the depression had made me less hungry, but I felt that if I had the energy I needed to get through the rigorous schedule I was maintaining then I was fine and the doctor had no right to intrude. They were very serious, however, and thus began a new experience for me: eating as much dessert and drinking as much whole milk as possible. Really. It was very interesting, and since I have a sweet tooth it was easy to manage, but I think the best help I got was by visiting a psychiatrist and being put on anti-depressants. My appetite returned to normal and my weight did, too. And here is some good information on kicking the sweet tooth habit.

I had a friend I danced with at the Lexington Ballet who struggled with her weight constantly. After she quit dancing (and stopped worrying about being overweight), she lost weight! So there’s something to be said about obsessing too much over it. Stress can definitely swing the scales upward. When you’re under stress, a hormone called cortisol is released. This prepares us for the fight or flight response. Read more here to find out about that.

For dancers today, I would recommend making healthy decisions if you feel you have a weight problem. Eat many fruits and vegetables and cut back on fast food or foods with lots of preservatives. There is a great post on healthambition.com about the best foods to eat if you want to lose weight. Drink plenty of water. Sometimes when we feel hungry, we may actually just be thirsty. It’s difficult for us to recognize the difference between hunger and thirst. And a good rule of thumb in all things is moderation. Taking anything to an extreme is usually not a healthy choice. Click here for some healthy tips on diet.

Do any other dancers or teachers have any insights to add? Please leave a comment below.

Nutrition and Pain Relief for Dancers

I ordered a theracane from Amazon.com and really like it!  It’s great because you can reach trigger points without the aid of another person.  It can reach every trigger point in your body!  I highly recommend them.  I got one for my brother-in-law and he loves it.

Tomorrow I meet with my nutritionist who is going to give me meal plans!  Because I have fibromyalgia, she had me buy a water distiller (the $99 one that has stainless steel inside) and a nice blender so I can make smoothies, too.  Apparently this commercial blender will chop up avocado seeds and other seeds that hold a lot of nutrients.  Now I’ll be able to really start getting a handle on my nutrition and stop craving things I don’t need!  She said that eventually I will be able to go off some of the medication I take for chronic pain.  That would be wonderful!

Here are some nutrition tips she gave me:

  • Water instead of Sodas, Kool Aid, etc.
  • Eat at least 4 cups of cooked vegetables – include dark greens
  • Eat 2-3 servings of fruit daily – don’t count juice
  • Fish – 3 times a week (especially salmon and small fish)
  • Good fats – olive, safflower, nuts & seeds, avocado
  • Shop around the periphery of the grocery store
  • Go natural – minimize salt, sugar, additives, preservatives
  • Eat a variety of foods
  • Nibble instead of gorge
  • Stay away from foods that don’t rot or sprout
  • Eat nutrient dense foods
  • Choose high fiber foods
  • Eat enough protein (100 grams if you weigh 150 lbs)
  • Stay away from hard to digest foods
  • Avoid grilling
  • Keep bowels healthy – at least one bowel movement a day

At my first meeting with my nutitionist, she did say I should drink 2 cups of lukewarm distilled water first thing in the morning, before eating any food.  This gently awakens the digestive system.  She said to use skim milk instead of 2%, to eat two halves of a walnut everyday, to get Ezekiel bread, to drink water 15 minutes before a meal or 30 minutes after (but don’t drink during a meal!), to use coconut oil for stir frying, and that I should eat dates with grapefruit instead of alone as a snack.  Lastly, she said to eat two egg whites and one egg yolk for breakfast and that boiled or poached are best.  I didn’t know the protein was in the egg white and not the yolk!  I’ve been trying to do these things until I get my real meal plans from her on Thursday.

I hope everyone enjoys their holidays.  Maybe taking a look at my post about taking breaks would be helpful, since many dancers will be enjoying some needed time off this week and next!