Ever since the George Balanchine era, ballet dancers have been pressured to be thin almost to the point of unhealthiness. Many ballerinas have experience with eating disorders or at least highly restricted dietary intake, and still search for ways to avoid the barest hint of unwanted fat. As a dancer, you must maintain a low body fat percentage while giving your body what it needs to perform at its peak. Neglecting your nutritional needs in the interest of restricting calories will backfire and affect your performance.
Calories
Restricting your diet too much can increase your risk of injury and illness, and you won't have the energy to get through rehearsal and class. A 1990 study in the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" found that out of a group of dancers with stress fractures, 80 percent were 25 percent underweight. Ask your doctor or use an online calorie calculator to determine how many calories you need in a day to maintain a healthy weight for your body type.
Macronutrients
Robin Chmelar and Sally Fitt, former dancers, kinesiology experts and authors of "Diet for Dancers," recommend a macronutrient breakdown that emphasizes energy from carbs and limits fat intake. A full 60 percent of your diet should come from carbs, especially whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Protein and fat should each make up about 20 percent of your diet, but concentrate on lean proteins and healthy fats like olive oil and avocado. The authors recommend you eat at least 1,000 calories per day, but a 1,200 calories per day minimum is the general guideline for good health. Either way, a typical ballerina's 600-calorie per day diet won't do you any favors.
Sample Day
According to "Diet for Dancers," a day on the minimum-calorie plan would include a bowl of cereal, skim milk and a banana for breakfast and a mid-morning apple. A 1/4 c of tuna salad with olive oil and lemon juice on one slice of bread accompanied by 2 c. of a beet-mushroom-broccoli salad is lunch, and 1/2 c. vegetable juice, a cup of yogurt and a half-slice of bread with peanut butter is your afternoon snack. Dinner is 1 1/2 oz. of turkey breast with a tomato and artichoke salad over lettuce, carrots, light dressing and a small potato. You even get to have low-fat yogurt and fresh strawberries for dessert. This may seem like too much food to a dancer, but the emphasis on fruits and vegetables and the focus on small portions makes it all add up to only 1,000 calories per day.
Adjustments and Calorie Burn
No estimate of calorie needs is perfectly accurate, and there will be an adjustment period. If you begin to gain fat, remove 100 calories and try again. Remember to adjust your caloric intake according to your dance schedule -- you burn much fewer calories in class than when you're in full rehearsal. Because dance class is such a start-and-stop activity, you're probably not burning as many calories as you think. But if you give your body the energy and nutrients that it needs, you'll have the strength to dance harder longer, which may help increase your calorie burn.
References
- Diet for Dancers; Robin Chmelar, Sally Fitt; 1990
- "Nutrition Hospitalaria"; Effect of the Diet on the Nutritional Status of Ballerinas: Immunologic Markers; Lopez-Varela S, et al.; September-October 1999
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Nutrition and Incidence of Stress Fractures in Ballet Dancers; Frusztajer NT, et al.; May 1990
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