Snack Attack! What are you snacking on and why?
Dear dancers and parents,
Dancers love to snack, but often that snacking comes with an extra serving of guilt - they feel like they snack "too much." There's nothing wrong with snacking; most people need to snack at least once a day and dancers, because of your energy-burning activity, sometimes need to snack multiple times per day. But one of the common pitfalls I see is dancers using snacks to replace meals. When you do this, your snack attacks may be more frequent and require larger portions because your body isn't getting what it needs nutritionally.
Consider this common conversation in my coaching practice:
Dancer: "I am positively starving by dinner time; I have a snack while preparing dinner, then I eat seconds at dinner, and sometimes, I even need to snack before bed because I'm still hungry. I just cannot control my snacking!"
Me: "What do you have for lunch?"
Dancer: "A protein bar."
Considering that the time between lunch and dinner is usually about 5-7 hours, that's a lot to ask of a protein bar. No wonder the above dancer snacks a lot - her body is hungry! What makes more sense nutritionally is to eat a larger lunch which will tide her over until dinner, and have a normal-sized snack in between if needed.
The same goes for breakfast: dancers who eat a piece of fruit or a single serving of yogurt for breakfast are often hungry and tired long before lunch. (Sometimes your tiredness shows up like a mental fog - difficulty staying focused in class or picking up combinations.) The reason is that you haven't eaten enough calories or nutrition to keep you satiated for long. So it's natural that you reach for a snack between meals.
If, on the other hand, you eat three proper meals every day, your body won't need as many snacks or as substantial a portion. NOTE: There is a caveat for dancers who are growing, whose metabolisms are very fast, and for underweight dancers. You will need to keep up your snack intake more than most people; if you don't, you could experience RED-S (Relative Energy Deficiency in Sports). Read more on that here.
A proper meal needs to have all three macronutrients accounted for: complex carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats. The ratio is roughly 50-60% complex carbs; 10-15% protein; 20-30% healthy fats. Remember, that's just a rough guide and you may find that you need more protein or carbs or fats depending on your body makeup and energy needs.
When you snack, also try to aim for a good complex carb to protein ratio; it should be 3:1. So eat 3 parts apple to 1 part peanut butter, or 3 parts carrots to 1 part hummus, or more loosely, a piece of fruit and handful of nuts or seeds or edamame. A protein/energy bar is also fine, but a good general rule is to limit bars to one per day; for your other snacks, choose real foods like the ones listed above.
When you follow the three proper meals per day plus properly balanced snacks, I promise you will feel differently both mentally and physically. And, unless you meet one of the criteria above for dancers who need to snack constantly, your snacking will be more moderate because most of your nutritional needs will be met at mealtimes.
Your next question is probably, great- how do I do that? How do I craft balanced meals and snacks so that I can be fueled more effectively for my dancing? You can try experimenting on your own or with whoever prepares or helps prepare your meals; following the simple guides above can help. Or, you can seek out a nutritionist or a registered dietician.
Or of course, you can schedule a Discovery Session with me. I've coached many, many dancers on how to make small steady changes in their eating habits to better fuel their bodies and minds for dance and schoolwork. Some of the dancers I've coached fall into the "I'm oversnacking" category, while others have fallen into the "I am experiencing RED-S" category. If you are struggling in either way, please be in touch. I have a few spots opening up in my private coaching practice in March, so this might be the perfect time for us to work together.
If you have any questions about how to get started, click here or contact me.
Finally, I leave you with a testimonial from a young dancer from CT who I coached on this very issue —
"When I met Elizabeth, I was struggling with maintaining a balanced diet. While I always had the goal of losing weight in a healthy way, I struggled to avoid my cravings. I linked my emotions to food, and in the beginning I had a hard time separating the two. I loved working with Elizabeth because our weekly calls quickly became something I looked forward to regularly. She was not only there during the call, but was always a text away if I ever needed anything.
I learned from her not only how to balance my nutrition, but also how to balance school and ballet. About halfway through our time together I made the decision to get foot surgery, and Elizabeth was there with advice and encouragement every step of the way. She also was the one who recommended my surgeon to me, when we weren’t sure who to see. Elizabeth has impacted my dancing in many ways, and I am so glad that I had the opportunity of working with her!"
Be well,
