There are many external pressures on dancers, but also internal pressures to look a certain way.
A lot of factors can alter your food approach as well as your ability to attain the best body for yourself, and this can also wreak havoc with a dancer’s mental health.
Here are 4 reasons why you might be feeling this way when you put on your dance shoes and how to create a positive relationship with food, your body and mind.
Your view about your body’s appearance may be one-sided
Most times, artistic staff or teachers tend to give feedback or comment on the body of most dancers. A lot of dancers hold on to these comments even if these comments were harmless or had no bad intentions.
Just because of an individual’s comment or opinion, one might have a skewed perception of how their body looks. Even after achieving your body goals, you might still hold on to such a statement.
It’s likely your approach or diet plan is not suitable for you
You might have heard of eating plans, and food fads that other dancers follow, and holding onto these ideas are pretty easy… shouldn’t it work for you if it’s working for her?
There is no specific eating plan that is suitable for all dancers. It’s important you change your diet perceptions or mindset, especially if you have stopped eating some foods because you heard they could hinder weight loss.
Taking more carbs may be suitable for some dancers. Lack of dietary fat could be the reason some dancers fail to reach their body goals. And high protein intake could be the solution for other dancers. The idea here is about testing different things until you discover which is more suitable for you.
Dancers usually reach a point where they ignore hunger cues. And the reasons below can tell why this happens:
- Your dance schedule may prevent you from giving in to hunger. As you round up your dance lessons, you then realize how hungry you are, at this point, it’s almost difficult to stop eating even when you are satisfied.
- If you adopted the habit of eating less because you want to change your body physique, then you were paying little or no attention to your hunger cues. This is one of the reasons why the idea of “eat less, move more” is not sustainable.
There is no way you will benefit from any diet or eating plan if you are unhappy or feeling depressed
It is important you take good care of your wellbeing. This includes finding happiness and other ways to inspire yourself off the dance stage and outside the dance studio. Your joy can be attached to a dance moves you want to learn or specific changes in your body.
Finding happiness outside these things is essential. It’s possible to find joy in your friendships (inside and out of dance), or find joy in your family, or find happiness in your learning process as growing as a dancer.
In conclusion, find what you like, something that gives you joy, and make sure you create time for it. The fact you want to be a successful dancer does not mean you should abuse yourself or not have quality time for yourself.
You will hardly benefit from giving all – working hard on a daily basis – towards a goal that’s draining your light. Don’t forget to reflect and make sure you’re doing things that keep you happy.