Dancers can especially struggle with hunger cues and mixed signals when it comes to food. Diet culture, food rules, poor body image, disordered eating, and using food as a coping mechanism all affect our relationship to food and to our bodies. Not only do they cause us to overthink meal times and induce anxiety around situations with food, but they also alter our ability to be able to listen to our hunger and fullness cues.
It can be frustrating to feel out of control around certain foods, or unable to stop eating until you reach the point of absolute discomfort. When I found myself here, I felt defeated. I just wanted to eat like a “normal” person. I didn’t want to have to worry about eating perfectly, and feel consumed by food. I could not concentrate on my dancing because I was not giving my body enough energy, yet food and food choices were constantly on my mind.
The journey towards intuitive eating and re-establishing hunger and fullness cues can be a long and sometimes frustrating process. It’s not always straight-forward, and sometimes it feels like traveling backwards before making any progress. But working towards balance in intuitive eating provides so many little victories that fuel the process towards reconnecting your mind and body and healing your relationship with food. Read More
My passion is to teach Intuitive Eating for dancers. For years, I thought I had to restrict food and diet my way to becoming a professional. This is my story of how Intuitive Eating changed my life and my dancer career.
Food tracking apps, fitness watches, diet books, and food scales have become a normal part of eating for many in efforts to gain a sense of nutritional health and well being. The well designed apps that show progress, sleek watches that affirm that you “did enough” today, and other tools used to perfect food consumption are all a part of an over $30 billion health and fitness industry in the United States alone that aims to capture our attention, and our wallets. But are these tools actually helping us to fuel our bodies with what they need?
Eating healthfully is often portrayed as restriction and control. It means going on a “diet” where the type of food, amount of food and even the time in which the food is eaten, is constricted. As we discussed in the previous blog post, this limiting eating behavior often leads to negative physical, mental, and emotional side effects that usually are not discussed. Yet, this is often portrayed as the necessary norm in order to reach success in terms of health, relationships, and even career.
my transition into intuitive eating
I was not immune to this when I began my career as a dancer. After years of training towards perfection and in a job that can seem so out of my own hands, finding any sense of control seemed like a good thing. And to be honest, I was really good at it. Unfortunately, I also found myself with several major injuries, crippling performance anxiety, body dysmorphia, and a really, really poor relationship with food.
The past four years have been a slow transition towards a lifestyle that is not only kinder on my body, but has also allowed my to grow as a dancer and as an artist in ways I never thought I could reach. I learned that true healthy eating comes from listening to my body and its needs and approaching food with a sense of abundance and not of deprivation or control. I did not realize that I was growing towards intuitive eating, a concept I only heard about for the first time a few years ago, and while it is gaining popularity, it’s something that I think should be more readily taught to dancers.
So what is intuitive eating?
The big picture goal of intuitive eating is to develop the mind and body connection around food, leading to better body awareness, self expression, and true nourishment. It involves approaching eating with curiosity, being mindful of the thoughts and cravings that you detect, and exploring those thoughts without judgement to make the best decision that is right for you.
This is a process of self-feedback that is unique to you, because these answers are going to vary from one person to another, so there is no right or wrong. This is a way of eating that suits your unique needs, a concept called bio-individuality. What works for someone else, might not work for you, and it’s a matter of exploration and trial and error. I want you to listen to your body, you know it better than anyone, and if your body is feeling sluggish or tired, or if, for example, you are frequently injured, your body is trying to tell you something.
Intuitive eating also means giving yourself full permission to eat all foods and eat when your body is sending you hunger cues. While this might feel like a loss of control, in time, this practice becomes easier. It allows you to approach food with neutrality, giving your body what it needs. This gives you a chance to explore what your body really wants – sweet, savory, dry, liquid, hot, cold, texture, and experience. Is your body wanting something fresh, or something comforting. Are you needing quick energy or a replenishment of a certain macronutrient after a long day or dancing? Are you wanting food, or something else like a hug, rest, love, or encouragement?
When I feel a craving towards food or a feeling, I take a second to see if the food I am about to eat is actually going to satisfy that craving or feeling. For example, when I am really tired or stressed, my body will crave sugar for energy, even if I’m not the least bit hungry. It’s totally okay to eat sugar in that moment, but I also have to acknowledge that the sugar isn’t going to fix the problem that only rest, sleep, and self care will solve. As you can tell, the psychology of eating is so much more complicated than what we commonly might think. This takes time and patience, knowing that progress probably won’t be straight forward. So it is extremely important to practice self love and gratitude.
How can intuitive eating help dancers?
When your body receives the food and nutrition it needs to fuel your body, it can execute movement with power, increase endurance, improve muscle tone, reduce fatigue, accelerate recovery, and prevent injury risk, all things that we see in a healthy dancer.
You might also notice shifts in your mindset and mood. Food restriction and perfectionism can often lead to more obsessive thought patterns and behaviors. This could be indicated by most of your thoughts being consumed by food or anxieties surrounding food that can take away from the ability to be present. It can also lead to guilt and shame surrounding food choices, and even uncomfortability and anxiousness in situations where there is access to food that you would not normally eat. It can bring up feelings of loneliness and tendencies towards isolation.
On the other hand, intuitive eating can allow you to be present in your dancing and in your everyday life. It can open up your mental capacity in classes and rehearsals to have more focus and build technique and artistry. It allows for more freedom, less stress surrounding food, and more me, brought a greater sense of gratitude for my body.
How do I start eating intuitively?
Leave diet culture behind – get rid of food tracking, food restriction, fad diets, etc. Not only will it allow you the chance to truly listen to your body and its needs, but your mind and emotional state will thank you as well.
Explore thoughts surrounding food and your body without judgement – See if you have any food rules: labeling foods as “good” or “bad”, or establishing restrictions surrounding what you eat, when you eat, and how you eat.
Allow all foods – period. If there are foods that you don’t like, don’t work for you, or are foods that you are allergic to, obviously you can make the decision to not eat them. BUT, cutting out macronutrients or foods that you love because of a food rule is a sign that you should be able to eat it.
Pay attention to your hunger and fullness cues and your cravings – Everyone’s hunger cues are different. Your stomach might rumble, or you might experience tiredness, loss of concentration, low energy levels, dizziness, stomach pangs, and even the dreaded hangry emotions. While eating, is your food satisfying what your body needs? Are you still hungry, comfortable, or overly stuffed?
Asking questions – “How would I feel if I ate?” “What would sit comfortably in my stomach?” “What foods do I need to keep me energized?” “How will this food make my body feel after?”
Turn off distractions while eating – having multiple devices on, schoolwork on the table, or even our favorite book in our hands can sometimes take us away from listening to our bodies and distracting us from tuning into our hunger and fullness levels.
Honor your feelings without using food – Sometimes, we get used to using food as a coping mechanism for uncomfortable emotions. While it is totally okay to eat in those moments, we need to recognize that it is not food that will solve the issue. More on this in a later post!
Allow guilt to move on – Your body is incredible. It naturally regulates itself and lets you know what it needs. It is also resilient, it has already carried you so far. Getting caught up in perfect food choices leads us away from how our bodies are actually functioning.
Intuitive eating seems simple, but it is not easy. It takes a lot of time, reflection, support, and care. It seems to go against everything we were told about food, but in actuality, I think it is how our bodies were meant to approach food. It’s never going to be perfect, it never will be, and it is never supposed to be. And that is a good thing, because its our own journey that we can enjoy. The reward of seeing yourself grow in strength on the inside and out is worth it. If you have any questions about Intuitive Eating for dancers or want to talk more, feel free to leave a comment or contact me here. I absolutely love talking with you guys and hearing about how intuitive eating has changed the way you approach food and your body!
watch my video on Intuitive eating for dancers here!
There is a downside of diet culture in dance. We are going to into the way in which nutrition is sometimes taught to dancers in a way that promotes restriction and food rules. In this post, dieting refers to ways of eating and the communities and resources that promote strict food rules and calorie restriction.
What we eat affects how we feel, think, and behave. It affects our energy, emotions, lifestyle, and it influences how we view ourselves.
Food is so much more than sustenance, it has become a vehicle for self love or self loathing, an emotional crutch, or even something that causes anxiety. It is also a way to express love and care, and it is so deeply ingrained in culture and in our own memory. Food is not black and white. It is not purely scientific. It is the cinnamon rolls your grandmother taught you how to make, it is your favorite meal that your mom made for you growing up, it is that tie back to your ancestry when you live hundreds of miles away. We gather around food during celebrations, and we turn to food for comfort and solace. We are taught from a young age that foods are “good” or “bad” and that they can physically define us as an individual. Food is also political, it is business, it is exploitative of resources, and for many it is their livelihood. All of these facets are what make food so controversial. This all encompassing nature is why I am so passionate about it.
In the midst of all of these messages we are receiving about food and our bodies, one of the most prevalent ones we detect starting from an early age is this “need” to be on a diet. But it is overlooked that there is such a strong link between dieting, relationship with food, and body image. Here are some pretty sobering statistics:
Weight regain is the typical long-term response to dieting, rather than the exception
If diets don’t work and cause social, emotional, mental, and physical trauma, then why are they still so popular?
We are in a society that loves quick fixes, a ten step plan, and a guarantee. In a fast paced and unintuitive world, out-sourcing nutritional knowledge and habit formation to books or magazines with photoshopped images of the “ideal” body type and a one size fits all diet plan seems like the easiest and most direct way to reach our goals. These curated diet plans take the research, decision making, and effort off of your plate so we can continue in the busyness of life. All we have to do is follow the neatly arranged shopping list and 5 recipes and we will get the body you desire in no time! And diets often work at first, any time you restrict caloric intake will lead to initial “weight” loss (I hold the “weight” term loosely because it’s often a misconception that it’s fat loss when it can actually be water weight and even muscle loss). After a few weeks, maybe your physique has shifted a little, but you might feel hungry, bored, uninspired. Self worth is tied to a number on the scale, not how your body actually feels, so signs such as hunger, loss of energy, and a worsening relationship with food are ignored or even go undetected. Cravings hit, your energy drops, and all you can think about are those “bad” foods. And so your body, starved of energy, yo-yos back the other way. It’s this cycle of restriction, weight loss, loss of motivation, binge, weight gain, self-disgust, dread, motivation, repeat. Dieting relies solely on motivation and willpower, and ignores the body’s wants and needs. It’s exhausting.
It can be frightening looking at the statistics above and also see how the effects of dieting have impacted those around me. During my pre-professional ballet years, I was never given information on the effects of dieting and calorie restriction. Unfortunately, diet culture, especially in the form of restriction, is still prevalent in dance. There is a huge downside to the diet culture in dance. I remember receiving talks where I was told that “calories are calories” no matter what you eat, but just “make sure you don’t exceed this amount of caloric intake so that you stay thin”. Food was something you had to watch, because too much could cost you your status, and a tight control over what you ate was something that was praised. Ballet still prizes certain body types over another, and ignore the fact that almost no one can naturally and healthfully adhere to this standard. Topics such as nourishing your body with whole foods, fueling your body as an athlete, adopting an intuitive approach to eating, body image, and relationship with food were never discussed. To be honest, repairing the relationship I have with food and with my body is still a daily task for me, and is why I want to help change the culture of dieting and body image in the dance world.
So let’s talk a little bit more about the downside of diet culture in dance, and how it affects dancers physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Dieting leads to energy restriction because it promotes calorie deficits. This type of restrictive eating comes with fatigue, which affects your physical ability and performance level, and is a risk factor for injuries. Counting calories provides a false sense of control and ties you down to an inadequate calorie limit for your body to function optimally. Diets not only restrict how much you eat, but also what you eat, limiting intake to certain types of foods, which increases the likelihood of nutrition deficiency and takes away the ability to listen to your body for its hunger and fullness cues and its necessary cravings. This also creates food rules in terms of labeling foods as “good” or “bad” (i.e. “I can’t eat too many carbohydrates”, “eating fat makes me fat”, “I can’t eat before 10am”, “I am not allowed to snack”), perpetuating a poor relationship with food. In turn, this leads to disordered eating patterns that completely ignore your body’s needs. Calorie restriction can interfere with your metabolism and hormone levels, which can end up affecting your body not only while you are dancing, but for years to come after you retire or change your eating habits.
Dieting and diet culture can also lead to mental side effects like loss of concentration and negative self talk. It takes away the ability to eat intuitively and practice self love and gratitude towards our body. Ballet classes and rehearsals become harder to get through both physically and mentally from the decrease in energy and the focus that is placed on your body’s desire for sustenance. Dieting focuses on your physical appearance as a proof of self discipline or failure, and broken food rules lead to guilt and shame if you slip up. When your body does not have enough energy available to carry out its required tasks, it will up-regulate your hunger signals, especially towards sweet foods. The stress of not allowing yourself to eat certain foods can drive you to obsess over those foods and overeat them once they are available. When this happens, it is so easy to fall into self-criticism and a feeling of distrust around food choices. When things don’t go according to plan, it can make you feel anxious and draw your attention away from the big picture and long term goals. Ultimately, it takes away trust of your body and its cues
We are in this together
This is not the most fun, positive topic to talk about, but it needs to be addressed. Its messy, ugly, and often fought to be kept hidden, especially in the performing arts. Almost every dancer has struggled with their physical appearance, no matter how “perfect” their body is, and this is perpetuated by the nutritional information, lack of guidance, and negligence in addressing issues such as a dancer’s body image and relationship with food. While it is not talked about freely in the dance world, there is a downside to diet culture in dance. This post is meant to bring awareness to diet culture in our current society as well as in the realm of dance, but there is a way to change this. The alternative is eating intuitively with a holistic approach in relation to the nourishment of the body and the mind. It meets your energy and nutrition needs through foods that also make you feel comfortable, satisfies, inspired, and fulfilled, and gives your body the fuel it needs to thrive. It involves approaching eating with kindness and curiosity, and tears down food rules to allow for body awareness and mindfulness to happen. Intuitive eating allows you as an individual to listen to your cravings and needs and empowers you to make your own food choices and develop compassion and love for your body. I cannot wait to share more about intuitive eating and a mindful approach to food on the next post!
