I have posted this before and no replies ):

greekyogurtandpuppies

Hi, I'm pretty new to MFP, 5'3 and 108 lbs- yes, not overweight, I know, but lately I put on a few pounds due to being inactive (mono sucks!) I'd like to be back to about 104 so my abs are as defined as they were before I got sick.

I eat about 1200-1500 all healthy cals and am losing. I am a senior at my ballet studio (18 years old) and dance about 7 hours a week and condition for about 4 hours. I am pretty active. My question is about a ballet and jazz summer intensive/audition next week. Last year I didn't count cals and I'm not sure how much I should eat to do my best but still lose (I want to look good in bra tops and tights). The audition is 4 days long. Day 1 and 4 are 10 hours of classes total, and days 2 and 3 are 6 hours total. Could someone with similar experiences give me an idea of how much I should eat? I have no idea how many calories all the exercise will burn, any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you and sorry this was so long!
Heather

lisaweaver3

I used to teach ballroom dancing but have a ballet background. I would suggest frequent light meals/snacks. Whole foods including a good dose of carbs as well as protein. And I would also add that during your intensive is not the right time to have a calorie deficit. Please eat to maintain the amount of dancing you will be doing. It wouldn't look good if you kept running out of steam in the middle of class. Where is your intensive?

greekyogurtandpuppies

lisaweaver3 wrote: »

I used to teach ballroom dancing but have a ballet background. I would suggest frequent light meals/snacks. Whole foods including a good dose of carbs as well as protein. And I would also add that during your intensive is not the right time to have a calorie deficit. Please eat to maintain the amount of dancing you will be doing. It wouldn't look good if you kept running out of steam in the middle of class. Where is your intensive?

Thank you, you are right that it wouldn't look good to run out of steam. How many calories would you recommend in each light meal/snacks and how many? My intensive is in NY. I appreciate the help!

faithyang

When doing intensive aerobic style activities its really important to keep up your energy levels. In activities like ballet its also important to keep lean and feeling 'light', so heavy meals are definitely out as they will affect your energy levels and performance.

I reckon with these things you need AT LEAST 1500 calories (even that is a deficit which is not advisable) spread out across multiple meals.

I read an article about a ballet dancer with one of the top tier ballet companies in Australia and her daily eating routine. It included a few calorie dense foods which were mostly taken in the morning, with some light snacks which had good protein and energy (home-made energy bars like date and coconut balls/bars, granola bars, yoghurt pot with fruit, handful of nuts, eggs with cottage cheese/ricotta) ending with a light soup at the end of the day or a protein with salad. So carbs early in the day, ending with protein and veggies at night.

I've googled a few food diaries of ballet dancers here:

http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/vitamin-g/2014/06/ballerina-diet-exercise-eating-plan
http://www.pointemagazine.com/issues/junejuly-2011/your-best-body-food-diaries
http://www.contemporary-dance.org/dancer-diet.html

greekyogurtandpuppies

faithyang wrote: »

When doing intensive aerobic style activities its really important to keep up your energy levels. In activities like ballet its also important to keep lean and feeling 'light', so heavy meals are definitely out as they will affect your energy levels and performance.

I reckon with these things you need AT LEAST 1500 calories (even that is a deficit which is not advisable) spread out across multiple meals.

I read an article about a ballet dancer with one of the top tier ballet companies in Australia and her daily eating routine. It included a few calorie dense foods which were mostly taken in the morning, with some light snacks which had good protein and energy (home-made energy bars like date and coconut balls/bars, granola bars, yoghurt pot with fruit, handful of nuts, eggs with cottage cheese/ricotta) ending with a light soup at the end of the day or a protein with salad. So carbs early in the day, ending with protein and veggies at night.

I've googled a few food diaries of ballet dancers here:

http://www.glamour.com/health-fitness/blogs/vitamin-g/2014/06/ballerina-diet-exercise-eating-plan
http://www.pointemagazine.com/issues/junejuly-2011/your-best-body-food-diaries
http://www.contemporary-dance.org/dancer-diet.html

This was super helpful! Thank you, I'm going to make the energy ball recipe