DDD Centre for Recovery

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Dance Nutrition 101 - Thinness does not define your worth as a dancer

DN101 - thinness does not define your worth as a dancerYour value as a dancer lies in being YOU.Losing weight doesn't automatically make you a better dancer.And this may be a challenging concept to acknowledge at first because of the limited dance-body ideals out there.But if you truly appreciate dance, you would know that ballet was never about thinness.It's only in the past few decades that the dancer's body has been restricted in size.I want you to know this because if you are focusing on weight loss or dieting to achieve the so-called "good" dance body, you are wasting your precious time, energy and potential to truly grow as a dancer. (To know more about why not-dieting is best for dancers, see here).Instead, focus on truly nourishing your body so that it's fuelled enough to (1) cope with the demanding training load, (2) recover well, and (3) prevent the preventable injuries that arise from lack of energy/nutrients/concentration.And last but not last, nourish your body as a means of self care not punishment. Your body deserves compassion and respect every single day.Fumi x