Dancers Nutrician Needs at College

[katkit]

Hi All, I hope this will be helpful.

My DD attended a foundation course last year and the training was pretty instense - between 6-8 hours of dance per day. Well, she started to loose weight about 6 weeks into her training and I was quite worried (as was the course leader who expressed concern to her one day). The reason for this post is to let you know what we did about it.

I bought some books specifically about sport nutrician, a really good one is 'Nutrician for the Dancer' by Zerlina Mastin (an ex dancer). I also searched the internet, you can find lots of helful advise.

About half way through her year we decided to try a powder mix like weight lifters use and bought a large tub of whey powder mix (from Tesco, but you can get it anywhere) which cost about £25 for a huge tub and lasts her a month. She tried a couple types, Sci-MX, USN, all for muscle building & after excercise recovery. This was great and she saw a huge difference in using it before and after training. She mixed it with whole milk. Comes in Vanilla, Strawberry and Chocolate.

She drank lots of water and isotonic/hypertonic drinks ( you can make your own isatonic drink so much cheaper, I add a link below that gives the basic info you need) Be careful, most squash on the shelves have some form of artificial sweetener which is not good, they need to sugar. You will need to check ingredients labels if you want to avoid these. Ribena is free from this as is some of the 50% squashes from supermarkets. I'm not a waitrose shopper but theirs are great, no sweeteners. (at least the 50% squashes)

Isotonic Recipes: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/health_ ... 289704.stm

She ates lots of chicken, jacket potatoes, spag bol (home made & froze by Mum) as that what she found easiest to cook after a long exhausting day. I still struggle to convince her about fresh fruit & veg but she is getting better. One of her roomates last year was very health conscious and made lots of different fruit smoothies, so now she does too! And eats yogurt - this year I know she will be much better equipped to feed her self well and know what her body needs.

Please feel free to add your tips if you know of anything else to help out our DC's during their training, and I hope the above is helpful

[Caroline A-C]

That sounds exactly the same diet as my ds had almost to a T. In fact, he still eats the same diet as they really do need the calories the shakes provide. I did find that making huge batches of spag bol and putting a portion into one of those zip up freezer bags meant that the meal was already measured for them and you could get that much more into the freezer rather than using plastic containers. I also put each chicken breast into one of these bags as my ds was rubbish with remembering to use the breasts up before they went off in the fridge.

[Katymac]

Thanks for all that info; I will print it off and read it (several times) over the next few days so I know what I am doing and how to help DD

Anything college specific that I need to know?

[katkit]

Katymac - I don't think there is anything college specific you need to know for Performers, and they don't really teach the kids about nutrician so it is down to you. The biggest tip is getting your DD's nutrician right (she is only small without a lot of spare!) We learned the hard way, but didn't take long for her to get healthier. She is still very lean, it is amazing what all that dance does to your body shape.

[Flosmom]

This is brilliant, thanks.

Flo is growing upwards but definitely not outwards

She has always been a poor eater. She eats to stop being hungry rather than eating to get full. And talk about picky! Plus she doesn't cook. So her tendency is to subsist in sugary snacks and super noodles.

She is at an all-day rehearsal at the moment but I'm looking forward to showing her this when she gets home tonight. Hungry and looking for noodles...

Deb x

[2dancersmum]

Those doing a level 6 diploma or a degree will find that one of their assignments is on nutrition for the fit and healthy performer. DD was advised to look at guidelines from the Food Standards Agency (Eat well, be well - 8 tips for eating well), Dance UK - in particular articles and recipes by Jasmine Challis and books like the one mentioned - as just one part of the overall assignment. DD knows of boys who have used the shakes to supplement their diet to help build up their muscles but I emphasize the word 'supplement'. Surely if a dancer is getting all the nutrition they need from their diet they do not need 'supplements' unless it is for building up muscles or bulk - I would not be pointing my DD down that route - unless like the original poster she was losing weight or struggling to maintain her weight. My DD has found that she eats way more than she did before she went to vocational college - but she eats healthily. Breakfast is very important and larger than at home - cereal, wholemeal toast and then a piece of fruit as she walks to college. Lunch she typically has pasta salad or wholemeal wraps or pittas with cheese/salad. Evening meals are based around pasta or rice and chicken or a large jacket potato with baked beans and salad. DD tells me that the average persons healthy diet is supposed to be roughly 1/3 carbohydrates and 15% protein but a dancer needs 50% carbohydrates and 15-20% protein because of all the extra energy they use.

[katkit]

Hi Dancermum, my DD was eating fairly healthy we thought, but not eating enough. A typical meal for her after college now is 2 chicken breasts cooked in various ways, pasta & veg (I have gotten her onto wholewheat as it is better for her). Before it would have been just one piece of chicken. She has a clear idea about her body's needs now that she has had a year of training. It is a shame that the colleges don't cover nutrician first and foremost, as in the first week they join as it is so important to their success.

Quite a few of my DD's friends also supplemented their normal meals with the whey powder shakes last year - it definately is not a means to built muscle for her, but instead a post exercise tool during college only (she doesn't take it when she isn't excercising). You are supposed to take protein fairly quickly after excercise so that your body doesn't use your muscle to restore what excersice has lost and sometimes a quick shake ticks the box quickly enough before she could get home, cook and eat, which she still does.

I guess every dancer will find what they need to keep fit and healthy. Jasmine Challis is a practising sports (mainly dance) nutricianist that has lots of useful info which can be found on the internet (and you can book appointments with her as well) She is based in Reading for anyone lucky enough to live close to her practice.

[Katymac]

My brother is a keen fitness enthusiast & he is monitoring DD's diet

I think she eats more protein than that while exercising and a similar amount of carbs (1/3) but the amount she eats is ridiculous

We did go through a stage when she barely kept her weight up but that seems to have stabilised - but we do watch her weight to ensure it does not go down

[2dancersmum]

Katymac - dancers do need to eat an awful lot - so do not worry about how much she eats as long as it is healthy food and not sugary snacks. If you look at Dance Uk or google 'nutrition for dancers' you'll easily find information on what she should be eating. I agree with katkit that all colleges should cover nutrition from the start of the course. DD's certainly did and the assignment on the fit and healthy performer was completed in the first term. I understand why whey protein shakes may be used but I think it is important to remember that they are a supplement and not for everyone - 'may be used' not 'should be used'