2 week plan #4

 The first goal of my 2 week plan was to follow my recommended meal plan that I put on my Instagram a couple of weeks back. On the meal plan, I listed various different options for breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and snacks that would be a good choice to fuel a dancers body with. I also heavily emphasized that diet culture is bad for young dancers, carbs are needed in order to stay full and energized, to not count your calories, and to listen to your body and what it needs. Not everything you eat has to be healthy because balance is key. For breakfast I had a kodak flapjack cup, which contains 20 grams of protein, along with some fruit and iced tea. For lunch I had veggies with humus, along with pepperoni, pretzles, and a cookie. For a snack I had a chocolate crissont. After I got home from school I had tuna sushi and an apple. After dance I had chicken, rice, and broccoli for dinner, and for dessert I had some dark chocolate and raspberries. After following this meal plan for a day I felt energized, satisfied, and full. It is so important to eat when your hungry and listen to what your body is telling you that it needs. 

The second goal of my 2 week plan was to reach out to people who have directly experienced an eating disorder from the ballet world specifically. I reached out to one of my friends who trains heavily in ballet. She described how the lines of a dancer are presented as more flattering the skinnier that you are. When you extend your leg it looks longer and more elegant if its thinner, when you're standing at the bar if your stomach sticks out than it ruins the perfectly semetrical flat line that a dancer is supposed to be viewed as, and the bulkier your arms are the less graceful and pretty they look. We're taught all these things at a young age, and even if they're not said they are presumed to be this way because of how ballet is portrayed in the media. This dancer that I was talking to mentioned that her annorexia made her bones so fragile that she ended up getting severely injured and had to stop dancing for a long period of time. This goes to show how damaging eating disorders can be for people who are very active and put immense amounts of pressure on their bodies every day. 

The third goal of my 2 week plan was to talk to some one who is in that field. I chose to speak to my personal nutritionist who is very educated on the topic. This is the list of questions that I chose to ask her: 

1.) Do you notice that most people struggling with an ED are female?

2.) How are some ways you can prevent an eating disorder from occurring?

3.) What are some causes of EDs?

4.) When is it time for someone struggling with their eating to seek help? 

5.) Why do you think that eating disorders are so common in the dance community?

And these were her respondes:

1.) Yes, for sure! It is this way because females tend to be much more observant, and self-councious of their bodies.

2.) Not counting calories is a huge one, this can often lead to disordered eating. Another thing is to not obsess over the number on the scale because it truly means nothing. The last thing is to become educated on the topic so you're aware of what an ED can do to your life.

3.) Some eating disorders are genetic. Some EDs can be caused by being in a toxic environment, or by overanalyzing your body in general.

4.) When you have noticed a loss of energy, motivation, you feel weak, and you have noticed a significant drop in your weight.

5.) There are many reasons behind this. The first one being, the stereotype that is set about the body of a dancer. Another is encouragement from dance coacher or peers to continue losing wait. And one more is that dancers are surrounded by mirrors all day long.

The last goal of my 2 weeks plan was to find things/people who were a part of the problem. A 12 year old girl who dances at the same studio as me attended a 3 week long ballet intensive over the summer. She explained how they weren't allowed to bring certain things in for lunch. Anything unlealthy wasn't allowed. No pasta, no cookies, not pretzles, no nothing. This is an example of a toxic environment. She also mentioned that if they didn't work hard enough that day then they wouldn't get a lunch break at all. This story disgusted me. This is part of the problem. These children are being told what they can and can not eat by someone who they barely know. They will start burning muscle instead of fat. This is a prime example of how a toxic dance environment can lead to eating disorders. These kids need to have balance, and more importantly enough food to get them through their long days of dancing. Not listening to your body and fueling it with nothing but fruit and veggies can be extremely damaging and will lead to unhealthy eating habits.