Ohio Star Ball Tips from a Dietitian & Professional Competitor
Ohio Star Ball can be a long week and can require a different level of energy, focus, and intention for many dancers. Therefore nutrition can become that much more important to help your body feel it’s best so you can focus your energy on dancing and performing at your best!
In this video I discuss a few quick tips in detail to help you achieve this! (If you don’t have time for the full details, because we all know I like to explain a lot 🤭 , I have a quick summary of these tips below)
Pack healthy snacks: trail mix (nuts & dried fruit), well balanced protein bars (such as IQ bars), rice cakes and nut butter for examples
Light snack every 1-2 hours while dancing (1/2 a piece of fruit with some nuts, 1/2 protein bar, etc)
Hydrate! Drink water throughout the day, mix in 1-2 electrolyte packets depending on how much you are dancing
Watch your caffeine, you may be getting less sleep than normal and may be tempted to have extra coffee or energy drinks, this can lead to a racing heart, shaky legs, and overall feeling not your best if you consume more than you are used to. Use balanced eating, hydration, and adrenaline to get your energy up for the dance floor ;)
Before dancing meals (1.5-2 hours pre-dancing) lower fiber meal focusing on carbs and protein before dancing, keep fat intake low to moderate. This helps minimize bloating and helps keep your body’s energy available for dancing vs digestion while still fueling your body.
Save your veggies for your post dancing meal- in addition to your balanced carbs and protein, add on your veggies with this meal, it is helpful for recovery, satiation, and you have time to digestion now! Still keep fat intake a bit lower for overall health and keep your body not feeling extra lethargic the next day.
Wishing you all the best of luck at Ohio Star Ball this week!
See you on the dance floor!
-Ricci-Lee Hotz, MS, RDN, LD
A Taste of Health, LLC
“The Dancesport Dietitian”
dancesportdietitian.com