Through The Whole Dancer, I work with dancer’s to reach your personal best body healthfully and sustainably. I use a 7-Step Process that has worked time and time again to support dancer’s in reaching body goals. Does it happen overnight? No. But with focus and attention you can make major shifts in just a few months.

Here are the steps so you can start to work in the direction of positive body change on your own. If you’d like to dive in a bit deeper with me, sign up to receive the FREE 7 step best body guide where I break down this process and help you see how you can apply it now!

STEP 1: LEARN THE BASICS OF HEALTHY EATING

You’ve got to have a healthy foundation. Learn about macronutrients (proteins, carbs + fats) and micronutrients (vitamins + minerals) so you can easily put together complete and satisfying meals.

Do research for yourself – stick to learning nutritional science information and seek knowledge on fueling athletes. Be aware that a lot of nutrition information is biased. Look for evidence based research and studies conducted using athletes or dancers.

STEP 2: ADOPT A PRACTICE IN SELF LOVE

Taking good care of yourself through self-care practices is one of the best ways to cultivate self-love. You’re communicating to your body through your actions that you are worthy of time and care.

When you look in the mirror, frame your self-descriptions in a positive way and always look for what’s good. Don’t criticize yourself harshly. Work on getting that little voice in your head to speak kindly to you.

STEP 3: PRIORITIZE MEAL PLANNING AND PREPARATION

Eating healthy, delicious meals is very possible. It does typically take a little bit of planning and preparation. Find the healthy recipes you truly enjoy eating. Seek out options that are quick to cook or easy to heat up and make them ahead.

Have staple recipes that you make every week. Switch them up when you get bored. If you’re not excited to eat something it will be less satisfying. You’ve got to find satisfaction from your food if you want to stay on the healthy track.

If your healthy recipes are bland and boring (they don’t have to be) you’ll be more likely to binge on unhealthy foods.

STEP 4: FIND THE EATING PLAN THAT WORKS FOR YOU

Not all foods work for all people. It’s important to experiment to figure out what works for you. Just because your friend has found success on a Vegan or Paleo diet doesn’t mean you will.

It’s also very supportive from a mindset perspective to realize that you don’t have to fit your eating style into a box. You can (and arguably should) shift your choices around food as needed.

Signs you might need to make some shifts: you’re breaking out a lot/more than usual, you’re feeling lethargic or wired, you’re gaining weight inexplicably, you’re losing weight inexplicably, you find yourself binge eating or emotional eating (these are emotional/mindset concerns but your food choices can impact them or be impacted by them).

STEP 5: CULTIVATE CONFIDENCE

Each and every day, think about all of your gifts. What positive light do you bring to the world as a person and dancer? How can you lift up those around you?

When you step into the studio and watch the other dancer’s, admire them for their strengths. The more you see the gifts of those around you, the more easily you’ll identify those gifts in yourself.

STEP 6: DISCOVER SMART, TARGETED CROSS TRAINING

Cross – training shouldn’t take hours a day and it shouldn’t be exhausting. If you destroy yourself at the gym you won’t be able to bring yourself fully into your dancing.

A lot of dancer’s are turning to weight training for good reason. It can benefit you even if you’re only spending 20-30 minutes in the gym a few days a week. Check out The New Rules of Cross-Training for Dancer’s by Annelise Bryan here.

STEP 7: END RESTRICTION AND A RESTRICTIVE MINDSET

If you’ve gotten to a place where you simply aren’t eating enough or you think you must eat less to reach your body goals, it’s time to adjust.

Depending on how deeply you’ve gotten into restriction you might need eating disorder counseling or support. Find a counselor or psychologist who works specifically with dancer’s.

If your mindset is only somewhat skewed at this point, adjust how you’re looking at food. Food is not “good” or “bad” and you shouldn’t let your food choices impact how you feel about yourself.

It’s not about self control.

It’s about fueling yourself with enough food that is healthy and enjoyable so that you can easily move towards your body goals.

If you’d like to learn the 7-step process to reaching your body goals in more depth, grab my free Best Body Guide. That’s a great place to start!

Photo by Content Pixie on Unsplash

The post The 7-Step Process to Reaching Best Body Goals appeared first on The Whole Dancer.

Every day since I was around 12 years old, I looked at myself in the studio’s mirror for any changes in my body. And if I am completely honest, I still do. However, I do it in a different way now, and especially after I took The Dancer’s Best Body Program and thought more about what my body truly needs.

Once puberty hit (which did not affect me on a big scale), and my muscles began to grow as a result of not applying correct ballet technique, I then started to get concerned. So yes, I have been “dieting” since my early teens.

My story gets even harder after I hit the age of 15, where I began to restrict myself with an almost “no-carb-no-fat” diet. I was going to dance Swan Lake, so… I had to look my best!

Of course, I reached a beautiful figure for the stage, but it did not last. One other result I had from this diet was losing my period, which is never a good sign.

When I moved to the United States from Venezuela a lot changed. I experienced a combination of stress, eating bigger portions, having huge cravings for carbohydrates and not knowing what to choose at the grocery stores.

I gained around 26 pounds. And when I got my period back, it all got worse with my hormones. The United States’ food is different, a number of chemicals, preservatives, sugar, and salt are extreme. I was not used to that.

For two years I tried different things: going vegan, trying Herbalife shakes, gluten-free, going back to my restricted diet, going to a great nutritionist, etc. Yes, there is a lot of information I have grabbed from different sources, and I have learned from my failures. What diet do I have to follow? Should I just starve? Should I just eat fish instead of being vegan?

I needed answers!

The Dancer’s Best Body Program helped me find the answer. If you put all the information that is in the modules together, you will get THE secret for your body’s success. You are guided to finding what is best for YOU.

This program refreshed the information I had in my memory, but Jess made everything very clear. The course does not only have details about macronutrients, how to balance plates, or how to choose the best food plan and foods at the market, but also how to apply those to our everyday dance routines and achieve a balletic yet strong body.

But I think that the most important thing The Dancer’s Best Body Program taught me was that I have to focus on my mental state first hand. I realized that I had been my worst critic and I was beating myself up every day at the studio. My self-esteem was on the floor, and I was unmotivated.

I don’t need to beat myself up if I eat a certain thing. I don’t have to care about what other people say about my body.

I don’t have to pay attention to that day I took class a little-bloated from the meal beforehand.

I don’t need to compare myself to others.

I don’t need to look at myself in the mirror and hate everything I see. 

The Dancer’s Best Body Program will not only help you succeed by providing the information about the best foods out there and how to balance those into your busy routine but also it will definitely help you to apply the information to create what is best for YOU.

YOU are your own boss, so listen carefully to what Jess says and listen to your body’s needs. We only get one body, and if you take care of it like a treasure, it will definitely be grateful and will dance everything you ask it to dance.

Are you interested in results like Claudia’s? The Dancer’s Best Body Program is open for enrollment thru February 4, 2018. 

For more on Claudia’s Journey visit her blog at Claudia’s Journal

The post Claudia’s Journey to her “Best Body” appeared first on The Whole Dancer.