Eating healthy and correctly is an essential part of living a good lifestyle that is accompanied by exercise. Whether you workout at the gym, run or practice any other cardiovascular exercise, or do yoga and dance with us at Bella Diva Dance, what you eat before and after a workout or class will significantly affect your body. Even though you might be tempted to skipping calories, the food you eat before your exercise will fuel your workout and maximize your efforts. This also prevents low blood sugar, which might cause lightheadedness and fatigue.
Here at Bella Diva Dance, we strive to provide exceptional service and today we share some advice on what snacks can be eaten before and after a dance class. Eating a snack one to two hours before a class will give you the energy you need to enjoy it to the max. Also, refueling 30-45 minutes after class will provide the necessary nutrients to restore your muscles and hydrate your body.
Pre-workout snacks for a Dance class
The focus of pre-workout snacks is to give you a release of energy that is steady throughout your class. Complex carbs, found in bread, nuts and some fruits, play an important role.
- Plain lowfat or nonfat Greek yogurt topped with: granola, trail mix or â…” cup berries
- Smoothies: you can combine 1 piece of fruit or ½ to 1 cup of frozen fruit, 6 ounces of plain yogurt and 4 ounces of milk or unsweetened almond milk. This will give you plenty energy to get your boost going.
- Whole wheat toast with peanut butter and sliced banana or with some natural low-sugar jelly.
- Oatmeal with fresh fruit like blueberries, strawberries or banana.
- Apple wedges with peanut butter. You can also have a bowl of plain fruit (orange, banana, melon and berries) or some dried fruit mix.
Post-workout snacks
These snacks are made to rehydrate you, by restoring body’s normal fluid balance. Also will help you refuel lost glycogen and sugars, help you with muscle repair, and prevent inflammatory damage caused by exercising. Research shows that healthy fatty acids, found in eggs, avocado, salmon and spinach, may help prevent inflammatory damage caused by exercising.
- 1 orange + 1 hardboiled egg: oranges are packed with water and potassium, which will help you rehydrate after lots of sweating. A protein like hard boiled egg will help muscle repair.
- Omelet made with 2 whole eggs, 3 egg whites with sauteed onions, bell peppers and a bowl of chopped fruit.
- Ginger or Chamomile tea and ½ a whole wheat pita filled with hummus and ½ cup spinach. You can also make it a whole wheat bread sandwich with tuna, instead.
- 1 red Grapefruit, 30 roasted pistachios and 1 glass of water with lemon.
- Grilled Salmon or Chicken with veggies cooked with olive oil, and include sweet potatoes.
JOIN US FOR WORLD DANCE CLASSES IN DENVER
Bella Diva Dance’s  new studio is located in the Glendale Center on E. Mississippi Ave and Birch St, near Colorado Blvd.  We offer you: Belly Dance, Samba, Yoga, Bollywood, Hot Hula Fitness, Afro-Caribe and Kids’ World Dance. Contact Caitlin for more information about classes: 303.359.9414 or email us at [email protected].