My Experience as a Vegetarian Dancer

All my life up until 2 months ago I never worried about food. I have a slight lactose intolerance but it's nothing I can't handle easily. My family has always been health conscious with my mom being a nutritionist and working in a gym, but we never cut anything out of our diets like you do when you go vegetarian. I moved into college in mid-August of this year and in early September decided to try my hand at being a vegetarian. 

I can say without hesitation that it was one of the best decisions I have made while being here, but I will also say it has been hard. Cutting out meats like pork, turkey, bologna, ham, burgers, and steak was not hard. I have never loved those (besides a filet mignon) so I did not have a huge craving for them. My biggest issue has been chicken. I love chicken. I would eat all kinds of chicken: chicken sandwiches, chicken tenders, grilled chicken, fried chicken, sesame chicken, general chicken, chicken parmesan, etc. You name it, I loved it. I also liked Canadian bacon and egg sandwiches, another hard thing. So you may be wondering why I would choose to cut those things out of my diet if I loved them? Well, I read up on the benefits of being a vegetarian and I will share those with you below. 

1. Plant-based foods have high levels of antioxidants

2. Heart Health is supported & may be improved

3. Lower risk of diabetes, stroke, & obesity

4. Low cholesterol 

5. May improve weight loss

Now I am not a vegan or really a full vegetarian. Instead, I am a pescatarian. I do not eat red  meat, beef, or poultry but I do eat fish and eggs and dairy products. I found that if I cut out all of those things my options here at college would be extremely limited and I overall would not be eating enough to keep myself able to focus on school and dance. In the past 2 months I have found a few of these things and I want to share my findings with you: 

1. I have had more energy since going vegetarian. I am less tired and am able to complete dances with a higher stamina as well. 

2. My skin has been so clear. I have never really had acne problems but I am human and sometimes things happen. Since going vegetarian my skin has been so clear.

3. I have lost fat and gained muscle. Contrary to what others believe, you can gain muscle as a vegetarian. I have always been muscular and worried I would lose it when I went vegetarian but without trying I have lost weight and gained more muscle. 

Overall I am so happy with my results so far! I want to share with you guys my favorite things to eat as a dancer who is vegetarian/a typical what I eat in a day! Please keep in mind I am a freshman in college so I do not make 98% of my meals due to not having a kitchen. 

Breakfast: I typically will either A.) have scrambled eggs with Cheerios or yogurt with granola or B.) make avocado toast in my room with yogurt

Lunch: I never know where I am going to be for lunch day to day, but I try to eat pasta or soup or something high in carbohydrates. I also eat steamed/cooked vegetables.

Dinner: Dinner is almost always a Caesar salad from greens to go. I love their salads and it makes for a perfect dinner. If I can I try to get some fruit servings in as well if I did not have any before. 

Snacks: Dried fruit crisps, trail mix/nuts, cheez-its(my weakness), clif bar blocks, fruit.

I found that on days when I stick to this type of diet plan I have the most energy and I feel the best. Feel free to take ideas from this! This is just my personal experience and I am in no way an expert, I've only been a vegetarian for 2 months!

I hope you enjoyed this article and you learned something!

~Julia