Episode 86: Dancing on Empty – The Impact of Under Fuelling in the Dance World with Stefanie from AusDancersOverseas

Today on the podcast I’m joined by Stefanie from AusDancersOverseas. Stefanie is a trained dancer herself, studying at The Urdang Academy in London, but an injury put an end to her career early on and sparked her interest in medicine.

Now a doctor, she felt that still wasn’t enough to sufficiently help dancers, so she also became a sports nutritionist. After more than 10 years in hospitals, she now sees dancers in her clinic, often virtually, and not only optimises their health and nutrition, but also collaborates with colleagues (GPs, gynaecologists, endocrinologists etc.) worldwide in order to ensure dancers receive all the treatment necessary to support them to become the best and healthiest version of themselves. 

 In this podcast Stefanie and I discuss:

• The day in a life of a dancer including the pressures they feel to perform and look a certain way
• Mental health struggles of dancers
• The impact of under fuelling on dancers including losing your period, the impact on bone health and so much more
• Incidence of poor nutrition information in the dance world
• What dancers need to best fuel their body
• Myths about the “ideal body type” for dancers and how this is dangerously perpetuated by the industry
• Stefanie’s best advice for dancers out there to optimise their mental and physical wellbeing for a long and enjoyable career