Nutrition secrets of ballerinas. Maya Plisetskaya, Ilze Liepa, Svetlana Zakharova

“Space diet” by Sergei Sivokho: without denying himself anything, the comedian lost 42 kg in 3 months

Everyone knows about the resilience and fortitude of ballerinas. It is amazing to see the endurance with which the fragile and graceful dancers can withstand colossal loads. The secret to their chiseled figure lies not only in good genetics and daily physical activity. Periodically, to maintain normal weight, and also before a performance, many ballerinas follow a diet that allows them to effectively lose weight in the shortest possible time.

General rules

Light, graceful ballerinas amaze with their grace and control of the body, it seems that this is given to them by nature, but not everyone thinks about what a strict schedule and diet they have.

Ballerina diet for 4 days: eat what you want and lose weight

Does everyday training really allow you to eat whatever you want? No, the ideal figure, and for ballerinas it requires strict prohibitions and recommendations. Despite long training sessions of 5-6 hours, ballerinas are required to follow a few simple rules:

• high-calorie foods only in the first half of the day, and the energy value is provided only by complex carbohydrates, for example, porridge with water or lean rye whole grain bread - this gives the necessary boost of vivacity and energy for training;
• a glass of water is a must - even if you don’t expect to eat, water is your best friend, which will restore the water-salt balance ;
• half portions - portions of ballerinas are smaller than our usual usual diet, it is better to eat 5-7 times when you want before or after the intensive, but not to starve;
• balanced diet - the diet should contain mainly proteins, complex carbohydrates, but we also must not forget about unsaturated fatty acids - season the salad with olive oil and introduce regular dishes into the menu with freshly prepared sea fish, steamed, boiled, oven-baked or grilled;
• the principles of Chinese or Mediterranean cuisine - seafood cocktails, rice, conducting a meal according to all the rules - the key to a beautiful figure;
• less salt - this will reduce the load on the kidneys and provide lightness by eliminating general swelling.

2 preliminary fasting days, at least 4 days of diet and you are guaranteed to lose 4-5 kg. Since the proposed nutrition is complete, you can repeat the ballerina’s diet after 1 month.

General recommendations

Ballerinas have several options for programs for burning excess weight. Some of them are more effective, others are considered more gentle. Whatever diet you choose, it is advisable to follow several recommendations that will bring you closer to your cherished goal in the shortest possible time. Here are some of them:

1. Drink at least one and a half liters of plain water every day. Soups, juices, tea and coffee are not included. Many people often do not drink the required amount of fluid due to forgetfulness. In this case, there is advice: in the morning, fill 7-8 glasses with water and place them around the apartment (near the computer, on a cabinet in the hallway, in the kitchen, etc.) or place them on your desk in the office as soon as you see a glass of water , drink it.
2. Eat a balanced diet. The body must receive proteins, fats, and carbohydrates, otherwise health problems cannot be avoided.
3. Minimize your salt intake. It retains fluid in the body, so it prevents kilograms from disappearing. However, you don’t need to completely give up salt for a long time; you also shouldn’t limit yourself to spices - add seasonings, herbs, and soy sauce to your dishes.
4. You should not combine different types of protein in one meal. Eat either dairy products, fish, meat, or eggs. Otherwise, the digestive system will have to work hard to digest what you eat.
5. Reduce your usual servings by half. If this seems difficult at first, just divide one meal into 2, that is, breakfast into breakfast and lunch, lunch into lunch and an afternoon snack, dinner into dinner and a snack before bed. After this, your body will learn to eat in small doses, and therefore the kilograms will disappear more readily.
6. Completely avoid store-bought mayonnaise and sauces based on it.
7. Do not drink during or immediately after a meal; it is better to quench your thirst half an hour before a meal or an hour after a meal, so that what you eat will be easier to digest.
8. And of course, make friends with sports. You cannot create your dream figure with proper nutrition alone; physical activity is necessary.

We advise you to follow the proposed recommendations constantly, then weight loss marathons will not be required.

Authorized Products

Due to regular exercise, a diet for ballerinas is mandatory, because dancers need to eat not only properly, balanced, but also nutritiously so that the body can withstand such stress as rehearsals, runs and tours.

It is necessary to consume calories not only before rehearsals, but also after, this is necessary to maintain normal weight, saturate the respiratory, cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and other organ systems and tissues with all the necessary substances. A ballerina’s diet must include:

• complex carbohydrates - the diet should contain in abundance various cereals with water and bread made from all kinds of whole grain cereals and seeds;
• protein - the building material of muscles is best obtained from lean dietary meat, boiled or grilled fish, mushrooms;
• fiber is the normal functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, healthy peristalsis , vitamins and microelements - fresh salads with herbs, a variety of varieties of cabbage, lettuce (iceberg, romaine), arugula, spinach, watercress, etc.;
• fats should enter the body only through fish and olive oil, butter.

Table of permitted products

Proteins, g	Fats, g	Carbohydrates, g	Calories, kcal
Vegetables and greens
boiled broccoli	3,0	0,4	4,0	27
Brussels sprouts	4,8	0,0	8,0	43
cabbage	1,2	0,2	2,0	16
carrot	1,3	0,1	6,9	32
cucumbers	0,8	0,1	2,8	15
salad pepper	1,3	0,0	5,3	27
iceberg lettuce	0,9	0,1	1,8	14
tomatoes	0,6	0,2	4,2	20
zucchini	1,5	0,2	3,0	16
Fruits
avocado	2,0	20,0	7,4	208
oranges	0,9	0,2	8,1	36
grapefruit	0,7	0,2	6,5	29
kiwi	1,0	0,6	10,3	48
apples	0,4	0,4	9,8	47
Mushrooms
mushrooms	3,5	2,0	2,5	30
Nuts and dried fruits
dried fruits	2,3	0,6	68,2	286
raisin	2,9	0,6	66,0	264
Cereals and porridges
viscous buckwheat porridge on water	3,2	0,8	17,1	90
boiled wild rice	4,0	0,3	21,1	100
Bakery products
Rye bread	6,6	1,2	34,2	165
whole grain bread	10,1	2,3	57,1	295
Chocolate
dark chocolate	6,2	35,4	48,2	539
Raw materials and seasonings
acacia honey	0,8	0,0	71,0	288
Dairy
milk 1.5%	2,8	1,5	4,7	44
kefir 1%	2,8	1,0	4,0	40
sour cream 10% (low-fat)	3,0	10,0	2,9	115
natural yogurt 2%	4,3	2,0	6,2	60
Cheeses and cottage cheese
cottage cheese 1.8% (low-fat)	18,0	1,8	3,3	101
Bird
steamed chicken breast	23,6	1,9	0,0	113
Fish and seafood
boiled fish	17,3	5,0	0,0	116
dorado	18,0	3,0	0,0	96
shrimps	22,0	1,0	0,0	97
seafood	15,5	1,0	0,1	85
Oils and fats
butter	0,5	82,5	0,8	748
olive oil	0,0	99,8	0,0	898
Juices and compotes
tomato juice	1,1	0,2	3,8	21
* data is per 100 g of product

Doctors' opinion

Before you start following any diet, you need to evaluate not only the potential effects, but also the health risks. Reviews from doctors will help you with this.

Contraindications

No matter how strong your desire to lose weight, you need to take care of your health first. Consider six main contraindications to the diet.

1. Childhood and adolescence. For a developing organism, strict dietary restrictions are unacceptable. Even for young students of ballet schools, a gentle nutritious diet is formed.
2. Pregnancy and lactation. Both mother and baby need a full range of vitamins, minerals and nutrients.
3. Gastrointestinal diseases. Severe food restriction will lead to discomfort and abdominal pain due to exacerbation of chronic problems.
4. Nervous disorders. Giving up your favorite food will further unbalance the nervous system.
5. Weakened immunity. Not eating nutritious foods will make you even more vulnerable to infectious diseases. Also, the diet will slow down the process of rehabilitation after illness.
6. Endocrine and hormonal diseases. As a rule, such problems require proper nutrition or a special diet prescribed by a doctor. Unauthorized restriction of the diet will lead to even greater imbalance.

Cautions

Doctors are skeptical about fashionable diets, because they are aimed exclusively at rapid weight loss, and not at normalizing the functioning of body systems. Therefore, it is fair to listen not only to the positive experience of ballerinas, but also to the warnings of doctors. Three significant points can be highlighted.

1. Lack of fiber. The diet is low in plant foods and grains. Due to a lack of dietary fiber, digestive problems may occur. The most common stool disorders.
2. Few vitamins. A side effect of the diet is a weakening of the body’s protective barriers and disruption of the functioning of internal organs. Ladies also need to know that a poor diet is the cause of hair loss, brittle nails and skin dehydration.
3. The “wrong” weight comes off. To replenish energy deficiency, the body always uses a simpler and more accessible source. Muscle fibers break down much faster than fat tissue. Therefore, low-calorie diets lead to sagging and weak muscles. And the fat remains in place for a long time.

Having studied the reviews about the diet of ballerinas, it becomes clear that it is really effective, but will not turn the average woman into a fragile prima. Ballet is an art that people come to from childhood. Little girls are taught a culture of nutrition and intense training. It is in this mode that their body lives, grows and develops for many years. No diet can turn a curvaceous girl into a miniature skinny woman with strong and developed muscles. But this is a good start for further transformations.

Fully or partially limited products

Despite the fact that the intense exercise of ballerinas allows you to eat whatever you want, you need to forget about the following foods:

• mayonnaise, ketchup and other canned sauces rich in preservatives, starches, dyes and sugars;
• It is better to season food with fermented milk products, olive oil, lemon juice or balsamic vinegar;
• bread, even if you eat salad or soup, it is better not to eat bread, say “no” to sandwiches, it is better to use green lettuce or spinach as the basis of the salad;
• any products with a fat content over 3% - study information about kefir, fermented baked milk or other favorite food and drink and feel free to include it in your diet;
• It is better to limit the consumption of legumes and other foods that cause gas formation in the intestines and bloating, so as not to feel discomfort during many hours of rehearsals;
• sugar and confectionery in limited quantities, glucose and fructose can be obtained from fruits, but sometimes you can treat yourself to extra dark chocolate.

Table of prohibited products

Proteins, g	Fats, g	Carbohydrates, g	Calories, kcal
Vegetables and greens
boiled peas	6,0	0,0	9,0	60
potato	2,0	0,4	18,1	80
beans	7,8	0,5	21,5	123
Fruits
canned pineapples	0,1	0,1	14,0	57
Snacks
salted popcorn	7,3	13,5	62,7	407
Flour and pasta
pasta	10,4	1,1	69,7	337
ravioli	15,5	8,0	29,7	245
vareniki	7,6	2,3	18,7	155
Bakery products
loaf	7,5	2,9	50,9	264
buns	7,2	6,2	51,0	317
pita	8,1	0,7	57,1	274
Confectionery
candies	4,3	19,8	67,5	453
cookie	7,5	11,8	74,9	417
cake	3,8	22,6	47,0	397
dough	7,9	1,4	50,6	234
Ice cream
ice cream	3,7	6,9	22,1	189
Cakes
cake	4,4	23,4	45,2	407
Chocolate
white chocolate	4,2	30,4	62,2	541
milk chocolate	6,9	35,7	54,4	550
Dairy
cream	2,8	20,0	3,7	205
Meat products
pork	16,0	21,6	0,0	259
Sausages
boiled sausage	13,7	22,8	0,0	260
smoked grain sausage	9,9	63,2	0,3	608
sausages	10,1	31,6	1,9	332
sausages	12,3	25,3	0,0	277
Fish and seafood
hot smoked mackerel	22,1	23,8	4,1	317
* data is per 100 g of product

Ksenia Ryzhkova, 20 years old

soloist of the Musical Academic Theater named after. Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko

Parts: Nikia (La Bayadère), Masha the Princess (The Nutcracker), Fleur De Lys (Esmeralda), Vilisa (Giselle), Dryad (Don Quixote).

Weight: 45-48 kg.

Height: 168 cm.

Breakfast: porridge (about 2 tbsp.)/coffee with glazed cheese.

Lunch: fruit/chocolate.

Dinner: meat and salad / stewed vegetables / after the performance - salad and dessert / pasta

Physical activity: choreography classes and rehearsals from 2 to 6 hours a day + performances. Pilates, gym. Trains 7 days a week.

Vitamins and dietary supplements: B vitamins, amino acids, vitamins with ginseng extract, effervescent vitamins with taurine and l-carnitine.

If you need to lose weight: reduce portions, limit your intake of carbohydrates and sweets, do Pilates and go to the gym.

Prohibited products: allows himself everything.

Favorite dish/cuisine: desserts.

There is always in the refrigerator: cheese, meat, vegetables, fruits, sometimes sausage.

“Ballerinas eat everything. Very often before performances I treat myself to something that I really love. I can afford a cake in the evening and a plate of pasta in the afternoon to recharge my energy. But if I feel like I’m getting out of shape, I try to limit myself and don’t eat in the evening. But with our workloads, there is no point in going on a very strict diet - everything burns out. Ballerinas rarely have lunch, this is due to their schedule. If there is less than half an hour between rehearsals and you eat, then the food will not have time to be digested in such a short period of time, and then you feel discomfort, dancing with a full stomach.

Once upon a time - while still in college - I gained a lot of weight and had to lose weight. I pulled myself together and tried to eat in small portions - literally 2-3 tablespoons of food at one time. But at the same time, she allowed herself everything: she could come home at lunch and eat soup, meat with buckwheat. She ate at a measured pace - about an hour.

At the ballet school, our weight was strictly controlled and we were weighed once or twice every six months. Now, in the theater, no one especially watches this, my form is on my conscience. But, of course, if the ballerina has let herself go, then she can hear comments from the artistic director or teachers about this.

At a fairly early age I started having problems with my stomach and intestines. At ballet school, girls try to lose weight in every possible way, and I was no exception. Sometimes I didn’t eat after 14:00. There were breakdowns, then another diet. And this, of course, affected the gastrointestinal tract.”

Menu (Meal Schedule)

Menu example No. 1

For breakfast	eat 150 g of low-fat cottage cheese and a cup of slightly warmed milk or kefir with a fat content of 2.5%.
Snack after 1.5-2 hours	natural coffee with acacia or other honey; a pair of rye toasts with butter (no more than 30 g).
For lunch	50 g brown cooked rice; 250 g fish soup, without adding potatoes and moderate salting.
Snack	one non-starchy fruit, preferably an apple, grapefruit, citron or orange.
For dinner	boiled veal and vegetable salad; 250 ml low-fat milk or kefir; for acute hunger - herbal tea with flower honey.

Menu example No. 2

For breakfast	100 g of low-fat cottage cheese with a spoon of sour cream and honey, you can add a handful of dried fruits or fresh berries and nuts.
Snack after 1.5-2 hours	250 ml of freshly squeezed orange or grapefruit juice; one apple and pure homemade low-fat yogurt.
For lunch	100 g of buckwheat in water and slices of boiled chicken fillet; fresh vegetable salad; a slice of dark chocolate.
Afternoon snack	vegetable broth or carrot-apple juice.
For dinner	dorado and grilled vegetables, baked in the oven, sprinkled with lemon juice and olive oil; assorted green vegetables and lettuce.

Advantages and disadvantages

pros

Minuses

The proposed diet, subject to intensive daily exercise, gives at least minus 4-5 kg ​​on the scale (ideally, the number of calories received should not exceed the number of calories burned per day). Appetite and stomach volume are normalized, which allows you to maintain the results for a long time. The diet is not considered starvation or strict, the main thing is to endure and properly prepare the body for weight loss. Thanks to a healthy diet and the exclusion of harmful foods, the functioning of all organs, well-being and mood improves.

You can lose weight on such a diet only if you do grueling workouts every day. It is difficult to survive the first two days of fasting on tomato juice and kefir, but this is a prerequisite for rebooting and preparing the body. You need to cook food every day, stock up on scales, a toaster and a juicer.

Important Terms

One of the most important conditions for successfully completing the ballerina diet is considered to be proper two-day preparation for it. It includes a special diet for a ballerina, while the daily diet is a regular mono-diet:

Diet of the first fasting day

250 ml freshly squeezed tomato juice.

after 3-4 hours, another 250 ml of freshly squeezed tomato juice with a piece of rye bread.

a few hours before bedtime, the third serving is 250 ml of freshly squeezed tomato juice.

Diet of the second fasting day

one glass of low-fat kefir, fermented baked milk or milk.

after 5-6 hours, another glass of kefir and a piece of black bread.

herbal mixture, for example, soothing chamomile, mint, lemon balm and St. John's wort.

Reviews and results

Reviews about the diet of ballerinas are only positive, because the proposed diet is balanced and correct. Thanks to clear recommendations, you can not only remove extra centimeters from your waist and hips, but also improve your health, improve your immunity and normalize your gastrointestinal tract.

The only drawback is the need for regular, long hours of physical activity. If you are a homebody or lead a sedentary lifestyle , then the proposed diet is not for you. Of course, it won’t hurt your health to get into the habit of eating cereals, lean meats, and fresh vegetables, but you shouldn’t expect stunning results on the scale.

• “... I do fitness every day, after 10 days of the diet my figure became athletic, lean and toned”;
• “... It’s a pity that it doesn’t suit me, I can’t exercise for 4-6 hours every day, but I like the nutritional recommendations”;
• “... In 4 days - minus 1.8 kg. I really wanted to, and allowed myself to eat a lot of bread”;
• “... An excellent nutrition system - eat meat, vegetables and cereals, maybe I’ll really become as graceful as a ballerina.”

Tatyana Melnik, 27 years old

soloist of the Musical Academic Theater named after. Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko

Parts: Kitri (Don Quixote), First Shadow (La Bayadère), Masha the Princess and the Doll (The Nutcracker).

Weight: 43 kg.

Height: 161 cm.

Breakfast: black coffee and glazed cheese.

Lunch (13:00 – 14:00) : coffee with a small cake/chocolate/piece of chicken with salad.

Dinner (21:00 – 24:00) : meat (often chicken or chicken hearts) with salad/spaghetti.

Physical activity: choreography classes and rehearsals from 2 to 6 hours a day, 6 days a week + performances.

Vitamins and dietary supplements : “Energy tonic”.

If you need to lose weight: you simply try to eat less, especially if during this period of time there is less workload at rehearsals.

Prohibited foods: flour, including bread.

Favorite dish/cuisine : Russian cuisine.

Always have in the refrigerator: glazed curds, sausage, cheese, fruit

“To be honest, I don’t weigh myself at all. My body burns everything unnecessary while working. I track my shape by the reflection in the mirror. When there is little load, I can gain a little weight. But this is noticeable only to me; those around me do not see the difference.

I can’t eat much in the morning because then it’s hard to work out with a full stomach. Lunch itself is also rare. Often there is no time for this, and the workload of rehearsals makes you want to drink more than you eat. The main meal of the day is dinner.

A standard working day for a ballerina looks like this: class starts at 11 o’clock, where we warm up for an hour; then a short break and start rehearsing - solo, with the masses (ballet) or with a partner. The performance starts at 7 pm, usually these days after classes we are free and we manage to eat something light, such as chicken, in the cafeteria. There are still two hours left to sleep before the performance, and you have to run to make-up and hair. After the performance, dinner happens around twelve o'clock in the morning. I don’t feel any particular feeling of hunger – I feel adrenaline and I’m really thirsty. I love the “nasty” thing – Coca-Cola.

At one time I had stomach problems; after eating salty or fatty foods, pain began. I had to undergo a course of treatment. The diet of ballerinas is not ideal; we do not eat only spinach. We love cakes, chocolate, sweets and indulge ourselves with pleasure.”

Diet price

The first two fasting days are real budget savings: a liter of tomato juice and a liter of kefir cost no more than 200 rubles. Of course, it is better to take fresh tomatoes and squeeze the juice yourself, using a little pulp and adding a little salt, because sealed juices contain too much salt, dyes, preservatives, and sometimes starch and flavor enhancers.

At least 4 days on a nutritious diet will cost a little more, but will not significantly affect your pocket, because the portions should be small. In addition to the offered fish, chicken, cereals, rye bread, vegetables, lettuce and fruits, you should also buy herbal tea, green tea, ground coffee, natural honey, low-fat kefir, cottage cheese and cheese.

Pay special attention to the butter, if it is butter, then it is 100% from milk, if it is olive, then it is without impurities and cold pressed. Thus, for another 4 days you will have to spend at least 1000 rubles. The diet can be extended up to 10 days by alternating the proposed menu examples.