Food. I know I've gone off on this tangent before, but..

[Pirouette]

I'm gonna do it again. Since I can't say this around any of the people I'm around on a daily basis (dancers, damn them all), I'm just gonna spout off here. Hoping that people here eat and aren't ashamed to do so.
I grew up in a ballet school, but for a minute let's pretend like I didn't.
Food. WHo knew it was an illegal immoral thing? Well, wait. I guess there's nothing wrong with food, there's just something wrong with you if you eat it. Excuse me. Call the cops. I was caught eating a cookie the other day. Caught, enjoying eating that cookie, and also eating said cookie directly in front of a dance studio-flaunting it, apparently. Captial offense. Not only that, but I was caught by a fellow dancer turned teacher whom I adore. ANd the look she gave me- ugh! :cry:
THis look of utter dissapointment.
I felt so ashamed. So guilty for letting my stomach (no mind that I'd just taken pain meds without food and had to get some kind of food in my stomach) lead me, and having the weakness to choose a (okay 2) cookies as my sustience.
And then I got home.
 8O  :evil:
What the crap? Why try to do that to someone? Make them feel guilty for eating food? Make me feel that even now I must justify my 'eating 2 cookies' with this "I usually eat healthy. Better than most people on the planet. Fruit for breakfast.Tofu. Soy. Veggies." Just so that people won't think, 'oh my god she's disgusting, all she  eats is junk food!!! (Followed by look of sheer disgust and horror)
Crap folks. I'm a grown woman. (And I'm probably surrounded by 12 year olds, I know) My first teacher was a Balanchine dancer. Not eating was advocated. I know all about eating disorders and drug abuse and ballet- sadly those often go hand in hand. Too often if you ask me. No one needs to tell me what to eat. Or give me nasty looks.
So why, at my age does it still bother me? Old habits die hard I guess.

The moral of this story: If you see someone eating- don't give them crap about it. Granted if you see someone eating the entire contents of McDonalds you might want to say something, or offer a free ride to the hospital...but still. I think you get my pointe.
And on that note, I'm off to a 2 1/2 hour long advanced ballet class with members of the Milwaukee Ballet. Wonder how long it'll take before they kick me out?  :lol:

[Tia]

We must suffer for our arts :wink:

[tylor2000]

That sounds terrible.

When nobody is looking, try dropping a whole package of Oreos amd a half gallon of milk on a nearby table.  See how long it takes for it to dissapear.  That'll teach them.

I watch my diet too with none of that included.  Except I want to gain weight.  I do it very roughly.  For instance, I try to get at a bare minimum 60 grams of protein and 500 grams of carbohydrates everyday, so on and so forth.......   I try to watch the fat and sugar so I don't go way overboard.  I'm going to buy dietary linseed oil soon so I get the fats I need.  I also try to eat 8 or 9 standard units of fruits and vegetables.  I think that is about 900 grams.

As extreme as that sounds I follow it very roughly.  The extreme is like what you are talking about.

Other people shouldn't dictate your diet.  If it effects your ability to perform, that is one matter.  But the very act of eating something as a part of your diet in an isolated instance is another.

They were probably more envious then anything else.  They probably have a hard time sticking to whatever ideal of a diet they set for themselves.  Seeing you eat that cookie makes it that much harder.

So I say break out the oreos, chocolate ice cream, and potato chips for them when they are not looking.  They will die.

tylor

[Jameson]

Eat up!!! We NEED more healthy looking ballet dancers anyway!!

[Pirouette]

Ty- I'm assuming you've seen a nutritionist, dietician, or other doctor concerning this weight gain 'diet'. Cuz stuff like that 'shouldn't be undertaken without consent and observation by a physician". Blah blah, all that crap.

"They were probably more envious then anything else. They probably have a hard time sticking to whatever ideal of a diet they set for themselves. Seeing you eat that cookie makes it that much harder."

"I say break out the oreos, chocolate ice cream, and potato chips for them when they are not looking. They will die"

That reminds me of a story, that I will now re-create here.
In every university dept. building there is at least one vending machine. Food must be supplied to the students. But NOT in the dance building. It's the only one that has no vending machine or food availble at all. Coincidence? We all know better. Subtle hint? Maybe. Just maybe.
Anyway, about this time that this story took place I was busy starving myself or doing whatever else neccessary to lose weight or at least keep from gaining any. (Again, even as an adult, when you're seeped in an enviornment where the adults all have the mentality of children-I might write an explain on why that is later- peer pressure and body image still plague) And I saw a girl eating a slice of pizza. PIZZA, I tell you! With all the grease and cheese and peperoni... OMG! I wanted to kill her! Literally. It took all my self control to keep from kicking her upside her head, or into the wall. I was so mad that she could eat and I couldn't. It was unfair. So, I know how that goes.
Now, for the rest of the story- there was a rumor that a vending machine existed in 'THe Basement'. A place where no dancer was allowed to go. THe basement gets people lost. Horrible things happen there. So, we dancers went without food or we walked to the student union if we needed to. One day I'd just had it. I was hungry and I didn't want to have to walk to another building. I'd decided to find out for myself if the food rumors were true or not. I announced to the dancers around me,
"I'm going into the basement. If the rumors are true, there will be a vending machine down there, with food. I'm going to get some of that food."
The response to that was:
"Good luck. Go ahead and eat the fattening crap."
"IF you find it."
"I can't believe you'd eat out of a vending machine. Oh my god. Eew."
"Go ahead and eat it, you'll just throw it up anyway or something. (There's always gotta be a smart ass in the group, doens't there?)

SO I went. I found the food. I brought it upstairs. It was a bag of chips. Suddenly I heard,
"Oh my god!"
"FOOD!"
"GIMME IT!!!"
"WHere did you FIND that?"
"Can I please have some? I am soooo starving!!!"

It's pathetic, yet funny at the same time. I now bring my food to school, thanks much. Brown bag it, all the way!