I've heard this before. I've heard it online, in class, everywhere. But the truth is, 70% of your diet should be carbohydrates. And they don't make you fat: they keep you from getting fat.

Carbs are the basic food that the body digests. Eating carbs keeps the metabolism going. If the metabolism slows down, less calories are burned and more are stored… and they're stored as fat. No dancer wants that.

But: Boost your metabolism and the body burns all calories taken in, plus calories that have been stored. This is what I did last spring for a study in school, and I dropped my body fat percentage from 17 to 14.8 in three weeks (read the whole study here).

Carbs are important. Eat your carbs. Eat the right ones, the whole grain complex carbohydrates, but you must eat carbs.

Here are 2 awesome books written specifically for dancers related to nutrition, and a free download by the USADA for athletes and nutrition!

Diet for Dancers

Nutrition for the Dancer

FREE DOWNLOAD! Nutrition Guide - USADA