Nutrition while dancing Salsa

Question

I'm underweight (54 kg / 181cm) and therefore want to gain weight. I'm frequently going social Salsa dancing. On a usual night I'm around 4 hours at the Salsa club. Around 2/3 of the time I'm dancing. While dancing my pulse is somewhere between 120 and 150.

What food/supplements should I consume to replace the burned calories? When should I eat it?

Christian, eat all the german quality food you want. You can buy weight gainers, creatine and some protein powders at your local supermarket if you really don't feel like cooking HUGE meals each and every time. There is no "secret", just hard work put into eating. You have a beautiful dilemma opposed to most Americans facing obesity so go hog wild on any kind of food. Bfast, lunch and dinner should be a good amount and throw in some snacks every now and then. — DribblzAroundU82, Jul 10 '12 at 17:18
I go salsa dancing like crazy and I tell you you will not gain weight dancing. You'll have to fight just to maintain your current weight. So lifting weights is the only way to gain weight. — Salsero69, Aug 07 '12 at 02:12

score 1 · Answer 1 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:46

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Ok, dancing for that amount of time, you will burn somewhere in the range of 600-1000 calories. There isn't really a need to specially supplement, just eat something. Doesn't have to be anything specific. I might suggest things that are not really heavy on fats, like a double burger with cheese and bacon, but unless you have a sensitive stomach it doesn't need to be as easily absorbable as what a marathon runner would be consuming.

However, unless you are gaining weight at a rate you find acceptable, I think something you should do is evaluate your entire diet, activity level and see if it is producing the results you want. Read through a couple of the "How do I lose weight" threads (Such as this one : So am I at a calorie deficit now? ), and pretty much do it in reverse. A 500 calorie surplus per day should net you about .5 kg a week of weight gain, which is pretty healthy and sustainable.

edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:46

Community

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answered Jul 07 '12 at 14:58

JohnP

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I figured the myth that fat is bad for you would have been smashed by now. Not to mention, if you're arguing someone should be increasing their caloric intake, why would you steer them away from foods you believe to be high in calories per mass? Also, since he's been doing that level of dancing for a long time now, it puts no strain on his muscles, so the only possible weight gain could come from additional fat being stored. He won't suddenly start growing muscle just by eating more. – Robin Ashe Jul 08 '12 at 19:43
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@RobinAshe You really down voted it because of that? I suggested not eating a fat heavy meal because of possible digestive issues, not because of weight gain issues. – JohnP Jul 08 '12 at 20:14
you could also have potential digestive issues from carbs or from proteins depending on what conditions a person might be predisposed to. There's no logical reason to single out fats. And not just that, also because you suggested he would see a weight gain just from eating more. Unless someone says they want to get more fat but not muscle, you have to suggest they engage in an activity that imposes a progressive overload on their muscles. – Robin Ashe Jul 08 '12 at 20:16
@RobinAshe - You need to stop reading so literally. I suggested evaluating both eating AND activity level. Next time I will spell out every detail for the pedants reading it later. – JohnP Jul 08 '12 at 20:20
that still doesn't help your case, high fat foods are among the best foods you could eat for sustained activity, like Salsa for 4 hours. If you look at his question, he asks what sorts of foods he should eat and when he should eat them. If you're going with the assumption that that's what he needs to do to gain weight, then answer is to eat high fat foods a couple hours before he goes to the salsa club. You're telling him to avoid the food he should actually be seeking out. – Robin Ashe Jul 08 '12 at 20:37
You've obviously never trained endurance. I'm done. – JohnP Jul 08 '12 at 20:40
I used to dance (Ballet & Jazz rather than Salsa), and I'll ride my bike 110KM to run a marathon, and the ride 110KM back the next day. I know very well what I'm talking about when it comes to endurance. – Robin Ashe Jul 08 '12 at 20:44
Sounds like he should be going on a heavy dosage of McDonalds and KFC! The more fat the better! – DribblzAroundU82 Jul 10 '12 at 17:10
Just for the heck of it I wore my heart monitor for a 2 hour session of salsa dancing recently and I burned 1800 calories. Max heart rate shot up to 168 bpm. So you burn crap loads of calories dancing. – Salsero69 Aug 07 '12 at 02:14
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Mmmm...I'd be leery of trusting the formulae in a HR monitor. High intensity cycling for 2 hours might not get into the 1800 calorie range. It's possible, but I'm a skeptic. :p Also, while your HR might be elevated in between dances, you aren't burning as many calories then, but the HR formulae is still kicking over. – JohnP Aug 07 '12 at 02:21
I've been using my heart monitor for 2-3 months now and it's been pretty accurate. The reason I say that is because I can consume the equivalent of my the monitor says I burned and my weight will not change. That includes doubling my caloric intakes when I burn more than 3000 calories above my usual daily caloric expenditure. – Salsero69 Aug 08 '12 at 01:51
@Salsero69 If you ate more than the calories you burned, it's likely you'd just poop it out. Our bodies are not simple calorie furnaces, turning excess into fat. I'm with John on skepticism of the HR monitor being terribly specific about calories. – Dave Liepmann Oct 06 '12 at 02:41
@Salsero69 - here's an example. My ride on the trainer today, measured with a powermeter: 2 hours, 39.5 miles, 1209 kJ of work, so about 1270 calories burned. I wasn't killing it, but I wasn't loafing it either. – JohnP Oct 06 '12 at 03:41

score 1 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 08 '12 at 01:12

Given your body type, no amount of eating will make you gain weight. You have to lift weights to stimulate muscle growth. Also, unless you're steadily losing weight, don't concern yourself with replacing calories - your body is already dealing with the nutrients as it needs to.

Stronglifts 5x5 is a good free resource for starting weight training.

score 1 · Answer 3 · edited Apr 13 '17 at 12:46

Your current plan will not work

Dancing several times a week plus overeating will not produce the kind of weight gain you want. It probably won't produce any weight gain at all.

Lift and eat (and dance)

If you want to get bigger, then lift weights, eat lots, and prioritize quality mass gain. Salsa can be part of it, but it can't be all of it.

Specifically, I'd recommend lifting heavy at least twice a week and eating enormously immediately after every dance session and workout. Breakfast and lunch should be substantial too, but be careful of eating too close to workouts or dance sessions.

Foods would ideally include grass-fed & grass-finished beef, pastured pork, farm eggs and chicken, omega-3 rich seafood, vegetables, roots, tubers, greens, as much dairy as you can handle, and good fats like avocado, olive oil, and coconut oil. If you handle it well, rice, corn, quinoa and other grains can add a lot of calories as well.

Nutrition while dancing Salsa

3 Answers3

Your current plan will not work

Lift and eat (and dance)

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