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  • Hi, I'm Scout Forsythe, I'm a professional ballet dancer with american ballet theater and this is everything I eat in a rehearsal day.

  • Look at how pretty the sky is right now.

  • I'm home.

  • Self quarantining in California right now with my family and I am trying to get back into shape right now.

  • So this is everything I eat in a normal rehearsal day in new york, which would be about 6 to 7 hour days, I'm typically up around 6:37.

  • I'm I'm an early riser and I really like it and after just waking up and doing that first like big yawn stretch, I kind of slowly make my way up and drink as much water as I possibly can.

  • I'm gonna drink this whole thing.

  • I always try to hit at least a liter of water a day, if not that I try to go for three, anywhere between that.

  • I know I'm feeling good but anything less than that is when I'm like, are you water?

  • Do you ever have to pee and drink more water before you have to pee?

  • I don't know why I do that, but I do yeah.

  • Mhm Alright, monday set up because I'm already hydrated.

  • Mhm.

  • It's around 7 20 before the time I actually fully kind of wake up and get out of bed, put my feet on the ground and that's usually about the time I head down and make breakfast, go to breakfast for a full rehearsal day is avocado toast, I love it, not too filling, but gives me enough energy to kinda sustain myself throughout the first class that I take in the morning.

  • So I grab all my ingredients, you know, pull them out of the fridge, get everything set up because I like to have my breakfast hot.

  • I'm one of those people that like, I want to cook and make everything and have it all at the right time and put it straight in my mouth.

  • So start with Ezekiel bread sour dough is equals a little bit more full of like grains, it's not just like a white bread where there's no kind of nutrients in it, throw that guy in the toaster, get the water boiling, probably would help if I turn on them.

  • Yeah, members gave me one of their chickens eggs because ours don't let anymore because they're elderly ladies.

  • Mhm.

  • Okay, I only use one half of the avocado for breakfast, I take that slice it up, scoop it out of there, take the toast out, scoop it, slab it on my piece of bread and I take a fork and just kind of spread it that way because I like the little texture by this time my egg is done and try to flip this down.

  • Yes I did and I didn't break the yolk, it was so good, you guys some kind of goop it out, put it on top pepper some nutritionally sometimes and if I'm feeling a little fancy I'll toss a little cayenne pepper on there and a little salt, so once my breakfast is all prepared and ready to go, I bring it over to my kitchen table.

  • That's when you know, it's a good poached egg.

  • Oh yeah, I'm so happy right now right now.

  • I'm trying to limit my coffee intake and I've noticed a better effect on my energy levels throughout the day, and this is me not on coffee.

  • So yeah, since I stopped drinking coffee, it's been more tea lately, but sometimes it'll just be water depending on my laziness of heating water up or not.

  • I always have my journal with me in the morning and I just love writing in my journal, kind of, setting my intentions for the day, releasing whatever negative energy I had yesterday.

  • Oh, I like to start my day with sweets when I'm doing rehearsals because I get so hyper from sugar.

  • So, if I have that morning, like when I'm walking to work where I'm like, up here, by the time I'm getting to ballet class, my level, my energy levels already starting to do that crashed.

  • Mr yawning, I just kind of space out and come back in.

  • I'm not fully in my body focused on what I'm doing.

  • It can be a risk or a foreshadow for maybe stepping on my point shoe wrong, not thinking of something twisting an ankle.

  • So, I know for me and my body I need to have something savory, protein filled, good fats, all that stuff to kind of help sustain my energy levels through the day and not have this spike.

  • Okay, I'm gonna get ready to go to the studio.

  • Ok, I'll just grab my bag, throw my shoes and head out to the ballet studio.

  • It's probably around 9 15.

  • 9 30 ish.

  • Change into my ballet gear and get ready for class.

  • That starts at 10 15 and goes to 11 45.

  • Our days at A B Tr usually split into two chunks are morning class is just about warming your body up and preparing you for a full day of rehearsals.

  • Mhm.

  • Mhm After class, we have about a 20 minute break and that's uh rehydration and usually snacking on whatever fruit I brought that day.

  • Honey chris are the best apples.

  • Oh, can't argue with me or not.

  • I tried to go with the whole fruit or a whole food before grabbing a process thing, but you know what?

  • Sometimes I don't have a banana and granola bars right there.

  • So, um I tried to avoid it, but if it's there and I need it, I'm gonna eat it at a B Tr lunch break isn't until 3 to 4.

  • So, we've got from I wake up at 6 30 to 3 o'clock, like I have to have enough stuff sustaining me.

  • All right, so, I'm finishing this guy.

  • Um Well, a lot of all my calf was cramping already this morning.

  • Um So, I am really gonna be hyper aware of the electrolytes I get today.

  • I also brought a little tupperware of Celtic sea salt that I bring to the studios.

  • I learned not too long ago that putting a little bit of that in your water is helps with the minerals that we need to kind of help digest and hydrate.

  • It's full of electrolytes.

  • It's a really healthy alternative from gatorade or any kind of sugary energy drink.

  • I'm not a big fan of those at all.

  • Break's almost over.

  • I'm gonna start rehearsing soon and they're on those points you so I gotta get going, we rehearse in kind of our increments.

  • So 12 or 5 to 1105 to 2 to 5 to three.

  • That's how our day is set ups.

  • And this is definitely where we're using the most energy.

  • I'm obviously not in new york.

  • My a BTS ballet studios right now.

  • So after class, I'm taking that time to work on technique, work on variation that I want to learn are just starting to kind of get my strength back in order to be ready to go back and hopefully be on stage soon.

  • Okay, three o'clock rolls around and now we're back on break from 3 to 4 is our lunch break and I try to eat my food immediately.

  • So I have enough time to rest and digest and not go back in at four or five feeling like, oh, it just ain't so much food if I have time on monday I try to meal prep right now.

  • It's been a veggie soup.

  • People that's cold outside.

  • I stole the recipe from my mom.

  • Super nutritious and delicious.

  • This soup is packed with veggies.

  • It's got carrots, tomatoes, celery, kale, onions, garlic.

  • I wish you guys could smell this right now because there's no delicious.

  • So I throw all those veggies in and then the broth is always vegetable base.

  • Sometimes I'll put a grain in there at the bottom.

  • I love Faro down the bottom, but sometimes it's a little too much like wheat throughout the day for me.

  • Yeah, pretty heated up at my house first because at the studio they only have a microwave and I'm very anti microwave.

  • They scare me.

  • And I've never grown up with one so I don't use it that much.

  • I love this soup.

  • I've got enough.

  • Um, like complex carbs, not simple.

  • Things like everything is very hearty and nutritious in the soup.

  • I think of food as fuel and what is going to sustain me for the rest of my rehearsal period.

  • Also, maybe throw cooking in there because it tastes good.

  • Okay.

  • I'm so glad I brought my lunch with me.

  • Yeah, it's still warm.

  • The reason I love bringing like something simple like a soup or a salad.

  • It's easier on my stomach.

  • I don't feel like I'm going into the next rehearsal with a big bloated belly and being like, I just want to chill and just go and take a nap.

  • If I don't meal prep and bring like a soup or something in from home.

  • There's us make your own salad place right around the corner, there's a little, what is it called, prep them and you can just go in and get really simple stuff.

  • We're entering this last half of the day and from 4 to 7 o'clock, we're rehearsing again.

  • Um the first hour, I've noticed that we will either have half our specialty rehearsals where we're rehearsing a small group for one small ballet or we'll be learning choreography, which is always really fun, but you gotta be like very focused in on it.

  • Yeah, mm okay.

  • Mhm.

  • I brought myself a little snack.

  • Oh man.

  • The best.

  • Sometimes when we're going through those long rehearsal periods from 4-7 and or I'm dancing a lot or I just need something, it's good to have a little backup snack.

  • The hippies are pretty filling because there, you know, they're puffy.

  • So just a couple of those, I'm like, okay, I've got some good fuel and especially if you do get more hungry or you were dancing a lot, like it's better to focus on dancing and not the, I'm hungry.

  • The best like puffy crunchiness that I just absolutely love, I might eat all day.

  • Yeah, seven o'clock rolls around, I'm tired, I'm sweaty, I'm ready to go home and rest when I get home, I'm hungry and I just want something quick and easy so I'll grab leftovers or order something.

  • But most of the times I really try to cook myself like an easy, simple meal that I can just get in my body and go at night for something that's a little bit more protein heavy.

  • I want to refuel my body for tomorrow, that's going to be another day, a whole day of dancing.

  • So I kind of go for something that's like beef here, something that's a little bit more hearty and kind of sits heavier in my body and makes me want to just like curl up and go to bed.

  • So tonight I slow myself a little bit and I got a piece of salmon, some veggies and I'm gonna make myself a little side salad as well.

  • First things first.

  • Cut up all my veggies that I've got in the fridge.

  • Well there's a little baby one in there.

  • This is kind of like whatever is in there, I'm crying.

  • I grab it, poor little oil on it, some salt and pepper, put it on a baking sheet, stick it in the oven.

  • I'm not a professional chef and also I just kind of go with what the internet has told me in the past.

  • Not every night I'm able to cook for myself sometimes I didn't get groceries or I'm just straight up lazy and don't want to do dishes so I'll grab a meal to bring home with me and like my go twos are being rice, avocado, burrito, a veggie pizza or thai food.

  • I love a good pad thai, I throw the salmon on the pan, not a lot of spices and stuff.

  • Sam was cooking, I've made a mess.

  • He says that the oven needs to be up higher so we're gonna turn the oven up a little bit higher when the salmon is kind of towards the end of its cooking time.

  • My poor, just like a little bit of the teriyaki glaze from Teri jo's, it's just, I think it's yummy adds a little extra flavor and a nice little blue one problem sam is going veggies are going and this is when I just have enough time to throw a little salad together and I always try to get like a full head of lettuce or leaves because I just think it's a little bit more ecologically friendly than just a bucket of like mixed veggies and plastic chop it all up, throwing in a little bowl and then mix it with whatever sauce I have and I'm in new york sometimes it's just something as simple as olive oil and vinegar.

  • Voila.

  • Oh, that looks really good.

  • I get this guy all plated and this is when I take my lovely little plate of food over to the table and I scarf it down and then this is when I add my sauce is I am so happy new york started carrying bits and sauce.

  • It is delicious.

  • It's made from almonds.

  • I just love the flavor of it.

  • So I drizzle a little bit of that on my plates and and that's usually like my little veggies.

  • I dip it in there.

  • Uh huh.

  • I almost forgot it's not a proper meal unless you have an avocado in there.

  • So grab whatever you have left over and scoop it on those veggies.

  • Now, that's a complete meal.

  • Yeah, my roommate and I will just throw on new tv while we're eating dinner, hanging out or like play on, play some music a lot of times I'm talking on the phone with my family or friends or people I just want to catch up with.

  • I just like getting home, having a simple meal and a nice afternoon and sometimes I'll spoil myself and get a little like kombucha drink or something.

  • I'm not a big drinker, especially during the weeks when I'm dancing.

  • It's fun to go out on the weekends.

  • Sometimes, you know what I'm saying during the weeks just makes you feel kind of icky.

  • Um So kombucha is like my little go to little after dancing tree.

  • It's bubbly, it just tastes good.

  • Mhm So after dinner I do the dishes.

  • I'm not a big dessert person if I am going to have a dessert, I'd rather it be like a fruit based dessert where it's like a chocolate covered strawberry or apples and caramel.

  • But occasionally a lot of doughnut.

  • This is when like I need to stretch and roll out, rolling out the body, helps flush the lactic acid out of my muscles so I'm not as sore the next day, I'll probably be a little sore, but not as or the next day, try to get like done before 8 30.

  • The only other thing that's going to be going in my body is water.

  • That's all I need before bed.

  • I can't be too hyper before bed by consuming uh well balanced, somewhat decently healthy diet.

  • Um it helps with my dancing so much.

  • I feel like I'm strong out there and for me personally, I would rather see a woman that is strong, can handle herself confident out there instead of somebody who looks like they're about to faint on stage.

  • Now I'm in a space where I'm like, I can consume what I want, I know what fuels me, gives me energy, sustains me throughout the day and I always try to choose that.

  • But sometimes it's like, I just want that burrito and they're like, I want that doughnut and that's okay.

  • Like I think that's my biggest thing is giving up the fight.

  • It shouldn't be a struggle.