Misty Copeland is showing off her moves in her workout gear. In a new social media post the ballerina dances for the camera, looking super fit. “There’s no faking it in ballet❤️🩰,” she writes in the caption of the Instagram video. How does she approach diet, fitness, and self-care? Here is everything you need to know about her lifestyle habits.
In her book Ballerina Body, Misty reveals all of her diet and fitness secrets. “I realized dietary discipline doesn’t have to mean deprivation,” she writes in the intro. She adds that eating enough fat is crucial. “Eating it, absorbing it, and burning it for energy,” she writes, “Is the key to building the muscle and providing strength so important for ballerinas.” For breakfast she eats a muffin or bagel slathered with scallion cream cheese and iced coffee.
For a snack, Misty munches on a handful of cashews and macadamia nuts, with dried pineapple and a few grapes. “Nuts have become my go-to snack. I keep a baggie or a small container of them in my purse and my locker at ABT’s rehearsal studio because I’ve found that they satisfy my hunger and give me a quick spike of energy,” she writes in the book. Fruit, especially grapes, blueberries, and bananas, are another one of her snacks. “At the start of my day, right after ballet class, and before I launch into seven hours of rehearsals, I’ll grab a piece of fruit for an energy boost.”
For lunch you will find Misty eating a spinach salad with pecans, goat cheese, dried cranberries, light vinaigrette, and 2-3 slices of avocado. She explains that she builds her meals with protein, veggies, starches, and grains. “Like ballet and our workout routine, which take a medley of steps and build from there in combination and complexity, you’ll be able to mix and match a variety of foods to make sure you enjoy wheat you’re eating and your taste buds don’t get bored,” she says.
Dinner might be grilled salmon, roasted onions, carrots, butternut squash seasoned with rosemary, garlic, salt and pepper. She also chooses from a glass of prosecco or a peanut butter cookie. Misty adds that she gave up meat. “I dove in headfirst, becoming a pescatarian overnight. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend going cold turkey like I did. I had dreams of bacon and giant hamburgers for months! But I felt amazing. My energy level skyrocketed,” she writes.
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Another “do” that Misty abides by? Eating “mindfully,” she writes, maintaining that it aids in digestion. It “Allows you to really relish the flavors you’re tasting, and can help you realize when you’re truly full.”
Misty eats clean. She avoids sugar, processed food, junk food, fast food, white flour, artificial sweeteners, and soda. She also keeps salt to a minimum and uses garlic, onions, and herbs to flavor her food. She also makes sure to avoid overeating. “It’s okay to leave food on the plate,” she writes.