Competition food of dance champions

What should I eat on a competition day? There are hundreds of articles on what's healthy for you, but let's see how some of the best Latin dancers in the World fuel their bodies.

There is a general misconception about the food we should eat on a day of a competition. It seems everyone watched the movie Ballroom Dancer and now many of us just eat plain rice.

Have a look at the competition food habits of our idols.

Dekatra Lapaeva - "I have never paid so much attention to food, to be honest. To me sleep was making big difference to my performance. Depending on the competition, whether it's late in the day or lasting many hours, I would usually miss breakfast and have light lunch instead. I would normally eat a small salad, bowl of muesli, eggs or sometimes pasta.

During the competition I didn't eat much, very often nothing. If I needed some energy I would have a banana or a small piece of chocolate and glucose-based drinks with electrolytes (e.g. Lucozade Sport) and vitamins (not Red bull). "

Maurizio Vescovo- "My opinion is that a healthy breakfast is important. However, it should be what you always eat so I wouldn't change my diet just for the competition. This way my body was used to the fuel I put in. My usual breakfast at competitions would consist of: eggs, brown bread, something sweet or croissant, coffee and an orange."

Sergey Surkov- "I think the diet is very personal and it depends on the length of the the competition. Normally I would eat carbs for breakfast and something very easy to digest through the comp... It also depends on country, place and what is available... I always had with me health bar or a protein bar... But most importantly you have to be good with your diet prior to the competition. That's the most important thing..."

You can see that what they eat is individual. Some may choose to eat very little on a competition day, others would require a more substantial meal. However, the common idea mentioned by all is that their dietary habits didn't change just for a competition.

Listen to your body and don't try to put it in shock on a competition day by a sudden start of your healthy vegetable-only diet.

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