Navigating Food Trends as an Active Pole Dancer

We see a lot on social media about food trends, supplements, and “magic ingredients.” Influencers are posting about unbelievable results they have gotten by following a certain diet or eating a certain ingredient regularly. And these results are usually tied to body physique goals. These diets are also primarily something that a human could not sustain over a long period of time. Additionally, influencers are hired by whatever company sells the products they are pushing. They are typically not health professionals. It’s important to note the credentials of the influencer telling you what to consume. How do you sort through all of what’s on your social media feed? Here are a few things to keep in mind.

I invite you to think about food not as a diet (something you follow long enough to get results you are seeking), but as big of a component of your lifestyle and training as going to pole classes!

How we fuel ourselves not only sets us up for success in training, but it also mitigates injury and can help us recover more quickly from an injury.

I urge you to seek out any scientific research that supports any claims made about the food trend in question. When observing a food trend and deciding if it’s for you, ask yourself the following questions:

Is it current?

Is this trend based on scientific research that is current? Does older research also support this claim?

Is it relevant?

Are the claims fully supported in the research? Are there any groups of people that were excluded from studies, or experienced different results in a study? This is where you see if YOU would have the same results the claim is making.

Is it authoritative?

Who is making the claim? Are their educational credentials listed?

Is it accurate?

Is the research you see peer-reviewed? This means it is verified by other experts in the field of the study.

Is it purposeful?

Is this a claim made only by a company who is selling a product? Do outside parties and research support the claim?

These questions create the CRAAP acronym that make it easy to think through information on social media.

You are probably wondering where to begin looking for research. There are free databases that offer access to academic journals that have peer-reviewed research. One of them is EBSCO. You can access full articles through EBSCO if you have a library card for the city you reside. Your public library will likely have other databases for scholarly research, as well.

Ultimate Academic Databases from EBSCO | Peer-Reviewed Journals

Remember; what you put in your body is a huge investment, and you experience the consequences of what you put in your body when you train. Take a little time to understand what you put into your body, especially if you plan to make a big change in your eating habits.

I will be giving a FREE workshop at PoleCon 2025!

Come hear about how to dissect macronutrients for maximum energy and strength in your pole dance training! I would love to meet you!

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Jamie Thompson-Griffin

Jamie Thompson-Griffin is a life-long dancer, and fell in love with pole in 2019. She has since become an instructor and a certified Sports Nutrition Coach through NASM. She now owns her own pole dance studio in Dallas, called Self Alchemy Studio, and provides sports nutrition coaching. Reach out for her services, as they can be done in-person or virtually!

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