Your body doesn’t count calories like you do. It sorts them to give you the energy you need and to control your blood sugar levels efficiently. This may sound a bit complicated, but know that when you eat carbs, protein, and fat, your body has a ranking system, not a counting system. Regardless of how many calories you consume in any given meal, your body behaves in a certain way.

Whether you get a 300-calorie burger or a 1,200-calorie burger, the process of breaking down, burning energy, and storing fat is the same.

For example, if you’re having a sandwich or burger for lunch, or after school on your way to ballet or some other dance class:

** Insulin sends a message to your body (liver, muscle, and fat cells) to absorb those carbohydrate calories (a bun, crackers, or slice of bread) as glucose.

** and also sends messages to your body to store any excess as fat.

** and worst of all if you don’t want to gain weight, and then stop using fat as a source of energy. And to store it in its place.

Insulin is like a computerized track switch in a train yard. It directs carbohydrates and fats to specific places. You train it to do what it does by repeatedly eating a certain way.

Fats consumed in the same meal, healthy or not, will be stored, not used for energy.

Calories from protein-rich foods (meats, fish, eggs, dairy) send a different message to your body. Those calories tell your body that “all is well.” Because? Because your body, which can’t make protein, can make a lot of the things it needs from protein. Now your body WILL CHANGE TRACK.

The FAT BURN button is pressed! Your body starts running on the protein stores you are giving it, and to be more efficient, your body starts getting rid of fat.

Growing children and young adults usually don’t need to worry about any of this. But, if they are dancers, I know that they are.

If you’re going to eat fast food one day, grab a lettuce-wrapped burger. It is a bit messy to eat and is high in sodium. But proteins, vitamins, minerals and fats will take first place in burning energy. Although the dips will probably have some high fructose corn syrup in them… not as much as a bun, and the carbs from the fries.

It will better digest protein, fat and a small amount of salad/vegetables without carbs. Because they are two different sets of digestion processes anyway.

Thinking outside of bread doesn’t mean adding a flour- or corn-based wrapper. Just lose it!

Bring chopped greens and a couple of cubes of real cheese or a handful of house nuts… that’s ok, dream on. But you could.