Dance Marathon is an unnatural and somewhat exhausting ordeal for the human body. Do your body a favor this weekend and prepare it with the proper fuel: carbohydrates. That’s right, Atkins fans, the carbs that you’ve probably been working so hard to avoid are exactly the source of energy you need to stay alive and dancing until Sunday morning.
According to the Harvard School of Public Health, “carbohydrates provide the body with the fuel it needs for physical activity and for proper organ function.” Your body is designed to use carbs as a go-to energy source.
According to LifeClinic.com, 60 percent of the calories you eat every day should come from carbohydrates. To find out just how many you need, take your caloric intake per day (a good baseline is 2,000) and multiply it by .6. If you need 1,200 calories from carbohydrates, and there are four calories in a gram of carbohydrate, you’ll want about 300 grams of carbohydrates in an average day.
But Dance Marathon is not an average 30 hours. You’ll need to stock up. For lunch this Friday, load yourself up with the groove-sustaining carbs that the university and Evanston will offer. Load up the tank at these carb-filling stations.
Dining Halls
Make the most of your 13-meals a week plan by filling up at the nearest dining hall. Fruits, vegetables and grains are the best sources of carbohydrates, so look for those in the serving line.
On the menu for lunch on Friday, at all the dining halls except Willard are “Hearty Fried Potatoes,” and “Mexican Bean Stew with Corn Bread Topping,” both of which are rich in carbs. At Willard, however, “Whipped Fresh Potatoes,” “Sticky Rice,” “Baked Potato,” “Chipper French Fries” and “Rice Pilaf,” are on the plate, making for a veritable smorgasbord of energy-packing carbs.
Are you a fan of custom-made wraps? This time, put your favorite fixings in a sandwich with thick panini bread to maximize carbohydrate consumption. And on your way out, before grabbing a Starlight mint, fill a star-spangled foam cup with some of your favorite cereal to go.
À la carte cafés
Do you have plenty of Wildcat points left? The quarter’s coming to a close, so use them on some bready goodness.
Lisa’s, Paws ‘n’ Go, Tech Express and the elusive Crowe Café (hidden inside Kresge) all offer an array of sandwiches that provide a carb-rich bite for between class or in the registration line. Alternatively, check out the secret Einstein Bros. buried inside Pancoe for carbs in the form of delicious bagels.
Evanston
Too sophisticated for college food? Venture downtown, but avoid BK and Taco Bell, which are heavier on fats and sugary carbs. Remember, you want starchy, bready carbs to keep you dancing all night long.
Try Noodles and Co. for carb-rich noodle dishes; or, sample any number of the huge portions of rice and noodle plates at Thai Sookdee. And there’s always Panera Bread, also known as Carb Central, that takes the proverbial cake with its soup bread bowls (try it with a French baguette on the side) or any of the bagels (I recommend the Cinnamon Crunch bagel).
While there’s probably no way to fully prepare your body physically for Dance Marathon, you’ll be doing yourself a huge favor if you make sure the tank is full before you start gunning it on the dance floor.