This was not an ordinary weekend.
I took a break from my regular weekend routine to participate in Dance Marathon at UF. During this 26.2-hour event, about 800 dancers stood to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network, symbolizing the mental and physical pain patients at Shands Children’s Hospital go through every day.
I headed to the Stephen C. O’Connell Center Saturday morning dressed in sneakers, gym shorts and morale staff shirt.
I was at the event for 20 hours, motivating my friends and other dancers to keep moving their feet. It was my job to keep the energy level up.
Because I was participating in Dance Marathon, I didn’t have time to make it to the gym, and my food options were limited to quick meals.
However, just because I wasn’t sweating in the gym doesn’t meal I wasn’t burning calories. According to livestrong.com, “A 125-pound person burns 454 calories while standing quietly for eight hours and 1,044 calories performing eight hours of office work while standing. Therefore, light activity adds to caloric output.”
I stood for more than double that time, breaking out new dance moves along the way. Although I wasn’t pushing myself at the gym, I still burned about 2,600 calories throughout the event. That definitely exceeds the amount I burn in one exercise session.
Yes, I was tired, and yes, my feet were sore. But I pushed through it by reminding myself and dancers how much we were helping the kids.
And no, this was not the healthiest weekend when it came to food choice. During my breaks I had to find quick meals to hold me over. I didn’t do as much damage as I could have, but I also could have made smarter food choices. I stopped at McAlister’s Deli for dinner and chose a side of fruit as opposed to the tempting macaroni and cheese. However, I also had a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast, something I haven’t eaten in ages.
Sometimes eating completely healthy is unavoidable. And because I was on my feet for so long, it was important to have food in my system. If a healthy option was not available, I needed food for energy.
Two days of a little junk food will not kill me, and I am glad I was a part of Dance Marathon at UF 2011.