Ecem Yuksel

Ecem Yuksel

Tell us about yourself, education, your background, and your current interests.
I’m currently an undergraduate student at Kansas State University’s Distance Dietetics Program. I was born in 2001 Istanbul, Turkey. I’ve been ballet dancing since I was four years and after ballet training at a conservatory in Istanbul, I studied ballet for two years at Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet Academy. To be honest, studying a different major at a university was not part of my life plans. While studying at Bolshoi I was also taking online high school courses in the US because online education was not available in Turkey at that time. When I returned home from Moscow, I was not accepted back into the conservatory. So, I decided to follow a new path and took the SAT test. I was already interested in the nutrition field and decided to pursue this career. I had also completed the pedagogical education and ballet teaching qualifications to become a ballet teacher. My other interests include cooking and traveling. I’ve also been practicing yoga, the Gyrotonic Method, and Pilates.

How did you become interested in nutrition?
My interest in nutrition started at the age of 14 when I was studying ballet at a conservatory in Istanbul.  Some of the teachers were obsessed with our body weights. I was never an overweight dancer but none of us could be seen in or eating at the school’s cafeteria. We were encouraged to diet and watch what we ate. One day one of my teachers saw me eating an apple, gave me a scary look, and said ‘‘Ecem, are you still eating?’’. That was my only snack for the rest of the day because we were running from one lesson to another. I knew that this was an unhealthy situation, and we were being bullied.

An artistic director that I met at a festival suggested that I enter competitions. When I spoke with my teacher about competing, I was told that I was too fat to be competitive and advised my mother to take me to a dietitian. According to the dietitian, my weight was already below the recommended weight. Instead of weight loss, she encouraged me to bring my own meals and snacks to the school since we were not allowed to eat at the cafeteria. Making that change, I became more interested in cooking healthy foods. My mom taught me how to cook and I created my own healthy recipes.

Previously you have been a ballet student studying at Moscow’s Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Russia. Tell us about that experience and something you learned.
I received an invitation to study full time in Moscow after attending the Bolshoi Ballet Academy’s summer intensive in 2016. It was truly a dream come true. I studied there for two years and even performed with some amazing Russian students. I always thought living away from my parents in a different country and learning a completely different language would be hard, but I adapted quickly, especially while living in the dormitory with other International students. I was already skinny and eating healthy, so my teacher never said anything to me about my weight. However, I knew there was something wrong because I was not getting my period and was experiencing gastrointestinal problems such as irritable bowel syndrome. According to my doctors, it was because my body was under a lot of pressure and my body fat was too low.

While at the Academy, I had seen some of my friends struggle with eating disorders. They were not satisfied with how they looked and were treating their bodies like their enemies. I realized that ballet dancers were facing many health issues, not just in Moscow but everywhere. Many ballet dancers struggle with either eating disorders or other problems related to body weight or body fat percentage. So, I became more interested in nutrition as a treatment and started to educate myself. Six months, later my period returned, and my gastrointestinal problems were gone.

What other experiences have you had concerning nutrition?
A few years ago, I completed a nutrition and health coaching training program. Since I am a freshman, I haven’t had many experiences concerning nutrition other than what I have learned about cooking healthy foods. I’ve sought volunteer internship opportunities but with so much happening around the world I’ve only attended online seminars.

What are your professional goals? Once you become a registered dietitian, what kind of work do you want to do?
My goal is to become a registered dietitian who specializes in counseling dancers. Nutrition plays an especially important role in their overall health. My mission is to educate and support them, especially the young generation. I want to teach them how to love and listen to their bodies.

I also have some project ideas for the future such as publishing my recipe book.

Is there anything else you would like to share with other students?
Life is unpredictable, but I believe that everything happens for a reason and to never give up on trying.

Ecem Yuksel