Tango for Weight Loss

Argentine Tango can become a “Tango Passion”

What is “tango toe”? my friend asked me last night as I sat rubbing my toe after several hours of dancing, sipping a nightcap. I tugged at the layers of band-aids that I used as a precaution with my new tango heels.

My pinky toe how somehow “crawled” under the toe next to it and I had been dancing on it, crushing it as all night wore on. “I’ll have to wrap that little guy separate next time,” I thought to myself, bitten once again by the tango bug which means going out several nights a week and dancing to the wee hours.

You might not know this but there is a whole tango culture out there from Paris to Berlin, and in New York City it’s large.

There are many social clubs that host dance parties each and every night of the week called “milongas” where you can dance to your heart’s content.

Today my toe has snapped back in shape and I could swear that my waistline has a new shape as well! Between two evenings at milongas for two hours each and taking a lesson with the outstanding Alfredo (teaching in Queens), I’ve gotten even more exercise on top of my weekly yoga routine.

So could a little dancing really account for my slightly slimmer silhouette? Fitness experts say that you burn around 280 calories with one hour of rigorous dancing so how does that compare with calorie intake? One hour of serious tango is equivalent to:

• one large latte made with whole milk
• 1/2 a bacon egg and cheese sandwich from a deli
• 1 small candy bar
• -OR- a lean lunch option like 1/2 cup of my pineapple salsa served over 6 ounces of grilled chicken tossed with two cups of baby spinach

Related Posts

• Watch one of my favorite tango performances from the show Tango Passion.
• Discover why yoga can be an excellent form of exercise.
• Find ways to sneak in exercise.
• Learn an elegant and fun tango move called the “ocho” where you’ll pivot and swivel.

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