- James Van Der Beek posted transformation photos demonstrating how dancing has changed his body.
- In a before-and-after photo shared on Instagram on Wednesday, the actor can be seen to have leaned out considerably.
- He has been competing on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" but was recently eliminated, finishing in fifth place.
- Van Der Beek had been eating a largely plant-based diet to fuel his training.
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James Van Der Beek shared a before-and-after image on Wednesday showing just how much dancing has changed his body.
The actor, 42, had been competing on "Dancing With the Stars," but he left the show two weeks ago, finishing in fifth place.
And the change to his workout routine clearly affected his physique.
Van Der Beek explained in the Instagram caption that previously, his exercise regime consisted of the martial art Muay Thai three days a week, and he'd been doing that for half a year when he took the first selfie.
But then he spent a few months dancing for six hours a day, and the father of five has leaned out considerably as a result.
"Fight training vs. dancing," he wrote on Instagram.
"I'd been training in Muay Thai three days a week for about six months (for the next project I'm writing) when I hit pause to dance six hours a day. Now I can rhumba."
While dancing is undoubtedly an excellent way to work out the whole body, it's not the activity in particular that will have resulted in Van Der Beek's weight loss, but rather the fact that his energy expenditure will have increased dramatically, thus creating a calorie deficit.
In response to a fan's comment, the "Dawson's Creek" star also explained how he changed his diet to fuel his dancing.
Van Der Beek said he focused on consuming "lots of fruit, vegetables, lot of smoothies, salads," and ate largely plant-based.
"I danced early in the day so pretty much ate vegan until dinner," he said. "Had to keep it light fare because we didn't really take breaks.
"Not so much a diet ... more like only wanting to eat what I knew would make me feel good under the workload."
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