Is Sasha Cohen Too Thin? | Page 4 | Golden Skate

Is Sasha Cohen Too Thin?

John King

Final Flight
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Is Scott Hamilton too hairless?Oops,wrong subject

Unless you can point to some pictures that show an alarming weight loss (as People Magazine did to actress Scarlett Pomers from the show Reba,who subsequently did go to a clinic for eating disorders),I would refrain from gossip.Frankly,it reminds me of an issue of TV Guide which repeated the gossip about Alley McBeal star Calista Flockhart,and in the same issue,described costar Jane Krakowski as 'plump'!Doesn't give women that much a margine,does it?Sasha's too thin,Liz Manley is too chubbie,I'm surprised it doesn't drive more gals insane.
 

Jhar55

Medalist
Joined
Jul 27, 2003
Is Sasha too thin? Only Sasha knows. For her body size I don't think so she's just very petite. What if she packed on 5-10 lbs then would some ask is Sasha to heavy? I would think skating burns off a lot of calories and is very good excrise.
 

NorthernLite

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 27, 2003
Rgirl said:
As for what she eats, check out her journal: No fat; super lean meat; lettuce, carrots. No carbs whatsoever.

Forget how she looks to you. If that truly is the sum of what she eats, it does not seem like a good diet for her longterm health. In addition to what others commented, I don't see where she's getting the full range of vitamins and minerals. This type of diet is just as bad in its own way as too much red meat and sugar.
 

dancindiva03

Match Penalty
Joined
Jan 22, 2004
Rgirl said:
There are gymnasts and other such athletes all over the world who are dangerously thin. But the thread is about Sasha. Everybody has different body proportions, so putting a photo of long-legged gymnast with those legs in a position to look their thinnest means nohting relative to Sasha. Sorry, RD.

Actually, maybe they don't mean nothing. Sasha has a long torso and relative short legs. if this gymnast had Sasha's proportions, she'd look just like Sasha.

Also, this girl may be fine. Her genetics may have her programmed to be very thin, plus I think she's Romanian and they push even their naturally ultra-thin girls to lose weight.

Remember, it's not how thin you are. It's how thin you genes want you to be and still be healthy.
Just wondering, why is it that with Khorkina you are so willing to say that it is simply genetics that keeps her so thin, but that you are so worried that an eating disorder might be why Cohen is so small? Frankly I don't get any of this "Oh I'm SOOOOOO worried about Sasha" mentality tht so many of you have. She's not your sister, your daughter, your friend, etc. Yes it is sad to see anyone go through an eating disorder but I'm not going to waste my energy fretting over someone I don't even know. You all don't know her, you don't know her eating habits (I don't take anything she reports in her journal or whatever as serious evidence of anything, just all around silly fluff that no no one can use to make a real diagnosis), or her exercise habits, or what her basal metabolism is or any of that. I personally don't think she looks frightening thin. Yes, she is slim, but she is also very short with a small frame, I wouldn't expect someone like that, especially an athlete, to be heavy. And quite frankly, I know a lot of girls around the same age as Sasha who are just as petite and definitely do not have eating disorders. So I'm not going to spend any time or energy worrying about why Sasha is thin. And no, I don't really think that she looks much different than in past years. She may fluctuate two or three pounds from season to season based on where she is in her training schedule, but even at the 90-100 pound range where I'd place Sasha, two or three pounds one way or another really isn't cause for concern. It may throw off a skaters timing on jumps and spins for a time, but its not a medical crisis.
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Well said, DD! ITA! :rock: :thumbsup:

Still waiting to see those pictures. I want to see the difference between then and now for Cohen to figure out why so many people are up in arms. Come on, dig it up...
 

dancindiva03

Match Penalty
Joined
Jan 22, 2004
Red Dog said:
Well said, DD! ITA! :rock: :thumbsup:

Still waiting to see those pictures. I want to see the difference between then and now for Cohen to figure out why so many people are up in arms. Come on, dig it up...
Even looking at then/now pics doesn't really mean much, at least not in my opinion. Sasha's muscle tone has fluctuated throughout the last few years, some seasons her muscles have looked bulkier than others (not really "bulky" compared to say a weight lifter or anything, but compared to herself in different seasons), other times she has lacked real muscle definition, sometimes she has been more toned (strong but with very LEAN muscles, like what you would get from maybe Pilates or Yoga), and the differences in muscle tone makes it more difficult to tell if there has been a real change in her percentage of body fat. Also, some pictures pick up different things based on lighting, position, etc, and videos look different from still photographs,so unless someone sees her in person on a day to day basis it is really very difficult to say if she really has changed drastically in size.
 

MidnightNess

Rinkside
Joined
Aug 4, 2003
I don't think Sasha has an eating disorder but I do think she has lost enough body fat in preparation for this season that people ARE noticing. I'm not using her TEB performance for my own speculations simply because she was coming off an injury and IRC, there was an article stating that she also got a 'mild case of pneumonia'? One would be enough to slow a skater down considerably.

One thing I've noticed is that in general, she always has problems finishing the second part of her program. A lot of times, we talk about sasha's lack of focus or a lapse in concentration but I'm thinking that she's just plain TIRED and all it takes is that one instant where the body reaches its limits and she goes down on a jump which is enough for her to make subsequent errors after that one fall (this is noticeable at national and worlds performances in particular) . Sasha has always talked about working on her strength and stamina but she still can't seem to skate two completely clean programs after all these years and you know she is desperately TRYING. She may be placing focus on the wrong areas of her skating but I can sense that Sasha very much wants clean programs as we all do.
Sasha has also developed a trend for December being a change of upheaval in her life, both relating to her health as well as her career. She has changed coaches , gotten shingles, a cold IRC, a spider bite(although THAT, she can't help), etc. etc. Shingles and any other illnesses that she seems to sustain during the late fall might be attributed to high levels of stress--especially with the shingles. Her immune system seems to get to a low point at this time of year. Now she just got over a case of 'mild pneumonia' so it's a continuing trend. . My point is that Sasha might not be reaching her full potential in the later half of the season because she continually puts herself under stress in the month of December, a pivotal month for training for Nationals, Worlds, and this year, the Olympics. This year is no different with the heavy (but still unconfirmed) rumor that she is working with David Wilson. If it is true, she will have to get that muscle memory down for Nationals in order to have a chance to take the title on top of recovering from the aforementioned illness. Talk about STRESS!:indiff: :indiff:
 

R.D.

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Ah, I see. But if we have to get that "nitpicky" (figure out how much muscle she had when), I think it's a good call that nothing is wrong. Like I said, wait until after the Olys and during the off-season before asking a question like this. In this case, we may as well just start a thread like this for every skater. This is almost ridiculous actually :laugh:
 
S

SkateFan4Life

Guest
Sasha has the body of a little kid, if you ask me. She's built like the typical gymnast, who doesn't have an adult body as long as she's competing as a gymnast. If she did fill out, gain weight, etc., she might lose her jumps.

But I guess only Sasha knows best as to what type of body she wants to have. Maybe she diets incessantly, maybe she skips meals, maybe she naturally has a small body.

But let's not obsess over this subject, guys! :banging:
 

ladysarahchatto

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 18, 2006
Sasha, her mom Galina and sister Natasha all have the same petite builds. I bet they even trade up clothes. I think it's mostly genetics. Hard training for the Games is probably keeping her weight down but I don't see anything extreme in the few clips they've shown of Sasha at Torino on tv. Her face looks rounder too in the Katie Couric interview.

She writes this about her eating habits in answer to a fans question on her site:

http://www.sashacohen.com/torino06/questions.shtml

I have a diet I follow very closely. I eat fish and vegetables. I do eat fruit, MaryKathryn. Before I came to Italy I packed a bunch of vitamins and made sure I had plenty to last throughout my stay. I am in peak physical shape and condition and will not alter my diet during the competition.

She writes she takes vitamins so that's good as far as supplementing her diet. And fish and veggies are certainly good for you, as are fruits.
 
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SunshineSlayer

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 25, 2004
I really think she is just one of those people that is genetically predisposed to being thin and it is accentuated even more by her being a top level figure skater. Nothing odd has been observed in her eating habits and she actually eats quite a bit of junk food comparatively.(ice cream) I don't think she has had a drastic weight change one way or the other either since 1999, which is usually a give away. Also, despite being thin she doesn't really display the physical symptoms of being anorexic, such as having a "bobble head." Her body looks proportional and her arms are muscular and not excessively thin compared to the rest of her.(usually the first place you would be able to tell if someone is anorexic.)
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
I'm just soooo tired of reading about anorexia. Leave Sasha, the Japanese Ladies alone. If it doesn't interfere with their skating then they are not anorexic. JMO>

Joe
 

show 42

Arm Chair Skate Fan
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
Sounds like she's eating healthy and takes her vitamins.......she's in fighting weight and ready to go after a medal.........good for her.......42
 

sk8addict

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 22, 2004
Not at all

Sasha is not at all too thin. She is all muscle & well trained. I have been saying how I thought Michelle looked thin in the VISA adds with her in the red dress doing a spin from 2002 but I didn't think that she looked thin at that time. I'm not baiting, just my observation. You don't have the strength to put your foot over your head if you are malnourshed. We sat next to Shasha & Robin in a Tai resturant in Atlanta between the short & long programs & they both ate well.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
I had the same thought watching Michelle in those Visa ads. Was she really that thin? In retrospect I do think she overdid the dieting in the Fall of 2002.

In 2003 I think she deliberately undertook to build up her upper body strength. The result was the Aranjuez program, to which IMHO she brought a new power that contrasted with the ethereal quality of her earlier programs.

MM
 
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Johar

Medalist
Joined
Dec 16, 2003
Wow, you sat next to her! Did you hear any good stuff? Did you get an autograph?

Sasha is on the thin side but looks very healthy to me. I've seen athletes with eating problems and she is not one of them, going by looks.

I personally know a Colt's cheerleader who is thin like that (but has larger breasts;) ) and she is naturally that thin, as are her mom and sisters.
 
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tripleflutz

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 14, 2003
Sasha is a pixie, and is therefore a magical being that doesn't require food, can be as thin as she wants without any ill effect.
 
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