Irinia Slutskaya when interviewed about why she still trained in Russia said that when she stayed in the US and ate American food, she always put on weight.
AFAIR, one of Linichuk's dance teams had the same idea, and had food shipped to them from Russia on a regular basis.
Last edited by dorispulaski; 02-26-2012 at 06:28 AM.
Originally Posted by seniorita
If he had eaten two bananas maybe he would have won.Bananas are for Yags. Plushy's mistake was in eating any bananas to begin with.
I'm a vegetarian - not a vegan, but I don't eat much dairy/eggs. In terms of protein sources, I eat beans, lentils, grains, and some nuts and seeds. I rarely eat tofu and soy products and I don't actively think about what has protein and what doesn't. I just eat what I like and feel like I need. I have heard that people who stop eating meat at a younger age don't feel the need for us much protein as meat eaters do. I don't know if it's true, and obviously everyone needs some protein, but I suspect many people consume more than their bodies need.
Meagan Duhamel is also a vegan, BTW.
Brian Joubert once said in an interview that he doesn't like to train in NA because the junk food is too tempting.
Last edited by dorispulaski; 02-26-2012 at 06:28 AM.
As athlete's who need to remain thin to jump, I imagine they are on strict but healthy diets during the competitive year. At least, I hope so. Johnny Weir said his favorite meal was chicken fingers with ranch dip and french fries. Of course, he couldn't eat it that often.
LOL, I laughed with this
I thought by diet in this thread we didnt mean what skaters eat to stay thin but what do they eat to have energy and I was suspecting they would eat a lot of carbohydrate and protein meals like so many elite athletes in other sports, but it seems they dont? Do you remember the eating program of Phelps that was published dutring 2008, he was eating like a tone of spagheti and eggs fot the calories.
Most people have the equation of protein = meat and other animal products as a drilled belief and there is also an over concern, even obsession, about getting enough and complete protein. Leafy vegetables actually is proportionally much higher in protein than meats. Where do you think large vegan animals get their protein from to grow to be so big and muscular? And athletes such as Carl Lewis, Geroges Laraques, and others as I linked on Pg. 1? Skater Meagan Duhamel as well is one very buff vegan.
If you are what you eat, then you are what your food eats as well. Soy and corn are the most mass produced, artificially modified, and cheapest feeds for both human and livestock including farmed fish nowadays. They are not natural for livestock, neither are chicken droppings and cannibalistic animal parts which are all fed to them. Natural animal meats actually are high in Omega 3 fats and have alkaline effect on human bodies, the opposite of today's commercially produced meats.
Patrick Chan has credited paying attention to his diet as a contributor to his amazing progress since the Olympics. It doesn't seem different from basic healthy eating of the health conscious aka health nuts by the general population. What I know includes a breakfast smoothie of organic good stuff, no refined carbohydrates, and no starchy carbohydrates after mid afternoon. However, he does indulge in "normal" foods at times as his family believes in balance. He has dropped his body fat from 10% to 8%. One thing I'm glad about his McDonald's sponsorship deal is that he is involved with the charitable side of McDonald's, visiting sick kids in Donald McDonald Houses, promoting McHappy Days and hold fan meetings at their restaurants. The only commercial he did was part of the Olympic campaign. However, he readily admits to eating their burgers off competing season. :sheesh:
Young hard training athletes such as skaters need both quantity and quality in their nutrition to sustain them. As young fit adults, they can afford occasional indulgences but a poor diet will only harm them both in their performances and in the long run. More and more athletes adopt holistic approach and pay attention to their diet these days with the help of specialists. At elite level, every little advantage cannot be overlooked.
Seniorita, not all athletes practice carbo loading before competition any more. They do that because simple carbs supply quick energy. Such quick release of energy results in high blood sugar surge which in most people induces corresponding insulin surge to convert it into storage aka fat cells.
There are certainly enough sources of protein in plant-based foods to keep a person healthy (healthier than some of the standard diets people eat, that's for sure). But while we don't need meat in our diets, or even dairy foods and eggs, it takes a lot of thought to get all the needed nutrients (and this goes double if we're feeding children on such a diet). I think using vegan leaf-and-grass-eating animals as examples isn't the complete picture, because their stomachs are evolved to break down cellulose in a way that ours are not. In fact, ruminants have several stomachs, which is where chewing cud comes in. Also, many grazers must eat pretty much all day to get their energy requirements.
Another factor for humans is that we don't synthesize all the essential amino acids and must get some ready-made from food sources. (Interesting sidelight to this: dogs synthesize more of these amino acids than cats do, so you can't feed a cat a completely plant-based diet without supplements, but you can feed a dog vegetarian if those are your principles.) So the ideal plant-based diet would get its protein from diverse sources, including nuts, seeds, beans, grains, and greens. (I'm kind of fond of spirulina as a supplement, but then I'm a weirdo. It's got a great nutritional profile.)
Several other nutrients are harder to obtain by vegans, the most notable one being Vitamin B12. I believe that occurs only in two places: animal-based foods and supplements. Probably nutritional yeast and other foods made of complete microorganisms like spirulina could be sources of B12, but people have to be careful to obtain a source of B12 if they eat nothing animal-based. This goes for couch potatoes as well as athletes.
Of course a plant-based diet is far better than the junk-food excesses of normal American diets. (I once saw the cup that holds a Big Gulp drink, which is several hundred calories of pure sugar water. Yikes! It's like a quart.) But even a virtuous diet can make someone sick if it doesn't have everything the body needs.
Thanks. I was really surprised when I had read Phelps diet, that consisted of 6 eggs omeleta and carbonara, for breakfast,and how many thousands calories he needed to train. I thought thats too much of cholysterine. I was wondering if skaters need that energy as well and where they get it from or if they have the starving diets of gymnastics.
Yeah exactly. I'm sure Keegan probably eats pretty healthy by the standards of normal kids his age, but with all the skating he does, and I assume working out as well, judging from his physique, I would not doubt that he eats a lot. In order to maintain the kind of musculature many figure skaters have, you would have to eat a plentiful diet rich in protein, otherwise one would be unable to sustain the muscle.
Further, I don't believe he is vegan, but I know Josh Farris is severely allergic to dairy (not lactose intolerent, he actually goes into anaphylaxis shock if he ingests anything containing dairy, my sister has the same condition and it is VERY serious) so apparently he packs his suitcases full of his own food before he goes off for competitions. Seeing as dairy is a primary source of protein for most of us, I would assume it means he either eats a lot of meat (chicken, steak, fish) or plant products (soy, tofu, nuts) to get enough protein. Judging from his beautiful complexion he probably eats very healthily.
I think there is probably a wide range in what skaters eat. I will say though that it would appear the Americans eat a more healthy or "normal" diet than their counterparts in other countries like Russia and China where I have to wonder what some of those skaters are eating (or not eating) on a daily basis...
when i was a skater it was important to me to limit processed foods, white sugar and white flour, and eat lots of lean protein, fruits/veggies, healthy fats, and whole grains. i usually let myself have one meal of whatever i wanted and one "sweet treat" once a week. i didn't count calories, i ate 5-6 small meals a day. drank lots and lots of water, made sure to have something to eat after i skated/trained, even if it was something small.
if a skater has a certain health condition obviously some things might have to be modified...unfortunately for me i went undiagnosed with PCOS until last year, when my competitive years were waaay behind me and i would have had to make some modifications, probably going gluten free. if anyone cares to know, PCOS is a hormonal disorder of androgens in girls/women that is linked to obesity, hirsutism, diabetes, skin problems, and insulin resistance and usually is treated with medication and diet/exercise. there is no cure for it. it's kind of a girl's worst nightmare in a way, depending on how it affects you...my main issues with it were/are weight problems and super oily skin. when i skated i always wondered why i was heavier than the other girls when i was doing everything right, and now i know, even though it took 19 years of wondering and then going from doctor to doctor with no answers for about a year, and finally a trip to mayo clinic last spring... smh
does anyone know what alissa used to eat about 2 years ago, like before she changed coaches? there is a huge difference in her weight from the 2009-2010 season to 2010-2011. IMO i think she's even thinner this year than last, and kind of looks unhealthy to me. i thought she looked great last year.
Last edited by macy; 02-26-2012 at 06:39 PM.
I think Alissa became vegan around 2 years ago, so that could definitely explain the weight loss. I actually think she looks healthier this season compared to last season when she was bordering on too thin. In the FS dress she wore at nationals (which I really didn't like, but that's not the point), you could really see that she does have feminine curves. Idk if it was just the dress but she appeared to have hips and be quite busty, despite her thinness. I never thought of her like that before so it might have just been the costume, but when I saw her skating in it, I was reminded about how she is 24 and really looked like a woman on the ice as opposed to someone underfed with the intention to maintain their young teenage bodies through their 20s.
Phelp is a big guy who needs strong muscles, power, and endurance for his sport. Carbohydrate supplies quick energy for competition but protein, together with weight training, build muscles and gives slower releasing energy to sustain longer training and races. Skaters can't afford to eat so much as they are smaller and they also need to stay light for jumps, flexibility etc. They go from burst of power to sustained constant movements and more power bursts again within a few minutes, having quite different requirements on their muscles from those of a swimmer. Generally, the fewer calories one needs/consumes, the more important the nutrition density of one's food is. It's especially true for people practicing CRON (Calorie Restriction Optimal Nutrition) or on a weight reduction diet. BTW, eating less is the only proven way to promote significant longevity. My motto is eat less, eat better. Good for health and budget.
He is getting really muscular, but he carries it well. He doesn't seem to 'bulk up', but his arms are WOW... I'm so jealous.
I was wondering whether there might be a different diet depending on whether a sport needed fast-twitch muscles or slow-twitch muscles. I'm assuming that skating uses mostly slow-twitch muscles, for endurance rather than intense speed? If anyone has any information, I'm eager to hear it.
i disagree that skating uses slow-twitch...during jumps and spins, you have to have snap and power. in jumps you have to be explosive on the takeoff with snappy hips, getting the correct air position, and ideally stopping rotation in the air before landing. if the landing doesn't go right, you have to be quick and strong to save the landing. spins, you have to wind up and really push into them for speed and also be explosive and snappy when there is a flying entrance. i do see where you say slow-twitch with endurance, which would maybe fit parts of a program, but choreography you also have to be quick with.
I do not have any specific scientific information on this, but when I watched a documentary on TV on Phelps before the Olympics in 2008, I was surprised how HUGE he ate all the time.
Also, I watched an interview to Olympic medalists in Syncronized Sswimmning how they were 'forced' to eat by coaches on a daily basis. They were like: get up, eat, practice, eat more, practice again, more 'eat-eat-eat' to come at the end of the day, then sleep...They tried to get at least 5,000 calories a day in order not to lose their weight and stamina, they said! They are female athletes, of course.
Swimmers simply consume a lot of calories in the course of hard and long hours trainings in the water, compared to other sports, I suppose.
On the other hand I heard that, while figure skating is a hard sport (isn't it called 800m hurdle run, or even a steeple chase, on the ice with skates on?), it just does not consume calories as it may seem, so that a skater has to be careful about how much to eat and keep his/her proper weight.
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