Eating disorders among figure skaters and other athletes | Page 3 | Golden Skate

Eating disorders among figure skaters and other athletes

Alba

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 26, 2014
:clap:

:clap::yay:

There is also a genetic element. My mother is 5'2" (when she stretches) and weighs 95lbs and eats whatever she wants. It is no accident or product of a diet that I, too, have a relatively small frame and don't put on weight easily at all. I'm just taller.

True. My mom used to eat, still does, always yogurt or salad only for dinner, and she is not thin at all. Never was, but she was tall.
 

peg

Medalist
Joined
Jan 17, 2014
My experience with the ballerinas at my accademy, I don't know if is the same for the skters, was that they were always eating tbh. They had different meals from the musicians, a good diet, but they will not starving themselves at all. You can't dance being weak and you are when you don't eat.
This was many years ago, so I don't know if today they can do that, not eating, and maybe they take other things to keep themselves strong and have the energy to dance.
One of my closest friends was a student at my country's top ballet school, and from what she has said, almost everyone in her class had eating disorders. Sure, they would eat at times, but then they'd all be in the bathroom making themselves puke.

There's also something often referred to as 'the anorexic high'. There's a doctor in Hong Kong who specialized in eating disorders, and out of a desire to understand his patients, he tried starving himself. At first, he found it very difficult, constantly felt hungry, low energy, cranky etc. Then after 2 or 3 months, something changed, and he felt more energy, didn't feel hungry, and started to have thoughts wondering why other people were so weak that they found dieting hard. My sense is that those most susceptible to eating disorders probably have their bodies kick into this mode sooner than the average person. Also, it may require extreme deprivation, rather than just restriction.
 

nguyenghita

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 13, 2012
I don't know if it's really involved to the thread, but anyone can tell me why Yuna suddenly lose weight uncontrolled like this? She has lost her appetite recently and just keep losing weight, she didn't like that before.

We met Yuna at her office in Seoul, and even from the first glance she looked very thin. Leading up to Sochi, she continued to say that constant loss of weight has been a worry for her.

“At Vancouver, I had to plan my diet and such to control weight. But for Sochi, I just kept losing weight. I didn’t even have too much appetite, so eating itself was really done mandatorily. I always thought “I have to eat this to train.” Even one incomplete meal led straight to weight loss. Just to keep stamina up I had to eat out of duty, and it even became stressful once in a while.”
Quote from her recent interview. Thanks to JT Brooks @ Golden Yuna
 

karne

in Emergency Backup Mode
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
Country
Australia
It would not at all surprise me if that was from stress - the pressure she was under from her federation, being ordered to skate against her will...
 

ranjake

Final Flight
Joined
Mar 19, 2005
I know poor Rachel Flatt got so much grief over her body type. I always thought she looked like Midori Ito.

I know eating disorders are rampant in the dancing world, but I never understood how you could have an ED and still have the energy to train and dance like they do. Is it a case of, instead of only eating 500 calories a day, they eat 5,000 but burn 10,000? I just...can't wrap my head around it.

When Johnny Weir competed on Chopped (a cooking competition here in the States), the judges said his food was delicious but the portions were too small. Johnny was surprised because they were normal portions for him :laugh:


Johnny posted a day of his diet when he was competing- I thought it was horrible. hardly any food and tons of caffeine :(
 

louisa05

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 3, 2011
It would not at all surprise me if that was from stress - the pressure she was under from her federation, being ordered to skate against her will...

I don't eat when I'm stressed. I've lost weight in the last two years and my sister-in-law keeps telling me I'm being mean to her because I won't give her my "dieting secret". My "dieting secret" is "dad has stage IV cancer" and I don't think she wants to lose weight that badly. She is also a stress eater, so I don't think it would work for her.
 

thom

Rinkside
Joined
Mar 19, 2004
Johnny posted a day of his diet when he was competing- I thought it was horrible. hardly any food and tons of caffeine :(

Read his book. There's a bunch of places in there like that. And no, I'm hardly picking on him—I have my moments…
 

skatedreamer

Medalist
Joined
Feb 18, 2014
Country
United-States
I don't eat when I'm stressed. I've lost weight in the last two years and my sister-in-law keeps telling me I'm being mean to her because I won't give her my "dieting secret". My "dieting secret" is "dad has stage IV cancer" and I don't think she wants to lose weight that badly. She is also a stress eater, so I don't think it would work for her.

So sorry about your dad! No weight loss, no matter how badly needed, is worth what you're going through. I hope your SIL isn't serious but if she is, you have every right to set her straight. While you're helping to take care of your dad, remember to take care of yourself, too.
 

louisa05

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 3, 2011
So sorry about your dad! No weight loss, no matter how badly needed, is worth what you're going through. I hope your SIL isn't serious but if she is, you have every right to set her straight. While you're helping to take care of your dad, remember to take care of yourself, too.

Thank you.

As for sister-in-law, she needs set straight about a lot of things. I try to avoid her, and (probably unfortunately, but it is hard for me to see it that way) she has been so bad about everything lately that my husband is on board with avoiding her, too. (She is his sister).
 

Meoima

Match Penalty
Joined
Feb 13, 2014
It's true that stress can affect people badly. I lost 7-8 kg in 2 weeks after my father passed away, too. That was long time ago, though. I love eating, it's just we can't control stress and weight loss when we are depressed. I guess that also happened to Yuna. No wonder she said she's glad when it's all over (the Olympic). Poor girl, I hope JFS won't push Mao the same way Korean Fed pushed Yuna.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
I don't eat when I'm stressed. I've lost weight in the last two years and my sister-in-law keeps telling me I'm being mean to her because I won't give her my "dieting secret". My "dieting secret" is "dad has stage IV cancer" and I don't think she wants to lose weight that badly. She is also a stress eater, so I don't think it would work for her.

I'm sorry to hear about your father. It's hard to look out for yourself at a time like this, but I hope you will be able to find and maintain some inner peace.
 

Alba

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 26, 2014
It's true that stress can affect people badly. I lost 7-8 kg in 2 weeks after my father passed away, too. That was long time ago, though. I love eating, it's just we can't control stress and weight loss when we are depressed.

That's true, and I too tend to not eat when I'm stressed and I lose weight. But stress can also make you eat a lot and gain weight.
It's not just about not eating.
 
Top