Sad Article about Zagitova's Eating Habits

[Sam-Skwantch]

She only drinks tea for dinner to control her weight and she thinks that the weight gain is detrimental to her jumps.

As in for one of her meals she replaces it with tea or when her family eats dinner she has tea? I read somewhere she doesn’t eat what the family has for dinner because they don’t always eat healthy meals but I hadn’t read she replaces her dinner with tea. It sounded like she still liked to sit at the dinner table but she eats her food at a different time earlier in the day. That would seem like it would make training impossible brcause Tea does not count as dinner and her energy and strength would become depleted. I hope someone is watching out for her.

 

[mrrice]

As in for one of her meals she replaces it with tea or when her family eats dinner she has tea? I read somewhere she doesn’t eat what the family has for dinner but I hadn’t read she replaces her dinner with tea. It sounded like she still liked to sit at the dinner table but she eats her food at a different time earlier in the day. That would seem like it would make training impossible to beat.

Tea does not count as dinner.

She needs to start eating Borscht.....Seriously. She can eat it cold or hot and it's hearty but contains almost zero fat. It's made from beets and not only is it pretty to look at, it's good for you. A big glass a lemon water with a dash of Splenda and she's all set.

 

[Mango]

If you consider an 800 calorie smoothie as not eating than you just don’t understand how they can be properly introduced into a diet. They aren’t for everyone and certainly not for every meal or every day but this isn’t something new or even out of the ordinary for high level athletes. You seem to not understand that a smoothie full of nutrition is not equal to not eating. Now abusing them and malnutrition is a completely different topic than what I’m discussing. This is why I want context.

After hearing about Julia's liquid diet I'm thinking maybe Eteri did follow advice like yours. But 800 calorie smoothies for a girl that doesn't want to eat anything? Good luck with that.

 

[Barb]

That ¨article¨is garbage, it says nothing, these are just speculations, obviously she is not being literal when she says she does not eat, it is impossible not to eat at all and maintain a normal weight and enough energy/stamina to be an elite athlete who is also characterized by making the most difficult elements in the second half of her program when that requires a lot of physical effort. She probably means that when she was younger, she could eat absolutely everything she wanted, and now she has to measure her portions. People is weird when start a nutritionist diet, It is very common to hear people say at 2:00pm, ¨I have not eaten anything at all.......... the only thing I ate was a chicken breast, an orange juice, a salad with ranch dressing, a jelly and a yogurt (normal hypercaloric yogurt), I have not eaten anything!!! ¨ :sarcasm:

 

[Lana05]

After hearing about Julia's liquid diet I'm thinking maybe Eteri did follow advice like yours. But 800 calorie smoothies for a girl that doesn't want to eat anything? Good luck with that.

Julia suffered eatinf desorder when she was training for a half of year with Urmanov. Why you blame Eteri for that? What could she do?? It's her new doctor in Sochi should care about her nutrition. And if Julia really wanted to be competitive she wouldn't quit her coach to a non-successful one. It was her own problem.

 

[gsk8]

I want a chinchilla.

 

[TryMeLater]

Haven't clicked on the link, but there was an article going around yesterday from a russian reporter post short program press conference. Alina was quoted as saying that puberty is an invention, all you have to do is close your mouth and not eat. People are not upset with her, per se, more horrified with Eteri and her team that this is something she would feel comfortable saying.

edit: this is the article https://matchtv.ru/figure-skating/m...to_vydumki_Prosto_nuzhno_zakryt_rot_i_ne_jest

Well, I read the article in Russian.
Here's the translation (or at least my translation):
Regarding puberty, when you turn fat (gain weight) - I think it's all inventions (made-up stuff). You need to close your mouth and don't eat.
Or (if you are eating) then a little. I eat, but small amounts.

 

[Shayuki]

After hearing about Julia's liquid diet I'm thinking maybe Eteri did follow advice like yours. But 800 calorie smoothies for a girl that doesn't want to eat anything? Good luck with that.

Not sure about 800 calories but I usually have around 375 calorie smoothies and they fill me up for around 3-4 hours. Absolutely stuffed after drinking one. And by the way, I don't know about these girls but I definitely could not drink 800 calories worth of a smoothie, just drinking the ones I do takes some work. People who think it's not filling or not "real food" probably don't actually drink proper smoothies.


In general, I think that these words have been more or less misinterpreted. You couldn't get through a single day of Eteri training without eating anything without fainting. Many quotes about this seem to be conveniently cutting some of it to make it sound like what she's saying is "puberty is a fabrication, all you need to do is to eat nothing" which isn't exactly the case.

 

[Mango]

Julia suffered eatinf desorder when she was training for a half of year with Urmanov. Why you blame Eteri for that? What could she do?? It's her new doctor in Sochi should care about her nutrition. And if Julia really wanted to be competitive she wouldn't quit her coach to a non-successful one. It was her own problem.

Iirc it was Eteri talking about the kind of diet Julia was on before Sochi. The diet was so she could do well in Sochi. She left Eteri to join Urmanov in 2015, long after Sochi was over and done with. Why do you blame Urmanov for the pre-Sochi situation?

Maybe the ISU should look out for its skaters if the coaches can't be trusted to do so. There's an ISU Athletes Commission. Perhaps they should be involved? Eating disorders may not just be limited to figure skating. There could be some in speed skating as well.

 

[Sportfan]

Wasn't there a documentary where she said her only meal in a day is breakfast?

A lot was said about these things, but i still find it ridiculous that people claim Eteri is the best coach in Russia. If you have to look at every gram to not lose your jumps, then this coach is doing something wrong. She only knows how to teach jumps to children

 

[Lester]

I used to starve myself when I was her age too. It ended pretty badly for me, and I wasn't even an elite athlete.

But what is saddest for me is her conviction that one has absolute control over their body, and can just chose not to eat. It's a living, growing organism, especially at this age, and it may well rebel or do other unexpected things

 

[oatmella]

If Alina really said she eats very little and no dinner, it’s hard to argue that she is really one of those teenage girls who says they ate nothing but really ate a lot.
If this is true, it’s not a sustainable way of life.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

Well, I read the article in Russian.
Here's the translation (or at least my translation):
Regarding puberty, when you turn fat (gain weight) - I think it's all inventions (made-up stuff). You need to close your mouth and don't eat.
Or (if you are eating) then a little. I eat, but small amounts.

But how did the conversation go? I really want to know the context of the conversation. It seems very important to understanding and put meaning to what she means by eating little. Relative to what? To me it sounds like she is saying you’ll get fat simply because of puberty is a myth. She’s actually right because there is nothing wrong with puberty. How was the question asked because I assume she didn’t just blurt this out.

Also FTR: Julia has never really spoken about the specifics of her ED and has certainly never blamed Eteri. She never said when it started or made any specific details known. Just because she told us she was ill and battling with it really shouldn’t give us free reign to assign our own details. She’ll discuss and talk with us about it when she is ready. If she ever does. Until then people should be careful about what information the decide to gossip about. It only enforces the fears many have about admitting to the illness. It’s hardcto come clean when your afraid of what people may say after you do :think:

Also: Julia looks happy in her new role as a coach
https://instagram.com/p/BggJDPggb4i/

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

If Alina really said she eats very little and no dinner, it’s hard to argue that she is really one of those teenage girls who says they ate nothing but really ate a lot.
If this is true, it’s not a sustainable way of life.

This is what I want to sort out. How often is she eating very little. It’s actually very healthy and sustainable to eat small amounts more frequently instead of large amounts less frequently. Especially having dinner be your smallest meal is smart but only if you are getting what you need throughout the earlier part of the day.

I don’t know what she’s up to and this quote seems like an easy trigger article so I can’t make an informed decision based on a potentially out of context response. Especially one that’s translated from Russian to English.

 

[TryMeLater]

But how did the conversation go? I really want to know the context of the conversation. It seems very important to understanding and put meaning to what she means by eating little. Relative to what? To me it sounds like she is saying you’ll get fat simply because of puberty is a myth. She’s actually right because there is nothing wrong with puberty. How was the question asked because I assume she didn’t just blurt this out.

Also FTR: Julia has never really spoken about the specifics of her ED and has certainly never blamed Eteri. She never said when it started or made any specific details known. Just because she told us she was ill and battling with it really shouldn’t give us free reign to assign our own details. She’ll discuss and talk with us about it when she is ready. If she ever does. Until then people should be careful about what information the decide to gossip about.

I don't mind translating the article from Russian, but aren't you a native Russian speaker? I was almost certain you are.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

I don't mind translating the article from Russian, but aren't you a native Russian speaker? I was almost certain you are.

Lol...I’m from the US. Born and raised my whole life. I would appreciate hearing the question asked and the flow of the conversation to gain more insight. The article doesn’t really capture any essence of the discussion.

 

[satine]

I want a chinchilla.

 

[NymphyNymphy]

This is why these Russian ladies have a hard time with longevity in the sport. Russian skating is so harsh. Let the child grow. Starving her of nutrients will come back and bite her when her body goes through puberty. I really hope Alina doesn't develop anorexia like poor Yulia. Your health comes first. Nothing is more important.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

This is why these Russian ladies have a hard time with longevity in the sport.

Was it difficult for our skaters to have longevity when Frank was “the man” and had several students who had eating disorders (and even drug abuse) on his roster? We’re people calling for ISU commissions to be formed? When I was following back then the internet wasn’t full of as many opinions...maybe that’s the real difference. I didn’t learn about Franks issues until more recently for whatever reason. Even though it was happening on a larger scale back then with his students the internet wasn’t there to sensationalize it.

I want the athletes to be safe too but taking a weird story like this and concluding that anyone let alone all of the Russians have trouble surviving the sport due to eating habits seems a bit over the top IMO. It’s probably the limitation of three spots and over influx of talent as much as anything else that creates this situation.

 

[Shayuki]

This is why these Russian ladies have a hard time with longevity in the sport.

This isn't the reason. The reason is superior talent moving up to seniors year after year. For example, if a Russian skater had a performance like Kostner at 2010 Olympics? Career over. You can't afford something like that and the fed has no reason to push you over the other girls. You can see it even with someone like Radionova. By all measures, she still is competitive internationally. Her SB is #11 in the world for senior skaters and numerous skaters below her in PB are doing just fine in their careers. But there are better girls. And there will be better girls. That's their biggest obstacle.


...Not that I really agree with the premise otherwise, either.