Sad Article about Zagitova's Eating Habits

[Sam-Skwantch]

The way I read it, it sounds like she is saying "it's a myth that you can get fat when you hit puberty, if you control what you eat (close your mouth and don't eat too much), you won't get fat." She does eat, but small amounts and nothing after dinner.

That’s how I read it and why it’s so shocking the article in the OP seems to be so misleading with that ridiculous headline.

 

[Tavi...]

Easier digestion and better control of nutrient specific intake at critical times of the day. I’ve never know anyone to go on a liquid diet full time or anything but after excersing having a protein shake or fruit smoothie can really be healthy and reduce your need to eat a heavy meal in a few hours. This stuff can be done correctly and safely but of course like with everything else it can be abused.

When I’m at the mall with friends or family and they want to start eating junk food or espressos I look for a fruit smoothie to get into my hands ASAP. It’s lame but I’m always thankful later when I don’t have to deal with the digestive side effects of mall pizza.

Thanks for your response!

ETA and thanks also to @shayuki!

 

[Grin]

Another 'Eteri is a monster' thread?

PS BOrser interview to Vaitsekhovskaya coming soon

 

[evasorange]

And you wonder how coaching teams get away with this kind of behavior-just look
At all of the justifications in this thread. It’s so sad. The average 14,15,16 17 year olds most of them have perfectly fine healthy metabolisms. And then add in all of the physical activity a skater does?They don’t need to have tea for dinner. They don’t need to be worried about puberty. They don’t need to eat less. They are still growing and changing! There is no reason or justification on earth for any of these girls to be saying things like this. It’s a huge red flag but for some reason a lot of people want to downplay it.

 

[evasorange]

Another 'Eteri is a monster' thread?

PS BOrser interview to Vaitsekhovskaya coming soon

If Brian Orser starts saying harmful things like “she’s able to survive on just protein shakes thank God” or “at 18 a girl gets a mother’s body” then I will for sure have some negative things to say about that. Until then it’s just Eteri sooo...*

 

[Matilda]

Mango......Whether or not they're trying to stop puberty.....Johhny Weir and Evan Lysacek were frighteningly thin when I saw them skate live. This was when they were Juniors and Johnny won the Gold and Evan the Silver. Evan was so thin, I could see his hip bones through his costume. Skating is an extremely aerobic sport and when you're training at a high level...You can eat almost anything and burn it off in an afternoon. It's off season when these skaters have to watch their diets.

Johnny has always been candid about his very light diet, but has said he does not necessarily recommend it to others. I also remember a post-Vancouver interview where Evan said his pre-Olympics diet was so strict he sometimes hallucinated about food. Russian coaches are not the only ones promoting very strict diets--Frank Carroll certainly seems to be of that school of thought.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

And you wonder how coaching teams get away with this kind of behavior-just look
At all of the justifications in this thread. It’s so sad. The average 14,15,16 17 year olds most of them have perfectly fine healthy metabolisms. And then add in all of the physical activity a skater does?They don’t need to have tea for dinner. They don’t need to be worried about puberty. They don’t need to eat less. They are still growing and changing! There is no reason or justification on earth for any of these girls to be saying things like this. It’s a huge red flag but for some reason a lot of people want to downplay it.

I really think you’re misreading things. I’m not downplaying anything. What is important is getting the facts straight before we start diagnosing medical conditions. The article title is misleading in that it says she refuses to eat when her own words suggests she eats small amounts. How much...we don’t know that. The tea at dinner I thought was odd and sounds bad on first look but is it too being exaggerated? I’ve read somewhere she doesn’t eat what the family has for dinner because it isn’t always “healthy”. Is that why she has tea for dinner...in order to participate and is she eating something earlier in the day to supplement that family dinner? It is actually quite healthy to not eat for several hours before you go to bed so it could even be a timing thing. She’s might be up earlier and to bed earlier than the family. I think it’s healthy for us to be concerned and show interest but we really shouldn’t speculate on her habits based on a few possibly misunstood statements.

What’s happening is some are trying to run with a Sputnik story which seems wildly exaggerated and drawing conclusions which may or may not be accurate. I just think it’s best to stay cautious and not draw conclusions one way or the other.

 

[qwertyskates]

And you wonder how coaching teams get away with this kind of behavior-just look
At all of the justifications in this thread. It’s so sad. The average 14,15,16 17 year olds most of them have perfectly fine healthy metabolisms. And then add in all of the physical activity a skater does?They don’t need to have tea for dinner. They don’t need to be worried about puberty. They don’t need to eat less. They are still growing and changing! There is no reason or justification on earth for any of these girls to be saying things like this. It’s a huge red flag but for some reason a lot of people want to downplay it.

First, everybody has different needs when it comes to eating. The two main issues are getting enough calories to maintain one's use of calories and good nutrition. Our understanding of a good diet has changed so much, now the Food Pyramid is being reconsidered because the rate of obesity and other problems have gone up instead of down.

There are also stark differences as to what different societies consider a "healthy" size.

Many non-dairy, vegetables consuming populations stay smaller in size and live longer lives, and when the same groups adopt a "Western" diet, they grow bigger, but not necessarily healthier, more susceptible to higher rates of diabetes and cancer, with shorter lifespan. Eg. China then vs now.

There are also a lot of experiments that show a lower calorie consumption among lab rats lead to longer lifespan.

https://www.jax.org/news-and-insights/2017/november/cutting-calories-extends-life-span

Longer lifespan = Better health, I think that's a given!

SIze is not a gauge of good health, and food has become an obsession and an industry. 80% of the food in supermarkets are in fact non-consumable - they are closer to "food materials" instead of real food that is harvested and eaten as they are, without additives, preservatives, processing, etc.

If she is getting enough calories and nutrients in the day, why does Alina have to eat dinner? She might be sleeping early and waking up early, so her meals are interspersed in the day and a late afternoon snack may be enough.

Also, higher calories =/= to higher food quantity.

One can get a lot of nutrient-rich calories by consuming good, healthy fats.

Each of us is different, and perhaps for some, eating later in the day leads to weight gain instead of food becoming efficient fuel.

Me, I "stretch" my meals, i.e. I don't eat 3 courses at one go unless I'm dining out. I may start with bone soup with lots of root vegetables, wait 2 hours, eat a colorful salad with nuts, another 2 hours before a small protein meal. I don't need desserts, pasta, bread or sweets, but I eat a huge variety of vegetables and different types of organ meat, liver, tendons, bones, etc. for more needed nutrients like iron and calcium. So technically, I might be eating only 2 small meals a day but I'm not hungry.

It is a completely different philosophy and I cringe at all the good food thrown away, especially only chicken, beef and fish fillet are eaten. If only we eat more of the animal parts and fewer animals, we will be healthier and fewer animals will be sacrificed for food.

Until there is genuine proof that Alina is starving, such as Satoko (and I don't hear about her Japanese coach being responsible for her illness) I don't think she should be judged this way.

 

[jenaj]

Did I misread that interview with Adelina Sotnikova that was posted here previously or did she say that drugs are sometimes used to delay puberty? That is shocking, if true. As for weight gain with puberty, it is not true for everyone. Girls reach their full height at puberty or shortly thereafter and what they could eat while still growing could cause them to gain weight when they stop. Having been a lifetime dieter myself, I have found that just eating three meals a day and not snacking or eating after dinner is enough to control weight. No smoothies needed.

 

[cruzceleste]

There are a series of problems in the interview (still waiting for confirmation is the media is a reputable one)
First: There is no way a kid like Zagitova should think that she can control her weight/ puberty just by no eating; that´s not a healthy standard of behavior to live on, and we should worry about her health.
Second: Even when Zagitova is young she is now an Olympic champion and people WILL LISTEN TO HER, if there is an implication that she can achieve success with unhealthy eating habits children will think these is an acceptable behavior, and will copy. In great measure is not her fault, adults around her should made sure that she understand what is healthy and what is not...
Third: This is not acceptable for any country, for any gender. Athletes should have psychological and nutritional assistance.

 

[tars]

I can't believe so many people can't see the huge hole in their reasoning in this thread: SELECTION.

https://images2.imgbox.com/10/a4/tfyRx7h5_o.jpg

It's like some of you want to rant about anorexia, tyrrannic coaches, child abuse, etc., neglecting the simple fact, that these affect strictly selected skaters to a minimum extent.

Can you imagine Midori Ito having problem with anorexia?!

 

[mrrice]

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.

This is a new era.....Remember Maria Butyrskaya, Irina Slutskaya, and Viktoria Volchkova all skated into their 20's. In fact Maria was in her Late 20's, I think she was 28 when she won her final European Title in 2002. Times have changed, they really have.

 

[cruzceleste]

I can't believe so many people can't see the huge hole in their reasoning in this thread: SELECTION.

https://images2.imgbox.com/10/a4/tfyRx7h5_o.jpg

It's like some of you want to rant about anorexia, tyrrannic coaches, child abuse, etc., neglecting the simple fact, that these affect strictly selected skaters to a minimum extent.

Can you imagine Midori Ito having problem with anorexia?!

Ok, if you are trying to made a point about "natural physical conditions", this has nothing to do with the debate if a skater that "eats little"; because that´s not natural.

Natural would be if an skater would eat whatever they like and have the energy to skate and really don´t have to worry about weigh.

The other problem here, is that someone that works close, family, coach, friends take your pick; has made her believe that weight is something that people can control very easily, and that is not true.

 

[russianfan]

And Kostornaya periscope:

so you want 3a or healthy girls? we all know, fans want 3a, so stop crying about their health and watch those tiny girls. I guess TAT would agree with me.

Lol i watched that video and i was 100% sure she was trolling the guy who asked her this question (something about food). It's actually not smart to claim that they're prohibited of any additional food just because 14yo girl said that in her fun-video, when most likely she wasn't even serious.
And just my opinion: Kostornaya doesn't even look that thin, she looks just like an average healthy girl in her age. Medvedeva was way thiner, and Scherbakova still is (i would be more worried about her, but it still looks more like genetics in her case).

 

[Shayuki]

And just my opinion: Kostornaya doesn't even look that thin, she looks just like an average healthy girl in her age. Medvedeva was way thiner, and Scherbakova still is (i would be more worried about her, but it still looks more like genetics in her case).

Well, that's true. No matter what photos I've seen of Kostornaia, she really doesn't look super thin in the same manner. For comparison...

The draw photo with Shcherbakova and Kostornaia

 

[Grin]

If Brian Orser starts saying harmful things like “she’s able to survive on just protein shakes thank God” or “at 18 a girl gets a mother’s body” then I will for sure have some negative things to say about that. Until then it’s just Eteri sooo...*

It's not about Orser, it's all about Vaitsekhovskaya. She is manipulative and she started to hate Eteri before it became mainstream

 

[qwertyskates]

Interesting new study:

https://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-...-calorie-restriction-can-extend-your-lifespan

Another BBC article:

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20170601-the-secret-to-a-long-and-healthy-life-eat-less

I think the key is adequate calories and nutrients. As long as these two are fulfilled, we can all eat the way we want based on which state of our health and body we desire.

For me, a good bone, joint and muscle structure, sharp mind, and not getting fat are a paramount concern.

If you starve, the body consumes your muscles and bones, which will affect an athlete's performance.

Definitely I'm not following the "standard" recommendations because they don't suit my needs. Some people may be horrified at my eating habits, thinking it's deprivation not to eat any sugary food at all, but I am just as horrified by theirs. I also despise most of the chemical concoctions that pass as food out there due to the lucrative food industry.:disapp:

 

[r2d2]

I can't believe so many people can't see the huge hole in their reasoning in this thread: SELECTION.

https://images2.imgbox.com/10/a4/tfyRx7h5_o.jpg

It's like some of you want to rant about anorexia, tyrrannic coaches, child abuse, etc., neglecting the simple fact, that these affect strictly selected skaters to a minimum extent.

Can you imagine Midori Ito having problem with anorexia?!

I cant believe you can't see a huge hole in your thinking. I assume skaters start their serious training at 7yo. Hard to believe that any coach knows how girls body will develop during next 10 years. You can make some predictions based on mother/father/grands body but it is far from science. But maybe you know more. Please tell me how you can predict growth of 10yo body.

ps. I like your joke that one photo from internet means people can predict growth of human body and select only with good body

http://c8.alamy.com/comp/D43FPK/elena-radionova-rus-march-3-2013-figure-skating-isu-world-junior-figure-D43FPK.jpg Radionova 2013

http://c8.alamy.com/comp/KENWK2/moscow-russia-credit-matsuo-21st-oct-2017-elena-radionova-rus-figure-KENWK2.jpg Radionova 2017

Lol i watched that video and i was 100% sure she was trolling the guy who asked her this question (something about food). It's actually not smart to claim that they're prohibited of any additional food just because 14yo girl said that in her fun-video, when most likely she wasn't even serious.
And just my opinion: Kostornaya doesn't even look that thin, she looks just like an average healthy girl in her age. Medvedeva was way thiner, and Scherbakova still is (i would be more worried about her, but it still looks more like genetics in her case).

We just speculate Medvedeva isn't that thin. In my eyes all those girls look healthy(my last gf was 168cm 48kg and she ate tons of food). In professional sport hard to generalize. Some people have better body to sport some not, some must starve to be thin, some are born to be thin. But eating disorder is a problem in sports where weight matters.

 

[kimi492]

Are we really having a conversation in here like a growing girl only eating 800 calories is healthy??
I can guarantee you not only is she not getting the proper nutrients - but she’s starving herself. These type of diets (800 calories for example) are used by doctors for the morbidly obese who are at the point it has become life-threatening. It’s absolutely absurd for a girl who looks like she weighs 80 pounds soaking wet to be on this kind of diet - there are extreme health risks involved including heart problems, gallstones, etc.
It’s not a coincidence Yulia also had an eating disorder - Eteri is starving these girls for glory and fame at the very real reality that they could lose their health and their lives.

 

[qwertyskates]

Are we really having a conversation in here like a growing girl only eating 800 calories is healthy??
I can guarantee you not only is she not getting the proper nutrients - but she’s starving herself. These type of diets (800 calories for example) are used by doctors/nutritionists for the morbidly obese who are at the point it has become life-threatening. It’s absolutely absurd for a girl who looks like she weighs 80 pounds soaking wet to be on this kind of diet - there are extreme health risks involved including heart problems, gallstones, etc.
It’s not a coincidence Yulia also had an eating disorder - Eteri is starving these girls for glory and fame at the very real reality that they could lose their health and their lives.

It is too simplistic to reduce the complex relationship between food, eating habits, health to lower calories = lower nutrition.

There're a lot of scientific studies out there about caloric restriction and aging.

You can eat a 2000 calories cake and your body's needs for nutrition are not met, and it is starving. You can die from this diet.

Whereas eating a 800 calorie diet with lots of colorful fresh organic vegetables, healthy fats and lean protein of various kinds is vastly superior to a conventional high calorie (1600+) diet of meat, dairy and potatoes.

The key isn't number of calories but quality of food nutrients.

I don't believe in protein shakes either, as a lot of nutrients in nature are processed out of those.