What do most skaters eat? | Golden Skate

What do most skaters eat?

alexeifan

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 5, 2010
I've heard Johnny say he ate just a very little bit of meat, I've heard of Alissa being a vegan or vegetarian and I've heard it was hard for Yuna to stop eating some of her favorite choices. Does anyone know any specifics?
 

Krislite

Medalist
Joined
Sep 22, 2010
You mean during the competitive season, right? I believe their diets are less strict off-season. They probably avoid carbs (bread, pasta, cakes, pastries, etc.) to stay lean.
 

CoyoteChris

Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 4, 2004
I think there is a wide range here. I know Alissa's mom told me she is very careful what she eats...I know after reading Frozen Teardrop there are specific diets that can do many things, like delay puberty till one is 26. I have heard rumors about what certain Chineese skaters are allowed to eat but that is only hearsay. I doubt very much if the USFSA would spring for a sports nutricianist to tell skaters what they SHOULD eat to keep fit and in shape.
Chris on the see-food diet.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
I think there is a wide range here. I know Alissa's mom told me she is very careful what she eats...I know after reading Frozen Teardrop there are specific diets that can do many things, like delay puberty till one is 26. I have heard rumors about what certain Chineese skaters are allowed to eat but that is only hearsay. I doubt very much if the USFSA would spring for a sports nutricianist to tell skaters what they SHOULD eat to keep fit and in shape.
Chris on the see-food diet.

I would imagine that one of the things cut out would be fats, especially animal fats. It's partly the balance of body fat that triggers puberty in girls, at least. I also wonder whether Chinese trainers have researched foods that are typically produced with hormones (in the U.S., often that's dairy foods and chicken) and forbid those to their skaters. Dairy isn't a food usually eaten in China to begin with, of course. Among Western skaters, a vegan diet such as Alissa's cuts out both dairy and chicken (along with other meats and even fish. And even eggs!). So all those foods are out of the picture. That's not entirely a bad thing, considering how such foods are mass-produced, as long as the missing nutrients are compensated for in other ways. A vegan like Alissa might actually eat quite a few powerhouse foods rich in fats, such as nuts, seeds, and avocados. If you're eating vegan, such foods give nutrition that would otherwise be lacking and don't make too much trouble with weight gain.

I apologize for blending two different concepts here. What Alissa eats, the vegan diet, is stringent but need not be extreme (though body types differ, and some people simply can't tolerate an all plant-based diet--they get sick without at least some animal protein). If you look at Alissa, she's thin but not painfully so. Her face is full, and her skin and hair seem lustrous. Anyone who has met her personally, please feel free to chime in here!) She also looks as if she's a normal grownup, not some child in a state of arrested development. (I'm trying very hard to avoid getting clinical here, which would be an invasion of her privacy. My point is that she looks healthy and strong.)

On the other hand, some of the Chinese skaters (and even more so the girl gymnasts) look as if they might mature by the time they're thirty. They look underfed and barely grown. I have no idea what's done to them, but it's been painful to watch Pang and Tong skate, much as I love them. Shen and Zhao seem all right to my inexpert eye, but Pang and Tong seem as though their every mouthful is carefully doled out.

The sad thing is that the years of development taken away from a girl can't be given back. It's not as though they stop the body clock and then resume it again when the child retires. The growth plates in the bones are screwed up, bone density may become abnormal, and the person's predestined adult height may never be reached. It's an eating disorder imposed from outside. Shame on any coaching system, east, west, or on Mars, that depends on that for success.
 
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Sylvia

Record Breaker
Joined
Aug 25, 2003
Article from before 2012 Four Continents - Meagan Duhamel credits vegan diet for good health: http://www.news1130.com/sports/arti...an-duhamel-credits-vegan-diet-for-good-health

I doubt very much if the USFSA would spring for a sports nutricianist to tell skaters what they SHOULD eat to keep fit and in shape.
I believe at Champs Camp (for the USFS skaters with Grand Prix assignments), proper nutrition usually is one of the topics covered and sports nutritionists are available for private consultations.
 
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alexeifan

On the Ice
Joined
Nov 5, 2010
So someone on a vegan diet would just be eating fruits and veg throughout the day and their main source of protein only comes from nuts? Would they eat nuts for every meal then? I would think that might get boring after awhile.
 
Joined
Mar 14, 2006
On the other hand, some of the Chinese skaters (and even more so the girl gymnasts) look as if they might mature by the time they're thirty. They look underfed and barely grown. I have no idea what's done to them, but it's been painful to watch Pang and Tong skate, much as I love them. Shen and Zhao seem all right to my inexpert eye, but Pang and Tong seem as though their every mouthful is carefully doled out.
I agree about these two couples, but I read an interview with Zhao once where his description of their diet was painful. I remember as it consisting of lettuce leaves. Obviously there's something wrong with that recollection, but they were definitely hungry for more than gold.

I didn't know Alissa was a vegan.

Alexeifan, vegans get a lot of their protein from beans, and you can do a lot with beans - hummus, veggie burgers, tofu and tempeh, add them to sauces, etc.
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
The biggest strongest land animals are vegans - elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, yaks, mooses, horses, etc.

From the little I know about what the Chinese skaters eat while competing abroad, it doesn't sound anything like described here. Their main issue is not being used to or liking the Western food, so they pack instant noodles with them, which is pretty poor nutrition. Tong, upon taking a rest this season, joked that he would not be so hungry now because when they traveled to compete, the Chinese team had someone prepared Chinese food for the skaters but being the number two team, they, like good Chinese siblings, would respectfully defer to elder S/Z and look after the younger Z/Z so they often had less to eat after the other Pairs.

As far as I know, skaters have very different eating habits, influenced by nationality and personal preferences. The serious ones sooner or later learn the importance of proper and optimal nutrition.
 

Serious Business

Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 7, 2011
I remember reading that Yagudin would forego food on the day of competition so he'd be lighter for his jumps.

And as I've said on this forum before, I believe it was Brooke Castile who said the best thing about retirement was that Ben Okolski isn't around to yell at her when she eats.

I am just guessing, but it seems skaters don't eat a lot.
 

Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
I remember reading that Yagudin would forego food on the day of competition so he'd be lighter for his jumps.

I personally knew many famous musicians who wouldn't eat before a concert performance, with one exception, who ate a huge amount any time.

Digestion is a big energy drain.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
So someone on a vegan diet would just be eating fruits and veg throughout the day and their main source of protein only comes from nuts? Would they eat nuts for every meal then? I would think that might get boring after awhile.

Beans have been mentioned, but grains are also a source of protein. I'm not vegan but I eat a lot less meat than I used to, and I've explored some of the whole grains such as quinoa and buckwheat. They're delicious and filling, and they have some good protein in them, especially when combined with beans or nuts.

I do have to add, though, that although the largest and strongest land animals are vegans (good point!), they're also constructed differently from humans. Herbivores such as elephants and the like can break down cellulose more efficiently than humans. Their teeth are also designed differently. Humans are most properly considered omnivores, with shorter intestines and different distribution of teeth. We can adapt and survive (and even thrive) on diets that are herbivorous (like vegans) or almost all carnivorous (for example, the Inuit), but I suspect that evolution has helped certain groups adapt to locally available foods in extreme climates. Certainly the average person who chooses to go mostly or totally vegan will have better arteries and an easier time staying trim!
 

Krislite

Medalist
Joined
Sep 22, 2010
You're more likely to find common answers to what skaters don't eat than to what they do eat. There are many varieties of healthy diets, though nutritionally poor foods are universal. Refined carbs, bad fats and processed junk are pretty much off limits if you want to be able to succeed at anything harder than double toe-loops.
 

silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
So someone on a vegan diet would just be eating fruits and veg throughout the day and their main source of protein only comes from nuts? Would they eat nuts for every meal then? I would think that might get boring after awhile.

No. She probably eats Tofu and drinks soymilk for protein as well. She would also be able to eat peanut butter so long as it was made without dairy. Nuts are high in fat, this fat is mostly good fat, but I doubt that is her only or main source of protein. I recall Alissa mentioning she was a big fan of soymilk on some interview or favorite food lists awhile back.
 

silverlake22

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2009
I think Plush only had a banana the day of the 2010 olympics?

Lol the Russians and their crazy diets. It would appear Ksenia Makarova is on one, she looks so different now than the way she did when she was training in the states. Also on her formspring Anna Ovcharova mentioned that she does not eat dinner on a regular basis....the girl is 15. Yikes.
 

Blades of Passion

Skating is Art, if you let it be
Record Breaker
Joined
Sep 14, 2008
Country
France
I would imagine that one of the things cut out would be fats, especially animal fats. It's partly the balance of body fat that triggers puberty in girls, at least. I also wonder whether Chinese trainers have researched foods that are typically produced with hormones (in the U.S., often that's dairy foods and chicken) and forbid those to their skaters. Dairy isn't a food usually eaten in China to begin with, of course.

Some of the Chinese skaters (and even more so the girl gymnasts) look as if they might mature by the time they're thirty. They look underfed and barely grown. I have no idea what's done to them, but it's been painful to watch Pang and Tong skate, much as I love them. Shen and Zhao seem all right to my inexpert eye, but Pang and Tong seem as though their every mouthful is carefully doled out.

The sad thing is that the years of development taken away from a girl can't be given back. It's not as though they stop the body clock and then resume it again when the child retires. The growth plates in the bones are screwed up, bone density may become abnormal, and the person's predestined adult height may never be reached. It's an eating disorder imposed from outside. Shame on any coaching system, east, west, or on Mars, that depends on that for success.

I'm going to have to disagree with your negative assessment of people utilizing those diets for success. The point of athletic competition is to use your body in whatever way it takes to win and if someone is only using natural means to achieve those goals, then they can not be faulted for it. They may be "messing up" their bodies but that is not for us to pass judgement over; for the most driven people those are the kinds of sacrifices that are worth it for personal satisfaction.

My issue is if the Chinese government is forcing kids into doing it (yes). Everyone deserves to have a choice and everyone deserves to be informed. The other issue, of course, is if they are receiving injections to delay growth. That would fall under the category of unfair drug usage.
 
Joined
Aug 16, 2009
I'm going to have to disagree with your negative assessment of people utilizing those diets for success. The point of athletic competition is to use your body in whatever way it takes to win and if someone is only using natural means to achieve those goals, then they can not be faulted for it. They may be "messing up" their bodies but that is not for us to pass judgement over; for the most driven people those are the kinds of sacrifices that are worth it for personal satisfaction.

My issue is if the Chinese government is forcing kids into doing it (yes). Everyone deserves to have a choice and everyone deserves to be informed. The other issue, of course, is if they are receiving injections to delay growth. That would fall under the category of unfair drug usage.

BOP, that is my issue with it as well. If you look back at what I said, I reserved my disapproval for that kind of coerced starvation. I don't love that athletes go on crazy diets in any country, but as you say, some people are driven and use all sorts of weird (hopefully natural) methods to keep themselves at the top of the heap. I don't love it, but it's not my call. But if it's part of a training regime imposed by an institution (and the implication is "Who cares what happens to these kids, because we have plenty more where they came from"), then I think indignation is a suitable response.

As a by-the-way, what I said about potential bad effects of stringent diets in adolescence is, alas, true whether or not we pass judgment on the people using them. I can't rescind those details, because I didn't make up the laws of nature. Fortunately, (a) the extreme effects don't happen to everyone and (b) many athletes don't starve to extreme craziness.
 
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Violet Bliss

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Where do the entrenched belief of coerced diet and training in other nations come from? It's so self perpetuating without any proof like so many myths.

The US is the nation plagued with eating disorders, from over eating by the majority of the population, on junk food no less, to self deprivation illnesses which are often fatal. There are "coercions" from many powerful institutions, including the government which passes laws against healthy foods, subsidizes junk foods and approves toxic additives.
 
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