Sad Article about Zagitova's Eating Habits

[Tavi...]

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.

I’m curious as to the benefits of an 800 calorie smoothie when it’s possible to eat a good meal (eg, chicken or salmon, salad and/or vegetable, sweet potato or brown rice) for the same or fewer calories?

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

I’m curious as to the benefits of an 800 calorie smoothie when it’s possible to eat a good meal (eg, chicken or salmon, salad and/or vegetable, sweet potato or brown rice) for the same or fewer calories?

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.

 

[Tolstoj]

I found this article today concerning Alina's eating habits to control her weight. The title of the article is "Russian Figure Skating Prodigy Refuses to Eat... but it's for a Good Cause". This article just makes me terribly sad. It seems as though "not eating" is preferable to eating healthy. Thoughts?

https://sputniknews.com/sport/201803221062800928-russia-skating-prodigy-zagitova/

Sputnik = Fake News.

Soo i wouldn't trust this, but Eteri girls are very thin because of aerodynamics.

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

This is wrong since she also did a great job with Voronov bringing him to the bronze at GPF in 2014, beating Russia's favourite Maxim Kovtun.

She is a great coach, the best one in Russia, don't blame her because she is just playing the rules, and we know other coaches are even harsher at this level: Zijun Li said that Li Mingzhu don't even let you drink too much water because she thinks somehow even that can apply weight.

Being an athlete at the very top level means a lot of sacrifices.

 

[ragdoll]

Zagitova is slim but doesn't look underweight for her age - at least not as it comes across on TV.

 

[Shayuki]

I’m curious as to the benefits of an 800 calorie smoothie when it’s possible to eat a good meal (eg, chicken or salmon, salad and/or vegetable, sweet potato or brown rice) for the same or fewer calories?

The usual benefit of a smoothie is that it contains different kinds of nutrients and just simply tends to taste amazing. In general, they tend to contain fruits / berries. For example, most don't seem to find it very enjoyable at all to eat a bunch of frozen blueberries but they work great in a smoothie. Other than that, there'd often be yoghurt / milk which is good for calcium, b12, b6, d vitamins(among others), which is especially good if one doesn't like the taste of milk(it gets drowned out in most smoothies). You can also add in a lot of "dry" and healthy stuff which you really would struggle to fit in elsewhere. Some examples: oat fiber, coconut flakes, chia seeds, flax seeds and other seeds.

It doesn't replace a meal like ones you are talking about entirely, it just gives different types of nutrients which hopefully gives you a good balance of everything over the course of the day.

 

[[email protected]]

Fake threads after fake news - nothing new.

 

[Alchamei]

Sputnik = Fake News.

Soo i wouldn't trust this, but Eteri girls are very thin because of aerodynamics.



This is wrong since she also did a great job with Voronov (which was definitely not a children) bringing him to the bronze at GPF in 2014, beating Russia's favourite Maxim Kovtun.

She is a great coach, the best one in Russia, don't blame her because she is just playing the rules, and we know other coaches are even harsher at this level: Zijun Li said that Li Mingzhu don't even let you drink too much water because she thinks somehow even that can apply weight.

Being an athlete at the very top level means a lot of sacrifices.

That's where the conflict comes. Is it worth destroying a person's life by harsh training and having no time for something else than their talent, but then they may not fulfill their potential to have success?

Some people may be talented, but don't have the nerves or don't want to spend their life by training and training only. Gracie is a good example. But then even if they experience downsides in life they can still have the medals to prove their worth, that the cruelty was at least worth something.

The movie Whiplash is about that dilemma.

 

[TryMeLater]

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.

Here is my translation, I tried to convey the meaning of things as close to the original as I could.

Olympic Champion in figure skating, Alina Zagitova, is second after the SP in the world championships in Milan, explained why she had less than ideal skate.
- I never guess which place I’m going to get, because we, figure skaters are people and not robots, commented the Russian. I’m not very happy with my skate. I felt stiffness (heaviness) in this competition. Maybe I was too much worried. It was difficult to recover after the Olympic games. It was hard to return to the training process. We had different engagements, we went to Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin). Received gifts and congratulations. After that we went to train. After a training (session) like this you sleep very deeply.
There was also acclimatization. It is hard to digest all of this in such a short period of time.
For the free skate I’ll have a fighting mood. As always, I want to show a clean skate.

Interviewer: It seems, that you have slightly grown in just three months.
Zagitova: Yes, there are difficulties with relation to this. I with my trainer looked at what we can slightly adjust/change in the technique, so that I won’t stay behind. This helps.
Regarding puberty, when you become fat – I think it’s all made up (imagination). You just need to close your mouth and stop eating. Or if you do, then a little. I eat, but at small amounts.

Interviewer: Have you thought about not participating in the world championships due to the busy schedule after the Olympics?
Zagitova: No.

Interviewer: So, this became your debut (championship)?
Zagitova: There are many factors (reasons) for me wanting to go to here.

Interviewer: Was it difficult to skate after the deafening (big applause) reception which the public gave Carolina Kostner?
Zagitova: I think that this is exactly why I was worried. But for me this is one more (learning) experience.

Interviewer: An international fan gifted you with a self-made poster with the words: “Alina, You are my idol”.
Zagitova: This words of encouragement mean a great deal to me. I sometimes look for my fans on social media and tell them thank you.

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

To me it sounds like she is dispelling the myth that because of puberty “you’ll get fat”...at least that’s how I read it. Anyone else? I can’t determine what she means by “I eat but small amounts”. That could be completely healthy if done right but yes it could be unhealthy if done improperly. I see no indicators here as to which it is she is telling us.

Thank you for the translation BTW

 

[Tolstoj]

That's where the conflict comes. Is it worth destroying a person's life by harsh training and having no time for something else than their talent, but then they may not fulfill their potential to have success?

Some people may be talented, but don't have the nerves or don't want to spend their life by training and training only. Gracie is a good example. But then even if they experience downsides in life they can still have the medals to prove their worth, that the cruelty was at least worth something.

The movie Whiplash is about that dilemma.

When you're skating since 4 or 5, if you start to not train at the top level (which also inevitably mean a strict diet), you're throwing more than 10 years of work into the trash can.

At this level you're life is devoted to the sport, so i think it's worth to stay focused and carry on until the end of the Olympics cycle, then if you have a medal you can retire as an Olympic medalist, and since skaters don't usually last decades in seniors, at the age of 25-30 you can still experience so many things.

I think Gracie Gold got frustrated because there was always someone better than her at each competition and she felt the pressure because she wasn't delivering great performances at GPF and Worlds, and even when they were good, it wasn't enough to beat the others. With a medal at GPF or Worlds (especially that one in 2016) she probably would have continued.

 

[ancientpeas]

Here is my translation, I tried to convey the meaning of things as close to the original as I could.

Olympic Champion in figure skating, Alina Zagitova, is second after the SP in the world championships in Milan, explained why she had less than ideal skate.
- I never guess which place I’m going to get, because we, figure skaters are people and not robots, commented the Russian. I’m not very happy with my skate. I felt stiffness (heaviness) in this competition. Maybe I was too much worried. It was difficult to recover after the Olympic games. It was hard to return to the training process. We had different engagements, we went to Vladimir Vladimirovich (Putin). Received gifts and congratulations. After that we went to train. After a training (session) like this you sleep very deeply.
There was also acclimatization. It is hard to digest all of this in such a short period of time.
For the free skate I’ll have a fighting mood. As always, I want to show a clean skate.

Interviewer: It seems, that you have slightly grown in just three months.
Zagitova: Yes, there are difficulties with relation to this. I with my trainer looked at what we can slightly adjust/change in the technique, so that I won’t stay behind. This helps.
Regarding puberty, when you become fat – I think it’s all made up (imagination). You just need to close your mouth and stop eating. Or if you do, then a little. I eat, but at small amounts.

Interviewer: Have you thought about not participating in the world championships due to the busy schedule after the Olympics?
Zagitova: No.

Interviewer: So, this became your debut (championship)?
Zagitova: There are many factors (reasons) for me wanting to go to here.

Interviewer: Was it difficult to skate after the deafening (big applause) reception which the public gave Carolina Kostner?
Zagitova: I think that this is exactly why I was worried. But for me this is one more (learning) experience.

Interviewer: An international fan gifted you with a self-made poster with the words: “Alina, You are my idol”.
Zagitova: This words of encouragement mean a great deal to me. I sometimes look for my fans on social media and tell them thank you.

Thanks for the translation. :thumbsup:

It's nice that she actively seeks out her fans. She seems like a very nice young lady.

 

[tars]

Anyone surprised has simply been ignoring the evidence that has built up over the years, in public, and refused to accept observable reality for a contorted, impossible-to-justify illusion that somehow everyone was simply sailing through puberty without consequence and change and somehow 100% healthy. It’s not that there weren’t warning signs; there were an almost comedic number. It’s too late to be shocked. Spare me your regrets. Don’t tell me you didn’t know; the evidence has always been there. You saw what you wanted to: convenient fiction.

Oh, really?

It's all about proper selection, just like +200cm people for basketball, -60kg people for ski jumping, +200kg people for sumo, tiny men for jockeys, short-legged people for swimming, long-armed for discus throw, etc..
Highest level professional sport is designed for highest level physical specimens - strict selection is the key to reduce problems with excessive "body shaping".

Generally in figure skating, either you jump high or you rotate fast (or both).
If you can neither - blame the person who selected you for the sport, not the sport itself.

 

[Sam L]

This is fake news. No way you can do figure skating like Alina does by under eating.

 

[skatingfan200]

It is not fake news...she said that!

She is still a child and it was not wise from her to say that.

 

[r2d2]

Oh, really?

It's all about proper selection, just like +200cm people for basketball, -60kg people for ski jumping, +200kg people for sumo, tiny men for jockeys, short-legged people for swimming, long-armed for discus throw, etc..
Highest level professional sport is designed for highest level physical specimens - strict selection is the key to reduce problems with excessive "body shaping".

Generally in figure skating, either you jump high or you rotate fast (or both).
If you can neither - blame the person who selected you for the sport, not the sport itself.

Selections yes, but not in sport where lower weight is an advantage. Jockeys and ski jumpers have long history of anorexia.Even a lot of swimmers had eating disorders. It is easy to understand. Atheltes do anything to win. Unhealthy doping, cheating, crushing someones knees, bribes etc. Why people are surprised?

Also Zhenya Med said that she drinks only tea for supper(or she said that she drinks only tea after 7pm).

And Kostornaya periscope:

Eteri and Gleikh just went to Milan with Alina. Dudakov stays in Moscow. She hopes for new programs next season since she is bored of current ones. She is upset with extra junior season because she wants to make it to seniors asap. She was asking how was her new haircut with tail. Also there isn't any dining room since they are prohibited any additional food. Sasha prefers to go home in the break between training sessions (most likely because she lives nearby) while Alena and Daria spend it in locker room/somewhere else in ice rink facilities. Zhenya has day off.

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.

 

[zounger]

I estimate a 2-3 hours skating with her weight she burns around 600 cal +600 cal from other training gym, warm up, etc. plus some calories that she burn during the rest of the day.

Since she is not eating, we can use Alina to produce some energy.

 

[Spirals for Miles]

I think she's simply saying that there's no reason to get fat besides just eating all the time...

 

[qwertyskates]

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.

In many ways, this is also how I eat. I eat small amounts of vegetable and animal protein, a lot of vegetables, soups, little fruit and carbs, and only eat when I'm hungry at all hours. I also take supplements and herbs. I don't eat sugar or processed food at all, very seldom will I eat biscuits and cakes.

I do eat dark chocolate though, it's my indulgence.

 

[VenusHalley]

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.

if each skater ended after bad competition.... world would be deprived of lots of great skating.

Some things come with maturity. Sure you can.always find a jumping child.... but do we really want that?

 

[Sam-Skwantch]

if each skater ended after bad competition.... world would be deprived of lots of great skating.

Some things come with maturity. Sure you can.always find a jumping child.... but do we really want that?

Go back and read why Shayuki posted that. You’re changing the subject. Someone took the quote from this article and drew a conclusion that Russian skaters end there careers early because they don’t eat food. It’s important to point out that it is almost certainly the three spot rule that’s ending careers year after year because that’s how good the talent level is coming up and not because they are not eating as the poster was suggesting.