lovely interview with sasha cohen

[waddlercu]

My bold. You mean Alexei? He didn't eat like that while he was in SOI.

The original source didn't name names. (Was it one of Scott's books? Hrm, I don't remember off the top of my head.)

[Badams]

Sasha seems very happy and pleased with where she is right now. I don't know many people who can say that. She is VERY well spoken. I have to say, she seems so likable and friendly here, a far cry from her competitive days! she was always so cocky and diva-like before! (I'm not saying that's a bad thing) Her new life does her well. Although she could still pass as a teenager!

[foreverkwanfan]

I think Sasha is very disciplined in her diet as most skaters are. I would think you could get away with a few carbs if you exercised all day like she does, but I guess not. I loved the half an apple part, sheesh, don't eat a whole apple now!
I think Sasha look better with longer hair, but still, she looks great, she has always been very pretty.

My heart still goes out to her, 2006 Olympics and then worlds was rough. But she pulled through and is in a good place now.

[Sparks]

Was this the diet she had at the 2008 Nationals? Girl was defined, 14-16% body fat? She looked very good. Wonder what happened to her though, she messed up her signature spiral and looked resigned/unsurprised by it.

For whatever reason, she doesn't follow the same diet any more. She looks more ~20% in the yoga video.

Sasha at 2008 Nats? Did you mean 2010? She looked too thin to me in 2010.
Sasha looks very healthy now. I like her look these days.

[foreverkwanfan]

Sasha was a waif in 2010. It was almost hard to look at, it didn't look healthy.

[Japanfan]

Unless she was filling up on buttered corn on the cob all day, I bet she was eating closer to 1200 calories.

It is nice to learn what actually worked for her. Seems like we only hear about Johnny's coffee fasts, the unnamed SOI skater that ate just an apple a day, or Roz's yo-yo dieting. This sets a much better example for young skaters.

1200 calories a day is a weight loss plan for a non-athletic young women. Sure, some go even lower than that but it really can't be sustained over the long term. Sure, young people can get away with seemingly starving (I was no stranger to that myself as a young woman), but there has to be a cost in energy and stamina for an athlete to do it over the long term.

How many calories a day does a competitive athlete burn? I burn about 400 calories an hour without working very hard on the elliptical machine at the gym. So an athlete doing four-five hours of on-and-off ice training would have to burn a lot more than that. I know the six hours a day is said to be the standard, but I'd guess that when breaks to talk with the coach or whatever are counted in, a competitive athlete probably puts in four solid hours of exercise a day.

[Zemgirl]

1200 calories a day is a weight loss plan for a non-athletic young women. Sure, some go even lower than that but it really can't be sustained over the long term. Sure, young people can get away with seemingly starving (I was no stranger to that myself as a young woman), but there has to be a cost in energy and stamina for an athlete to do it over the long term.

How many calories a day does a competitive athlete burn? I burn about 400 calories an hour without working very hard on the elliptical machine at the gym. So an athlete doing four-five hours of on-and-off ice training would have to burn a lot more than that. I know the six hours a day is said to be the standard, but I'd guess that when breaks to talk with the coach or whatever are counted in, a competitive athlete probably puts in four solid hours of exercise a day.

Yes, I am still at a loss as to how this can be considered a healthy long-term diet for any active person, let alone an elite athlete. People do need more than vegetables and lean protein for nourishment. Some things should be eaten in moderation, or not at all, and I guess compared to nothing but coffee and apples it's good, but that's not saying much.

When I was in my teens and early twenties, I didn't exercise much (if at all) and ate loads of junk and carbs, and I was still very thin. While that's not true for everyone, as a generalization I'd say that it's easier to stay thin at a young age than it is later in life - so I don't even understand why it's necessary to go to the extremes some skaters do. Without naming names, there are people who look scary thin to me. Just considering how many hours they have to put into training, surely they can get away with a more balanced, healthy diet? I'm not talking about carb loading like they're doing a marathon or riding in the TdF, but something more balanced than what's been described in this thread.

My guess that's not how Sasha eats these days, and I must say again that she looks fantastic. It's great that she has found a good direction for herself.

[love_skate2011]

She never ages, does she ?
those Yoga is helping her abs looking a bit ripped