Eric Radford and Vanessa James to compete in pairs together for Canada

[PRlady]

I'm going off every doctor I know who tells me never to trust someone who calls themselves a nutritionist.

ITA. While searching for some help for my chronic intestinal conditions, I had people tell me that ordinary medical doctors have their blind spots (true) and that diet would clearly impact these conditions (true) and that I really should consult with (fill in nutritionist here.) I actually did consult with two of the better-credentialed ones. I'm not a scientist nor a doctor but even my lay-level questions could not be answered without a lot of fluffery, some of it directly contradicting what three different gastro docs were firm about.

I decided to stick with the MDs, and not because I want to "preserve their monopoly and of course they hate nutritionists who take their business blah blah blah." Yeah, I don't like people who know nothing shooting from the hip about media messaging, but at least if people listen to them rather than me (a bona fide spin doctor) they're not gonna get sick and die.

 

[Sylvia]

There was something Meagan had said as a commentator during 2021 Worlds that was twigging on my brain, and it was not until today that I could go back and watch. It was on the CBC coverage of the Worlds Pairs Long so March 25. My TV DVR says recorded March 27 so this might have been the Saturday afternoon broadcast. While Canada #2 Trennt and Evelyn were skating Meagan was talking about their choreographer and she said "......program choreographed by their coach Allison Purkis and my partner, or my old partner, Eric Radford." That's the exact quote, I rewound it a couple of times. This stuck with me a little bit because the way she corrected herself to say her old partner made me think that Meagan had someone new. But that's not what is happening. I've seen all these timelines of he said she said and I think this is before Eric tells Meagan because the French Fed release came through. But in hindsight, it was a weird mis-spoke.

@chewy Meagan even brought this up near the end of her TSL interview (at this point): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKt4PQAm5JE&t=3752s

 

[jeffisjeff]

Some of the comments here about nutritionists make me sad. One of my best friends has an MS from here https://nutrition.tufts.edu/. Maybe some nutritionists don't have rigorous training, but there are real, scientifically sound programs and graduates out there.

 

[BlueRidge]

Well a quick look as far as the US is concerned, nutritionists are not rigorously certified whereas dieticians are. This doesn't mean that nutritionists are quacks, only that the quality of any given person's training may vary so if you are looking into using their services you may want to do more research on where they were trained rather than relying on the title they use.

There are people who push untested ideas but you can avoid them by using common sense.

I make no judgement about Meagan's training at all.

I do make judgements about sweeping generalizations about science and medicine being beholden to corporate interests and therefore not trustworthy. If I encountered a nutritionist who was on about stuff like that, I'd go elsewhere.

 

[Jenny]

I would similarly add that if one is to look at the quality of anyone's training, do the same for doctors. As with any profession, some take the time to continue their education formally and on their own to keep up with the latest medical advances, and broaden their knowledge to include related health issues such as nutrition. Other do not, and as they say, someone had to graduate bottom of the class.

As for being beholden to corporate interests, again not all of them, but also keep in mind that pharmaceutical companies spend billions to lobby governments to create legislation in their favour and prevent legislation that goes against their business goals, on PR to "educate" doctors and encourage scrips of their products, and on sales forces who hand out free samples and branded items for doctors to keep their products top of mind. Next time you go to a doctor's office, have a close look at things like calendars, pens, scrip pads etc and note the number of them that have a pharmaceutical company's logo on them.

Also keep in mind that pharmaceutical companies are profit-driven businesses that have shareholders - modern healthcare is a business.

Again, as with any other profession, most doctors are in it to help you, but that doesn't mean they're all equally qualified and/or aren't at least a little influenced by the pharmaceutical industry, which not surprisingly would generally rather have you take more pills than change your diet.

 

[BlueRidge]

And also keep in mind that actual quacks thrive on your belief that science and medicine are not doing what they should for you because of profit motives and will try to convince you to pay them $$$$ instead.

 

[Jenny]

Of course, as with anything but especially your health, buyer beware. I did some work for a hospital a few years back and they emphasized this over and over, that they were there to provide expertise and guidance, but strongly encouraged all their patients to take an active role in their health rather than just handing themselves over to doctors and expecting them to have all the answers - which is exactly what many people do.

 

[Rhumba d’Amour]

Now—if Eric‘s reasons for deciding not to continue skating with Meagan in shows had included his views on whether her studies in nutrition were legit or not, this would be a relevant tangent

 

[dds262]

except Duhamel transitioned into so many other things upon retirement in a sport that many skaters can’t ever get out of/have trouble finding anything to do. She created those seminars during lockdown when most people have zero motivation to do anything, she teaches several classes, she has a baby and family, etc.

Not really sure what she’s struggling with outside of her sport.

Interpersonal skills, in my opinion.....this coming from someone very much like her, and a fan.

 

[MacMadame]

re we meant to pass judgment as fans of figure skating?

Yes, of course. It's part of being a fan and why this board exists. You are free not to but you've posted in the thread so, clearly, you have an opinion.

eta....Just an aside but I hate how the board holds onto things you typed earlier but decided not to post ( doesn't delete properly). I can't even remember what I just removed was about, only that I didn't notice it soon enough

Find the Floppy Disk icon and select Delete Draft and it will go away. (But delete the words first or they will just be saved again.)

I generally agree with you, although Meagan did have a foot injury during the last couple of years of her career -

Injuries have multiple causes. You can't keep them away just by "eating right." You also need to train properly and get enough sleep as well as having good genes and being lucky.

I looked up where Duhamel's nutrition qualifications come from and the schools sound decidedly quackery.

There are a lot of schools like that. I tend to roll my eyes a bit about people calling themselves nutritionists with only certificates. I've seen so many that I would never trust with my own health. Even been given advice by them that shows their understanding of nutrition is no greater than mine as a person who reads a lot about it.

Some of the comments here about nutritionists make me sad. One of my best friends has an MS from here https://nutrition.tufts.edu/. Maybe some nutritionists don't have rigorous training, but there are real, scientifically sound programs and graduates out there.

Your friend is most likely a dietician and possibly even a Registered Dietician if she has an MS in nutrition. And likely is also exasperated by people who take weekend courses to get certificates and then calls themselves a nutritionist.

 

[skylark]

The thing that bugs me about Meagan making comments about Anna's body, is that any time someone critiqued D/R, Meagan would complain that people were attacking her body (even if the criticism in no way was about her physique), and how her body was something she couldn't change. A bit hypocritical, if you ask me...

Yes. I couldn't believe the way Meagan was going on about Anna in that TSL segment.

btw, here's a tangent. If you're interested, check out Anna's IG account for holiday (Xmas) photos. Anna and her mother have very similar figures, if not nearly identical.

 

[Erin]

Injuries have multiple causes. You can't keep them away just by "eating right." You also need to train properly and get enough sleep as well as having good genes and being lucky.

The post I was responding to didn't say Meagan kept her injuries away just by "eating right" and I also wouldn't say that and didn't say that in my post, so I would appreciate you not suggesting that's what I said.

Completely setting aside the discussion on nutrition (as Meagan and I would disagree on that anyway), she does focus a lot on Pilates, muscle strengthening, etc. I did learn from my many years of physical therapy that many injuries (not all) can be prevented by strengthening the right muscles. Many of the exercises my PT gave were also similar to what I did in Pilates, and so there is a lot of value in including that as part of injury prevention. So I think that she has some value to offer in some of the fitness courses she is putting on.

 

[pat c]

Yes. I couldn't believe the way Meagan was going on about Anna in that TSL segment.

btw, here's a tangent. If you're interested, check out Anna's IG account for holiday (Xmas) photos. Anna and her mother have very similar figures, if not nearly identical.

Quin Pang does as well. The angst and drama over her weight and build was fairly intense too.

 

[kwanfan1818]

Quin Pang does as well. The angst and drama over her weight and build was fairly intense too.

In person, she looked just like on TV. She is one of the minority that doesn't look X lbs/kilos heavier on film/video. She and Tong were the Colonial Travel final dinner guests in Moscow in 2005, and we got to see both up close and in person for an extended period of time.

 

[PRlady]

Apart from the fact that moms with eating disorders or just weight phobias can transmit them to their daughters, a lot of skaters have been upfront about how little they eat, often at their coaches’ behest.

And some stuff is cultural. I watched a documentary on twyla Tharp the other night which included her rehearsing four dancers on Zoom for a virtual performance. The Russian ballerina was so thin she made Anna look overweight.

 

[kwanfan1818]

And not drinking water was part of formal sports pedagogy in Russia, and might still be. I don't think it had to do with weight, though.

 

[BittyBug]

I do make judgements about sweeping generalizations about science and medicine being beholden to corporate interests and therefore not trustworthy. If I encountered a nutritionist who was on about stuff like that, I'd go elsewhere.

If this is in reference to my comment about the food pyramid being the result of lobbying efforts by agribusiness, judge away.

Experts Say Lobbying Skewed the U.S. Dietary Guidelines

Prominent experts say the 2015 guidelines were influenced by industry

time.com

http://blogs.bu.edu/calandra/files/2016/06/FoodLobbiesTheFoodPyramidandU.S.NutritionPolicy.pdf

The FDA's phony nutrition science: How Big Food and Agriculture trumps real science -- and why the government allows it

Sugar and corn syrup have been pumped into the food chain, causing a dramatic increase in illnesses. Here's why

www.salon.com

 

[BlueRidge]

If this is in reference to my comment about the food pyramid being the result of lobbying efforts by agribusiness, judge away.

No it wasn't on that specifically. I just had a feeling of how people ended up telling us that we can't trust climate science because scientists just produce those results because they can get money for them.

I didn't quote you because I didn't want to put words in your mouth. But I just worry when people start dismissing science and medicine because of profit motives. There are problems but no one should go over the edge to refusing to listen to people with certified training and instead only choosing people with less qualifications for advice. As I say you didn't say that, its just too easy to go there than to deal with the complexities of these issues.

 

[MacMadame]

The post I was responding to didn't say Meagan kept her injuries away just by "eating right" and I also wouldn't say that and didn't say that in my post, so I would appreciate you not suggesting that's what I said.

I wasn't responding to you specifically but included a post on the subject for context. Since your post mentioned an injury, it seemed like a good jumping-off post to point out that, duh, of course, people who eat right still get injured.

However, I disagree that there weren't posts on here to the effect of Meagan must know what she's talking about nutrition-wise because she doesn't get injured.

 

[BittyBug]

I just had a feeling of how people ended up telling us that we can't trust climate science because scientists just produce those results because they can get money for them.

I appreciate the clarification, although I'd note that on climate science, we do have exactly that happening, but in the "science" disputing human impact on climate change. For example, the Heartland Institute, funded by the likes of the Koch brothers, Mercers, etc. But that is severe thread drift....

 

[Prancer]

Quin Pang does as well. The angst and drama over her weight and build was fairly intense too.

Wasn't she the one who talked about chewing her food and spitting it out instead of swallowing it to maintain her weight?

 

[allezfred]

Just to clarify, I wasn’t casting aspersions on nutritionists and nutrition as a science. I am aware that there are plenty of excellent degrees on the subject.

 

[screech]

Yes. I couldn't believe the way Meagan was going on about Anna in that TSL segment.

btw, here's a tangent. If you're interested, check out Anna's IG account for holiday (Xmas) photos. Anna and her mother have very similar figures, if not nearly identical.

Some people are just slender. When I was 18 and in my last year of high school, I was about 5'5 and weighed about 90 lbs. That was with eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and not really exercising outside of my skating practices. Guidance councillors were calling my friends into meetings to ask them if I had an eating disorder, because people saw me eating a lot of food, but being so skinny. And since I would go to the washroom to wash my hands after eating lunch (as is sanitary to do), people were assuming I was bulimic. Because of course nobody can eat whatever they want and be skinny, without over-exercising or making themselves vomit.

Though I'm now in my 40s and not built quite like I used to be, I still absolutely hate the judgement put onto people who are naturally slender - how they must have unhealthy eating habits, be over-exercising, look sickly, etc. Just like some people are naturally heavier, there are people who are naturally skinnier. And unless Anna asked Meagan for her opinion on her body, no comments are required.

 

[VGThuy]

Before this thread I was sure there were legit universities that taught and gave degrees in nutrition. I looked it up and the one my friend has from NYU is a bachelors of science degree in Dietician and Nutrition. My sister is getting her degree in Kinesiology but before she switched to that, she was studying to be a nutritionist at LSU. From what she told me it was a very hard science based curriculum and I see that although there is a concentration in “nutrition, health, and society” that concentration is supposed to prepare for a career in the medical field and dietetics. I see you can also concentrate in dietetics that is supposed to prepare you for being a Dietitian, which is a certified job title that requires certification and testing.

 

[AJ Skatefan]

Wasn't she the one who talked about chewing her food and spitting it out instead of swallowing it to maintain her weight?

I remember that. And Jenny Kirk said that on the Champions on Ice tour Tong would take food away from her when they were on the bus.

 

[clairecloutier]

As for being beholden to corporate interests, again not all of them, but also keep in mind that pharmaceutical companies spend billions to lobby governments to create legislation in their favour and prevent legislation that goes against their business goals, on PR to "educate" doctors and encourage scrips of their products, and on sales forces who hand out free samples and branded items for doctors to keep their products top of mind. Next time you go to a doctor's office, have a close look at things like calendars, pens, scrip pads etc and note the number of them that have a pharmaceutical company's logo on them.

Again, as with any other profession, most doctors are in it to help you, but that doesn't mean they're all equally qualified and/or aren't at least a little influenced by the pharmaceutical industry, which not surprisingly would generally rather have you take more pills than change your diet.

Contributing to the tangent here ... but I think this is true. I have two relatives who are current/former pharmaceutical sales reps. Pharma reps visit the doctors in their territory very regularly, for these exact purposes. They look at it partially as providing a service. Doctors may be too busy to read and truly focus on all the medical journals and studies. The reps fill a gap (in their view) by telling doctors about their products in a quick nutshell fashion and handing out short pamphlets and such.

 

[Bigbird]

I understand he had his reasons but that was a whole lot to put her through. So many persons were impacted by his lack of honesty. In academia in some contexts it is actually required that you give 6 months notice. To put her through all that and just give her just 2 weeks notice is really shady on Eric's part considering all they've achieved together.
Disappointed yes, surprised no. Chin up girl. Yes, I broke down and watched the first 7 minutes of the TSL video. Her hurt is just so raw, I couldn't get any further.

 

[Judy]

Absolutely not. Yes, Anna was obviously unwell at RusNats. But if you watched that TSL interview, it was obvious (also remember Dave somehow came up with Eteri FORCES Anna to weigh 82#) she was body shaming Anna. If Me-again really was concerned for the "********* sickliness" about Anna at Nats and said that... well,.. anyone with eyes and ears knows Me-again was body shaming Anna. When Tuktamyeshava was huffing and puffing and looking sickly as well. Me-again didn't mention ********* making her feel uncomfortable watching Tukt and how uncomfortable she feels watching Tukt.. Only Shcherbakova. She's a Mean Girl. And probably totally deserving of all her sh*t. At least Dave and Jon can give her a platform and "support".... And obviously some on here feed into it. That's too bad.

The girl had been sick. Lol at the mean girl thing. Meghan herself is extremely tiny.

She def has a beautiful little girl.

 

[Japanfan]

There's a reason she's using the term nutritionist and not dietitian. One is a real profession with regulation and oversight while the other is practiced by those who push Veganism onto pets and babies.

I've never read that Meagan recommends a vegan diet for pets and babies, and don't believe it.

Could you please provide sources, please?

 

[Japanfan]

Wasn't she the one who talked about chewing her food and spitting it out instead of swallowing it to maintain her weight?

I do remember that someone did that, but that it was Pang specifically.

Somewhat related, I remember reading somewhere that when members of the fed wanted to punish her, they went through her bags and removed all her stashed snacks like chips. Unfortunately I don't remember the source, but do remember reading it and being horrified.

SFAIK the Chinese fed has a punitive attitude towards weight, particularly with girls/women - don't know if it is the same for male. In the book 'The Second Mark', Shen talked about being punished for gaining two pounds. She had to eat in the coaches lounge for a period of time, so people could observe what she ate. She had gained the two pounds because her parents had made a rare visit to her, and she had drank two diet Cokes.