What Carly Patterson said about eating

[missypie]

Last week there was a thread that talked about how thin Sveltana Khorkina is and the pressure on gymnasts (and others) to "diet" and stay thin. Our local newspaper interviewed her and asked her if she'd love to go out and eat pizza and ice cream. Her reply showed that she has a good head on her shoulders and that she isn't being forced to diet. She said that she is competing in gymnastics right now and is content to "eat right" and that she will have the rest of her life (after gymnatics) to eat those foods. Makes sense to me...the very disciplined ones rise to the top.

Of course, those girls have so little height that when they are adults, I bet they still won't be able to pig out on pizza and ice cream if they don't want to become "Pooh sized".

 

[Bichon Barb]

I would think that with their young ages and with the number of hours that they train, they'd be able to eat whatever they want.

 

[snoopy]

There was never any doubt in my mind that she had an eating disorder. She's built like a little tank, she's obviously got to be fueling her body with something! I don't recall gymnasts being as powerfully built as most appeared at this Olympics, but then again, the tumbling that they are required to do, wow! Only the most athletic will survive.

 

[grinningghost]

I know they're successful and happy with their accomplishments, but I still feel sorry for them.

I imagine my own DD and her goofy friends going out to McDonald's and out for pizza and they have a great time just being together and eating junk food.

They're young and can do it without much worry of every single french fry adding a pound. I feel like those young athletes are missing out in a way.

 

[DukeStreetKing]

Originally posted by Bichon Barb
I would think that with their young ages and with the number of hours that they train, they'd be able to eat whatever they want.

Did you see what Michael Phelps eats for breakfast?!! Holy cow, that's a weeks worth of food for me!

 

[danacara]

Personally, it would've messed with my head to have those kinds of eating restrictions at such a young age. But that Carly Patterson is really tough, she seems to have managed it healthily.

 

[princesstommi]

Originally posted by Bichon Barb
I would think that with their young ages and with the number of hours that they train, they'd be able to eat whatever they want.

True as far as calories go, but when you are so athletic, and pushing your body to it's limits, the food you put in it is very important. It serves a purpose, not just to have a good time and eat things that taste good. It really can make a difference in performance.

I like her answer.

 

[Bichon Barb]

Originally posted by DukeStreetKing
Did you see what Michael Phelps eats for breakfast?!! Holy cow, that's a weeks worth of food for me!

No I didn't. Does he actually get to eat eggs or something?

 

[tonyswife]

Originally posted by snoopy
There was never any doubt in my mind that she had an eating disorder.

Do you mean there was never any doubt that she didn't have an eating disorder?

She's built like a little tank

I would like to say that this particular body type is partly due to gymnastics, but mostly, it's just the most successful body type for the sport. Short, broad shouldered, narrowed waisted, muscular legs, etc... is how most of the girls are genetically programmed. I'd say it's just as unflattering to be called a "miniature tank" as it is to be called a "tall drink of water"

My body type is "tank like" and it would have been so even if I hadn't been a competitive gymnast. I'm built like my Dad, except for he is tall and I'm short.

 

[DukeStreetKing]

Ohmygosh, he was showing a table full of food. Pancakes, eggs, steaks, and so much more I can't remember it all ... it was just a "mountain" of food. I know he trains hard and needs it, but as Frank Barone would say, "Holy Crap!".

LOL.

 

[theSurlyMermaid]

Originally posted by Bichon Barb
No I didn't. Does he actually get to eat eggs or something?

LOL, Bichonbarb!

Try a whole stack of chocolate chip pancakes....just for starters.

 

[Bichon Barb]

Well then, I'd take being an Olympic swimmer over an Olympic gymnast any day!

 

[Chicago526]

They all (except the Russian Diva, that is) have waaaay too much muscle tone to be starving themselves. When you starve, your muscle is the first to go. Yes, their diets are restrictive, but the quality as well as the amount of food they eat is just fine. In fact, junk food is very poor in nutrition (though high in fat and calories) and many over-weight people are actually malnourished.

The bigger concern is all the damage to their joints! I won't want to be them when arthritis sets in...ouch!

 

[snoopy]

Originally posted by tonyswife
Do you mean there was never any doubt that she didn't have an eating disorder?



I would like to say that this particular body type is partly due to gymnastics, but mostly, it's just the most successful body type for the sport. Short, broad shouldered, narrowed waisted, muscular legs, etc... is how most of the girls are genetically programmed. I'd say it's just as unflattering to be called a "miniature tank" as it is to be called a "tall drink of water"

My body type is "tank like" and it would have been so even if I hadn't been a competitive gymnast. I'm built like my Dad, except for he is tall and I'm short.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean that to come off offensive. I meant it as a compliment. I wish I had her muscular frame. But since you threw out the "tall drink of water" reference, I guess I should apologize. Sorry.

And yes, I meant that she definately does not look like she has an eating disorder. Thanks for your diligence in correcting my errors.

 

[tonyswife]

Originally posted by snoopy
I'm sorry, I didn't mean that to come off offensive. I meant it as a compliment. I wish I had her muscular frame. But since you threw out the "tall drink of water" reference, I guess I should apologize. Sorry.

And yes, I meant that she definately does not look like she has an eating disorder. Thanks for your diligence in correcting my errors.

Oh gosh! I KNOW you didn't mean it as an insult! Don't worry. No need to apologize.

 

[FreshTressa]

My daughter just started competetive gymnastics and has that 'tank' like frame. I was worried about the eating disorders I have heard plagued this sport, but I honestly think that in order to get muscle like that, they have to be eating something, and my daughter has very little body fat and eats a ton....at 5 and a half she eats as much as me. It is mostly all healthy food and she seems to burn it off in gymnastics.

I have been to meets at our local university and some of those girls are far from thin, but very muscular and do amazing things with their bodies.

I am hoping that the starving for gymnastics is a thing of the past!

 

[Ronda93]

excerpt from http://www.mirror-mirror.org/athlete.htm
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In sports where the athletes are judged by technical and artistic merit, they are under enormous pressure to be thin, because many of the judges consider thinness to be an important factor when deciding the artistic score. In 1988, at a meet in Budapest, a US judge told Christy Henrich, one of the world's top gymnasts, that she was too fat and needed to lose weight if she hoped to make the Olympic squad. Christy resorted to anorexia and bulimia as a way to control her weight, and her eating disorders eventually took her life. At one point her weight had plummeted as low as 47 lbs. On July 26, 1994, at the age of 22, Christy Henrich died of multiple organ failure.
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They're all at risk. Coaches and parents need to remember if it doesn't *seem* right, it's not.

 

[barbeml]

Seems that what the female gymnasts try to do is keep their body fat low enough to delay "full development" so that they keep their compact frames. I am always amazed when I see a gymnast who has shot up in height and "developed" almost immediately after "retiring."

I could never have such discipline (sigh).

 

[CEDmom]

I have to agree with the exception of that one Russian gymnast the others all seem very muscular and healthy. I remember an interview Janet Evans did before the Seoul games and she said she basically has to eat constantly when she's not in the pool just to keep her weight up. During training swimmers burn around 5000 calories a day.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

yes, I have a niece who is a Junior in High School and on a top competitive swim team. She is in the pool 5 to 6 hours a day, usually 6 days a week but sometimes 7. She eats enormous quantities of food and has a rock solid body. They say that swimming is one of the best forms of exercise and when you look at her it is easy to believe.

Gymnasts I know very little about. There have been several negative articles over the years about the Bela and Marta Karoyli and their dangerous and excessive training standards. I was honestly a little shocked to see them still so heavily involved with US Gymnastics.