Irina Chaschina`s diet: a light one, fruit-oriented.   by K.Benkunskij

Fitness secret: Russian athletes eat healthy food.

None of Russia`s star athletes faced the weight-loss (or weight gain, for that matter) issue, which is dangerous because it can trigger a break-down. Weight-lifters and wrestlers went for protein: farms of the Moscow region delievered pork and beef, while the Far East furnished salmon and caviar. Volleyball, basketball and handball players took care about their vitamin A levels, consuming butter, sourcream, egg yolk and fish. Track and field athletes need more vitamins and microelements to prove their worth: enter fruit, vegetables, nuts, potherbs and seed-oil. Runners and swimmers, who need particular stamina, only eat chicken broth before the start, while marathon runners only drink a mixture of water and glucose.
When it comes to weight, the charming Siberian girl Irina Chaschina, 22, who is 165 cm tall (5` 5”), is only 46 kg (101 lb). Unlike Alina Kabaeva, her team mate and prime rival at the forthcoming Olympics, Irina is not disposed to extra weight and hadn`t put on 10 kg (22 lb) in the wake of the doping scandal. A week before the Olympics Irina`s daily ration uncluded dark chocolate, rye bread with caviar (no butter), low-fat youghurt, a glass of kefir, cucumber and tomato salad (no oil, no mayonnaise), fresh fruit and vegetable juices. Irina doesn`t usually need a diet to maintain her weight, yet sometimes she goes an a light diet that is rich in fruit and veg.
The fruit diet
Breakfast : a glass of fresh orange or apple juice.
Lunch : fruit salad, consisting of equal amounts of cut oranges, pineapples, kiwi and peeled apples, washed down with fruit juice freshly squeezed from one of these fruits.
Supper : a glass of still mineral water and a green apple.
Sticking to this diet for 5-7 days, a determined person may shed 3-5 kg (7-11 lb).

By the way, in ordinary life Ira loves Siberian dumplings made by her grandmother, and lollypops.

More information about Weight Loss

Please note that this article is not a substitute for medical advice.
Copyright 2005, K.Benkunskij,freelance writer.

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