How did the famous ballerina Maya Plisetskaya eat? Opinion of the Bolshoi Theater soloist and doctor

Leading soloist of the Bolshoi Theater Kristina Kretova shared her opinion about Maya Plisetskaya’s diet, which was popular in the USSR.

The famous Soviet ballerina adhered to strict dietary restrictions in order to stay in shape. Her daily diet did not include meat, dairy products, eggs, flour products, sugar and coffee. She favored cereals, vegetables (except tomatoes), fruits (except bananas) and fish in her diet.

Kristina Kretova: I am not aware of how ballerinas used to eat, but as for the prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theater of the USSR Maya Plisetskaya, I remember her phrase:

How to lose weight? Don’t eat!

Her system of eating does not suit me at all. I, unfortunately, can not without animal protein. I’ve tried. Flour products I allow myself quite rarely, and if somewhere at an event at 23:00 I am offered a cake, I ask him to wrap it with me and eat strictly until 14:00.

I also rarely eat fruit, as it makes me bloated, which is very uncomfortable at a rehearsal. I eat and love fish, especially grilled red fish.

In the USSR was popular so-called “Plisetskaya diet”: 100 g of porridge on water in the morning, 150 g of vegetable soup and 100 g of salad for lunch, 30 g of fish, 100 g of salad and 60 g of rice in the evening, snacks of non-starchy vegetables and unsweetened fruits. If you follow these recommendations, you can supposedly lose 10 kg in two weeks. But what will it cost?

Kristina Kretova: those famous diets that were in Soviet times, now everyone has forgotten. And it’s great! Strict food restrictions give only a short result, followed by breakdowns and even greater weight gain.

I have been following a clean and proper diet for nine years. Clean means no sauces, just oil and less often soy sauce.

Doctor’s opinion

candidate of medical sciences, doctor of integrative, preventive and conventional medicine, nutritionist

The diet of ballerina Maya Plisetskaya has nothing in common with a healthy diet. Especially if such restrictions are imposed for a long time.

In addition to a deficit of nutrients, a person faces serious worries, stress, which affects the hormonal background, as well as the immune system.

A person who leads an active lifestyle can not eat according to such a system. It is enough to exclude simple sugars, flour products, canned foods, foods with a high salt content. Fruits and sweet vegetables should also be limited – more proteins, healthy fats (not trans fats), complex carbohydrates.

Well, and lastly: in fact, Plisetskaya’s famous phrase “Do not eat!” is taken out of context. At the end, the Soviet ballerina added: “This is more in theory. But in life, you can do everything, but a little bit at a time”.