Tara Lipinski, the 1998 Olympic gold medalist in skating, has long left behind her intense athlete's diet. However, she still follows a balanced, simple eating approach.

Last year, Tara Lipinski shared with Parade that for breakfast, “I’m a big bagel sandwich person, I like, a bagel with eggs and cheese”.

As an athlete, the mom of one’s go-to meal is pasta. She prefers it because it is “carb-heavy”.

Tara Lipinski said, “I probably needed a little protein and fat. But because I was so carb-heavy when I skated and I always felt like I needed that fuel and energy, if there’s a big day ahead, I’m just like, give me the pasta, give me the carbs”.

She also admitted that she does not always feel energized after having coffee. Still, Tara Lipinski admits the comfort of having a “morning mug of coffee” is all about experience, not just a caffeine boost.

Tara Lipinski’s food habits were not the same as they are now. She said, “When I was 15, I was eating whatever I wanted and having McDonald’s at the Olympic Village. My metabolism was on fire”. She admitted her struggle with choosing the right food for herself. However, when she reached her 30s, she realized, “It’s all about balance.”

Now, she always tries "to listen to my intuition of when to grab the broccoli”.

She credited her diet habits to the competition days. She said, “I think it’s about listening to your body, but it’s also ok for me to have Shake Shack at one point during the week. When I was competing, everything was about routine and training, and that’s the biggest lesson I’ve learned since, to have that balance”.

The same balance has been seen in her workout routine.

Tara Lipinski’s workout approach

Tara Lipinski adopted ballet to hold her balance on ice. She shared with Equinix, “ice. “Skating is the best cardio and glute workout you can ever ask for”.

She also admitted, “It’s like doing squats for an hour straight. When I was training, I had a very regimented schedule where I came in and stretched, did off-ice training with my personal trainer, and did off-ice ballet. Most of the time, I focused heavily on my training on the ice just so I wouldn’t overdo it and risk injury”.

According to Yoga Journal, she loves yoga. However, she started it late in her life. Tara Lipinski said, “About five years ago, I came across a yoga studio [in Santa Monica, California] called YogaHop. I did one class and was so pumped, by that next day, I gave up all other activities and started going to yoga five times a week”.

Tara Lipinski also sometimes practices yoga at home.

Written by

Supradeep Dutta

Edited by

Oajaswini Prabhu