FitSugar

Nastia Liukin's Healthy Living and Diet Tips

FitSugar — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 03:30:00 PST

The 2008 Olympic Games came and went as quickly as Michael Phelps won his 100 meter butterfly race, and for many of us, a small dose of Olympics withdrawal followed the closing ceremony. Shape seems to have known how much everyone was missing the inspirational athletes that graced our screens in August, and sat down to chat with the graceful Nastia Liukin about her life after winning the gold.

When asked how her life has changed since the Olympics, Nastia told Shape, "It's a dream come true. It's amazing to know that all the years of hard work paid off. It wasn't an easy journey, especially with injuries, but it was worth it. I'm traveling all over right now."

To see her tips for healthy living,

read more. Shape asked the 19-year-old gold medal winner for her best healthy living tips, and she answered, "Don't go crazy about dieting. Eat healthy, but if you want to splurge and have a cookie, then have a cookie. Depriving yourself is the worst! Exercise on a daily basis. Whether you take your dog for a walk, go for a run in the park or just do some ab moves in your living room, it's very important to do something every day!" Visit Shape to see Nastia's diet on a typical day. Source

The Gossip Cast Is Plus One Olympian

PopSugar — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:30:39 PDT

The stars of Gossip Girl bundled up in NYC as they filmed yesterday and today. Blake's pup Penny wasn't the only special guest on the set - they were also joined by Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin, who will have a cameo in an upcoming episode. Last night's episode had its usual fill of gadgets, beauty, and fashion to crave, but it centered around the womanizer himself, Chuck Bass. Most of you voted Leighton Meester as the GG star with the most acting potential but Ed Westwick comes in a close second, which might be one of the reasons why they work so well together.

To see more photos of the cast and Nastia, just read more.

View 10 Photos ›

Pacific Coast News Online and Splash News Online

Do Tell: What Words Make You Think of Puppies and Kittens?

PetSugar — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 00:30:27 PDT

Although I caught the Olympics closing ceremony on Sunday, other than that I didn't watch much of the events on TV. The one sport I did see was the balance beam finals. You may be wondering what this has to do with PetSugar (other than the fact that both Nastia and Shawn are doggie owners), but just bear with me here.
While I was watching this competition, I was struck by how differently the two girls performed and behaved at the event.

The lithe Nastia was very elegant while performing, and seemed composed and reserved on the sidelines. Shawn the dynamo, however, just looked so friendly and was bouncing around and happily chatting with her coach as the scores were tallied. So here I went with my 24/7 animal-crazed mind, and realized there were some words that I unconsciously associated with cats, and others that made me think of puppies.

Now, by no means am I intending to insult either girl (or the sport of gymnastics), but those words I used when describing Nastia totally reminded me of all the stereotypes of a cat, while those for Shawn made me think of a cute, lil puppy - am I totally off-base here? Are there any adjectives that you associate with puppies, and others that you would reserve for cats? Feel free to say I'm silly in your comments below!

Source

Guess the Olympic Sponsor

SavvySugar — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:30:32 PDT

NBC's research shows that women ages 18 and older have made up about 49 percent of those viewing the network's 2008 Olympic coverage. Advertisers know who's watching and aim some ads at female consumers, including this shot below of Nastia Liukin. Can you guess the Olympic sponsor?

What's Next For Gymnasts Liukin and Johnson

FitSugar — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:00:00 PDT

Women's gymnastics really seems like a sport for girls. While there were some older competitors, like Alicia Sacramone of the US and China's Cheng Fei who are both 20, it seems a sport loaded with youngsters. So what happens to these women, or girls, after competing at the top? All-around gold medal winner Nastia Liukin and her teammate Shawn Johnson are definitely approaching their futures differently. These girls roomed together at the Olympics and wanted to go gold and silver in as many events as they could, but let me tell you about their next moves.

The 18-year-old Nastia Liukin will be heading home to Texas Thursday with her five medals, one gold, one bronze, and three silvers. She has many ad campaigns in the works, including one for Visa, and you can expect to see her on the Jay Leno show sometime next week. Daughter of Olympian gymnasts, Liukin plans on competing in the 2009 world championships.

To see what Shawn's future holds,

read more. For the near future, Shawn plans on shopping and visiting the Great Wall as well as walking in the closing ceremony. After training with the hopes of a gold medal in the all-around competition, this 16-year-old from Iowa will probably take off her first semester of her junior year of high school to participate in a planned gymnastics tour. She told reporters:

It's hard to think about four more years. After not winning the all-around, it hit me pretty hard, not that I got the silver, but just all my emotions came out. I was training to win gold. I'm just proud of myself that I kept my head up.

Having been riveted to my TV for the last week watching these amazing young ladies tumble, twist, and vault, I will miss them. How about you? Source

Gymnast Nastia Liukin Gets Gold for Herself and Her Dad

babysugar — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 05:00:40 PDT

Like most of the country, I have been glued to the Olympic coverage. In the wee hours of Friday morning, I watched 18–year–old American Nastia Liukin earn the title as the third American woman to win the all around gold medal for the US. Holding my breath and grinding my teeth with every approach she made, I rooted her on. But nobody wanted it more than her dad.

Twenty years ago, her father and coach, Valeri Liukin, won two gold medals for the Soviet Union at the 1988 Olympics. He fell short of winning the overall gold medal in the individual competition by one tenth of a point to a fellow countryman. Interestingly enough, one of the commentators for NBC said that papa is known for saying, "Second is the worst on the world; only one color works for this family." Talk about pressure. After she won the gold, he said:

She fix my mistakes. . . I lose by one-tenth of a point to Vladimir, but she fix that.

Luckily she won the medal for herself, her parents and America. I hope this lil lady doesn't let daddy forget who brought home the gold.
Source

Women's Gymnastics: Silver and Gold!

FitSugar — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 11:00:00 PDT

Last night seemed like a redemption match, gymnastics styles. The top three were all amazing, but Nastia Liukin was the best in the all-around competition. She gracefully stepped out from behind Shawn Johnson's athletic shadow and was lovely on the beam as well as the other three elements: uneven bars, floor, and vault. The Chinese gymnast Yilin Yang took the bronze.

On her winning a gold medal Nastia said: "I can't believe it still. I worked so hard for many years for this, I don't know what to say. I couldn't have been here without my parents."

Shawn was gracious about winning silver medal and explained, "It's been a long road, I feel like the baby of the group, to come out with silver is an amazing experience."

Congrats to all the gymnasts and a thank you for creating a night of exciting competition.

To see some great photos from the event, just

Do You Think the Chinese Gymnasts Are All Over 16 Years of Age?

FitSugar — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 10:00:00 PDT

In a close competition, every detail falls under scrutiny.

The US women's gymnastic team, older and wiser than the gold-winning Chinese team, performed well minus a couple of falls and landed in second place. The 20-year-old team captain Alicia Sacramone, who unfortunately fell during both her floor routine as well as her balance beam exercise, tried to keep a positive attitude about winning silver as did her teammate Nastia Liukin. Although the team mostly accepted their defeat with grace, the age of the much younger Chinese team was once again questioned by US coach Marta Karolyi, wife of coach Beyla Karolyi with whom she trained gold medalists Nadia Comaneci and Mary Lou Retton. A report was published just before the games alleging that at least two of the Chinese gymnasts are only 14-years-old, making them ineligible for competition. Both of the Karolyis have complained that the stadium officials disrupted Sacramone's preparation prior to competing on the balance beam.

What do you think? Do you believe the Chinese gymnasts are all 16 years old? Or do you think these accusations are poor sportsmanship?

Source