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For a long time, completeness was considered a sign of wealth in the Soviet Union. No one checked the width of the waist, but the dimples on the chubby cheeks were almost the standard of beauty. Only in the 70s did the situation change – the actresses were the first to rush to lose weight, and looking at them, the common people also started talking about diets.
The concept of the “Soviet diet” existed only in narrow medical circles until the 70s. Like now, no one even thought to go on a diet, if there were no strict medical indications – heart disease or diabetes. This was simply explained: the people, exhausted by hunger and war, lived in concepts different from our contemporaries. Then it was believed that a plentiful table is a sign of prosperity, children need to be fattened “to the folds”, even the actresses of the Soviet era, with the exception of Lyubov Orlova and Lyudmila Gurchenko, were ladies in the body.
Still from the film “Office Romance” (1977)
Factories and new industries were opened, sausage and other delicacies appeared on the shelves, housewives began to prepare various dishes. There was no food culture as such, it soon became clear that something needed to be done to avoid the obesity of the nation. Actresses and fashion models were the first to rush to lose weight in order to look slimmer in the frame. And also politicians: they were also often shown on TV, and they did not like their display in the frame much. The common people also followed them.
physician at startup Health Buddy, Ph.D.
– During the existence of the USSR, a rethinking of the female ideal of beauty took place: from the image of a sports, strong, strong woman, popular during the war, to a fragile, slender figure, which cinema and theater actresses of that time could boast of, and, of course, Soviet women tried to lose weight and dreamed of maintaining a slim shape, – explains the expert.
This was complicated by the fact that proper nutrition was not very common in the USSR as a whole.
– The menu of a Soviet person most often consisted of the following dishes: soup with processed cheese, borscht with sprat in tomato sauce, vinaigrette and Olivier, squash and eggplant caviar, pickled cucumbers and tomatoes, Kiev cutlet and naval pasta, Zebra cakes and “Napoleon”, a compote of dried fruits and cocoa with milk, so many diets of that time are characterized by rigidity and severe dietary restrictions, – adds Oksana Lishchenko.
Soviet citizens lost weight in different ways. Below are the most popular ways.
Shot from the film “Girls” (1961)
1. Table number 8
Diet “Table No. 8” was considered the official therapeutic diet for weight loss in Soviet times. This is one of 15 rations (tables) developed by the chief ideologist of Soviet cuisine, nutritionist, professor M.I. Pevzner, who headed the Institute of Nutrition of the USSR Academy of Medical Sciences. We used various tables for the patients of the sanatoriums.
– Features of the diet “Table No. 8” consisted of the following: eating 5-6 times a day, reducing calorie content due to easily digestible carbohydrates and animal fats with a normal protein content and an increased amount of dietary fiber. The consumption of excess fluids, salt and appetite-stimulating foods was limited. Food preparation methods – boiled, stewed, baked dishes. Sweeteners were used for sweet foods and drinks, says the expert. Oksana Lishchenko.
By the way, the principles laid down by Pevzner are still the basis of modern PP (proper nutrition), which Instagram bloggers repeat.
2. Kremlin diet
One of the first diets that women copied from each other in notebooks was the Kremlin diet, it was also called “spectacle” for the fact that it was necessary to count units.
– According to one version, this diet was invented in the USSR by the country’s leading nutritionists for dignitaries. It was based on a significant restriction of carbohydrates, food mainly consisted of proteins and fats. All products were assigned conventional units per 100 g. There were tables in which you can find out the content of conventional units in ready-made dishes. Instead of calories and protein, fat and carbohydrate content, only these units had to be counted. For those wishing to lose weight, the daily diet had to be 20-40 cu, in order to maintain the achieved effect, about 60 cu, – the nutritionist explained. Oksana Lishchenko.
3. Fasting and fasting days
In the 40s, psychiatrist Yuri Nikolaev began to use medical fasting for his patients, he noticed the effect of such a “diet” even on the most violent patients. Later they began to experiment and treat various diseases with the help of fasting, from infertility to stomach diseases, and, of course, obesity.
Seeing the result of those who took the course under the supervision of a doctor, some decided to lose weight by fasting at home uncontrollably. Doctors warn that this can be very dangerous. An example is the story of actress Elena Kondulainen, who, for the sake of the role, decided to quickly lose weight a month after giving birth and was hospitalized – cancer, her doctors shocked her. Another actress, Anna Samokhina, lost weight on coffee and cigarettes – she managed to lose kilograms quickly, but doctors discovered she had stomach cancer, already an inoperable stage, she died at the age of 47.
A scene from the movie “The Most Charming and Attractive” (1985)
Fasting days are a more gentle way to lose weight in comparison with fasting.
– Many people tried to introduce fasting days into their lifestyle, when they ate only buckwheat or drank kefir or abstained from food altogether. Over time, intermittent fasting (skipping breakfast, fasting for 16-72 hours, etc.) has become a popular strategy for weight management and many other health problems. In addition, there was a general rule (even in public canteens) for an appointment on a specific day of a specific product, for example, everyone is familiar with the concept of “Thursday is a fish day,” says a therapist, nutritionist Alexey Tsys.
4. Mono-diets
For several days, a person eats only one product: someone leaned on carrots, someone on tomato soups. Such nutrition has been proven to have many contraindications. Therefore, such experiments often ended in a hospital.
– Currently, there is, of course, an even greater variety of diets and nutritional options for weight loss, as the problem of excess weight continues to be relevant all over the world. At the same time, healthy eating for competent weight loss is most of all reminiscent of “Table number 8”, with the addition of modern nuances and the expansion of cooking methods. The Kremlin diet and the Atkinson diet have been replaced by new options for fashionable food such as intermittent fasting or the Ducan diet. In this variety, it is important to make the right choice, taking into account the individual characteristics of the organism, – warns Oksana Lishchenko.
5. Gymnastics at the state level
The morning of a Soviet person began with gymnastics to the accompaniment of a radio host. The morning began with such programs on television, and most importantly, the people were engaged. Periodically, there was a fashion for individual sports equipment – men without exception bought expanders, but the hula hoop, also known as the hoop, earned a special fame as a “fat burner” among women. They say that Nikita Khrushchev even asked him to deliver him, although before that the authorities tried with all their might to convince the people that the Soviet people were ashamed to twist their hips like this and, in general, this thing is Western and ideologically wrong.
In the courtyards, Soviet teenagers worked on horizontal bars – the forefathers of the modern workout. Even the factories had production five minutes.
“The principles of nutrition and a healthy lifestyle, laid down in the days of the Soviet Union, remain relevant today,” says Alexey Tsys. – The previously used diets still cause enormous public interest and force us to constantly reconsider our views on nutrition during the Soviet era, assessing its effectiveness and usefulness, which, of course, has an impact on today’s lifestyle.
What does it mean to eat right?
– Now we are witnessing the dominance of garbage food. Sweet drinks: fruit juice packs and sweet soda, sweet desserts. Refined carbohydrates: white bread, sugar, pasta, etc. Processed meat, fast food: hot dogs, sausages. Processed snacks: crackers, chips, snacks. Processed vegetable oils – soybean oil, corn oil, sunflower oil, and even in plastic bottles. Trans fats. Excessive alcohol consumption, says Anastasia Timofeeva, Diploma in Functional Integrative Nutrition, Nutritionist.
You need to introduce into your diet such foods that support and strengthen the immune system.
Vegetables: any types of cabbage, carrots, onions, beets, pumpkins, turnips, etc.
Fruits are unsweetened and brightly colored berries such as blueberries, cranberries, and lingonberries.
Healthy fats: butter from 82,5%, ghee, avocado, olives, olive and coconut oil.
Fatty fish: salmon, sardines, herring, mackerel, anchovies.
Nuts, priority for raw and unroasted.
Don’t forget about spices: turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, garlic, onion.