'Fuel Up, Don't Stay Hungry': US Ruby Player Asks Athletes To Eat Carbs At Paris Olympic Village

Lighting up the Games with her rugby sevens skills, USA’s Ilona Maher is also drawing attention to the daily life in the Paris Olympic Village. Known for her candid takes on life as an Olympian, Maher recently captured the internet’s attention with a glimpse into the food athletes are eating at the event. In a recent Instagram video, the American rugby player showcased the “carbs” she was enjoying in Paris while also taking the opportunity to clarify a few misconceptions about athletes.

In the video, Maher spoke about the misconceptions about the diet that athletes follow. “We eat a lot of carbs. I have got three forms of carbs on my plate right now. A bread roll, a croissant, a crepe,” she said while pointing them out to them on the plates. There are also a few food items on her table that appear to be cheese and jam. “Fuel up! Don’t stay hungry,” she concludes the video.

Her video got a lot of reactions on social media, with many lauding Maher for being honest about her diet. A user wrote, “Ilona Maher decimates hustle AND diet culture,” while another commented, “I’ve never watched rugby during the Olympics and I am going to watch it so hard now bc you are simply phenomenal. The role model every female athlete needs.”

“Lifting weights and eating carbs is quite literally the only thing that pulled me out of my eating disorder and taught me to genuinely love food,” another comment read, while a user thanked the athlete, “Thank you for showing how to be food positive while working out. So many girls and women will starve themselves and not get what they need for their bodies. Also different body types are beautiful!!! Can’t wait to watch you in the games!”

Notably, this is not the first from a rugby player that has gone viral. Her previous TikTok videos documenting cardboard beds and the living conditions at the Tokyo Olympics had viewers see a different perspective of the Games.

“People are always like, you’re so unapologetically yourself. And I’m like, what is everybody else doing out here? I don’t even try to be that. It’s just how I am. There are probably quotes about ‘it’s so much easier to just be yourself than to be anybody else’, and so I never even thought about that. That’s just how I am,” she told Olympics.com.