Eat What you Like

Nowadays, we’re surrounded by magazines presenting extremely thin fashion models, and this seems to be the ultimate criterion of beauty for girls. A celery diet can certainly make you grow thinner, but I believe it’s not very healthy. I’m not a nutritionist and I’m not presenting any scientific facts here.

Anyway, what does our three enchanting ladies have to say about that?

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A lot of people mistakenly attribute Audrey’s extreme thinness to anorexia or to the fact that she didn’t eat. Well, you must get rid of this idea. Audrey’s thin body is due to the fact that she suffered from malnutrition during the 2nd World War, and to her short career as a ballet dancer (which she had to abandon because she was considered too tall…). In real life, ballet dancers are usually not the same shape as Fantasia‘s hippopotamus… So, when one has suffered from malnutrition, I think they’ll eventually avoid to starve themselves in the future. Audrey, just like you and me, appreciated good food. And she had her cute sins. As it is revealed by her son Sean in Audrey Hepburn: An Elegant Spirit, Audrey’s favourite dessert was vanilla ice cream with maple syrup. Yummy! Audrey would have been happy in Canada. Audrey was also famous for her tomatoes, basil and garlic pasta, a not complicated, but delicious dish. My Italian blood confirms it. 😉 I know, however, that one thing Audrey couldn’t stand eating were Danish pastries. The poor one had to devour some while filming Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Grace Kelly was honestly one of the most beautiful ladies in the world. I seriously think she was physically perfect. She had the perfect shape. Not too thin, but not fat either. But what Grace loved to cook were her famous hamburgers! So yes, even classy ladies can appreciate fast food. I bet hers were delicious (nothing to do with McDonald’s ones). As a former model, Grace also knew that she had to eat healthy. She said about her eating habits “I try to avoid (diets) as much as possible. A crash diet would make me nervous and bad-tempered.” So, according to Grace, a diet might help your body, but no your mind! She also said : “I do enjoy good food, but try to eat correctly, the right things. I am aware of the importance of having well-balanced meals. We have whole-meal bread and whole rice, and I tend to avoid sugar.” I think she had it right. If you eat equilibrated and allow yourself a little treat once in a while you’ll be able to be in good shape and healthy.

This finally leads us to Ingrid Bergman. Ingrid was known for being quite tall (for a woman) and having large shoulders. Now, I can’t imagine Ingrid with Audrey’s shape. That thinness suits Audrey, but Ingrid would just look sick. Ingrid had a good appetite and what she fancied most of all was ice cream. She generally liked to eat good food, and her body was just right, healthy. However, as I read in Bee Wilson’s article The Appetite of Ingrid Bergman written for The Telegraph, Ingrid’s first husband, Petter Lindström had the habit to watch her food habits and cut her rations. Poor Ingrid would leave the table still famished, but she fortunately could satisfied her hunger with a hidden box of cookies. 😉 Wilson also talks about her life in Italy. I’ve often read that Ingrid said that she was able to keep a healthy shape by eating pasta. As it is written in Wilson’s article, this was because “Europeans do not eat between meals” (Ingrid Bergman). Wilson also raises an interesting point when she talks about Hitchcock’s good tastes for food. No wonder why he and Ingrid were able to get along and remain friends! 😛

Producer David O. Selznick promoted Ingrid as Hollywood’s natural girl. Her real name, features, hair and teeth. The Swedish milkmaid.

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So, here was a brief preview of Audrey Hepburn, Grace Kelly and Ingrid Bergman’s food habits. My objective here was just to prove that those ladies never private themselves from eating (I just had a gurgle. That is most embarrassing) and managed to keep beautiful shape. I think the secret is simply to eat equilibrated meals and do exercises. Let’s not forget that Grace Kelly’s father was an Olympic athlete, so I think she had a good heredity on this level. 😉 I’m not telling you to say “screw the nutritionists” and eat a bunch of ice cream and hamburger, but if, once in a while, you feel like eating some, well do it! I am very gourmand myself and I don’t do extreme sport either, but I can’t say I’m fat. Just normal. And, by the way, it is normal for women to have a few curves.

As I said at the beginning of this article, I’m not writing any scientific facts about food habits. This is just my personal opinion that I linked with our three enchanting ladies eating habits. It really was for you to learn more fun fact about them. 🙂 The lesson we must learn from that is that to eat only fast food is not healthy, but to eat only carrots isn’t either. And to force yourself to be very thin isn’t more recommended as to be too fat.

People who tell me “what to eat” and “how to eat”, normally annoy me, so this is not my objective here. Eat what you want and be happy, that’s the most important! 🙂

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Among the three enchanting ladies eating habits, mine would be closer to Ingrid Bergman’s ones. Eating cookies in my bedroom is typically me. Plus, I LOVE ice cream. Well, who don’t? If you don’t, well, I’m sorry, but you’re just not human ahaha. 😛

And what about you?