Mary Berry may eat 36 cakes a day on the Great British Bake Off but you’d never guess the svelte 81-year-old was indulging in so many treats.
The judge revealed her slimming secrets to Good House Keeping this week, saying she never eats full meals during the show because of all that sampling!
When asked how she stays in shape, Mary said: “I have soup at lunchtime and I know exactly how many calories are in that soup. I don’t have bread with it but I might have a salad if it’s very hot.
"I’ll have a couple of starters if I am in a hotel in the evening. That’s it. Otherwise I will put on weight because I’m having to taste 36 cakes a day. It’s my job. Freak diets, I don’t think work.
"It’s control. Have a smaller plate. I have mountains of vegetables – green vegetables, broccoli, beans. I have twice as much as my husband does.”
Mary was quite vocal about the country’s poor eating habits that are giving rise to childhood obesity.
She said: “We need to teach parents about the right foods to give children. It’s very difficult. Many people think children must have chips.
"I don’t think any household should have a deep fat fryer. I never fry a doughnut! I think it’s quite unnecessary. If you want a doughnut, go and buy one once in a blue moon.
"It’s about everything in moderation. It isn’t what’s in children’s lunchboxes, it’s when they walk around the corner from school with money they’ve been given and buy all the other things.
"I honestly think there shouldn’t be sugared drinks. All my grandchildren drink water all through the day. I’ve just had them to stay and at breakfast they have water. They don’t even know what sugary drinks are.”
The Great British Bake Off returned to the BBC this week with more than 11 million viewers tuning into the first episode where Mel and Sue surprised us with some rude innuendos.
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