Marilyn Monroe's Diet and Exercise Routine: How She Stays in Shape

She is one of the most beautiful woman in history. Her on-screen persona was lovable and adorable. And she was one of the most photographed women of her time.

Marilyn Monroe (Source)

Who doesn't know Marilyn Monroe, nowadays? Marilyn Monroe (June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962) had one of the most famous figure of all time. She was an American actress, a model, and singer, and became a symbol of sex to millions of men worldwide. She may have died 50 years back, yet her slimming secret still raised fan's interest.

Danamo's Marilyn Monroe Pages dug up an 1952 issue of Pageant magazine that listed the bombshell daily diet and exercise routine that helps her stay in shape.

The 5-foot-5 Marilyn who was 26 at print time reveals in the magazine that she was a proponent of strength-training and a high-protein, low-carb diet decades before the trend became hip.

Marilyn Monroe propped up in bed, fixing breakfast while naked between the sheets.
Pages 120-121 from the September 1952 issue of Pageant; photo copyright © Andr� de Dienes. 

Frankly, I’ve never considered my own figure so exceptional; until quite recently, I seldom gave it any thought at all. My biggest single concern used to be getting enough to eat. Now I have to worry about eating too much. I never used to bother with exercises. Now I spend at least 10 minutes each morning working out with small weights. I have evolved my own exercises, for the muscles I wish to keep firm, and I know they are right for me because I can feel them putting the proper muscles into play as I exercise.

Exercise
I've read Madonna exercise 2 hours a day, 6 days a week. Her new personal trainer, Nicole Winhoffer coach her through a strenuous workout. But Marilyn Monroe in contrast didn't spend hours exercising every day.

She listen to her body: Marilyn doesn't like to feel regimented.
Pages 122-123 from the September 1952 issue of Pageant; photos copyright © Andr� de Dienes.

Each morning, after I brush my teeth, wash my face and shake off the first deep layer of sleep, I lie down on the floor beside my bed and begin my first exercise. It is a simple bust-firming routine which consists of lifting five-pound weights from a spread-eagle arm position to a point directly above my head. I do this 15 times, slowly. I repeat the exercise another 15 times from a position with my arms above my head. Then, with my arms at a 45-degree angle from the floor, I move my weights in circles until I’m tired. I don’t count rhythmically like the exercise people on the radio; I couldn’t stand exercise if I had to feel regimented about it. 

Sports
Though she married baseball great Joe DiMaggio in 1954, Marilyn had no interest in sport. For her, getting a  tanned skin from sun is not attractive. She prefers to feel blond all over.

Marilyn like to feel blond all over, therefore she opposed to a deep sun-tanned skin.
Pages 124-125 from the September 1952 issue of Pageant; photos copyright © Andr� de Dienes.

I have never cared especially for outdoor sports, and have no desire to excel at tennis, swimming or golf. I’ll leave those things to the men. Despite its great vogue in California, I don’t think sun-tanned skin is any more attractive than white skin, or any healthier, for that matter. I’m personally opposed to a deep tan because I like to feel blond all over.  

By nature, I suppose I have a languorous disposition. I hate to do things in a hurried, tense atmosphere, and it is virtually impossible for me to spring out of bed in the morning. On Sunday, which is my one day of total leisure, I sometimes take two hours to wake up, luxuriating in every last moment of drowsiness. Depending on my activities, I sleep between five and ten hours every night. I sleep in an extra-wide single bed, and I use only one heavy down comforter over me, summer or winter. I have never been able to wear pajamas or creepy nightgowns; they disturb my sleep. 

Diet regime
Marilyn Monroe gained some weight after turning 30, but she slimmed down and was leaner than ever before her death at the age of  36. The starlet start off her day drinking raw eggs mixed with milk. Marilyn Monroe would skip lunch but eat a light dinner based in protein and veggies.

Marilyn also oozes hot fudge sensuality.
Pages 126-127 from the September 1952 issue of Pageant (end of article); photos copyright © Andr� de Dienes.

BREAKFAST.
I’ve been told that my eating habits are absolutely bizarre, but I don’t think so. Before I take my morning shower, I start warming a cup of milk on the hot plate I keep in my hotel room. When it’s hot, I break two raw eggs into the milk, whip them up with a fork, and drink them while I’m dressing.
I supplement this with a multi-vitamin pill, and I doubt if any doctor could recommend a more nourishing breakfast for a working girl in a hurry.

DINNER. 
My dinners at home are startlingly simple. Every night I stop at the market near my hotel and pick up a steak, lamb chops or some liver, which I broil in the electric oven in my room. I usually eat four or five raw carrots with my meat, and that is all. I must be part rabbit; I never get bored with raw carrots.

P.S. It’s a good thing, I suppose, that I eat simply during the day, for in recent months I have developed the habit of stopping off at Wil Wright’s ice cream parlor for a hot fudge sundae on my way home from my evening drama classes. I’m sure that I couldn't allow myself this indulgence were it not that my normal diet is composed almost totally of protein foods.

So what do you think of Marilyn Monroe's diet?  Was it the one celebrity diet worth following? Let me know your thought in the comments.

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