Screenland (Nov 1935-Apr 1936)

62 SCREENLAND Hollywooc Figure WE MIGHT call this article "Don't go to extremes !" for that's the dangerous thing about diet and exercise. You must use moderation in both. The girl who has gone along eating whatever appealed to her, hopping into the car to go three blocks, huddling over the radiator when she felt chilly, curling up in a knot to read, leaning against a wall or a piece of furniture when she had to stand, suddenly gets a look at herself. She bulges in the wrong places, her shoulders are stooped, her chest caves in, her face looks drawn. Or, she has a pronounced hip-spread, her neck looks short because of a double chin and hunched shoulders, she seems almost as broad as she is long. No wonder she is horrified ! And therein lies the danger. She immediately rushes to extremes. She starves herself. She exhausts herself with too much exercise, or she goes at her chosen routine so strenuously that she builds up a set of unsightly muscles. Alice White, who posed for the illustrations for you this month, is a good example of a girl, naturally inclined to be plump, who has learned how to keep off the pounds without losing energy. "I was as round as a ball when I was a child," Alice told me, when we were talking over her method of keeping fit. "I was always eating. I remember I used to go around with a bag of candy in one hand, a bag of peanuts or cakes in the other, nibbling first from the right bag, then from the left, and getting fatter by the minute. My family didn't approve of it, but they couldn't do anything with me. I liked to eat and so I ate. "When I was twelve years old, they sent me to a girls' camp for the summer with the idea that I would be trained down and put in condition. I hated all sports and all exercise, so I refused to have anything to do with them. I sat around in camp, reading or sewing or taking naps, and eating, eating all the time. Living outdoors gave me an even bigger appetite, or else I ate because I had nothing else to do. er girls were out hiking, swimming, or playing games. "By the end of the summer, the rest of the campers were brown and strong and healthy, and I was so fat If you really want to be as lithe and graceful as your favorite screen actress, follow the sane and sensible advice given in this article The other girls were riding, dancin Alice White is just as slim, gay, and graceful as when she was the foremost "flapper" on the screen. Alice keeps up to the minute in health and figure by faithfully following the stretching exercises advised in this article. that when I got off the train my family didn't know me. My eyes were almost closed with rolls of fat and I could have rolled easier than walking ! "Even after that I didn't wake up to the necessity of slimming down until I came to Hollywood. Then after school one day, someone I knew suggested that I meet Betty Compson, who was one of the big stars on the screen at the time. I was all thrilled. I thought her the most beautiful creature I'd ever laid my eyes on and we had a nice time. "At length Betty said: 'You're a cute kid, and you might do well in pictures, but you'll have to take off at least ten pounds before anyone will look at you.' "With that incentive, I made up my mind to lose. I had massage — I still have massage — and I went on a diet. I didn't go in for the eighteen day diet so popular about that time, or any of the strange 'no food with my meals' affairs. I merely cut out desserts and sweets, ate Melba toast instead of bread, and took plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables and salads. "For a time I had to experiment with exercises, for I am the type that overdevelops easily. I tried swimming, only to discover that my arms and shoulders got out of proportion — you see, I'm so tiny, (only four feet, eleven inches tall), that a muscle sticks out on me where it wouldn't be noticed on a larger girl. "I tried dancing, skating, bicycling, in turn, and developed huge thigh muscles (Continued on page 82) James Davis coaches Alice White in the exercises recommended for reducing and keeping fit. Read the article and try these stretching exercises yourself.