Padma Lakshmi on Kate Middleton's Pregnancy, 'Horrible' Paparazzi
Credit: Amy Sussman/AP.
Padma Lakshmi has some advice for the pregnant Duchess of Cambridge: Eat ginger, wear form-fitting clothes, and get ready for even more paparazzi.
Lakshmi, 42, gave birth to a daughter in 2010. She told ABCNews.com that the worst part of her pregnancy was the paparazzi.
"It was scary. It was horrible," she said. "I just didn't want my daughter to be exposed to that, but there was nothing I could do about it. They would send my assistant Facebook messages, I don't even know how they found out that he was my assistant because he hadn't been working for me that long."
At least, she said, "They were civilized. They were like, 'Hi, I'm sure you've noticed us, we are the English paparazzi that have been parked on your corner. So we're going to be here but you can make this easy on all of us by telling us when she's going to be out.'"
The hostagelike situation, she said, "was a little creepy."
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For Middleton's acute morning sickness, the "Top Chef" host recommended home remedies the duchess can use now that she's out of the hospital: "Ginger. It's the only thing that really does curtail nausea. Or chewing on a whole clove, that can also work."
Lakshmi joked that she "could've used a touch of nausea" during her pregnancy. "I was eating like a horse," she said. "I gained 45 pounds when I got pregnant and it all went to my thighs. You didn't see it because I'm a very savvy dresser. I've been a model for 20 years, I'd better know how to dress."
She advised Middleton against mumus and maxi dresses, "because then you look so frumpy. I wore really stretchy pants. Skin tight clothes."
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Lakshmi dished about the royal pregnancy at the Sterling Ultimate Host competition in New York, where contestants paired Sterling wines with food and decor in hopes of being crowned the host(ess) with the most(ess). While she indulged in wine and red velvet cake there, she cut out virtually all things delicious to get back her pre-baby body after having her daughter.
"No meat, no cheese, no wheat, no fried food, no alcohol," she said. "I boxed twice a week, I lifted weight twice a week. For cardio, I ran up and down stairs, up to 70 flights a day. It was the hardest thing I ever had to do."