2 questions - orange peel and weight loss

There's a scene in the movie, of course I already forget which scene, where Barbara Streisand is eating an orange slice. It's sliced thin, not a wedge. She takes a bite and eats part of the peel. Is that ever normal? I've never eaten part of the peel of an orange because it tastes bad. Why would her character do that?

Second question. Did she actually lose weight part way through the film, or was she just pretending to be overweight for the first half? It seemed like she was always wearing bulky, unflattering clothes. She could have had the same figure the whole film and we wouldn't have known it.

Tomorrow's just your future yesterday!