Happy birthday, Mindy Kaling!
The comedic genius turned 47 on June 24, another year wiser, and another year of embracing her healthier approach to life and style.
Over the past few years in particular, especially as her family has grown, the Running Point creator has spoken more openly about her conscious decision to change up her lifestyle when it comes to her health, especially exercise and diet.
As a result, she has lost as much as 40 pounds since 2022 alone, candidly stating a desire to be more present for her young kids and pivoting to a new perspective on fitness with it.
Here’s what Mindy has said over the years about her health and weight loss…
© Getty ImagesWhy she loves her body now
“I’m feeling really confident in my body these days, which is not something that I’ve been able to say for my whole life, unfortunately,” she told People in 2023. “I feel great.”
She attributed her new lease on life to an emphasis on staying fit by running or hiking 20 miles every other day, along with weight training and diet control. “I just tell myself I have to do basically 20 miles a week of either hiking or running. And so that’s been incredibly helpful to me.”
© Getty ImagesWhy she lost weight to begin with
Earlier this year, Mindy told Bustle: “When I was younger, I would want to lose weight because of vanity reasons. Now I want to lose weight or have lost weight because I want to stave off things like diabetes.”
“I had it on both sides of my family, and trying to avoid those kinds of things will, I think, help longevity for me, and that’s my goal.”
© Getty ImagesWhy she’s both frustrated by and understands fan comments about her body
The mom-of-three previously told People: “I know people are really interested in my body and the changes in my body, and I think it’s flattering and sometimes it’s just a little much, so I don’t try to tune it in too much.”
On the other hand, of losing her identity as the “normal-slash-chubby woman” in her schtick, she admitted to Bustle: “It’s sometimes no fun when one of your favorite actors loses weight. You have an idea of what they were like when you grew attached to them, and it made them endear themselves to you.”
© Andie SwimWhy she still wants to look “hot”
Addressing her comments to Bustle while on The View, Mindy quipped: “I have wanted to lose weight since I was 12 years old. I’ve been writing jokes about diet and body image for 20 years now. So when people are surprised or shocked that I wanted to lose weight, I’m like, ‘Wait, how is this new? This has been part of my personality since the Clinton administration!'”
She then joked: “I saw something recently … that people were like, ‘I wish Mindy would stop saying she’s doing it for the health and her kids, she just wants to look hot.’ And I’m like, ‘Both can be true!'”
© Getty ImagesWhy she doesn’t know how much she actually weighs
One of Mindy’s philosophies to preserve her mental health throughout the process? “I don’t weigh myself,” she confessed to TODAY in 2022.
“To me, the most amazing thing is that all my clothes kind of fit. It’s so easy to get ready and that’s great. I feel happy about that.”
© Getty ImagesWhy her kids changed her approach to working out
Mindy shared with E! News in 2022: “Having kids has completely changed the way that I think of fitness. In my 20s, I had this very certain idea of what ‘being fit’ really meant. You had to run a seven-minute mile and eat this amount of carbs and proteins. It took me a long time to realize that there are lots of different ways to be fit.”
