How Mindy Kaling lost weight without restricting her diet

Mindy Kaling is a well-established writer, producer, and actor in the Hollywood entertainment industry and is behind some highly successful shows like Never Have I Ever, The Mindy Project and The Office.

Recently, Kaling has been grabbing eyeballs for her weight loss and toned figure. However, in her chat with Entertainment Tonight, she shared that the secret to her weight loss is something very simple.

“I eat what I like to eat. If I do any kind of restrictive diet, it never really works for me. I just eat less of it. I wish there was something more juicy or dynamic about the way that I’ve lost a little bit of weight, but that’s the way I’ve done it,” she said.

Kaling, who has been posting new pictures on Instagram flaunting her smouldering figure, decided to become more aware of what she eats after welcoming her second child - Spencer - in September 2020. “I had my son in the first year of the pandemic. … It was this almost extended maternity leave. I wasn’t going to be on camera, the studios were shut down,” she recalled.

But once things started to return to normal, Kaling realized that her lifestyle in the lockdown phase was not quite sustainable and healthy. “When the world started coming back a little bit, I thought, ‘This kind of eating what appears, not taking any consideration for what I’m eating, is probably not the way to go,'” she said.

Earlier before any big event like an awards night or some important shoot, Kaling used to go on a strict diet to look slimmer. “I have to stop eating these foods, or six weeks beforehand, I’m only going to juice,” Kaling told TODAY.

But her recent weight loss is not a result of any short-lived crash dieting. Instead, she has been trying to approach diet and fitness with moderation, and this has worked well for her seeing the results.

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In her 20s, Mindy had a more negative relationship with fitness. “I thought a workout had to be something that was punishing, like 45 minutes of running and you had to hate it the whole time. I don’t have that relationship with exercise anymore,” she revealed.

Walking has become one of Kaling’s favorite forms of cardio. She ensures taking some time out for walking everyday.

“Sometimes I’ll be like, ‘Well, I have four different times today where I have 10 minutes so let’s just walk instead of sitting down and checking Instagram. So instead of it being like one chunk of exercise at the beginning of the day or none at all, I’m now just deciding that I’m going to be a more active person all the time,” she said.

Kaling told TODAY that she does not weigh herself, which is why it’s hard to say how much weight she has exactly lost recently. But she added that “the most amazing thing” has happened after weight loss that all her clothes fit easily now. She said, “It’s so easy to get ready and that's great. I feel happy about that.”

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Kaling now focuses on choosing a workout which she actually enjoys – whether it's a quick walk or some tai chi. She told People Magazine that she's more of a "complete hobbyist" when it comes to finding ways to get active. This further helps to feel good before, during and after her workout, instead of doing it for the sake of it, or worse, feeling miserable.

Kaling added that her mindset has shifted from wanting to lose weight "for vanity reasons" towards a desire to actually be healthier and enjoy being an active person who regularly works out.