Mindy Kaling on Weight Loss, Public Scrutiny, and Personal Motivation
Actress and writer Mindy Kaling has opened up about the public reaction to her recent weight loss, which has sparked a wave of criticism from fans. At 46, Kaling first gained recognition two decades ago as a cast member on the US version of The Office, a role she also helped write. In a wide-ranging interview with Bustle, she discussed the backlash she received for changing her body and admitted she “truly understands” why it upset her fans.
Kaling explained that when a favorite actor changes their appearance, it can be disorienting for fans who have grown attached to them. “It’s sometimes no fun when one of your favourite actors loses weight,” she said. “You have an idea of what they were like when you grew attached to them, and it made them endear themselves to you.”
She acknowledged that being scrutinized is never enjoyable, but she also recognized the emotional connection fans often have with celebrities. “I truly understand it, as someone who consumes pop culture,” she added.
Kaling, who wrote an essay titled Chubby for Life in her 2011 book Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (And Other Concerns), revealed that she struggled with her weight since childhood. She tried various fad diets during her teenage years, but her struggles with body image worsened when she moved to Hollywood.
During a 2021 interview with Good Morning America, Kaling shared a painful moment when a fellow writer on The Office included a joke in the show suggesting her character, Kelly, should lose seven kilos. “This is my greatest insecurity and someone just called it out. It’s really devastating,” she said at the time.
However, in her recent interview with Bustle, Kaling clarified that her motivation for losing weight was not vanity but rather a desire to be there for her three children as a single mother. “Now I want to lose weight or have lost weight because I want to stave off things like diabetes,” she said. “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.”
She admitted that while she doesn’t wake up every day feeling like she looks amazing, she feels healthier now. “Do I wake up every day being like, ‘I look amazing and I’m so gorgeous’? No, unsurprisingly, but I truly feel so healthy.”
There has been much speculation online about how Kaling achieved her weight loss. In a 2023 interview with People, she revealed that she did it through a combination of exercise and eating in moderation. She set a goal of hiking or running 32 kilometers a week. “It’s really a big commitment,” she said. “I wake up really early and I fit it in – and I basically live in workout clothes so I can get it in, get an extra mile in.”
Kaling also lifts weights with her trainer, showing her dedication to maintaining her health.
Kaling has three children: Katherine, known as ‘Kit’, who is eight; Spencer, five; and Anne, who is two. She has never publicly disclosed the identity of the father of her children, but it has long been rumored that actor and comedian BJ Novak, her co-star in The Office and former partner, is the father.
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