Mindy Kaling Opens up About ‘Changes’ in Her Body, Fitness Journey

Mindy Kaling is opening up about her recent health journey amid speculation about the star’s recent weight loss. The Mindy Project alum, 43, shared with PEOPLE the “big commitment” she’s made to stay active and eat in moderation ahead of the launch of her Mindy x Andie Swim Collection, saying she feels “great” since making those changes. 

“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 the outlet. The Never Have I Ever creator added, “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. The truth is that I spend so much time and energy trying to be healthy.” Kaling has recently been embracing her love of running and hiking, making sure she gets in 20 miles of either activity every week while also fitting weight training into her routine. 

In addition, the mother of two said she’s been mindful of her eating in order to see better results from her workouts. “It’s really a big commitment,” said Kaling, whose schedule stays busy with son Spencer, 2, and 5-year-old daughter Katherine. “It’s hard with two kids that 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.” She continued, “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.”

In April 2022, Kaling opened up about her decision to eat with more intention, telling Entertainment Tonight, “Honestly, I didn’t really do anything differently. 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 added to PEOPLE the next month, “I’ve tried really hard to let go of this idea of losing weight for vanity reasons and really trying to think of how I can be healthy. And for me, healthy is working out, moving my body a lot, keeping hydrated, and then not having negative connotations around working out and making me feel like if I don’t do this, then I won’t be something else. And that’s taken a long time to kind of shed those old ideas of working out.”