Mindy Kaling’s Body Evolution, Diet Over the Years

Mindy Kaling has been open about her journey to health over the years.

Many fans met the comedian through her character on OfficeKelly Kapoor, who debuted in 2005. In addition to recurring on screen, Kaling was in the writer’s room. During a Season 5 episode, Kelly went on a Beyoncé-inspired diet — replacing food with a cleanse that consists of lemons, cayenne pepper, water and maple syrup.

The same year, Kalinga published her first book, Is everyone going without me? In a candid memoir, she wrote about creating a “makeshift diet” in high school after a classmate told her she “would be really pretty if you lost weight.” As a result, Kaling “ate exactly half of what was put in front of me, and no dessert.”

The actress explained that she “stayed at a pretty normal weight until college,” when she gained 35 pounds in the first six months of her freshman year. She dropped the weight by introducing exercise into her life, but said she would be “chubby for life” for four reasons: she has “no hobbies other than dieting”, she has “no discipline”, the men she “dated made me very they had fun I am” and she’s “pretty happy with the way I look as long as I don’t break a beach chair.”

Kalinga’s new approach to wellness came after learning how to lose the baby weight. She welcomed daughters Katherine and Anne in 2017 and 2024 and son Spencer in 2020.

Browse more from Kalinga: