These days, Kaling can still joke around about it—but as for her own relationship with her body, she couldn’t be more at peace. “I’m a lifelong dieter,” Kaling told Parade.com in a conversation about her wellness and fitness routine as part of her partnership with Propel Water, which recently launched an immune support version with vitamin C and zinc. “But very early on in the pandemic, I decided I wasn’t doing that. I’m the person who before the Met Gala or the Oscars is like, ‘OK! I’m going to change up my eating completely and be miserable for six weeks!’ But because I didn’t have all those things— and because I was pregnant for most the pandemic—I was like, yeah … I’m not doing that.” She did continue to exercise and eat a healthy diet, but she didn’t let any of the “quarantine 15” noise take up space in her brain. “Taking the pressure off really made a difference,” Kaling said. “I exercised for my mental health, and going for a run was my one escape from the house most days. And it wasn’t because I was trying to get in shape. The whole experience really changed the way I view my own health.” In addition to sharing the attitude that kept Kaling physically and mentally well during the pandemic, she opened up about some other aspects of her wellness routine—and we’re pretty sure we’re going to adopt all of them.
The wellness trend she can’t get enough of
While she admits that she’s not sure this is a trend, as a runner Kaling says she can’t enough of the recovery practice of foam rolling. “I love foam rolling. I discovered it so late! I’m someone who goes for a run, gets really sweaty, feels like my lungs and heart get a really good workout—but I never took the time to stretch or anything,” she admitted. “Then I had a trainer who made me foam roll, and it was amazing. If I foam roll before a run I can run for longer, and everything is looser. It hurts, but in such a good way. When I foam roll my IT band I’m screaming, and yet it makes such a big difference. It also just feels like a massage.”
About the Peloton craze…
As someone who’s always up on all the trends, surely Kaling has a Peloton, right? Believe it or not, she did—and then she gave it away. “I had a Peloton a couple of years ago, but I’m such a social person. So pre-pandemic I was like, you know what, I like going to spin classes in person. There’s something about the feeling of being the darkroom with the music pumping,” she said. “So I gave it away to my friend, and then I didn’t have it during the pandemic. But I do have the Peloton app and a treadmill, so I have been doing the Peloton treadmill workouts, which I love. They also have bootcamp and yoga on the app, which I do.” She does feel like she’s missing out on the Peloton “culture,” though. “I feel like I’m not part of the culture sometimes when everyone starts talking about Cody Rigsby. There’s a certain online Twitter culture that I’m just missing out on.”
The two things no one believes about her (plus the song that always helps her get through a tough workout)
When asked which podcast she listens to while working out, Kaling admitted that the answer is … none. “Two things about me that no one believes is that I’m not into coffee and I don’t listen to podcasts,” she said. “I don’t have the attention span for podcasts. My mind just drifts. When I work out I need that thumping baseline. People describe podcasts to me and they sound so wonderful, but I think I’d have to listen to them in the car, not during workouts.” So no, you won’t find Kaling working out to podcasts—but she does have a favorite song to get her through a tough workout. “I’m really into ‘Ape Sh*t,’ that song by The Carters,” she said. “That’s how I start off my workout when I don’t want to work out. Jay-Z and Beyonce have incredible workout music, too, but that’s my latest one.”
Her top self-care practice, and the thing she’s looking forward to post-pandemic
When it comes to self-care, Kaling is all about a great massage. “I die for massages. I heard Johnny Carson got a massage every day after work. I couldn’t do that, my children would move out, but I think it sounds incredible,” she said. Speaking of her children, the one thing Kaling can’t wait for post-pandemic is not having to fight with her daughter about wearing a mask to school. “Every day it’s this giant negotiation, so not having to deal with that with my 3-year-old sounds like the best,” she said. Next up, here’s everything we know about Mindy Kaling and BJ Novak’s relationship.
