Mindy Kaling viewed the COVID-19 pandemic as “extended maternity leave.”
The 42-year-old actress welcomed son Spencer into the world in September 2020 and was thankful she didn't have to rush to get back in shape in order to be back filming again, admitting she felt much less pressure this time than after her daughter Katherine was born in December 2017.
She told 'Entertainment Tonight': “I had my son in the first year of the pandemic in September 2020 … It was this almost extended maternity leave. I wasn’t going to be on camera, the studios were shut down. After I had my daughter I had to shoot a movie like two months later, so I was very much like, ‘Just give me grilled salmon and sautéed spinach. I’m going to eat that for three months.’”
Though 'The Office' star has lost weight recently, she insisted she never opts for a drastic diet and instead just reduces her portion sizes.
She said: “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.’ 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.”
Mindy added that her kids generally think of her as a “slob,” and her daughter is always in “awe” when she dresses up for events.
The ‘Mindy Project’ star explained: “[My kids] normally think of their mom and, ‘Oh the slob that writes on her computer all day.’ But when I had to get ready for all of these events, [to] my daughter I was like Elsa from 'Frozen'.
“I became completely transformed and she treated me completely differently. She was in awe. That's really funny. I think, because of the pandemic, I hadn’t been getting dressed up as much. That was kind of fun, to wow her now and again. She is just at that age where that stuff is kind of interesting.”
