Like Mindy Kaling, I have thick Indian hair. But unlike Mindy, my hair would never do what her hair is doing on the cover of Shape. My hair would be half-curly, half-straight and flying in ten different directions. How did they get her hair so sleek and straight? Hmm. Anyway, doesn’t it feel like Mindy Kaling barely took time off after she gave birth to her daughter? She was promoting A Wrinkle In Time just a few weeks after giving birth, and then she was promoting her TV show Champions, and now she’s promoting Ocean’s Eight. She covers the June issue of Shape, and the cover interview is all about her pregnancy, the baby weight and her daughter Katherine, who she calls Kit, which is adorable (Benedict Cumberbatch calls his son Christopher “Kit” as well). Some highlights:
She’s been bonding with Kit: “She is a really happy baby. When she was born, she was kind of skinny and anxious. I think she was like, Can this woman take care of me? But during our many breastfeeding sessions, we’ve gotten to know each other, and she’s learned to trust me over time. What’s great for me is that my doctor told me that incessant chatter is good for a baby, and I’ve lived my whole life waiting to have a captive audience. So I spend the days narrating to her. I’m constantly doing voiceover for her, as I did in The Mindy Project. Honestly, I feel like her first words are going to be, ‘Just stop. Please!'”
On the pregnancy weight: “Because I like to eat, and I’m not skinny to start with, I knew that if I gained a lot of weight during my pregnancy, things could just fly off the rails in a really bad way. That was something I definitely needed to watch out for. My doctor said that women who gain just 25 to 30 pounds usually have less trouble losing it after the baby is born. So I kept my weight gain to about 27 pounds. I also worked out whenever I could while I was pregnant. I did a lot of yoga and a lot of walking, and I jogged until I couldn’t jog anymore. I exercised until the morning I gave birth.”
Exercising after birth: She says a week after giving birth, she started walking “a couple of miles a day…I don’t recommend that for everyone, obviously, but I didn’t have that difficult of a delivery. All those things were really helpful when it came to losing the weight.”
She’s bad at yoga: “I like to mix up my workouts: I’ll do a SoulCycle class, a strength training class with my trainer, and yoga once a week. For someone with my personality, which is somewhat skeptical and cynical, it’s really good for me to do yoga and take it at face value. Because I’m Indian, I feel like I should be good at yoga, but I’m terrible at it. It’s my way of trying to get back to my roots.”
[From Shape via E! News]
She also talks about how great it was to work with so many women on back-to-back projects, A Wrinkle in Time and Ocean’s Eight. She says the moms had their kids with them and everyone was helping out with everyone else and it was just a really positive experience. I’m with her on the “I’m an Indian who feels like yoga should be more important but it’s not” thing, because I feel the same way. I just can’t get into yoga, and I feel like I’m betraying my ancestors every time I climb on the treadmill. I also think it’s crazy that she was exercising so much throughout her pregnancy and so soon afterwards! But I trust her to know her own body, and she seems to be doing fine, so God bless.
Cover courtesy of Shape, additional photos courtesy of WENN.
She looks gorgeous on the cover. that shade of green looks great on her.
I like that she clarifies that she was able to exercise so soon after birth because of her delivery. That’s not feasible for every woman and I like that she acknowledges that.
That’s a perfectly normal and healthy weight gain. Because my mom lived in NYC in the dark ages and walked everywhere when pregnant with me she gained 20 lbs and I weighed 8 lbs 12 oz. and was perfectly healthy, though late and fat.
She was probably walking the morning of her birth which helped her with her delivery and recovery. Core strength is important for pushing.
They say that, but I basically did nothing when I was pregnant with my third and I can tell you that it felt like I had nothing to do with that delivery. I pushed once and he was out, you know?
You might have a stronger core than you give yourself credit for. Women typically do.
I remember noticing that she carried pretty small during her pregnancy, seems she was very disciplined. Good for her, she seems healthy and very happy.
My first pregnancy I was not very disciplined and gained 19 kilos. I ended up losing it all plus a couple of kilos extra. My second pregnancy, I was much more discplined and gained… 20 kilos. I still lost it all, but that experience made me think that your body, hormones and probably genetics have an impact on how much you gain. I have one friend who ate probably twice what she usually did and weighed less after giving birth than she did before getting pregnant. Go figure…
I am obese, so my experiences aren’t necessarily relevant (OBs of obese women don’t usually mind if we lose weight while pregnant, for example – they frown on that for average weight women, lol), but during all three of my pregnancies you could see my arms and legs getting thinner. And I’m not a terribly disciplined eater.
It’s actually just weird that this is a story at all. For a normal weight woman, you are only supposed to gain 25-35 pounds during pregnancy. More than that is detrimental to both your health and your baby’s health. I understand that’s not always easy, but as a society our perception of normal weight gain is really distorted. That said, I would try to never look down on someone who gained more than that, because I don’t know their medical situation (and it’s not my right to know)
I found this attitude to prescriptive weight gain really detrimental during my pregnancy. I ate right, drank water, exercised daily, and gained 50 pounds. At every single f-ing prenatal visit they told me I had gained too much weight and it would be hard to lose and blah blah blah. I lost 30 pounds in the first six weeks after birth, took a few months to lose the next 10 and by the time my daughter was one year old I was back into all of my pre-pregnancy clothes. I was breastfeeding, which causes some women to hang on to extra weight a little longer. I think sometimes your body just does what it does. My health and the baby’s health were just fine.
@Erin Individuals absolutely vary. My comment was a reaction to this story though and the thoughts that gaining 27 pounds would be abnormally small (when it should be around average).
Also, it definitely bothers me to hear that doctors are framing weight gain during pregnancy as an aesthetic issue. Expectant mothers should be aware of increased immediate and longterm health risks for the child (e.g. asthma, diabetes, obesity), not told that it would be “hard [for you] to lose.”
Beth: Ikr. The amount she gained is pretty typical I think.
1. On the cover she is clearly wearing a wig which is great. Why not use a wig instead of spending hours trying to make your hair look a certain way.
2. Mindy probably was overweight prior to getting pregnant so it’s vital she did gain a lot of weight during her pregnancy. Looks like she had a great doctor.
3. It’s so weird that exercising while pregnant is considered weird. If a woman is in good health then exercising should be the norm.
I agree with the wig comment and your kudos to her for it.
But I don’t think she was overweight prior to getting pregnant. We need to remember that we see people in images next to Hollywood stars who are sizes 0-2, which distorts how they look. And she’s short, so since she’s curvier it can make it look like she’s bigger than she is. My guess is Mindy is a size 8 – max 10.
I think she is overweight not that that’s something to be made a big deal but just a little anyways
Mindy is not overweight – she just isn’t rail thin like most actresses. I’ve seen her in person, the narrative that she is overweight needs to stop
BMi is also notoriously unreliable when it comes to taking build into consideration. According to those charts, I’m overweight at 160 pounds – which is insane. i was very in shape when I was 150 pounds, not bordering into “almost fat.” I’ve gained a lot of weight due to various medical issues, and even now, people are shocked when I tell them what I weigh.
She’s 5’4 and looks about 155lbs to me – if you’re going strictly by BMI, then she’d be in the overweight territory. She looks healthy to me though. She’s clearly not obese or considerably overweight, but I could believe that her doctor recommended that she not gain a lot of weight during her pregnancy.
I’m 5’7 and a size 6-8 and I’m technically over weight and people tell me I’m thin and im not over weight ( tell that to my dr). She might be, or borderline, or she might be normal. It’s hard to know someone’s weight from looking at them.
A bmi of 25 or over is considered overweight. I’m pretty sure her bmi is over 25, which mine is and I’m about the same size as Mindy.
I had never considered folks of Indian heritage feeling guilty about yoga. I just think of yoga as yoga. I like this cultural lens! I actaully like yoga. Was into gymnastics as a kids and love the stretch, flow and choreography of yoga.
Good for Mindy overall, but I do have to expose my displeasure with what I see as hypocrisy. Clearly she is photo shopped to the gills in all her magazine covers. And if she into pushing the ‘yeah, it’s me I am not perfect’ Why all the touch ups? Wearing a wig I don’t shade. I have very frizzy Caucasian hair and blow outs and straightening hurt!
Mindy’s not the photo editor; the mag can and will do just about anything it wants to her cover pic.
I paused at this comment ” yoga as yoga”.
Yoga does have really important cultural and religious aspects in india, and maybe you should look into those (if you have not already). I only say it because Yoga is more than just yoga, more than just some workout that people like.
lol like us white people would appropriate something and leave any of the cultural and religious relevance attached.
I wish I’d excercised more during my second and third pregnancies. I definitely felt the lack of core strength both in late pregnancy and after I had my kids. Carrying around an extra 30% does terrible things to your body if you’re not prepared.
I was watching old eps of The Office and made me realize how great she was in that. Now it just makes me sad to see what she’s done to her face, because she’s so talented.
The face work happened so gradually that I barely noticed. Now when I watch old episodes of The Office, I can totally see it. I call it, “the Hollywood treatment”.
Yeah, same. Especially since a big part of her schtick is selling self/body confidence, and pride in her indian background. But (from what I can tell) instead she goes and gets her lips done, her chin done, and her skin-lightened.
At least now it seems she found the right foundation for her shade, there were a few months there when she had the lighter hair colour, and newly lightened skin, that she was wearing foundation for someone like 3x lighter then her (like say a lá beyoncé).
Yes! That blonde hair wasn’t working for her.
Idk why she had to mess with her face. She looks like she is perpetually suffering from a minor shellfish allergy.
” Especially since a big part of her schtick is selling self/body confidence”
Is it, though? I’ve always found her humor to be self depreciating. I think she definitely sets a goal for having a good self esteem, but from my perspective, she paints herself as a work in progress.
@Tiffany
Perhaps i’m wrong. I can definitely say that i might be biased when it comes to her, cause i feel the image she tries to sell is a bit of a betrayal to her fans who are “of colour”
She contradicts herself a lot. I find she is a very insercure person and the whole self-deprecating thing is her way to make herself seem relatable and likeable.
She says she’s happy with being considered “bigger” “chubby” curvy” but then spends most interviews talking about how skinny she wishes she could be.
She talks about the struggles of being a woman of colour in the industry, and uses that to promote her success, when at the same time she conforms to white hollywood ideals by lightening her skin and altering her face.
It’s like she tries to have it both ways. She panders to white audiences, while getting accolades and support from minorities.
When really i think deep down she has a crisis of identity and wishes she could assimilate better in predominantly white spaces (which is most of hollywood) —-and only until she can play up her indian background to pander to other audiences when applicable.
I guess I don’t see the self-depreciation as a manipulation tactic. I see it as something that people with low self esteem do to beat the bullies to the punch. I think, like most humans, she probably has days where she feels pretty good about herself and days where she doesn’t.
This ^^^
Mtam. Totally agree with you
@ Jenna
LOL, for real.
@Justbitchy
seriously thank you for saying that.
I honestly worried my comment would not be received too well here.
Not that I want people to attack or criticize her. I don’t think that will bring anything good. But I find it odd people still find her so genuine and have not problem with her altering herself this way.
Her lips are the absolute worst. They’re not injections, she did something permanent and her mouth looks so rubbery when she speaks. It was so distracting on The Mindy Project and Wrinkle in Time. So depressing, her lips were fine! She was so pretty in The Office.
@KBB
I agree, I thought she had a natural beauty and I used to find her inspiring. But then i binged watched her show and it was jolting how her face changed from one season to another. Everything below her eyes was stiff and frozen! She couldn’t even emote! I was actually amazed she could even pronounce words cause her lips did. not. move.
That’s also when i noticed she had lightened her skin and was wearing waaay too light foundation.
Why would it be crazy to exercise during pregnancy? I find that remark odd. Unless you’re high risk it’s exactly what women should do when pregnant. I jogged until I was 7 months with my first. And with my 4th I had 2 under 2 to look after and that was a LOT of
Exercise.
I didn’t exercise daily and by the end of it my ankles were swollen as all get out. Good on her! I gained about 30 – 35 with my daughter but I work 12 hour shifts on my feet the whole time so I counted that as exercise. What bothered me was when people were like “You’re huge!” (I knew it, felt it every step) or would make jokes like, “Are you sure it’s just one baby?” Um yeah. “You shouldn’t be working” (um would be nice)
….by the end I was wishing I could just work from home so strangers didn’t feel like they could tell me how huge I looked to my face every time I came to work.
Oh dear lord this is what I’m dreading. I’ve been pregnant before, first tri only, and my body hates being pregnant – nauseated and vomiting all day. Everything tasted disgusting but if I didn’t eat I threw up more. Breasts were like mini continents. Likewise I work 12 hour shifts on my feet and spend a couple hours a day in wound care procedures, my legs are going to be a swollen nightmare.
Getting married in two months and we are planning on getting pregnant next year and I’m pretty worried about it. Most of my meds are not safe for pregnancy and I am worried about being off them during such a transitional period. Scared to be a vessel that long given the work that I do!! I completely understand the surrogacy thing and if I had the money I would probably heavily consider it. Alas the pay of a nurse doesn’t allow me that, I am just lucky that the state has finally passed a paid maternity leave law, my hospital previously had no maternity leave. Atrocious.
@Elena I’m currently home on maternity leave and I’ve been asked the same thing multiple times during my pregnancy!! “Are you sure there’s only one?!” or “I thought you were ready to pop!” I’ve only gained 30 lbs but it’s all belly so I look big but, seriously, people are so inconsiderate towards pregnant women
She’s awesome! Kudos for her for clearly stating what worked for her without judging others or pretending to know what works for anyone else! Funny that she always plays such self absorbed, clueless people when she is actually so self aware!
This is why it’s so important to not just have one size in Hollywood. I find her to be a relatable role model
She is so gorgeous! I was like her and walked a minimum of two miles a day up until the morning I went into labor but I was not disciplined enough after lol it took me 15 months to get into an exercise routine. I carried small though, if I carried bigger, I might not have though. Carrying small was still uncomfortable and walking was kind of painful
You can have the best intentions… I was exercising every day during my second pregnancy until the six month mark when my scoliosis plus the baby’s position caused my hip to go completely out of place. I couldn’t walk even one step, I was on crutches for the rest of my pregnancy, and I gained a ton of weight from the inactivity and the depressing aspect of it all 🙁
So ladies, it’s great to have these good intentions. But pregnancy is a HARD task and sometimes things don’t go according to plan. Thankfully once my daughter was born I could walk again, but almost a year later I’m still in physical therapy and dealing with the hip damage. That was the last pregnancy for me. I’m lucky to have two healthy babies and that it wasn’t even worse for me due to scoliosis.
A part of me is a little irked because I feel like Mindy is bragging about things that are out of some women’s control. But that’s probably because I had such a hard and upsetting experience being pregnant and I still have a lot of feelings about it.
I feel like she’s being very clear that her circumstances allowed her to do what she did and are very specific to her. And I don’t see bragging. I think her remarks are just straightforward. The alternative would be saying nothing at all and it’s Shape magazine so that’s not really an option.
I agree, I think it’s pretty clear she’s just saying what worked for her, not insisting everyone else do the same.
She looks pretty on the cover and sounds like she’s doing well. I’m happy to see her getting opportunities in movies too.
I’d rather hear about how much work she did than for her to let us believe she just had some kind of magical pregnancy.
All kinds of things are out of women’s control so what does that mean? We can’t talk about our lives because somebody else out there has it worse?
Should a mother of a kid with down syndrome accuse you of being ableist and bragging about being “lucky” to have two healthy children or are you allowed to talk about your own experience and feel happy about your kids in peace?
Alll right caaaaalm down. Jeez. You’d think I called her up and ragged at her and made her cry. It’s a gossip site, people!
“Because I like to eat, and I’m not skinny to start with”
I love eating too and never restrain from it and never am on a diet, but I’m really thin nonetheless. I really dislike those short cuts that imply you can’t possibly enjoy food if you’re thin.
If anything she’s saying the opposite – she is not a skinny person, AND she likes eating (which, if you are, like her, not skinny, often means you gain weight).
There’s nothing in what she said that could be read as targeting you or thin people, try not to take it personally.
@teacakes and Veronica S.
Yes, I’m taking it personally, it’s true. Then I’m sorry if she wasn’t being awkward and skinny shaming, I do feel aimed at when I hear this kind of statements. You know when you’re skinny or have been losing a lot of weight because of health issues/medications or whatever, some people are so ruthless in their jugement and contempt, considering you as a mental anorexic even when you’re not, yet considering it’s your one fault nonetheless, and taking whatever they think as an excuse to cricticize you openly etc… And her exact sentence is something I’ve heard from a few women, with a side-eye, though in a different context. Some things like “Yeah I’m big, but that’s because I, love to eat….*looking at you in a bitchy manner*”. I just don’t like it when a minority exploits another minory to make oneself feel better, I thought it was one of those case here and jumped at it.
That’s not what she’s saying at all. The reality is that many people cannot maintain a rail thin body without highly restricted diets. I am one of them. Even at my most physically fit, walking an hour and a half to work every day, exercising at the gym 5 days a week, counting my calories, AND working on my feet, I never dropped below 145 pounds and never had a flat stomach. Female bodies are generally designed to hold fat for childbirthing purposes, and for a lot of women, that’s just how it goes for them. It’s not a strike against the naturally slim.
I don’t see what’s odd about exercising during pregnancy. I worked out 4 times a week right until the end – I did a 3 mile swim about 2 hours before I went into labour. Obviously as you get bigger you have to modify what you’re doing (I ended up doing equipment Pilates, pregnancy yoga and swimming) but if you’re able it’s a great thing to do.
And good for her being able to be disciplined on her eating. I had HG and so was just mainlining pastries as that’s all I could keep down the whole pregnancy. But, again, if you’re able, what’s wrong with eating healthily?
well women of normal weight before they conceive are supposed to gain between 25-35 LBs during pregnancy and the average baby if born at term weighs around 7 LBs 10 Oz though it can be more or less when family history is taken into account for example Sarah Wright Olson’s daughter weighed 10 LBs 12 Oz at
birth while for another example Ice T and Coco’s daughter weighed 5 LBs 7 Oz at birth 8 1/2 months later Ice T & Coco’s daughter was born November 28th 2015 and Sarah Wright and Eric Olsen’s daughter Esme Olivia was born August 9th 2016 granted the later couples son Wyatt weighed 9 1/2 LBs at birth so the average birth weight of their children was 10 LBs 2 Oz
Babies will grow to fit the mother. If it’s a petite woman, you’re more likely to produce a smaller baby in terms of the height and length. (Short height has actually been associated with higher rates of pre-term birth, too.)
When the babies are pushing those double digit weights, it can be a sign that the mother suffers from gestational diabetes. I wouldn’t be surprised If that’s what happened with Olson.
My family has 8 or 9 pounders and the women are all 5′ tall. I was the giant and grew to 5’7″ and my baby was only 7lbs. So not sure if height has much to do with it.
I was shocked because i expected her to be chunky like i was especially because she was late. I gained 26 overall and lost it quickly but have plateaued at my exact prepreg weight when id like to lose a few more because im inches-wise still bigger than prepreg.
It’s a statistical trend according to some medical studies, not necessarily a hard and fast rule (thankfully). It’s sensible that evolution wouldn’t produce a species where a woman’s physical size doesn’t influence the infant she’s producing at all, but obviously other factors – build, medical history, etc. – will influence it.
Weight gain and appearance during pregnancy is so variable and individual. Some women gain weight during pregnancy due to factors beyond their control, some experience GI complications that increase bloating or abdominal distension, and a lot of it is just variations in build that distribute fat differently – which is why the social commentary on women’s pregnant and post-partum bodies is so obnoxious. Everyone’s situation is different.
My obgyn told me that baby weight is based on what the parents weighed at birth. If there are no medical conditions involved like gestational diabetes, the pregnancy weight is gained by the mother not the baby.
You can gain 90 pounds and have a 6 lb baby – your weight doesn’t make your baby weigh more than it was genetically going to weigh.
Generally, exercise is fine for the majority of the pregnancy. Toward the last few months, doctors usually tell women to cut down on high intensity cardio due to the physical stress, but that can also depend on the health of the mother.
That green is a very pretty color on her.
She looks fantastic, seems to be in a great place, and I NEED TO SEE OCEAN’S 8 LIKE, YESTERDAY.
I feel like exercise is one of those things that has mild preventative effects against gestational diabetes. It’s obviously not failproof (we all know a marathoner who develops it), but it’s sure good to do, especially during pregnancy.
My OB told me the baby triggers GD and that there’s nothing a woman can do to prevent it. Most women can control the resulting blood sugar issues by exercising and restricting carbs though.
Being overweight carries a higher risk of developing GD as does gaining weight too rapidly in early pregnancy [as do a few other things.]
Once you’ve had GD, you are then at a higher risk to develop Type II diabetes later on as well. Staying active and eating healthily [keeping blood sugar levels stable] are a good way to try and prevent it. Of course it’s no guarantee, but doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.
Kaiser, get you a Chi hair straightener. #treatyoself
Motherhood looks good on her. She seems happier and more beautiful than ever before. Congrats!
Real question: what are the guidelines for weight gain while pregnant in the US?
I know in France they now say it should be between 10 to 15 kg (22 to 33 lbs). Some friends of mine have been “told off” by the midwife following their pregnancy for gaining too much weight too fast. Shit’s serious!
Happened to a friend of mine in Italy too.
In the US, it depends on prepregnancy weight:
Normal weight: 25-35 lbs
Overweight: 20-30 lbs
Underweight: 30-40 lbs
She looks pretty and happy, glad for her.
I really wonder about this. A family friend was very teeny tiny while pregnant and obsessive about not gaining too much weight. I’m not sure what happened exactly, but she had the baby very prematurely and he was really really tiny. My mom wouldn’t comment on it, but simply said “babies need nourishment.” I also know of another acquaintance, who is obsessively trying not to gain too much weight. Shes doing the whole 30, but claims shes not dieting, and works out obsessively. Shes due in a month. Is this normal?
I might have a baby in 2 years and I’m a little overweight now. I’m not obese, but curvy. I’d like to spend the next year losing about 30 pounds, so that if and when I get pregnant, I’d probably be the size I am right now. Mama’s is that reasonable? Lol I have no clue.
Sounds like your family friends have eating disorders, honestly. Good nutrition and exercise should be maintained if possible, but weight gain is a natural and necessary part of pregnancy. If you don’t feed your body, the baby will use your body as the backup energy reservoir. That’s not good for either the health of the child or the mother.
Agree about the eating disorder. A healthy baby is more important than a dress size. Low baby birth weight can lead to health problems and expenses that can last a lifetime. All because the mom didn’t want to gain some weight?
It’s definitely worth trying to lower your weight into a healthy range before you plan to get pregnant. Try focus on healthy eating and exercise rather than any fads or shakes or pills. Eat more veggies at every meal and drink a bunch more water is a great start. Adding more exercise in now will be great for your pregnant body – you’ll likely recover a bit better after the birth too although of course this isn’t a guarantee. Best of luck to you!
Just wanted to share what worked for me when I was pregnant. I never weighed myself. I ate lots of healthy food and went for walks or did yoga when I was up to it. I rested when I was able, given my work. My blood pressure was good throughout the pregnancy. I was tested for gestational diabetes, and I was fine, so I didn’t have to be strict about what I ate. Baby is healthy. I got soooooo fat. A lot of fat came off in the first year, but I am still much bigger than I have ever been. Still never stepped on a scale. Blood pressure still good. I have no idea what I weigh and I don’t want to know. Would rather focus on my work and my family, all of which I am grateful for. The extra body fat will keep coming off gradually, as I continue to eat well and exercise. There’s no need for me to weigh myself. If I did, knowing me, I am sure I would feel bad about the number. I would rather enjoy my loving family.
Mindy got her lips done!
Have we seen her baby yet? I bet she’s super cute.
Speaking of babies…saw a headline stating the Clooney twins are one year old. Have we ever seen them?