Mindy Kaling Says She's the Healthiest She's Been in Years Thanks to Her Kids

This year, Mindy Kaling's best birthday gift came from her kids. In an Instagram post shared on June 24, the television producer and mom of two got candid about turning 44 and feeling motivated to keep up with her health for the sake of her family. "Look I know I'm clearly materialistic but the best birthday gift to me, for the rest of my life, are these two guys," she captioned a photo of her kids, 5-year-old Katherine and 2-year-old Spencer.

In her caption, Kaling shared that she originally didn't envision herself having kids until the passing of her mom in 2012. "When my mom passed though, it just clicked in me: I wanted kids with such intense certainty. I bet some of you can relate," she said. "Now I'm just trying to be present for them (hard for me! I'm impatient!), being up for anything (again hard for me, I am not whimsical!), and stay healthy for these two guys (ALSO hard! I just want to eat cheesesteaks every meal in front of the TV)." But even though it's difficult at times, her love for her family transcends even the most delicious cheesesteak. In fact, according to Kaling, she's the healthiest she's been in a long time.

"My doctor told me that this year I was the healthiest I've been in years," she said. "That's a pretty damn good gift, right?" Not only is she healthier thanks to the motivation from her kids, but these days, Kaling said she genuinely feels happier, too — something she once told Meghan Markle she's learning to focus on as a single mother. "I'm usually kind of low-level anxious, so I'm just gonna take one minute on my birthday to acknowledge that I am happy," she wrote. "Man, there are ups and downs in this life!! But my ups seem to be the most important ones right now."