The Personality Types Most Likely to Have Trouble Losing Weight (And Tips to Start Losing!)

By now everyone and their mother has heard of the Myers-Briggs personality test, right?

That’s the test that gives you a 4 letter designation to describe your personality, example: ISFJ, ESTP, ENFP. This isn’t just a fun cutesy Facebook type test for giggles, the Myers-Briggs personality test is actually used clinically by psychologists to help figure out what personality type a person has.

Overall, there are 16 personality types based on four basic deviations:

Where your attention is focused: (E) Extroversion or (I) Introversion

How you take in information: (S) Sensing or (N) Intuition

The way you make decisions: (T) Thinking or (F) Feeling

How you see the world: (J) Judging or (P) Perceiving

To figure out your personality type, I highly recommend you take the quick, easy, and free test here.

Certain personality types are correlated with certain behaviors — one being impulsiveness. Studies are beginning to show that impulsive personalities have a tendency to gain and have trouble losing weight. One study, for example, found that people who had increased impulsiveness had a greater tendency to give in to temptations, which led to a 10 percent increase in weight.

Other studies show that people who tend to be extroverted eat more high-energy sugary and junk foods when they’re feeling emotional. On the flip side, people who are more conscious and aware of themselves and their surroundings tend to have more self-control and indulge less in emotional eating. They also eat more foods that are considered healthy like fruits and vegetables.

I am an ESTJ. Aka, “The Executive”, these make up about 11% of the population, and lucky me, my personality trait is known as an impulsive one. I have found that without structure or a game plan, I DO tend to be impulsive about my food choices, and I am one hell of an emotional eater.

If you know you have the tendency to be more impulsive, or are easy affected emotionally, and you are trying to lose weight, it is imperative that you set up some solid goals and a game plan to work towards a healthier diet.

Weight Loss Tips for Impulsive Personality Types

1. Set solid and measurable goals.

Setting realistic goals can make the process of letting go of poor food choices a lot easier. Writing down your goals and setting measurable milestones can keep impulsiveness at bay. It also helps to have a step by step diet plan to build up healthy habits that you can adopt as a lifestyle.

I have been using the South Beach Diet meal plans (CLICK HERE to check out the service). In addition to sending pre-made meals to take the guesswork out of mealtimes, it comes with a mini-workbook with eating guidelines, timelines and a set plan to follow. It’s completely structured, while simultaneously allowing room for flexibility for eating on to go and busy schedules!

2. Gather some accountability partners.

Supportive relationships are essential to healthy lifestyles. You will need support from friends, family, or counselors that will offer solid support, even in your shortcomings. Letting a friend or diet buddy know your goals and writing them down or talking about them out loud can make them feel more real.

It also takes some of the weight off your shoulders to know you have someone who can help you and offer encouragement whenever you need it. I am blessed to have a strong support and diet buddy in my husband and in my good friend and next door neighbor – we all love to cheer each other on, and we are all following the South Beach Diet, so having the same diet plan helps as well!

In addition to my network of support, the South Beach Diet also provides e-mail support in a diet counselor, which is great for random questions and concerns. Even if you don’t know them personally, it’s great to know they have your back and that their support can be just a quick e-mail away!

3. Practice mindfulness and journal your journey.

Mindfulness is a great way to become more aware of yourself and your actions, and a great tool for keeping impulsiveness at bay. I have found that keeping a notebook with you throughout the day, or journaling your journey through social media apps like Instagram and Facebook (and blogging!), will give you insight into your habits, thoughts and inclinations. Especially useful is keeping a food log of everything you eat in a day (the South Beach Diet provides a little book for easy meal tracking), as well as any time you crave a certain food or want to give in to a temptation.

Be sure to make special notes of how you are feeling when you crave certain foods and the situation surrounding the craving. Writing everything down will give you an opportunity to make connections and see patterns in order to make active changes. Publishing your actions on a public forum also go a long way to producing consistency in your actions!

[Disclaimer: I am an independent product reviewer and the product in this post was provided for review. I only review products I am truly interested in and I do not accept payment for reviews. All of my reviews are unbiased regardless of how the item was obtained.]

Do you have an impulsive personality type? Share below!