Do you think that personality has an effect on weight loss success?

threewins

I do because I think that I am highly motivated towards weight loss (I've been at goal weight 5 times, yo-yoed nearly 300 kg) however I have a habit of half-donkeying* things. Maybe successful weight losers have a special personality which makes them highly motivated and experienced at completing tasks, hence they reach goal weight quickly and stay there. What do you think?


*American name for donkey

estherpotter1

Any one can do it .It just takes discipline.

manderson27

I don't think it is to do with personality as such. You will find many different personalities on MFP successfully losing weight. It is more about finding a sustainable way to eat for you and sticking to it consistently over time.

Perhaps if you are an impatient person then you will struggle more but there is no speicial personality that makes it easier and faster to lose weight.

nighthawk584

I'm a procrastinator and have had incredible success with my weight loss goals. Once I FINALLY set my mind to do something, I don't quit.

cmriverside

Maybe.

I think many people have what seems to be intolerable levels of stress, anxiety and other mental health issues.

It's understandable that food can and does become a balm, a soothing activity, a way to change the mood. Until and unless the underlying issues are addressed, the problem will remain.

PKM0515

Yes, I definitely think that personality plays a part.

Lietchi

nighthawk584 wrote: »

I'm a procrastinator and have had incredible success with my weight loss goals. Once I FINALLY set my mind to do something, I don't quit.

Me too.
So many things I've postponed, to the point of thinking I had no self discipline. (For example: it took me 14 years after my first lesson to take (and fortunately pass) my driver's license exam.)
But weight loss has been, quite frankly, easy. Well, I'm only halfway now and maintenance will be another interesting time, but I do feel optimistic.

I am very patient though, which certainly helps. I don't think many people with a BMI of 34 set their weight loss rate at 0.5lbs(0.25kg)/week
And what also helps is my 'data geekiness', I find it very helpful to enter all my data into a spreadsheet to understand my own body, so weight fluctuations don't make me panic.

Sand_TIger

I think if you are stubborn and refuse to give up you will be a lot more successful at weight loss. However all personalities can be stubborn.

bmeadows380

I think having certain personality types can be a help or a hindrance, but I think its not something that cannot be overcome if someone is aware of their natural tendencies.

missysippy930

You definitely need an unrelenting determination to succeed at this, but that’s probably true for any goal.

Mov3mor3

An error with the personality trait of emotions and handling of them can be an obstacle to some. Not everyone has an eating disorder though. Weight loss is easy if done correctly, but those issues with emotion for me has caused it to come back every time. I've lost 80, 100, 50.. Something life-altering would happen and I'd always yo-yo.
I'm almost 22 lbs. down since 1/1. I'm pretty sure I'm ready for whatever life throws at me this time. I'm not emotionally invested in my weight loss this time.

MarziPanda95

I do think personality plays a part, but not the whole personality. More... are you able to understand how to lose weight and not get sidetracked by woo? Are you able to stick to tracking and logging? There's a certain degree of determination and willingness, motivation and stubbornness. But I think those things can apply to nearly every personality. I have a friend who is similar to me, we're both pretty lazy and big procrastinators. I think the biggest difference between us in terms of trying to lose weight is belief. I believe I can do it, he doesn't believe he can do it. He thinks weight loss is hard and lacks the discipline to stick to a calorie goal - and he finds calorie counting tedious. For me, counting is a part of my daily routine (and when I stopped doing it, I gained 40lbs back) so I don't find it difficult. I also haven't given up any foods I like, whilst he thinks he has to stop eating everything he loves to lose weight.

I also have friends who want to lose weight but won't accept that the reason they can't is because they're eating too much. I'm not sure if that's personality or if it's wilful ignorance of some kind.

amtyrell

I think it is a cop out to say it is harder or easier based on personality.
It is not taking responsibility and is an excuse.
I

ElizabethKalmbach

I think personality has something to do with the mnemonics and habits that work well for different sorts of people, but I don't think there's any sort of personality that can't lose weight or be disciplined. It's a matter of figuring out how your brain works and what you can do to harness those quirks.

apullum

Personality obviously has nothing to do with the basic math of calorie intake, but I think personality matters a lot for how one chooses to stay within a calorie goal. For example, among folks over on the maintenance board, there are some who still log very carefully, some who log less carefully, and some who do not log at all. All of those folks have found ways to maintain that work for their own psychology and physical needs. None of the ways are "right" for everyone, just right for the individual.

Urun4me

I guess it depends on what your definition of personality is. It's generally defined as something like the complete traits of your behavior that make you different from everyone else. I think, by definition, the answer to the question is yes.

Most overweight people want to lose weight. Most don't. Some do. Absent the physical and environmental differences, personality would, by definition, be the reason for the success.

RelCanonical

I self-sabotage, so I only succeed when I half-*kitten* it, lol. I think people's personality traits help determine the route they take, but I think success can be found by anyone.

kshama2001

While not universally true, my understanding is that people can generally lose weight, it's keeping it off that is the challenge. Sure, personality could help with that. But so can education.

The Half Size My podcast episode about Diet Cycles was illuminating - the host had yoyo'd for around a decade. She said if her focus had been just losing 1 pound a month it would have been easier for her to sustain her weight loss and not get back into the weight regain cycle, and in the long run she would have reached her goal faster.

AnnPT77

I think that understanding one's own personality and inclinations, then working intelligently in light of that understanding, is really important. (I usually think of it as "gaming my inclinations".)

For example: I'm hedonistic and impulsive. I don't like following other people's rules. That means I need to find ways to eat foods I truly enjoy, that pre-logging a day or week ahead would be a terrible approach, and that I'd rebel a against any kind of rules-y structured "diet". But I'm unemotional, am analytical, and like data. This makes daily weighing, a food scale, and calorie counting nearly the perfect toolset for me.

lemurcat2

Ann just said what I was thinking -- no, you don't need a specific personality to succeed at weight loss, but you do need to adopt a strategy that works with your personality.

I also think maintenance can be hardest, and I think this is true no matter the personality. One thing I've found is that weight loss/maintenance is harder when I have other major stressors in my life, and in those times I don't have a different personality, weight is just less of a priority. I think to deal with that the habits that help one maintain (or lose, assuming one has started) need to be established and not something that requires a lot of effort to continue.

springlering62

In the words of Dave Ramsey (regarding both debt and weight), you just have to reach the point of “being sick and tired of being sick and tired”.

I can pinpoint that moment.

seltzermint555

I think so, yes. I am a person who follows pretty much ALL rules to a tee and I'm very goal-oriented. ISTJ personality type. I am also a perfectionist. So yeah I'm a lot of fun...not.

For many years, I think weight/overeating was a mystery to me in some ways and I didn't even try to do better because I was already so heavy and knew I wasn't likely to "excel" at nutrition, fitness, etc. Once everything clicked for me regarding calories in/out, I did much better. I can tend to be overly strict with myself and that's something I've struggled with for a long time but I finally believe I've found a pretty good balance. I'm maintaining a major 100+ loss for going on 7 years.

My husband and I are both like this. Get enough sleep, drink enough water, eat enough veggies, zero debt, etc. Some of our friends are equally determined/successful in their careers as we are, but they tend to drink alcohol more, don't take care of themselves, rack up extra bills, and can't seem to keep weight loss off. Of course there are TONS of additional factors involved for everyone but I do think personality plays a role.

MaintainInTheMembrane

Yes I do, but personalities can grow and evolve over time if the person chooses to put in the work.

corinasue1143

springlering62 wrote: »

In the words of Dave Ramsey (regarding both debt and weight), you just have to reach the point of “being sick and tired of being sick and tired”.

I can pinpoint that moment.

And I am just the opposite. I am “sick and tired of being sick and tired”, but I am also an “all or nothing, start at the last moment to slide into home minutes before the deadline” person. It took me years to push myself into trying the first time.
I’m still trying to talk myself into it the second time. I really think I’m making progress, but I Soooo wish I could cross that line
NOW!

NovusDies

And I am the opposite of @AnnPT77. I like rules and structure. My problem has always been that I go stupid strict and aggressive.

Knowing these things about myself the solution this time was to make rules to disallow zealous behavior.

One of the things that people do not always grasp is that a way to accomplish something is not always the best way. For instance many people find smoking relieves stress but that does not make it the best way or even an ideal way to relieve stress. Low carb is a way to lose weight. It may be the most ideal way to lose weight for someone you know. They may rave about how effortless it is. Even though you COULD lose weight doing it, it doesn't make it your best way if you wake up everyday missing carbs and wanting to go back to normal. (I know the discussion was not about low carb but since it is a popular method I used it as an example)

The thing to ask yourself is really is a person who is accomplishing their goals easily highly motivated or did they pick a path that requires little added motivation?

When you look at things differently you may see that personality may play a role but I do not think it plays a big role unless we are dealing with an extreme case.

rodnichols69

SaraKim17 wrote: »

Yes, I definitely think that personality plays a part.

Agreed. People with a negative outlook generally tend give up on the process. People with an optimistic outlook generally find even the smallest wins to keep them motivated.

springlering62

rodnichols69 wrote: »

SaraKim17 wrote: »

Yes, I definitely think that personality plays a part.

Agreed. People with a negative outlook generally tend give up on the process. People with an optimistic outlook generally find even the smallest wins to keep them motivated.

Now that’s a very interesting take on things. I hadn’t even thought about that. Some very negative people left my life, and I found myself becoming more and more positive the less contact I had. Maybe the change of mindset helped. I could see that,

Before it was Eyore “oh I can never do this” but afterwards it became, “Little steps add up to big success, and I can do this”.

Interestingly, the negative people are now, unfortunately and unavoidably, back in my life, but with my success here I seem to have built up enough thick skin to make it water off a ducks back. Their criticism is no longer “why did you let yourself get so fat?”, and has turned into “your new hairstyle is so ugly”. I see now that it’s them, not me, and while it stings for a moment, the negativity and jealousy no longer rules me or determines who I am. I get to make those decisions.

So yes, positive outlook, definitely has a impact, however, you can also determine what outlook you want to take on life.

cupcakesandproteinshakes

I think everyone can lose weight they just need to find a way that suits their personality and lifestyle

Buttermello

I dont necessarily think that personality controls weight loss success, but I do feel as though it has an impact.

Certain personality types are too stubborn to fail, some are too stubborn to see ways in which they may be sabotaging thenselves, while some personalities may have trouble sticking to one plan and bounce around a lot (eventually getting to the goal, but maybe it takes a bit longer to get there).

cwolfman13

threewins wrote: »

I do because I think that I am highly motivated towards weight loss (I've been at goal weight 5 times, yo-yoed nearly 300 kg) however I have a habit of half-donkeying* things. Maybe successful weight losers have a special personality which makes them highly motivated and experienced at completing tasks, hence they reach goal weight quickly and stay there. What do you think?


*American name for donkey

IDK...I successfully lost 40 Lbs and have kept it off for the most part going on 7 years this spring. I don't have any kind of special motivation powers or anything. When I started, it wasn't even really about losing weight...I just had a bunch of bad health markers and my Dr. told me to get my *kitten* together.

From there is was about researching better nutrition...what should I be eating that will help with this or that...starting to get in some regular exercise, etc. I understood early on that this was all going to be a process, and a rather lengthy one. I embraced that process rather than embracing some end result or number on a scale. I used that process to educate myself and develop healthy habits that would be necessary not only for maintaining a good weight, but also my health in general.

I think a lot of people just aren't educated to the process and therefore have unrealistic expectations of how things are going to go...they end up giving up because their unrealistic expectations aren't met and they do not understand process. I think people who lose weight only to put it back on have somewhere along the line failed to understand that much of what they were doing while dieting has to be continued in maintenance...you can't just say "done" and go back to the things you were doing before...you have to have a new normal...you have to continue to monitor your weight regularly and have an intervention point...you have to continue to eat well for the most part and most people who maintain long term have some kind of regular exercise in their lives.

kshama2001

cwolfman13 wrote: »

threewins wrote: »

I do because I think that I am highly motivated towards weight loss (I've been at goal weight 5 times, yo-yoed nearly 300 kg) however I have a habit of half-donkeying* things. Maybe successful weight losers have a special personality which makes them highly motivated and experienced at completing tasks, hence they reach goal weight quickly and stay there. What do you think?


*American name for donkey

IDK...I successfully lost 40 Lbs and have kept it off for the most part going on 7 years this spring. I don't have any kind of special motivation powers or anything. When I started, it wasn't even really about losing weight...I just had a bunch of bad health markers and my Dr. told me to get my *kitten* together.

From there is was about researching better nutrition...what should I be eating that will help with this or that...starting to get in some regular exercise, etc. I understood early on that this was all going to be a process, and a rather lengthy one. I embraced that process rather than embracing some end result or number on a scale. I used that process to educate myself and develop healthy habits that would be necessary not only for maintaining a good weight, but also my health in general.

I think a lot of people just aren't educated to the process and therefore have unrealistic expectations of how things are going to go...they end up giving up because their unrealistic expectations aren't met and they do not understand process. I think people who lose weight only to put it back on have somewhere along the line failed to understand that much of what they were doing while dieting has to be continued in maintenance...you can't just say "done" and go back to the things you were doing before...you have to have a new normal...you have to continue to monitor your weight regularly and have an intervention point...you have to continue to eat well for the most part and most people who maintain long term have some kind of regular exercise in their lives.

Speaking of unrealistic expectations, mine were certainly warped when I first came to MFP after watching Biggest Loser!