Health and Weight Loss Tips for Every Myers-Briggs® Personality Type

With the new year upon us and many of us writing up resolutions to be healthier and lose pounds, I’ve started to wonder, could different personality types favor different dieting styles? The more I’ve thought about it the more I’ve realized it’s very likely. For example, SJ types tend to like working in sequential, methodical order and they trust tried-and-true, evidence-based programs. As a result, they’d probably favor diets that have been recommended by trusted doctors that have a clear, structured plan. Intuitives focus more on the future than the present so they may be motivated by a program that emphasizes a future vision or ideal. I decided to do more research about the different plans out there, and also speak to people from each type to see what type of diets they found to be the most appealing or effective.

I am not affiliated in any way with any of these diet plans/strategies and don’t make any money if you sign up for them.

Not sure what your personality type is? Take our new personality questionnaire here. Or you can take the official MBTI® here.

Health and Weight Loss Tips For Each Myers-Briggs® Personality Type

The Ideal ISTJ Diet Plan

ISTJs are organized and decisive. They trust tried-and-true methods based on facts and supported evidence. When they look for a diet they want something that has structure, clear guidelines, and feels attainable because it is broken down into small steps. ISTJs tend to hold themselves to a high standard and can be very self-critical when it comes to their body image and dieting abilities. It’s important that they celebrate their successes, no matter how small, as they start on their weight loss journey.

From speaking with ISTJs in groups and in person I’ve found that many have had positive results by using a food journal or free app like My Fitness Pal. Creating attainable goals (like losing 1 lb. per week) and consistently logging in food choices and seeing charts that show progress were all motivating.

“I lost 40 lbs. in one year by logging my food with My Fitness Pal. It’s all about just creating consistency and routine, which is something we (ISTJs) are pretty good at. It’s really pretty simple. You just put in your current weight, your goal weight, your activity level, and then you get the recommended daily calories you should eat. Every day I log my calories in and my exercise and that’s it! It’s not a huge, complicated ordeal and it works. That’s all I need.”
– Charisse, an ISTJ

The hardest struggle ISTJs face with weight loss is letting go of favorite foods that are unhealthy. ISTJs greatly enjoy routine and repeating the same meals regularly. If they are used to having a midnight bowl of ice cream, this habit can be especially hard to break. Kenneth, an ISTJ I spoke with, said that he had to find healthy replacements for his usual favored snacks that he really enjoyed. This took some time. After a while, he got used to replacing the bowl of ice cream with cinnamon roasted almonds and apples with peanut butter.

Tips for ISTJs Trying to Lose Weight:

– Celebrate each success, no matter how small!

– Take small, bite-sized (no pun intended) steps.

– Don’t beat yourself up when you have failures. Just pick yourself up and keep going.

– For you, it’s about creating a habit and routine. It takes 26 days to form a habit, so focus on getting through the first 26 days of eating healthy and after that it should get much easier!

–  Want to keep your brain alert and active? Check out this list of 15 brain foods that boost attention and focus.

– Find healthy snacks that you just love. You want snacks that you can enjoy again and again and not get sick of, so make a list of healthy foods you enjoy and see what you can come up with. This will also help you to not binge on unhealthy snacks when you’re feeling tempted.

– Start some consistent easy habits that will help you burn more calories. Choose parking places that will make you walk further to get inside a store and take stairs instead of elevators.

– Try to add 20% more veggies and greens to your plate and reduce your entree by 20%.

– When you go out to eat, ask the waiter to box up half of your meal in a doggy bag so you can take it home. This will help you not to overeat when you go out. Most of the time restaurants serve double or three times the portions you really need.

 

The Ideal ISFJ Diet Plan

ISFJs enjoy having a structure and routine to their daily life. They also enjoy having support during their weight loss journey. For the ISFJ having a community of like-minded individuals to connect with on their health journey is important. Like the ISTJ, ISFJs also favor plans that are recommended by professionals and have stood the test of time. They want to know that they’re not signing up for a fad diet or something that doesn’t have evidence to back it up.

Weight Watchers is a good choice for ISFJs. In reviews of 11 popular commercial diets, Weight Watchers is one of only two diet plans that has evidence supporting long-term weight loss. For ISFJs who like a little more independence and privacy, Weight Watchers has an online program where they can track their points, find recipes, and interact in support groups and forums. For ISFJs who want a little more in-person companionship and mutual support, Weight Watchers has weekly meetings where members can find support, community, and encouragement.

Not wanting to spend the money? I get that! Here are some free diet tips for ISFJs:

– Find an accountability friend/partner. Ideally, this would be someone who is also trying to lose weight. Set aside time for a weekly text/phone call/meet-up to discuss your achievements, struggles, and goals.

– Take small steps and don’t get overwhelmed! Each step forward is important. Remember that it takes 26 days to form a habit, so really just push to making small, incremental improvements each day for 26 days and forming healthy habits.

– As an ISFJ you’re inspired by nature. Find a quiet, tranquil place to enjoy walks or jogs several times a week. This will give you something to look forward to and will also help to reduce stress!

– Work on eating five light, frequent meals instead of three large meals a day. This will keep your metabolism up and keep your appetite in check.

– As a Si-dominant personality type, you tend to like routine. If you’ve gotten into the habit of eating unhealthy foods at particular times it may be especially hard to change. Plan a day to go to the store and try a variety of healthy snacks and meals. Figure out which ones you think would make good replacements for the unhealthy snacks you’ve been enjoying and replenish your pantry in this way.

– Make sure to drink eight 8 oz. glasses of water each day. Drinking enough water improves your concentration and alertness, boosts weight loss, and reduces your risk of developing colon or bladder cancer.

The Ideal ESTJ Diet Plan

ESTJs are motivated, hard workers who are very decisive about setting their goals and keeping them. When they resolve to eat well and get healthy they are usually pretty committed and tough about it. They tend to look for diets that have authoritative evidence of reliability and they also enjoy plans that are consistent, structured, and clear. They want streamlined solutions that aren’t too complicated.

The DASH diet was recommended by several ESTJs I know. This diet is simple, straightforward, and it’s all about health instead of just weight loss. The original goal of the DASH diet was to lower blood pressure and stop hypertension, but as a result of the healthy eating involved almost everyone who uses this diet loses weight and experiences better overall health. The main focus of this diet is on eating more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins and getting rid of sugar, high-sodium, and unhealthy foods that can lead to poor heart health. This is more of a lifestyle change than a “get thin quick” diet, and that’s what makes it ideal for ESTJs who enjoy consistency.

Not wanting to spend any money? No problem. Here are some basic health/weight loss tips that works specifically for the ESTJ personality type:

– Don’t obsess over the scale! Your weight can fluctuate dramatically throughout the day. Ideally you should weigh yourself every two weeks in the morning after urinating. This is a better way to really see results and not get frustrated about natural fluctuations that come from hormones, water, etc,.

– Make a checklist! ESTJs love to check things off their list. Set up a small whiteboard with your weekly workout and exercise goals and enjoy checking those off as you go. This simple bit of motivation can make a big difference!

– Enjoy some healthy competition! ESTJs are naturally competitive. If someone sends you a temping picture of an unhealthy meal, think of a healthy, beautiful meal you can create and send a picture. Or you can find an accountability partner and motivate each other/compete to reach your exercise goals. Just be careful and don’t overdo it!

– Celebrate your successes! ESTJs can forget to acknowledge their successes and just focus on meeting their next, higher goal. Take a moment to appreciate how far you’ve gotten, even if it seems like just a baby step.

– Remember that it takes 26 days to form a habit. Know that those first 26 days of healthy eating will probably be the hardest, and then afterward your body will get accustomed to your routine.

– Don’t do an extreme, get thin quick diet. Focus more on creating a healthy, consistent lifestyle. As an ESTJ this is more likely to be effective for you.

– Find a healthy cookbook full of easy, simple meals with easy-to-find ingredients. Unless you really get a kick out of trying new recipes with rare ingredients then simple and consistent is likely to be more effective. Many ESTJs find that they fall off the wagon with diets when they get too complicated or their grocery lists are changing from week to week.

The Ideal ESFJ Diet Plan

ESFJs, like most Si-users, enjoy structure, consistency, and simplicity in their diet plan. They like to set goals and work towards them in sequential, attainable steps. They also find motivation by being part of a community of people with shared interests and goals. These are the types most likely to enjoy using a program like Weight Watchers, where they can have weekly meetups with their friends and celebrate their successes and find encouragement when they’re struggling.

Don’t want to spend the money on a Weight Watchers membership? No problem! Here are some simple tips geared towards your personality type that can help:

– Find a friend or a community of fellow people looking to get healthy. Being alone in your weight loss journey can be depressing, but being part of a team and sharing the same goals is much more motivating! Enjoy bi-weekly weigh-ins together, take jogs together, challenge each other, encourage each other, and swap healthy recipes!

– Make a checklist for your weekly goals and check them off as you go. This simple process is a small way of celebrating each step forward you make!

– If you want a simple, free solution to losing weight you can always go with an app like My Fitness Pal. You simply log in, put in your goal weight, current weight, height, and exercise level and the app will give you a customized caloric intake per day and you can track your foods easily with an online food journal.

– Track your water intake! Try to make sure you’re drinking eight 8 oz. glasses of water per day. You can even add this to a daily checklist (Yay! More items to cross off!)

– Try a “cook once, eat all week” plan so that you’re more likely to stay on track. You can make salads in mason jars, oatmeal in mason jars, healthy casseroles, or even freezer breakfast burritos packed with protein and healthy veggies! I found this great list of “eat all week” ideas here. If your healthy meals are already prepped and prepared you’re less likely to fall off the wagon because you didn’t know what to make or you were too tired to cook! Believe me, I’ve ordered pizza waaaaay too many times because I didn’t have time to fix dinner! So I understand!

The Ideal ISTP Diet Plan

When it comes to a diet, ISTPs want something that allows for spontaneity, isn’t overly-controlling and gives them plenty of variety and freedom. They generally enjoy physical exercise, so many times they prefer to get in shape through that means rather than altering their food intake excessively. From my talks with ISTPs, they are most motivated by the idea of being active, fit, and unhindered by poor health or the sluggish feelings that coincide with weight gain. The key for ISTPs is not to feel trapped by a program, to be able to have some fun with it and to have something pretty simple and straightforward.

Most of the ISTPs I spoke with didn’t really subscribe to paid diet plans, they were more interested in challenging themselves to get in shape or try some adventurous new physical feat that would take effort, strength, and overall body health. Here are some tips ISTPs gave me about how they stay in shape and get fit in a way that works with their lifestyle.

– Always keep your gym bag packed and ready! Stow it in the trunk of your car, that way whenever you’re feeling like taking a hike, dropping by the gym, or doing something adventurous you have the tools/gear you need.

– Sign up for a Tough Mudder obstacle course. These challenging courses require some preparation and fitness to get through and they can be a great motivator for getting fit and shedding some pounds.

– Pay attention to your body’s signals and hunger cues. As an Extraverted Sensor you are more aware of what’s happening outside of your body than what’s happening inside in relation to hunger. It’s not uncommon for Se-users to overeat when they’re enjoying a good meal and not realize they’re actually satisfied. Eat slower and notice when you’re feeling just satisfied enough. Gradually doing this will help you to realize better portion sizes.

– Don’t skip meals! Especially don’t skip breakfast. People who eat breakfast every day (high-protein, low carb/sugar breakfasts) tend to be more healthy and fit in the long run.

– Don’t wear yourself out right away and then give up. As an ISTP you may favor working in bursts of adrenaline over working at a steady pace. Sometimes if you start with huge expectations and then fail this can lead to a negative spiral and low self-esteem. Instead try to set realistic, consistent, attainable goals and don’t give up or beat yourself up when you have little failures.

– Keep healthy snacks available at all times so that when you get those spontaneous cravings and bouts of hunger you’ve got a healthy option to satisfy your needs.

The Ideal ISFP Diet Plan

ISFPs want a diet that allows them some freedom, adventure, and the ability to feel stronger, more limber, and more energized. For the ISFP it’s not just about looking a certain way, it’s about feeling free and unhindered by excess pounds and fatigue caused by a poor diet. ISFPs generally don’t want to be roped into a super strict regimen and they like to experiment with a variety of foods so a diet that makes eating right and getting fit fun is essential.

I talked to many ISFPs about dieting and what they did or didn’t like. Most of them came up with their own tailored approach to getting in shape. They almost all suggested cutting down on carbs and sugars and finding fun ways to exercise that didn’t seem like exercise.

Diet tips specifically for ISFPs:

– Dance, jog with a friend, swim, go on a bike ride. Find a type of exercise that you ENJOY doing! Listen to your favorite music, an audiobook, or a podcast to keep things interesting and entertaining. After a little while, it becomes addictive and you’ll be surprised by how much energy you have and how much healthier you feel!

– Start each meal with a giant salad full of delicious add-ons you love (but not high-fat cream dressings). Experiment with flavors like strawberries, avocado, ginger, sweet corn, cucumber, mint, and more. If you start each meal with a salad you’re less likely to overeat on carbs and high-fat foods. Plus your body will be getting more of the nutrients it needs!

– Keep a bag with gym/adventure gear always accessible. This way you can give into your spontaneity and pull off the side of the road for a hike or a quick trip to the gym.

– Don’t beat yourself up about failures. Everyone’s going to mess up sometimes. The point is to get up and keep trying!

– Always have an emergency healthy snack stash ready so that you don’t give into unhealthy meals and snacks that weigh you down!

– Don’t skip meals! Especially don’t skip breakfast. Try to start your day with a high-protein, low sugar/carb meal. This will keep you from feeling hungry throughout the entire day.

– Don’t get caught up in negative self-talk. Celebrate your successes no matter how small!

– Pay attention to what triggers your hunger and see if you can find healthy replacements. If you normally grab a snack during commercial breaks try to do a 7-minute workout (there’s a free app for this) during commercials. If you get the urge for a midnight sweet snack most every night, try to counteract this with some delicious herbal tea, infused water, or a piece of fruit with a small piece of dark chocolate.

– Get enough sleep! When you sleep less than 7 hours a night your body produces more of the hunger hormone ghrelin and lower levels of the fullness hormone leptin. Getting more sleep will help you to feel fuller longer!

The Ideal ESTP Diet Plan

For ESTPs, the right diet/health regimen involves lots and lots of action. These types want to be healthy because they want to feel physically free, energetic, and capable. One of the worst fears for many ESTPs is being incapable of moving with the vigor and energy they normally have, so fitness is often where this type excels. They tend to work best when they have a fitness goal they want to achieve or a competitive aspect to their weight loss/fitness. They also tend to feel better motivated if they can create some workout challenges with friends to keep their spirits up and their fun-loving, competitive spirit satisfied.

As I was speaking to ESTPs I found that they weren’t drawn to traditional diet plans. They preferred coming up with their own strategies that worked for them and were much less likely to enjoy something regimented and structured like Weight Watchers or the other top diet programs.

Here are some tips they gave me as well as some tips specially formulated for the ESTP type:

– As an ESTP you’re naturally competitive. Find a challenge partner who will help motivate you to get more intense with your workouts and stay on track with your diet goals.

– Keep that gym bag packed and in your car! This will help you as a spontaneous person to be able to hit the gym, pull off for a quick hike, or be up for fitness no matter where you are!

– It’s important to make fitness not feel like a chore. Find a hiking trail in a scenic location you enjoy, find a fitness partner who you enjoy being with, blast some music in your headphones while you run, dance, or run around with your kids! Challenge yourself by training for a 5K or a mud run.

– Find healthy snacks you LOVE and put them in all your favorite hangout places. This way when you get the spontaneous urge to snack, you’ll have healthy options instead of opting for a dominos pizza or a bowl of chocolate chips 🙂

– Don’t skip breakfast! Aim to eat a high-protein breakfast and smaller meals throughout the rest of the day.

– Cook once, eat all week. Make a giant batch of your favorite healthy food on the weekend and then package it in work-ready containers so that you don’t have to worry if you don’t have a healthy option to take to work. A lot of times people eat fast foods during their lunch breaks because they didn’t have the time to make a healthy meal. Getting it all cooked in one go and then having your meals ready for the week will help you stay on track.

The Ideal ESFP Diet Plan

For ESFPs, getting in shape involves staying active, having fun, and engaging with friends. These types hate feeling physically stifled or sluggish so they are usually drawn to high-energy fitness plans that feel more like recreation and less like pure exercise. They usually enjoy friendly competition and enjoy gathering their friends for a game of basketball, volleyball, or soccer. They also enjoy solo recreation like mountain biking, hiking, swimming, etc,.

ESFPs hate to feel stifled by an extremely regimented diet/fitness program. They want to feel free and independent and so they rarely go for the traditional diet plans. They want to enjoy a variety of foods and be able to spontaneously snack when the mood strikes.

Here are some diet/fitness tips I got from other ESFPs as well as from my own research:

– Find ways to make fitness fun! Dance for a half an hour a day, challenge your spouse or best friend to a fitness challenge, find a state park to go jogging, hiking, and tree-climbing in, run around the yard with the kids (or the dogs!)

– Set up healthy snacks in all your favorite “chill out” locations. This way you won’t resort to unhealthy snacks. Better yet, purge your home of unhealthy snacks and junk food!

– Avoid processed foods and sugar. These foods are extremely addictive and are terrible for your heart and overall health. When you’re craving sweets, opt for fresh fruits, sweet potatoes, raisins, or low-sugar whole-milk yogurt.

– Boost your serotonin levels! When you get enough sleep and/or exercise you boost your serotonin levels which reduces sugar and carb cravings and makes weight loss easier.

– Drink lots of water! Try to get at least eight 8 oz. glasses of water a day. When you drink enough you have better skin, hair, nails, and you crave sugar less!

– Find a workout/diet buddy! Having partnerships can really be encouraging and motivating, so see if you can find any friends who’d be interested in getting together for walks/jogs/or healthy recipe-swapping!

– Multi-task! As an ESFP you don’t like to be confined to a boring workout schedule. If you’re watching TV try to do 20 squats during the commercial break. Watching Netflix? Attempt some planks, wall sits, or even walking or jogging in place while you watch a show!

– Are you a social media lover? Every time you get a like or reaction on social media do five push-ups!

The Ideal INFJ Diet Plan

INFJs tend to have a love-hate relationship with food, health, and fitness. These types can go from forgetting to eat meals (inferior sensing types tend to struggle with remembering their bodily needs) to binge-eating when under stress. It can be difficult for them to remember to eat consistently healthy meals and when they do decide to focus on fitness and diet, they can become overly perfectionistic and self-critical when they fail to get the results they want as quickly as they want them. Overall, INFJs want to be healthy, active, and energetic. They are very future-oriented so focusing on their long-term goals helps them to stay motivated. They are usually well aware of the long-term health consequences of poor eating and many of them will do what they can to avoid being sluggish, worn out, and unhealthy in their later years.

For the future focused INFJ a diet like the Mediterranean diet seemed the most popular. This diet focuses on eating heart-healthy foods and encourages users to fill their plates with fruits, veggies, fish and whole grains. Mayo Clinic has stated that, “a meta-analysis of more than 1.5 million healthy adults demonstrated that following a Mediterranean diet was associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular mortality as well as overall mortality.”

The Mediterranean diet is also associated with a reduced risk of Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, and cancer. This diet seems to be an optimal choice for INFJs who are thinking about the future and how to be their healthiest now as well as then. You can find out more here.

Diet tips specifically for the INFJ personality type:

– Take time to visualize how you want to feel and look in the future. Don’t obsess over this image, but imagine how refreshed you’ll feel without unhealthy weight dragging you down or sugar cravings controlling your day. Imagine how much healthier and more active you’ll be when you’re older because you’ve made the right choices. Use these visualizations to keep you committed when you feel tempted.

– Take up yoga or another solo, mind-body exercise. Many INFJs find the meditative, calm nature of yoga or tai chi helps them to de-stress, stay fit, and stay focused throughout the day.

– As an INFJ you want to make the world a better place. Many INFJs find it motivating to eat foods that reduce their carbon footprint, or that will not be detrimental to animals, bees, or the environment in the future. I found this list of the best and worst foods to eat for the environment and maybe that will be helpful if this is motivating to you.

– Stay off the scale! If you want to weigh yourself, only step on it once every two weeks in the morning before eating breakfast. You’re more likely to see results this way and stay motivated. Weighing yourself every day or multiple times a day can throw you off track as your body weight naturally fluctuates throughout the day.

– Write down your goals for staying healthy and being fit. Keep your goals in a visible place in your home, maybe even on your refrigerator. That way the next time you’re tempted to grab an extra snack you’ll remember your goals. REMEMBER, don’t overdo it! Find out what your healthy weight and BMI should be and aim for that. Don’t go overboard or become obsessed with losing more weight than is healthy.

– When you’re stressed be aware that this might make you crave unhealthy food. When you’re calm make a list of activities that can de-stress you that don’t involve eating. Exercise, watching a goofy movie, talking to a friend, writing in a journal, listening to music, all these things can help you to de-stress. Figure out which methods help you the most and turn to those next time you’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed

– Try adding 20% more vegetables to your plate next time you sit down to eat, and try reducing your entree by 20%.

– Some INFJs find having a workout/weight-loss partner especially motivating. See if there’s anyone you know who is also trying to get in shape and together you can motivate each other, swap recipes, work out, and encourage each other.

Want a comprehensive guide to the INFJ personality type? Check out my eBook, The INFJ – Understanding the Mystic.

The Ideal INFP Diet Plan

INFPs are very idealistic and driven when it comes to improving the world and being their best selves. Many of them don’t like to be roped into extremely controlling, structured diets and would rather create their own customized plan than follow what someone else has put together. They are focused on improving the environment, improving their chances for a healthy future, and not having to spend too much time thinking about what they eat. They want to keep their minds free to consider other more absorbing subjects.

Many of the INFPs I spoke with (but not all) chose to eat a vegan or vegetarian diet. They had varying personal reasons for choosing this lifestyle, but their common motivation was to make the world a better place for not only themselves but for future generations (and animals!).

Diet tips specifically for the INFP personality type:

– Explore your local farmers markets to find healthier foods that aren’t filled with hormones, preservatives, and are more environmentally friendly.

– Spend time in nature when you exercise. Take your dog (if you have one) out for a jog, explore a beautiful forest with walking trails you can meander through, or find a beautiful biking spot where you can take in the beauty of the world around you and stimulate your imagination at the same time.

– Get enough sleep! As an INFP it can be easy to let your thoughts and reflections control your entire night. Give yourself at least 20 minutes of wind-down, technology-free time before bed to help you calm your mind and make sure you’re getting at least 7-8 hours of sleep. When you don’t get enough sleep consistently, you become more insulin resistant and fats will circulate in your body and pump out more insulin. Eventually, this leads to your body storing fat in all the wrong places. You’ll also feel more groggy and stressed.

– Enjoy fitness with a cause. You can take a walk along your local beaches, neighborhood pathways, or forest trails and pick up trash that can harm the environment.

– Do you find yourself snack-ish on your way home from work or when you’re reading a book late at night? Keep a healthy snack on hand in each of these locations so that when the mood strikes you have something nutritious to satisfy you. Some good options are a handful of almonds, pistachios, health warrior bars, bananas or rice cakes.

– Spend a lot of time in your books? Check out these exercises you can do while you study, which would also work while you read!

The Ideal ENFJ Diet Plan

ENFJs are big-picture, goal-oriented individuals who are usually very motivated to stay healthy and in shape. That said, they also tend to be social eaters and can struggle with overeating during gatherings with friends or while hosting events where food is involved. For the ENFJ eating is an exciting adventure, their tertiary extraverted sensing (Se) function makes them fond of trying a variety of foods and cuisines from different countries. When it comes to dieting and getting in shape, ENFJs prefer to stay active, get outdoors, and work out their goals with friends who are also trying to get into a healthier lifestyle. They also tend to enjoy having some structure and planning involved; they especially like checking items off their to-do lists!

“I like to dance to lose weight. I try to make dieting and fitness feel like a game or a fun gift I give to myself instead of a chore. I dance every day by myself, with my husband, my kids, or I go out on family bike rides. It’s been a great way to get closer to my family and spend more time together.”
– Alice, an ENFJ

When it comes to diet plans I found a lot of variety in what ENFJs preferred. Many enjoyed programs like Weight Watchers that were well-structured and centered around community, and others preferred to eat vegetarian/vegan. Most ENFJs I spoke with wanted to stay away from hormones, pesticides, and foods that might impact the environment in a negative way.

Diet Tips for ENFJs:

– Don’t obsess over the scale! Many EJ types become addicted to weighing themselves as they diet. Try to step on the scale no more than once a week, on the same day every week, in the morning before you eat. This way you’ll see consistent progress (even if it’s in small increments) and you won’t get frustrated when your weight naturally fluctuates throughout the day.

– As an ENFJ you may be an all or nothing kind of person. Try to assess your goals and make sure they’re realistic and attainable in the long run, even on days when you’re stressed or really busy. Focus on baby steps and don’t get self-critical when you aren’t moving as fast as you want to.

– Make exercise fun! Get a friend to go jogging, biking, hiking, or mountain climbing with you! Take dancing lessons or find some other creative ways to get in shape that don’t feel like work.

– Celebrate your successes! Plan a small celebration when you reach your milestones. For example, after you lose your first 10 lbs. plan a special night out with your friends and hit up a movie you’ve been dying to see or buy yourself a book you’ve been wanting to read!

– As an ENFJ you have a competitive streak that people rarely talk about. Group class settings can help to stimulate that competitive side and encourage you to stay motivated.

– When you shop for food, take the chance to check out your local farmers’ markets to get sustainable produce, hormone-free meats, and to support and connect with members of your community!

– Many ENFJs have adventurous tastes, and that’s a good thing! Ethnic foods tend to have a lot of exotic spices, and these spices can help to raise your metabolism and tend to make you fuller faster. Just try to steer clear of excessive amounts of rice; you can use grated, cooked cauliflower as a healthier replacement for rice.

The Ideal ENFP Diet Plan

ENFPs are adventurous, imaginative, and spontaneous individuals who tend to get excited about new diets but then get bored when they feel constrained or “boxed in” because of them. It’s important for ENFPs to have flexibility in their food choices and not feel trapped or tied down to the same foods day in and day out. ENFPs also like to meet attainable goals regularly and celebrate their successes with friends who share the same goals. ENFPs want a diet that is flexible, adjustable, and has a bigger purpose for the future (they’ll avoid health problems in the future, alzheimers, parkinsons, or they’ll reduce their negative impact on the environment).

Most ENFPs I spoke with didn’t really care for rigid, structured diets. Many said they would readily try new diets, but get bored very quickly and give up. I think for this type having a variety of healthy options is important as well as encouragement from a friend (if possible) who is also trying to get healthier.

Diet Tips for ENFPs:

– Get an accountability partner! Find someone who also wants to get healthier and make a better future for themselves. Stay in touch, share your successes, and celebrate when you reach your milestones! Swap healthy food recipes and exercise together to stay motivated.

– Fitness/meal planning apps can help you to stay on track and easily see the healthiest choices when you go out to eat. My Fitness Pal is a great free app that will track your weight loss, fitness, and food intake. When you’re at a restaurant you can quickly look up foods on the menu and see how many calories they have so you avoid splurging on the wrong things!

– Make fitness fun! Dance, go mountain climbing, find a challenging hiking trail, take up a new sport. ENFPs are stimulated by challenge so pick something that will make you sweat and won’t get dull.

– ENFPs tend to enjoy reading. Opt for an audiobook and while you listen take a jog or a walk outside in the fresh air. You can also do crunches, planks, and other workout routines while listening.

– As a spontaneous individual, you might want to keep some healthy snacks available in the places you normally get hungry. Try to measure out the snacks so that you don’t graze too much. Almonds, fruits, low-sugar granola bars, and baby carrots and hummus are all good options!

– Find a way to combine your values with fitness! Some animal shelters want volunteers to come and play with the animals or walk the dogs. You could also walk along your local beaches, neighborhood paths, and forest trails and pick up garbage.

– It’s easy to get impatient with your progress, especially if you’re only focusing on pounds lost. That’s why it’s important to think of many layers of progress. It’s not just about pounds, think about your waist and thigh measurements, how much healthier you feel, drinking eight 8 oz. glasses of water for a week, or cutting your sugar intake by half. Think about how much easier it is to do a 7-minute workout this week than it was two weeks ago! There are a lot of accomplishments you can consider besides just pounds on a scale!

The Ideal INTJ Diet Plan

INTJs are long-range thinkers who are motivated to stay in shape because they want to have freedom and energy no matter how old they get. They also appreciate the mental energy and focus that comes from eating healthy. For the INTJ, a healthy diet is usually less about appearance and vanity and more about staying physically limber, healthy, and able to live up to their physical and mental potential.

INTJs had a huge variety of diet preferences, so I couldn’t narrow down a specific plan that seemed ideal for that type. They all expressed an interest in staying healthy in later life and keeping their minds clear. For a type that is so often intellectual and mentally intense, “brain fog” is a major frustration. With that in mind, I have a few tips here for INTJs looking to be healthier, and feel more mentally equipped and focused.

Diet Tips for INTJs:

– Check out this list of 15 foods that boost brain focus and memory. Try to add these to your diet regularly. Aim for at least 3 1/2 cups of veggies a day, and 2 cups of fresh fruit.

– Balance fitness with meditation. Daily meditation improves focus, attention, and memory and also helps to reduce stress and anxiety.

– Get enough sleep! As an INTJ your mind is very active and you may find yourself awake at night unable to calm all the thoughts bustling through your head. Try to unplug from technology at least 30 minutes before you’d like to be asleep. Wind down, read a book, drink a cup of hot tea, or take a bath. Adults need 7-8 hours of sleep every night. When you sleep less than 7 hours a night your body produces more of the hunger hormone ghrelin and lower levels of the fullness hormone leptin. This means that you’ll be hungrier and harder to satiate the less sleep you get!

– You’re very future-oriented and probably want to be healthy and fit far into your later years. Foods like almonds, whole grains, seaweed, and salmon all work to lengthen your life. Find out more here.

– You like a certain amount of structure and organization in your day. Schedule in fitness on your calendar and plan a “cook once, eat all week” menu so you can avoid splurging on unhealthy foods when you don’t have something nutritious readily available.

– Listen to your favorite audiobooks while you jog on the treadmill, go bike riding, or work on your planks. This will keep your mind stimulated while you keep your body moving.

The Ideal INTP Diet Plan

INTPs are mentally active, curious, imaginative individuals who like to feel focused, alert, and limber. They detest feeling sluggish or dealing with “brain fog” that can slow down their discoveries and ideas. These types don’t generally want to deal with rigid, structured plans or confining regimens. They also are less motivated by social, community-based programs.

“I like the ketogenic diet. I eat lots of meats and dairy and my mental focus and clarity is totally amped up. I also have more energy and my acne is completely gone. It’s not really limiting or hard to figure out and I’ve lost 40 lbs. this year.”
– John, an INTP

“Losing weight is easy. You just eat less, exercise more. I don’t see what’s that complicated.”
– Kenneth, an INTP

Diet Tips for INTPs:

– Check out this list of brain foods that improve your memory, focus, and concentration. These same foods are great for weight-loss and improving your overall health.

– If you’re a spontaneous eater, try to purge your home of unhealthy snacks and replace them with healthy snacks that you enjoy.

– Have a sweet tooth? A small piece of dark chocolate every day can be very good for you. Dark chocolate improves your mood, is good for your heart, and can lower your BMI. You shouldn’t eat more than 1-2 ounces a day, however, and make sure it’s at least 70-85% cocoa. You can also satisfy your sweet tooth with berries, a yogurt parfait, or a fruit smoothie made with honey instead of processed sugar.

– Make exercise fun. Listen to a favorite audiobook or podcast while you do calisthenics, jogging, or biking. Find a state park to do some solitary hiking while listening to your favorite music!

– Remember that eating healthy is a habit. The first 26 days are generally the hardest, but if you can make it through those then it will stop feeling so much like “work” and will feel more like a natural lifestyle.

– Battling brain fog? Here’s a list of 15 foods that help to combat that fuzzy, sluggish feeling.

– Don’t skip meals! Start your day with a protein-rich, low-carb/no-sugar breakfast. Afterwards eat four small meals during the rest of the day. Starting your day this way will reduce hunger and sugar cravings.

The Ideal ENTJ Diet Plan

ENTJs are extremely goal-oriented and committed when they settle on a fitness/diet regimen. That said, they don’t like anything that’s very time-intensive. They are usually so focused on their other plans and endeavors that they don’t want their whole life to revolve around thoughts of food and exercise. Most ENTJs aren’t too particular about following a pre-ordained diet (that’s too traditional!). When they want to lose weight they focus on tracking their food intake (apps like My Fitness Pal help with this) and they enjoy exercise. In fact, according to the MBTI®  Manual, ENTJs value exercise as their favorite leisure activity.

Here are some tips specifically for ENTJs trying to get in shape:

– ENTJs are motivated by challenge and competition. Find an accountability partner and challenge yourselves to eat healthier/exercise harder each week. You can do a challenge like walking 400K steps in 30 days, or a daily challenge like fitting in 50 crunches a day. There are lots of challenges you can come up with, but this is often a great motivation for ENTJs.

– ENTJs like to feel mentally clear and focused. Check out this list of 15 brain foods that boost attention and focus.

– Schedule and organize your fitness time. Set reminders on your phone and plan your time on the calendar. Keep your gym gear packed in your car so that you’re ready anytime you need to fit in a workout.

– Stuck at a desk most of the day? Here’s a list of 20 workouts you can do while you sit at your desk!

– Treat your tertiary extraverted sensing (Se) function by going on a new adventure. Find a challenging mountain to climb, take up a new sport, go surfing, mountain biking, kayaking, or explore the outdoors on a nature hike!

–  When you go out to eat ask the waiter to box up half of your meal in a doggy bag before bringing it out. This can prevent you from overeating since most restaurants double or triple the portions when they serve a meal.

– Start your meal off with a huge salad filled with greens, colorful veggies or fruits, and a vinaigrette dressing. This will help to fill you up before you start on your entree and will keep you from overeating.

– Use blue plates and tablecloths in your home! According to research from Cornell University’s Food and Brand lab, participants piled 22% less food on their plates when they had blue plates.

The Ideal ENTP Diet Plan

ENTPs are visionary, innovative, creative individuals who like to be healthy but hate to be stuck on a strict, regimented plan that takes up a lot of thought and time. They like to be flexible, spontaneous, and mentally alert. As big-picture, future-oriented individuals they are focused on staying healthy so that they can be mentally alert and physically limber no matter what age they are. As I spoke to ENTPs I didn’t find that they went for diet plans or paid memberships. They were more likely to stick to basic rules like lower carbs, no sugar, and high protein. Many of them tracked their calories on My Fitness Pal so that they could ensure they weren’t eating more than they should.

“Dieting isn’t as complex as everyone makes it out to be. I track what I eat on My Fitness Pal and I keep my body and mind active. I don’t think about overeating when I’m excited about something. I don’t need to spend a bunch of money for rip-off diet programs and subscription services that will tell me stuff I already know and limit how much fun I can have with my food!”
– Kathryn, an ENTP

Diet Tips for ENTPs:

– Since you thrive on being flexible and spontaneous, try to keep healthy snacks around so that you won’t binge on unhealthy snacks or fast food when you’re hungry. Almonds are a great choice because they’re packed with healthy nutrients and they help you to feel full longer.

– Don’t skip breakfast! Aim to eat a high-protein breakfast and smaller meals throughout the rest of the day.

– Cook once, eat all week. Make a giant batch of your favorite healthy food on the weekend and then package it in work-ready containers so that you don’t have to worry if you don’t have a healthy option to take to work. A lot of times people eat fast foods during their lunch breaks because they didn’t have the time to make a healthy meal. Getting it all cooked in one go and then having your meals ready for the week will help you stay on track.

– As an ENTP you want to keep your brain alert and active. Check out this list of 15 brain foods that boost attention and focus.

– Try to drink at least eight 8-oz. glasses of water a day. Drinking water reduces your risk of developing colon or bladder cancer, helps you to be more alert and optimistic, increases athletic performance, suppresses the appetite, and flushes out waste and bacteria.

– Download My Fitness Pal to have a quick and easy way to track your food intake, no matter where you are! If you are the type to go out to eat a lot you can usually enter a restaurant name into their search and find out the calories and nutrition information for their meals.

– Keep your gym bag packed and in your car so that you’re up for spontaneous trips to the gym, hiking trails, or whatever adventure awaits you!

What Are Your Thoughts?

Do you have any tips to add for other people of your type? Share your thoughts with other readers in the comments!

Find out more about your personality type in our eBooks, Discovering You: Unlocking the Power of Personality Type,  The INFJ – Understanding the Mystic,  The INFP – Understanding the Dreamer, and The INTJ – Understanding the Strategist. You can also connect with me via Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter!

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