The Personality Color Code and Weight Loss {Tips and strategies for “whites”}

White Personality Core Motive – PEACE!

As described in the book, The People Code, I identified myself as a white personality. The core motive for white personalities is peace. It truly is my greatest desire to feel calm, peace, and stillness. I go to great lengths to find quiet places in my day. It’s honestly why I started running (to be alone with my thoughts), and lifting weights (by myself).

But what does a white personality say about the reasons I overeat or can’t stick to a diet?

Why you overeat or can’t stick to a diet as a White Personality

I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on why I eat or over eat. It’s taken a great deal of internal work to uncover the excuses and the justifications I tell myself to eat, when I simultaneously want to lose weight. (I’ve written about those excuses here, and here)

So, I started to look for more personality clues to find all the reasons a “white” would eat or overeat. I noticed I rarely eat because I’m sad (because I’m RARELY sad. It’s just not in my personality to be sad).

But, what I do is:

• Eat out of boredom– someone with a White personality can easily become bored. (this is the case for me every afternoon!)
• Eat to calm chaos. I find when there is disorganization or tension, I’ll turn to food because it’s quieting and calming to me. If you are in the middle of chaos, the antidote is often to sit down to a nice meal and eat.
• Eat to avoid confrontation. If there’s an impending phone call, or a tough conversation I need to have with someone, I’ll EAT FIRST to avoid or procrastinate the impending conversation.
• I eat when I want to be alone, or I overeat when I find small pockets of alone time. (have you seen mom’s hide in the pantry for that chocolate hit!)
• Since white personalities avoids confrontation, I might eat something just because it’s offered to me by someone. When someone makes or serves me food, I will eat it quietly without making a fuss about being on a diet. It’s hard to stand up for yourself because you don’t want to “get into it” with someone serving you food.
• Quietly, stubbornly eats something prepared or gifted to them by others. They are driven by kindness, and they actually might WANT to eat the gift or offering, but don’t like feeling like someone else is forcing them to eat something that’s not on their plan. So, they just get mad about eating it in silence. It has to be their choice what they are eating.
• White personalities don’t like people telling them what to do, so they don’t do well following other peoples meal plans or diets. I have found, I’ll take what I like about someone’s plan, research the strategy behind it, and re-write it, making it my own.
• White’s are great at research and sometimes that paralyzes you from taking action. Learning about diets are so much better than actually taking action on one! I LOVE to read and research about diets and imagine how I can fit it into my life. Imagining and researching however gets in the way of getting started!
• Indecision can plague a white personality. When faced with a cookie or cheesecake, I’ll just take both. LOL
• Prone to sabotaging weight loss attempts.
• Prone to self-doubt that you will EVER achieve your weight loss goals.
• Lacks purpose or discovering WHY you even want to lose weight.
• Can’t decide on the right path to weight loss.
• Impressionable (this could be good or bad- Can jump from one diet to another because of success stories you read about or see)
• Too casual and not in a hurry– I’ll start tomorrow with my diet, today’, I’ll just relax!
• Worried people will judge their food choices,
• Lacks the motivation to get started with a diet!
• Get’s bored quickly or starts thinking the diet plan is boring!
• Silently accepting current weight, making it hard to even desire to do the work for change. I hear myself say, I’m not “that overweight”. “Some people have a worse diet than I do” or “I’m glad I only overeat once a week and not every day”
• Content with life, but almost TOO content that it’s hard to talk yourself into truly making the behavior change necessary to lose weight.
• Letting daydreams get in the way of action!

Personality traits of “white” that are Strengths for weight loss and diet adherence:

• We can be patient. It’s Ok if it takes 6 months to lose the weight. Patience is our super power!
• We can be tolerant to being uncomfortable. To a certain extent, we don’t mind being uncomfortable, like being a little hungry. In fact, we see it as “the diet is working” and we know it’s not supposed to always be comfortable.
• We want to find our own way, rather than be told by others what to do. I think this helps in sticking to a weight loss plan, because when you’re able to design it yourself, you’re more likely to stick to it for the long term.
• We are able to see many points of view. We can see how some diets work for some people and not for others (I see how Keto works for some people, but low fat, high protein works for me). The ideal situation is to focus in on what works for ME, rather than anyone else.
• We understand there’s a time and season for everything. We aren’t in a hurry. We can see “this is my season to focus on my health”, while acknowledging in the middle of child raising it isn’t the right time to go on two hour solo walks. Haha
• Goal setting is vital to a white. Without a direction, apathy or disinterest wins. Once a goal and direction is clarified, a white can be all in towards that thing. Setting a goal to run a race or compete in a bikini show REALLY kicked my effort in the butt.
• We like keeping things simple, and that feels conducive to a weight loss plan.

How a White personality can thrive through fitness

I’d love to hear if anyone who identifies as a white personality loves solo fitness the way I do!? As I mentioned at the top, I started running when I was a young mom, just to be alone for an hour out of the day. And, It really hooked me. Once in awhile I enjoy some group fitness classes, because technically you don’t have to talk to anyone, but I’ve never been a fan of team sports!

They always say, the best exercise, is the one you’ll do! Here are my favorites as a white:

• Quiet walks or hikes.
• Strength training with your headphones or your own thoughts/ podcasts/ audio books.
• I’m not a fan of team sports or group exercise.
• Some activities get boring quickly.

Solutions for weight loss when you are a white personality:

Now that we’ve established what shapes our behavior if you’re a white personality, it’s also time to reign it in. To gain mastery over your physical self in a way where healthy change is possible. Some tips that have helped me include:

• Setting a time based, specific goal. Whether it’s a bikini show, a photoshoot, or a marathon, I need a north star to direct my focus.
• Create your own set of rules. This is my FAVORITE part about being a white! I love to create my own meal plans, food rules, or identifying habit that will keep me moving towards my goals.
• Follow a workout plan that fulfills my need for solitude and autonomy. As I’ve mentioned, running and weight training have been so helpful here. And weight training is great for any color. I was listening to a book by Arnold Schwarzenegger and he said he likes lifting weights at the gym because he prefers being around people! I just can’t relate at all. haha!
• Take time to journal, reflect and meditate each day. When you can reflect on your journey through a journal, or literally write your goals for the future, it not only supports your internal drive for peace, but also helps you see clearly how to get to your goals, and what is preventing you from getting there.
• As a white, who is generally complacent with the pace of life, it might be necessary to create a sense of urgency, however that looks to you.
• And finally, planning and writing out your goals specifically, so you don’t leave too much room for “doing whatever you feel like that day.” I call it, my “close the loop plan”! If I think to myself, I’ll have some eggs and fruit for breakfast, getting more specific helps me to end bre3akfast there, rather than leave it open for an extra granola bar, a tortilla, or a few slices of toast. So, instead i have to write: I’ll have 1 cup of egg whites, 1/3 cup oats with cinnamon and sugar free syrup, and 1/2 a banana, or 75 grams of banana. Then, the loop is closed! No wiggle room.