The “Overseer” (13% of the population)
It’s unusual to find someone with your brain type who is obese unless they are dealing with past emotional scars or traumatic experiences. If you are in food-centered occupation, like the restaurant industry, for instance, you may find that keeping slim is more of a challenge. Regardless of your circumstances and past history though, you normally find success in health and weight management when you give it the effort.
Like Michelle Obama, you also tend to take your health more seriously than most other brain types, once you commit to that goal. Your strong sense of commitment may lead you to believe that any type of failure in your health and fitness goals reflects directly on your identity because you like to have things under control – especially yourself.
Like President Andrew Jackson, you are often described as logical, practical, industrious, capable, high-energy, dependable, efficient, traditional and conservative. These qualities make it easier for you to stay on track with a program like this because you want to see it through to the end. You are a “finisher,” so you are more likely to persevere than other brain types, even when personal sacrifice is required.
Your brain type is known to have more “willpower” than other types. This is because you find it easier to access your prefrontal cortex (PFC). This will help you make the right decisions when the going gets tough and will help you be more resistant to distractions while you are on your “mission” to succeed.
Because you have better access to your PFC, you are also better able to make present decisions based on how those decisions will affect your goals in the future. This will make the 7 Minute Rule an effective brain training technique, especially at social events that present tantalizing temptations.
You tend to have a grasp on many facts and can communicate them very well – especially when it contains facts backed by research like the information in this program. This will help you explain your new lifestyle to others, which will get them on board if they support you. For the others who are jealous or skeptical, you will be able to convince them more easily to take your side than other brain types.
You typically like to get to the bottom line as soon as possible and you are interested in information that has an immediate and practical use. If it can’t be applied now, your interest wanes. This quality should make this program appealing to you, especially at first because the tips and tricks provided are quick and easy to implement. This will help you build momentum more easily while your attention is fresh and your initial motivation is high. This momentum will then help carry you through the latter parts too, especially if you encounter more difficult steps that might take more time.
You tend to avoid cutting corners along the way, so you will find that this quality helps you resist “cheating” better than other brain types. As I mentioned earlier, you may find yourself at social gatherings with food as the focus, which can be tempting for your brain type because of your extroversion and your need to connect with people. Another habit that would be helpful for you is to eat plenty of healthy food before you go to a party so you are already full when you get there.
You extroversion may cause you to eat more food faster and to give less consideration to what you’re eating, especially at lively social gatherings that cause you to get “caught up in the moment.” The Conscious Eating technique will help you slow down and enjoy your food even more.
Social drinking might also be a temptation for you, so if you feel pressures to drink along with your friends, just fake it! Here’s how: When you put the glass to your mouth, just tip it to your lips but keep your lips closed so no liquid actually passes through. This makes everyone think you are partaking without drinking a drop! Other brain types would have a hard time with this technique because the temptation would be too intense to resist, but since you have more willpower than most, you will find it to be of little difficulty.
Like Pope Francis, you are a master of organization and feel compelled to make sure things are handled properly, emphasizing rules and regulations. Staying within the guidelines and parameters of each step will be helpful to you. Focusing on these parameters while you are working on each step until mastery of that step will be necessary in order to feel you are ready to move to the next step.
Others may see you as a workaholic, feeling compelled to work your way to the top. This compulsion will certainly help you stay on track during your journey and may also help motivate others to join you, so look out for people who would like to come along for the ride and welcome them to follow you. Don’t become disappointed in them, however, if they can’t stay on your train with you at the pace you are going. They may just be a different brain type and need to succeed in their own way.
Tradition and loyalty are deeply valued by you. As a quintessential leader, you provide structure and high standards to followers. When making decisions, you rely on logic and facts. You are efficient and thrive on routine and stability. You are committed and predictable. All these qualities will make you an unstoppable force, once you become convinced of this program’s effectiveness and validity. You will be more likely to see it through to the end and succeed, both in the short term and the long term, than most other brain types.
You are more prone than other brain types to fearing personal disaster and losing control, so focusing on the steps and stairs you are currently on and the positive results you have already seen will keep you looking forward. Your brain type tends to make up “worst-case scenario” stories with your imagination, so practice catching yourself doing that, then stop and then turn those thoughts into a “best case scenario” story for your brain to imagine. The Stories technique will help you with this.
You’re not a big fan of change unless there is proof of a definite need. Make sure you have strong personal reasons for getting healthy and that you write these down so you can focus on them and see them daily. Without this focus, your tendency to resist change might make changing from your current unhealthy habits more difficult unless you know this about yourself and resolve to stay focused on that flight of stairs in front of you.
Your tendency to resist change will be a strong asset when have reached your goals because that will make it easier for you to stick with your new established habits as a permanent lifestyle.
It will be helpful to remain open to new information – especially initially – and then to continue this open mind along the rest of your journey.
Remember that for your brain type, patience truly is a virtue. You are great at plugging along, but you can get bored with that process if you don’t notice the little improvements you are making. Be sure to set those small milestones along the way and genuinely celebrate them as you achieve them.
Since you are a high energy person with lot’s of exciting interest and passions to pursue, you tend to go at full speed for too long, it’s important that you plan for free time and relaxation, relinquishing your control for a time. An example of this might be going on vacation and giving all the activity planning to someone else (while you maintain control of your food of course).
The EFT technique will also reduce your speed and stress levels. Exercises like this will be great for your brain since they force you to venture outside of your normal wiring, which creates new circuits. Remember that creating new circuits is a skill that improves with practice and will help your brain change faster and easier when it needs to in the future.
You’re great at tackling one task after another, and you like to master each step completely before moving to the next, so be sure to allow yourself the time you need to make that happen. Some steps take longer than others, so it may feel like a sprint at times and a crawl at other times. Expect this and cut yourself some slack if a step seems to be going slow, and a pat on the back when steps go fast. Remember that the slow steps are cause for celebration too, as you get past them!
You are less likely to retire at 65 years old than other brain types, so it’s important that you stay healthy and active in order to maintain the lifestyle you desire well into your advanced years. Use this fact as a motivation to look forward to those years. Picture yourself out-playing your friends and how envious they are of how much more you are able to enjoy an active and rich life.
You tend to judge food as right or wrong, good or bad. This can be an asset, because the line between good food (i.e. the food in this program) and bad food (i.e. the SAD diet) is usually quite distinct, which will help you see those boundaries. This can be a liability though, as you may tend to look on others with judging eyes (especially loved ones you wish would eat better). Be gentle with them and let them ask you questions as they become curious about your health improvements, as opposed to “suggesting” lifestyle changes to them before they are ready.
You tend to prefer exercising in a group – often as the leader. You will enjoy the longer workout formats (30 minutes or more) that allow for conversation and dialogue about the experience with other people, over shorter, hurried workouts without time for connecting with others.
If you feel the need to start your own workout group, by all means, go for it, even if it is just a part-time job, because this will maximize your motivation and cement your addiction to exercise. You will most likely be good at it, but remember to reserve judgment on those who may not stick with it like you do.
You are action-oriented and enjoy hard workouts, but may operate at a slightly lower intensity than others in the group because of you are more in tune with your sensations. This is fine of course, so just work at your own relative intensity to keep it enjoyable, consistent, and sustainable over the long term.
Outside activities and sports like mountain biking, hiking, kayaking, volleyball, etc. (especially with friends), will be enjoyable activities for you and will encourage you toward a consistently active lifestyle, so be sure to plan those outings as often as you can.
You enjoy earning respect for a job well done. Be sure to make a big deal out of it when you do get to your goals! Forming positive associations with each achievement will help you stay on track during the process and will make it easier to maintain your optimal health once you have achieved it.
You do better when you focus on health as a goal over body weight. When you do reach your ultimate health goals, re-commit at that point with a whole new goal of staying on track as a permanent lifestyle change, by remaining focused on the steps that got you there.
Stay in that staircase and keep your eyes on those stairs, or you may get pulled away over time, without even realizing it is happening. Your ability to focus was your strength that helped you get there and it will be your strength in staying there too.
Because you are more in touch with your five senses, taste and smell play large roles in your eating patterns. Food is far more than just feeling satisfied to you. It stimulates your senses and can be quite addicting when certain senses are triggered by specific foods. Be sure to eat a wide variety of foods, with lots of different colors, to give your senses the range it needs to be satisfied.
You will find recipes in this program that turn those senses on, so go back to those recipes and focus on them until you form an addiction to them. Then, if you have a food addiction you would like to get rid of, replace that one with this newly acquired choice.
Summary and Recap
Goal setting: Set long-term health goals and then break those down into short, attainable goals, with distinct celebration points when they are achieved.
Best Workout: Group workouts that offer high-intensity training (in a safe way). Consider being a group exercise instructor.
Motivated by: Taking things one step at a time. Focusing on health over the scale. The energies of other people.
Supported by: Lots of friends and acquaintances who will support you and cheer you on. The more the better, so make your successes public.
Areas to strengthen: Tendency for “social eating.” Plan time to relax.
Strengths to use: Tenacity, willpower, leadership.
Brain training techniques: 7 Min. Rule, Stories, EFT, Conscious Eating (Part 1 and Part 2), Hunger Scale, Emotion Labels.
