The Basics

The personality type diet helps you find the right eating plan based on your personality. Robert Kushner, MD says this plan is more than just what to eat. He says most diets fail because they do not pay attention to the life patterns that can make us gain weight.

How Might This Work?

The basis of this program is that people have patterns that keep them overweight. Learning how to change your patterns can help you lose weight and keep it off. You will lose weight by eating fewer calories than you use, but your dieting methods depend on your personality.

What’s Involved?

You will start by taking a quiz to figure out which type of dieter you are. The quiz in the book "Dr. Kushner’s Personality Type Diet" has over 65 questions about eating, working out, and coping. Your answers match you with categories that best describe your personality.

You can then read about your categories. Based on your traits, Dr. Kushner offers tips on how to get over the patterns that are standing in the way of losing weight and keeping it off.

The program is based on vegetarian, low-fat foods. It also has what Dr. Kushner thinks are super foods: fruits, veggies, grains, nuts, seeds, dried beans, lentils, and soy products.

What Does the Research Say?

Dr. Kushner's program is based on solid, evidence-supported principles of healthful eating. There are not any studies that have looked at whether this diet is helpful, though. Research shows that the most helpful diets are those that you can stick with. That should be more likely to happen if you have one that is matched with your personality.

Are There Any Concerns?

Changing your personality traits may not be an easy thing to do. Some people may have a lot of changes to make. It may be hard for them to lose weight and become healthful eaters while making these changes.

Bottom Line

Some people may want to know how personality traits change their weight. This may be the diet for them. Changing patterns may take time. People who think there are many changes to be made should think about getting help from a dietitian.

RESOURCES:

Eat Right—Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
http://www.eatright.org

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
http://www.niddk.nih.gov

CANADIAN RESOURCES:

Dietitians of Canada
http://www.dietitians.ca

Health Canada
https://www.canada.ca

REFERENCES:

Diets for weight loss. EBSCO Nursing Reference Center website. Available at:https://www.ebscohost.com/nursing/products/nursing-reference-center. Updated June 16, 2017. Accessed March 14, 2019.

Kushner RF, Kushner N. Dr. Kushner's Personality Type Diet. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press; 2003.

The power of healthy living: it's never too late! Dr. Robert Kushner website. Available at: http://www.drrobertkushner.com. Accessed March 14, 2019.

Last reviewed March 2019 by EBSCO Medical Review BoardDianne Scheinberg Rishikof MS, RD, LDN