The Shrinkology Solution Quiz

In a world where we are tempted by food on every street corner, on every billboard and all over our social media, is it any wonder so many of us struggle with weight loss and sticking to diets? What if we started thinking about the psychology of dieting and eating, rather than just the food on our plates?

Well Dr Meg Arroll and Louise Atkinson have addressed this issue in their new book The Shrinkology Solution: Discover your eating type, lose weight and keep it off. The premise is simple, in order to achieve lasting weight loss, you need to start addressing your emotional issues with food. So why not start by taking the quiz featured in the book which will help you determine which type of eater you are.

What’s Your Shrinkology Type?

Which of these most closely describes your friendship style? 

A My friends are extremely important to me, but I struggle to keep up

B I  enjoy the company of people who share my interests

C I have a small number of very core ‘best’ friends

D My partner/family are my best friends

E   I’m not too interested in making new friends, I stick close to my old buddies

F  I enjoy meeting new people and building new friendships

 

What is your most-cherished dream?

A To live a fabulous life free from mundanity

B To achieve tip-top health

C To be truly, deeply happy

D To be mortgage- and debt-free and financially secure

E  To be the best of the best in everything I do

F  To get to the end of each day without some mini disaster

 

If you invite friends over for dinner you are most likely to serve up:

A  Fine food made from exquisite ingredients, laboriously prepared and

beautifully presented

B  A healthy and nutritious meal featuring the latest superfood ingredients

C A simple but delicious curry with rice, naan and all the trimmings

D Shepherd’s pie with peas/carrots or lasagne (with garlic bread)

E  Steaks (preferably medium rare)

F  Pre-prepared chicken/salmon breasts with bagged salad

 

When someone says CAKE do you think:

A  ‘Which recipe is this? What are the ingredients?’

B ‘Does it contain gluten? Sugar? Refined flour? Is it organic?’

C ‘Mmmm, delicious!’

D ‘ If only I had a cup of tea to go with it’

E  ‘ No thanks, I’m trying to be good . . . oh go on then’

F  ‘Can you wrap me a slice to go?’

 

How would you best describe your grocery shopping style?

A I like to browse independent delis and shop locally when possible"

B I’m a fan of health food shops and the ‘free from’ aisles"

C I find it hard to stick to my list and I’m easily tempted by offers

D   I stick closely to my usual shopping list or my online ‘favourites’

E   I’ll grab something at the express supermarket close to work

F   I have an online food delivery every week and I’m always on the look-out for BOGOF deals

 

Which celebrity impresses you most?

A Barack Obama

B  Gwyneth Paltrow

C Oprah Winfrey

D David Attenborough

E  Bear Grylls

F  Davina McCall

 

What kind of books do you prefer?

A World events/politics B Literary prize winners C Romance

D Celebrity autobiographies

E  Personal development/specialist magazines

F  Audio books

 

What movie genre is your favourite?

A A foreign film with subtitles

B  True stories/docu-dramas

C  Romantic comedies

D Classic action movies like James Bond

E  Horror

F  Sci-fi

 

What’s your preferred breakfast option?

A Homemade muffin warm from the oven or organic Greek yoghurt

B Green juice or smoothie

C Porridge

D Cornflakes or toast and jam/marmalade

E  Protein shake

F  Black coffee

 

Your perfect holiday would be: 

A The latest word in high-end luxury

B  A fastidiously researched city break with a packed itinerary

C  A super-chilled villa/beach/pool holiday

D T hhee same place you love to go back to each year

E  High-octane adventure/trekking

F  Fun family holidays that involve inevitable compromise

 

What’s your perfect kind of car?

A Lexus (high-end luxury)

B Tesla (economical/environmentally sound)

C Volvo (super-safe)

D L aaanndd Rover 4x4 (practical/useful in all conditions)

E  Porsche (sexy sports car)

F  Ford S-Max (practical/useful)

 

What’s your confrontational style?

 A What confrontation? I’m usually right

B I try to read the signs before working out the best option

C   I’ll usually do anything necessary to find a swift resolution even

if this means compromise

D I try to avoid conflict and keep things to myself if I can

E  I’ve been known to flounce off in a huff

F  I’m good at conflict resolution and sorting things out

 

What’s your preferred snack option?

A Smoked almonds or olives

B  Granola bar

C Chocolate

D Biscuits

E  Energy ball

F  Diet cola

 

What would you typically choose for lunch on the hop?

A Homemade soup with sourdough bread and cold French butter

B  A packaged salad

C A baked potato with cheese and baked beans

D Ham or cheese sandwich on sliced bread (pre-packed)

E  Canteen meal or pub lunch

F  Chocolate or a couple of biscuits

 

Chocolate of choice?

A Minimum 85% cocoa solids

B Cacao nibs

C Quality Street/Celebrations

D  Cadbury’s Dairy Milk

E  Chilli-infused chocolate

F  Freddo, Finger of Fudge, fun-sized Milky Way

 

How do you best like to chill in your spare time?

A  With friends, food and wine

B Reading or researching

C  Box set/Netflix

D DIY/gardening

E  Working towards my latest goal/challenge

F  What spare time?

 

What’s your preferred work style?

A Entrepreneurial: I like to forge ahead and find new opportunities

B Flexible: I’m happy to balance work from home with the office

C Collaborative: I strive to ensure the team is happy and effective 

D Conventional: I like a clear plan and set deadlines

E  Managerial: I’m happiest when others let me take charge

F  Eclectic/diverse: Some of my best work is done at night

 

What is your favourite tipple? 

A Pastis/schnapps/brandy

B Obscure label gin

C Prosecco

D Whhishkisky/Rioja

E  Beer

F  White wine (in a large glass)

 

What is your favourite drink on the go?

A Fresh ground coffee

B Smoothie

C Latte with a flavoured syrup

D Tea

E  Energy drink

F  Instant coffee

 

What do you look for in food labels? 

A I prefer to buy fresh artisan food which doesn’t have labels

B I scrutinise the labels looking for sugar derivatives, preservatives and gluten

C I rarely look at food labels

D I’m brand loyal for familiar names from my childhood (Heinz, Kraft, etc.) 

and I don’t tend to look at nutritional information.

E  I’ll check protein content

F  I’m more interested in price, offers and deals

 

Results

 

Mostly As: You could be a GOURMET

You love food – but not just any food. It has to be the finest you can find. The process of sourcing and preparing food is as important to you as the ingredients, and hosting well-catered parties is a outlet for your exuberant personality. You have a flair for storytelling and you are socially adept. Your curiosity and fascination also spans current affairs, politics, and you have a deep interest in those around you. Any negative issues with food and eating behaviour only appear because you find it incomprehensible not to consume the best food and drink – surely that’s what life is all about?

 

Mostly Bs: You could be a MAGPIE

Magpies love to experiment with sparkly new health approaches. You are a trendsetter in many things, moving on from the ‘next big thing’ before most of your friends have even heard of it. Your keen investigative skills spill over to all areas of life – you are the go-to person to organise holidays and you are flawless in planning and execution. You also keep an eye on all health news and file it away in your vast memory. The Magpie can quickly lose interest in one diet plan and switch to the next, causing confusion (and overeating), as well as diet fatigue.

 

Mostly Cs: You could be a SOOTHER

Soothers are highly intuitive, and you care deeply for those around you. You soak up other’s pain and heartache and, as a truly compassionate soul, you strive to make everyone happy. Food is truly comforting due to its neurochemical and rewarding effects that you don’t receive elsewhere, so you seek to self-soothe with food. This makes it very hard to resist carb-laden foods and stick to diets when feelings start to peek out from under the surface.

 

Mostly Ds: You could be a TRADITIONAL

As a Traditional, you hold your core values very dear. You have great respect for law and authority and you strive to ‘do the right thing’. You know what you like and what you don’t and you’re not comfortable taking risks. You do like the idea of adventure and spontaneity, but it takes quite a bit of persuading. Friendships and relationships might take longer to build, but once established they are secure. The Traditional sticks close to long-established patterns of eating and will be frustrated by changes in nutritional dogma and the fact that the old dietary rules and portion sizes no longer serve to keep you slim.

 

Mostly Es: You could be a REBEL

The Rebel is a very black and white thinker – success and goal- meeting are extremely important. You take everything to the max and you’re more than happy to lead by example. You’re no shirker, and you will exercise to the point of exhaustion, but you’ll think nothing of meeting friends in a bar afterwards and drinking double the calories you just burned in the gym. You’ll show exemplary willpower and stick to the toughest, most rigid diet plan – with impressive results – then blow everything on an all-you-can-eat buffet.

 

Mostly Fs: You could be a SCRAMBLER

The Scrambler is busy. Really busy. Whether you’re juggling young children, ageing parents, a demanding job, committee work, voluntary positions, you love the challenge of keeping all those plates spinning. For you, life would feel dull if every minute wasn’t a multi-tasking challenge. But amid all this organised chaos, it is all too easy to forget to take care of yourself – it can be tough to work out which plate you are going to have to drop to make room. With so little time for proper meals you graze and nibble your way through the day or find yourself starving and out of control in the evenings.

The Shrinkology Solution by Dr Meg Arroll and Louise Atkinson is available now from good shops that sell books and online from Amazon and Waterstones