What’s the best diet plan for your personality?

By Kerri-Ann Jennings, M.S., R.D., Associate Nutrition Editor atEatingWell Magazine

I love reading diet plans. The idea of having meals mapped out for me is so appealing, even though in reality I'm more of a "wing it" type who's better off having a variety of healthy foods around to choose from. As a registered dietitian, I know that when you're trying to lose weight, it's important to find the diet strategies that actually work with your personality rather than against it—completely eliminating your favorite food or planning to cook 3 meals a day when you hate to cook, for instance, could set you up for failure. At EatingWellMagazine (where I'm the associate nutrition editor), we've homed in on 4 diet "plans" that can work for different personalities.

Related: 6 Secrets to Losing Weight for Good

Personality Type: Food Lover
Diet Plan to Try: The Delicious 500-Calorie Dinner Diet
Trying to overhaul every meal every day can be overwhelming. Tackling just one meal—dinner—and making sure it's healthy and sensible in calories can make for a more manageable goal. EatingWell's 500-calorie dinner diet maps out 5 weeks of 500-calorie dinner menus, 5 days a week. Most important, the dinners are delicious, so you won't feel deprived (they even include treats like wine and dessert).

Personality Type: Commitment-Phobe
Diet Plan to Try: The 7-Day Diet Plan
If you like the idea of trying out a diet, but don't know if you can do it for the long haul, EatingWell has the solution for you. The brand-new 7-day diet plan gives you 7 days of delicious, satisfying meals and snacks, with even more calorie levels to choose from (1,200-2,000). It could be just the thing to kick-start some healthy eating...commitment-free!

Personality Type: You Don't Naturally Plan Ahead
Diet Plan to Try: A 28-Day Meal Plan for a Slimmer You
Hate to plan, but love to follow a plan? EatingWell's dietitians have created a 28-day diet meal plan. Just choose your calorie level (1,200, 1,500 or 1,800 calories) and find the meals and snacks you should eat each day for a whole month to help you reach your diet goals.

Personality Type: Planner
Diet Plan to Try: The EatingWell Diet Challenge
If you're ready to take on some serious and lasting changes, then you're ready to check out the EatingWell Diet Challenge. This 12-week program combines clinically tested weight-loss principles with delicious recipes and helpful diet tools (think food diaries and menu planners) for a comprehensive approach to successful weight loss. You'll learn a new strategy each week that helps you build healthy eating into your day-to-day life.

What diet plan works best for you?