What’s your diet personality? Think weight loss is down to willpower?

Pah! It’s about tailoring your diet to who you are

By Jess Spiring, 16/05/2009

Being told what friends to have and what clothes to wear would be ridiculous, right? After all, only you really know what suits you best. And when it comes to dieting, the same rules apply. "Diets often fail as they don't match your personality or the way you live," explains Dr Kushner, co-author of Dr. Kushner's Personality Type Diet (St. Martin's Press, £11.95). "Rather than look at the diet itself, start by analysing your life patterns then find a plan that fits your nature."

Recent research* has found half of British women only stick to a new diet for a couple of days, and 63 per cent are so embarrassed by their failures they won't admit to being on one in the first place! But the shame stops here. Complete our quiz to discover what you should be putting on your plate to lose weight.

Section A

1. Who do you call most on your mobile?

Your best friend - you can't go a day without a good gossip (B)

Mum, or another family member (A)

The curry house (C)

2. If you were a Desperate Housewives character, who would you be?

Uptight Bree (A)

Flirty Gabrielle (B)

Feisty Lynette (C)

3. What's the most dominant colour in your wardrobe?

Black (C)

Pink (A)

One colour? It's a rainbow in there! (B)

4. What's your favourite Tom Cruise film?

Cocktail (B)

Top Gun (C)

Jerry Maguire (A)

5. What's on your iPod?

'80s classics (C)

Lady GaGa (B)

Westlife (A)

Section B

Select the following statements that most apply to you

I don't sleep very well (C)

I never say no to that last glass of wine (B)

I sometimes tell my friends I'm busy, then stay at home on my own (A)

I hate that my friend looks better in that Karen Millen LBD than me (B)

I think about food all day (A)

I put my work before everything else, including my health (C)

People say I'm a bundle of energy (B)

I wear my trainers at the weekend. Not for exercise - because they're comfy (A)

I can go for weeks without going to the supermarket (C)

Mostly As: You need portion control

You're a real homebody and comfort is king for you food-wise too - pasta, mash, cake - you can't resist stodge.

Start-now tip: "No exercise at all isn't good," says Angela. "But as you love being cosy, Bikram yoga (where the room you practise in is heated to 40°C to help loosen muscles and promote deeper stretching) would be great for you. And, as you can burn up to 600 calories per session, it will really contribute to slimming down."

And as exercise isn't your strength, you need a diet that won't deny you your favourite treats or demand much in the way of working out. The Diet Plate (£14.99 from Thedietplate.com) is the perfect solution. It's a nutritionist-designed plate that's decorated to show you how much of each type of food (carbs, protein and fat) you should eat at every meal. It's that simple - whenever you're dishing up, follow the plate's guidelines. "It's great for teaching portion control - used every day, you can expect to lose up to 2lb a week," says nutritionist Angela Dowden.

Mostly Bs: You need to alternate

You're super-sociable, which means late-night boozing and calorie-heavy suppers are your diet-downfall.

Start-now tip: "Have eggs for breakfast on your 'off diet' days," advises Gillian. "Studies show that those who do, actually eat 400 calories less a day."

The key to successful slimming for you lies in accommodating the thing you live for - being a girl about town - which is why hot-from-America diet book The Alternate-Day Diet by James B. Johnson (Perigee Books, £12.99) will be your skinny salvation. It recommends restricting calories one day and then eating what you like the next and promises a weight loss of 2.4lb a week. "When you're eating out, it's impossible for someone like you to choose something healthy," says food addiction expert Gillian Riley, author of Beating Overeating: The Easy Guide (Booksurge Llc, £9). "On this diet, you don't have to fight the urge to eat chips as you can just make up for it with healthy low-calorie meals the next day."

Mostly Cs: You need to be led

Stress is your middle name, isn't it? You're so strung out worrying about life - and spending all your time at work - that your fridge is always empty.

Start-now tip: "As you can be an insomniac, include more turkey and chicken in your diet," says Nigel. "It's high in the chemical tryptophan - an amino acid in the body which makes serotonin, otherwise known as the 'sleep-hormone'."

As you love your desk so much, an automated online plan like Fabulousdiets.co.uk or Tescodiets.com will suit you perfectly. Pick which type of diet you fancy (low fat, low carb, Mediterranean), type in your weight-loss goals then leave it to generate a weekly shopping list. You can opt for ready-meals if you're too busy to cook and could lose up to 8lb a month. One click and it can all be delivered from your local supermarket, too. "We're all either foodies or fuelies," says dietician Nigel Denby. "As you're more interested in fuelling up than eating, a regime like this is perfect as it takes charge, so you don't have to think about food and the pounds will fall off."

Photography: Alamy, Scope Beauty *by Nimble Bread