If you've been trying to lose weight, you've probably pieced through your fair share of weight-loss tips — perhaps some were successful and others were an outright disaster. But if anyone knows about weight-loss tips that work, it's Jen Widerstrom, trainer on The Biggest Loser and author of Diet Right For Your Personality Type: The Revolutionary 4-Week Weight-Loss Plan That Works for You.
Despite the fact that there's so much factual nutritional info out there, "People [are] still struggling with weight loss and failing their New Year's resolutions," she told POPSUGAR. "We know these things — we know protein is important, fat is better than sugar, we need to be drinking water, [etc]."
But Jen says "the application to the individual is missing." She made the point that no single plan is going to work for every person. In her book, she identifies five personality types: "The Organized-Doer, the Rebel, the Swinger, the Everyday Hero, and the Never-Ever." These individual personalities boast different "tendencies, triggers, [and] behavior defaults," Jen explained. "This is an opportunity for someone who has a level of self-recognition and an understanding of their personality" to identify who they are and tailor their weight-loss plan accordingly. Let's take a look at how Jen defines these personality types so you can see where you fit.
For each personality type, Jen crafted a unique meal plan. But here's the thing: no matter which type you see yourself as, you're going to get the same macronutrient distribution, the same nutrition — the difference is "the instruction around the food," Jen explained. "It's not like oatmeal's good for me and yogurt's good for you — that's not how it works." Here's how it does work:
"For example," she said, "an Everyday Hero is someone with a maxed out lifestyle; they're not really good at planning out meals. They're really undernourishing. So they do 'Slow-Cooker Mondays' every Monday night." She explained that it's only three ingredients ("chicken breast, taco seasoning, and a can of your favorite salsa") to keep things simple and efficient — ideal for the Everyday Hero type. "Quick, efficient, on-the-go" meals are a staple of the diet plan for that specific person (like a morning smoothie you can take with you to work).
But someone like the Swinger "loves the joy of cooking and experiencing food," Jen said. "The process is different . . . it's nutritionally identical, but the process is different." This personality type also has more options so they can go based on feeling (for some of you this sounds like a dream, and for others in other personality brackets this might be a nightmare — exactly the point of this plan!). "They have a breakfast that's more built out, and it's very menu-style because for my Swingers, food is an adventure. They open the pantry and think, 'What do I feel like eating?', so I give them a menu for each day. But the nutritional macros and nutrients are all in the boundaries of where I want them."