Have you ever thought that your genes were fighting your weight loss? Maybe you can remember as a kid hearing people tell you that you had “big bones” or for my peers, maybe you spent a lot of time with mom in the husky section of the children’s clothing store. Well, there is something to be said for how your body type affects your weight and what you can reasonably expect from a weight loss journey depending on your body type. Let’s look at the three body types and see if you can find where you fit.
• Mesomorph: If you are a mesomorph, you are the envy of your gym, basically your body builds muscle quickly and easily and you will have well defined shoulders and a chest larger than your waist. You will keep the fat evenly throughout your body. Think of the natural athletes you know. I’d say there’s really no reason for you guys to be overweight, I mean go to the gym and a somewhat sensible diet will take off any extra weight you’ve allowed yourself to pack on. Keep in mind, though, that meosmorphs who pack on extra pounds are at very high risk of heart disease, so be sure to mix some cardio in with your weight lifting.
• Ectomorphs: Ectomorphs are skinny by nature, in fact, these people have a hard time gaining weight no matter what they eat. (I know, we all want to come back as ectomorphs) Ectomorphs tend to excel at cardio, but they struggle to gain weight. They often hold whatever weight they can put on their belly area (think pregnant guy look, skinny guy with a big belly) and with their small frame they can’t hide the weight at all.
• Endomorph: Endomorphs like me are best described as round if you’re a man or curvy if you’re a woman. We tend to keep our weight in our lower body, most of our weight is focused on the belly area or on the hips and thighs (belly for me, lucky me). We find it very, very, very easy to gain weight and we are the group most likely to be obese. Now for the good news, our fuller frames allow us to carry our weight better and no one looks better when cut down to us endomorphs (think about it, a slimming endomorph woman has an hourglass body). We have a higher rate of heart disease and are at high risk of knee and ankle injuries due to the stress that extra weight places on the joints. While we will never be skinny, and most likely will not become muscular mesomorphs when we get thin, we do tend to look more naturally healthy, not overloaded with muscle and not too skinny.
Now for a bit of confusion; most people are a combination of more than one body type. For example, I’m probably 75% endomorph and 25% mesomorph (and absolutely zero ectomorph), but when you know what your dominant type is, you can form realistic expectations of your health journey. I don’t expect to look like Stallone in Rambo any time soon, but once most of my weight was off, I filled out a suit very well. So if you’re a mesomorph, do weights, as building muscle is second nature to you, but also do some cardio for no reason to die of a heart attack after putting in all that work. If you’re an ectomorph, put on your cardio! You can take it easier with weights, as it won’t make the noticeable changes you’re looking for. If you’re like me and primarily an endomorph, set reasonable expectations of how you want your body to look, combine weights and low-impact cardio, and stick to a low-calorie diet and you’ll soon be looking amazing, natural, and healthy.