Weight Loss and 3 Basic Body Types

You need to know how to classify yourself which is you body type, so that you can set the plan and strategy to lose your body fat accordingly.

Based on the study of Dr. William H. Sheldon, a professor from Harvard, in the 1930s and 1940s, he identified three basic body types:

1. Endomorph
2. Mesomorph
3. Ectomorph

Characteristics of Endomorph:

• Have naturally high level of body fat
• Be often overweighed
• Have large boned, large joints and large frame (but not always)
• Have short arms and legs
• Have smooth and round body (or pear shaped body)
• Have wide waist and wide hips
• Waist is bigger than chest area
• Have a high tendency to store excess calories as fat
• Cannot overeating
• Have difficulty to keep fat off after it is lost
• Have a tendency to be sluggish, slow moving
• Have a tendency to be lacking energy
• Have slow thyroid
• Have some hormone imbalance (sometimes)
• Have medium strength levels
• Be sensitive to carbohydrates (carbohydrates are easily stored as fat)
• Have better response to diets with higher protein and low (or moderate) carbohydrates
• Have naturally slow metabolic rate (or few calories are burn at rest)
• Have a tendency to fall asleep easily and sleep deeply
• Need a lot of cardio exercise to lose weight and body fat
• Be extremely difficult to lose weight and fat
• Be easy to have fatigue and tiredness
• Have a tendency to gain fat easily as soon as they stop doing exercise
• Have a tendency to lose fat slowly, even if they are on a healthy, low fat, low calorie diet
• Have a tendency to be overweight, even if they do not eat too much
• Need a frequent, daily training to weight and body fat

If you find out that most of these characteristics are similar to you, you are like to have Endomorph body type.

If you find out that you have Endomorph body type, you might be already overweighed. This body type finds it is difficult to lose weight and body fat.

You need a frequent, daily exercise and a very clean or healthy diet throughout the week before you start seeing the fat is burning off.

Characteristics of Mesomorph:

• Have medium joint circumference
• Have small waist
• Have broad shoulders
• Chest is bigger than abdomen
• Be naturally lean (low levels of body fat)
• Be naturally muscular
• Be naturally strong
• Have high energy levels
• Do not store carbohydrates as fat
• Have fast metabolism
• Easy to control fat
• Easy to gain muscle
• Easy to body fat
• Get fast result with anything training program

If you find that most of these characteristics are similar to you, you are like to have Mesomorph body type.

If you have Mesomorph body type, you are naturally lean and muscular even before you start work out.

For this type body, there is not much to say about nutrition and training program. All they need to do is to pay attention to food quality and to do simple exercise regularly like walking or running to keep their good health.

Characteristics of Ectomorph:

• Be naturally skinny
• Have long limbs, linear bone
• Have small joints, small-boned
• Have small waist
• Have narrow shoulders
• Be angular, projecting bone
• Be naturally lean (still low body fat, even without doing exercise)
• Have low strength level to do exercise
• Have fast metabolism
• Do not store carbohydrate as fat
• Have high energy level
• Be restless
• Be overactive
• Be difficult to maintain weight
• Be difficult to gaining weight
• Have insomniacs, sometimes

If you find that most of these characteristics are similar to you, you are like to have Ectomorph body type.

If you find out that you have Ectomorph body type, you might be already thin and lean. Instead, the problem is you find it is difficult for you to gain muscle.

But all people are not 100% of one type. They are often mixed with each other.

Here are some examples:

• Extreme Endomorph body type is: Endomorph 7, Mesomorph 1, Ectomorph 1
• Extreme Mesomorph body type is: Endomorph 1, Mesomorph 7, Ectomorph 1
• Extreme Ectomorph body type is: Endomorph 1, Mesomorph 1, Ectomorph 7
• A person with high muscle by covered with fat: Endomorph 5, Mesomorph 6, Ectomorph 1
• A person with no fat but with some muscle: Endomorph 1, Mesomorph 4, Ectomorph 6

After you know your body type, you must set your weight loss goal and make commitment accordingly. For some people they might reach goal faster than you. Some might reach that same goal more difficult than you. But never what of your body, you still can lose weight (body fat) if you take action (combining healthy diet and proper exercise).

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