Ectomorph, mesomorph, endomorph

ktfranke
ktfranke Posts: 217 Member
edited November 14 in Fitness and Exercise
What body type are you? Do you chose your diet and exercise based on your body type? And do you think that each body type genetically comes with different metabolic tendencies?

I am classified as an endomorph. And all the things that I've read up on my body type seem to be true in my experience. The diet that is suggested for my body type, is a low carb or carb cycling diet, because my body type tends to be more sensitive to insulin/fat storage.

I am blown away by how many diets, suggestions, and opinions there are out there! Just curious if you think this one is legit?!
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Replies

  • SKristianM
    SKristianM Posts: 11 Member
    I'm a Xenomorph. And no, somatotypes are not legit.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    Body types don't exist.
  • TR0berts
    TR0berts Posts: 7,739 Member
    Human male.
  • Savagedistraction
    Savagedistraction Posts: 312 Member
    ktfranke wrote: »
    What body type are you? Do you chose your diet and exercise based on your body type? And do you think that each body type genetically comes with different metabolic tendencies?

    I am classified as an endomorph. And all the things that I've read up on my body type seem to be true in my experience. The diet that is suggested for my body type, is a low carb or carb cycling diet, because my body type tends to be more sensitive to insulin/fat storage.

    I am blown away by how many diets, suggestions, and opinions there are out there! Just curious if you think this one is legit?!

    Mesomorph 100%. Build muscle easy, athletic, but get fat easy if I don't exercise. I lose weight fast when I do exercise and eat right.
  • Hornsby
    Hornsby Posts: 10,322 Member
    They aren't real, OP. Don't buy into the BS.
  • MaybeLed
    MaybeLed Posts: 250 Member
    It reminds me of the things that circulate on facebook 'people with blue eyes love easily and are a good thing'.

    It's all suitably vague that anyone can believe it applies to them with their own bias
  • serapel
    serapel Posts: 502 Member
    trigden1991 wrote: »
    Anyone, especially female, who thinks they gain muscle quickly or easily is grossly mistaken.

    You must be jealous of people that can actually gain easily lol
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    edited December 2016
    serapel wrote: »
    I am a eatomorph...I eat too much and morph into another body type.

    Yeah. This^^ :D
  • Sued0nim
    Sued0nim Posts: 17,456 Member
    trigden1991 wrote: »
    Body types don't exist.

    Body types do exist

    I've got a type of body

    So do you

    Only the type of body I have has no bearing on how I lose weight, fat or build muscle

    Just because some 1940s psychologist looked at some pictures and make up some names for what that meant and then a whole media spin took off it doesn't make it true

    Now for constitutional psychology there might be some relevance

    But health and fitness

    LOL

  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    Sued0nim wrote: »
    trigden1991 wrote: »
    Body types don't exist.

    Body types do exist

    I've got a type of body

    So do you

    Only the type of body I have has no bearing on how I lose weight, fat or build muscle

    Just because some 1940s psychologist looked at some pictures and make up some names for what that meant and then a whole media spin took off it doesn't make it true

    Now for constitutional psychology there might be some relevance

    But health and fitness

    LOL

    I was referring to the OP's wording but yes I should have written "somatotype body types" ;)
  • ktfranke
    ktfranke Posts: 217 Member
    Thanks for the input everyone!
  • SingingSingleTracker
    SingingSingleTracker Posts: 1,866 Member
    ktfranke wrote: »
    What body type are you? Do you chose your diet and exercise based on your body type? And do you think that each body type genetically comes with different metabolic tendencies?

    I am classified as an endomorph. And all the things that I've read up on my body type seem to be true in my experience. The diet that is suggested for my body type, is a low carb or carb cycling diet, because my body type tends to be more sensitive to insulin/fat storage.

    I am blown away by how many diets, suggestions, and opinions there are out there! Just curious if you think this one is legit?!

    One gets crucified if they even dare to mention somatotypes here at MFP (or other places).

    Tall and lanky as in fashion models, lots of basketball players, etc... can all easily be shamed for being skinny. The psychologist William Sheldon who labeled the somatotypes, called that "type" ectomorph. Whatever you call that type - tall/lanky, string bean, slim and trim, narrow shouldered/narrow hipped/narrow waisted, small boned skeletal frame, or ectomorph - I'm in it.

    It's interesting what cultural implications and stereotypes have developed as a result throughout time. I think I first encountered it in sports in my generation as athletes started to pursue sports that were perhaps more specialized for their body type compared to the prior generation where the body type of what Sheldon called a mesomorph was stereotyped as an "athlete" and were the only ones encouraged to pursue sports.

    Even the book the "LAWs of the Golf Swing" had three top professional golf swing guru teachers separate body types in golf with the categories of leverage, arc, width. Each "type" approached swing mechanics to fit their body type to make solid, square contact at impact. I was surprised when I read the book that I was indeed swinging naturally the ARC swing (tall and lanky/maximum flexibility). Anytime I took lessons, a golf pro would try to force me into the "LEVERAGE" swing (mesomorph body type) and I would hit the ball all over the park no matter how much practice or grooving of the swing I endured. Over the decades I would always revert back to my natural swing (ARC) and hit the ball in the park and score well.

    I haven't really paid any attention over the years to anything that was said about nutrition related to a specific "type" of body. I firmly believe in CICO. I haven't really fluctuated outside of a narrow 15-20 pound range since puberty over the past 40 years outside of a brief stint I did eating at a surplus for 2 years and gained a spare tire that I shed.

    So I know that eating a surplus of calories causes weight gain for me, eating a deficit of calories causes weight loss for me, and eating what my body needs on a daily basis maintains my weight. That is much simpler and removes any energy or focus on specific diets, suggestions, voodoo about body types, opinions.

    Tall and lanky - over and out.






  • laceyn18
    laceyn18 Posts: 27 Member
    trigden1991 wrote: »
    Anyone, especially female, who thinks they gain muscle quickly or easily is grossly mistaken.

    I gain muscle pretty easily on my lower body and I am female. I don't think this is all that abnormal.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    edited December 2016
    I'm a mesomorph 63%, endomorph 37% and certainly my body reflects that as compared to pictures...so that's my body type...

    I'm also a libra...I don't really eat or train or eat based on my somatotype just as I really don't live my life by my horoscope. It's kind of interesting and all, but I don't think it actually means anything in terms of how you need to train or eat...it's just a body type.
  • trigden1991
    trigden1991 Posts: 4,658 Member
    laceyn18 wrote: »
    trigden1991 wrote: »
    Anyone, especially female, who thinks they gain muscle quickly or easily is grossly mistaken.

    I gain muscle pretty easily on my lower body and I am female. I don't think this is all that abnormal.

    An untrained female could hope to gain 1lb of muscle per month in the first year of training and less as they become more trained. Your legs may get bigger and stronger but muscle is not easily built by females.
  • ktfranke
    ktfranke Posts: 217 Member
    I definitely think that health and fitness is very individualistic. Every person has there own genetic makeup, there own hormone levels, there own metabolisms... and not everyone is going to respond the same way to the same foods or workouts. People have intolerances, people have food allergies, and disabilities, people have there own individual obstacles they need to overcome in order to succeed.

    I'm still dabbling in different things to figure out what clicks. I've definitely seen big results with resistance training, and am enjoying seeing my body composition slowly changing. But when it comes to fat loss, cutting calories and having the occasion refeed day, just isn't doing it for me. So many people keep telling me, "you can eat cake and ice cream everyday as long as it fits within your daily calories and macros," and that just simply isn't true for me. I've weighed my food, I've logged as accurately as possible, and yet I don't get results.

    That's why I started looking into being an endomorph. And part of their genetic discription is that we can't get away with eating whatever we want. when we cheat, it shows immediately on the scale - which is true for me.

    All that to say.... I'm not going to completely rule it out... there may be some bits of truth behind it, just like every other diet fad. Whether it be supplements, ketosis, carb cycling, you name it... the reason why it's become a thing, is because it's worked for some people. But I definitely don't think that your "body type," should be an excuse to complain or be lazy. But I do think it gives us a better idea of what we're working with.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    ktfranke wrote: »
    I definitely think that health and fitness is very individualistic. Every person has there own genetic makeup, there own hormone levels, there own metabolisms... and not everyone is going to respond the same way to the same foods or workouts. People have intolerances, people have food allergies, and disabilities, people have there own individual obstacles they need to overcome in order to succeed.

    I'm still dabbling in different things to figure out what clicks. I've definitely seen big results with resistance training, and am enjoying seeing my body composition slowly changing. But when it comes to fat loss, cutting calories and having the occasion refeed day, just isn't doing it for me. So many people keep telling me, "you can eat cake and ice cream everyday as long as it fits within your daily calories and macros," and that just simply isn't true for me. I've weighed my food, I've logged as accurately as possible, and yet I don't get results.

    That's why I started looking into being an endomorph. And part of their genetic discription is that we can't get away with eating whatever we want. when we cheat, it shows immediately on the scale - which is true for me.

    All that to say.... I'm not going to completely rule it out... there may be some bits of truth behind it, just like every other diet fad. Whether it be supplements, ketosis, carb cycling, you name it... the reason why it's become a thing, is because it's worked for some people. But I definitely don't think that your "body type," should be an excuse to complain or be lazy. But I do think it gives us a better idea of what we're working with.

    Dietary adherence is very personal. So plqyijg around with it will definitely allow you to get into a sweetspot. That being said, refeed and cheat meals, if uncontrolled can cause issues with eating into your deficit. And if that picture is fairly accurate, you look fairly lean which gives you very little room to play. Its why its much more hard for lean people to become more lean and why obese people can have their cake and eat it, too.

    And yes there are some variations in metabolism, intolerances, allegeries and more, we are generally very similar.
  • rybo
    rybo Posts: 5,424 Member
    So while the somatotype thing has been shown to be irrelevant, threads like this crack me up with narrow minded views on body types and variability among people to look a certain way and/or gain muscle at different rates.
  • BruinsGal_91
    BruinsGal_91 Posts: 1,400 Member
    ktfranke wrote: »
    I definitely think that health and fitness is very individualistic. Every person has there own genetic makeup, there own hormone levels, there own metabolisms... and not everyone is going to respond the same way to the same foods or workouts. People have intolerances, people have food allergies, and disabilities, people have there own individual obstacles they need to overcome in order to succeed.

    I'm still dabbling in different things to figure out what clicks. I've definitely seen big results with resistance training, and am enjoying seeing my body composition slowly changing. But when it comes to fat loss, cutting calories and having the occasion refeed day, just isn't doing it for me. So many people keep telling me, "you can eat cake and ice cream everyday as long as it fits within your daily calories and macros," and that just simply isn't true for me. I've weighed my food, I've logged as accurately as possible, and yet I don't get results.

    That's why I started looking into being an endomorph. And part of their genetic discription is that we can't get away with eating whatever we want. when we cheat, it shows immediately on the scale - which is true for me.

    All that to say.... I'm not going to completely rule it out... there may be some bits of truth behind it, just like every other diet fad. Whether it be supplements, ketosis, carb cycling, you name it... the reason why it's become a thing, is because it's worked for some people. But I definitely don't think that your "body type," should be an excuse to complain or be lazy. But I do think it gives us a better idea of what we're working with.

    Then you must be a scientific miracle.
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