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Ectomorph, mesomorph, endomorph
Replies
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Thanks for the input everyone!0
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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.
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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.1 -
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.0 -
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.4 -
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.1 -
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.
The bits in bold are simply not true unfortunately.
As long as you are in a calorie deficit you will lose weight and what you eat does not matter. When you "cheat" on your diet the scales reflect that due to water retention not fat gain.6 -
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.2 -
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.2
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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.3 -
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.
I think the bigger argument of on muscle gaining rates is how is it being measured. People commonly assume increased muscle definition and adaptations in the cns as muscle gains. When looking at controlled studies, there isnt a huge difference in rates.
Eta, i do ascribe to the fact there difference based on several variables, particularly noobs gains, but largely most people fall within a specific range.2 -
SingingSingleTracker 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).
That's because somatotypes are the product of a psychologist who categorized people according to body types and then attributed various personality traits according to those body types. Ectomorph--anxious secretive introverts. Mesomorphs--adventurous and assertive. Endomorphs--fun, affectionate, social. In addition, he used naked photos of undergrads, without their permission, to demonstrate these categories. Somatotyping has a fairly disgusting beginning. Since then, the types have been further defined to require certain ways of eating or exercising (not form for golf swings, actually what types of exercise are better/worse for people of specific body types.)
I'd say that nobody would argue that there are different builds among people. That's pretty obvious to anybody with the gift of sight and/or touch.2 -
trigden1991 wrote: »Anyone, especially female, who thinks they gain muscle quickly or easily is grossly mistaken.
I agree 100% with this-I have worked my azz off for every ounce of muscle I have.5 -
I am 5'7" 140lbs with a bf% of 23%
My goals is to lower my bf% to 20%
I've been eating in a deficit for over a month, and haven't lost a single pound. My maintenance level calories is 2,300. I've been eating 1,400-1,700 calories a day with an occasional refeed of 2,000- 2,300calories. I work out 6-7 days a week, 4 strength days, 2-3 HIIT days.
So since you @trigden1991 are the most brilliant man on earth, and I am clearly an ignorant idiot, please tell me where I can improve in order to see results.-1 -
I'm not the most brilliant, by a long shot lol, but I'm stalled too, although I only have a few to lose. The mayo clinic has a good read on weight loss plateaus.I am 5'7" 140lbs with a bf% of 23%
My goals is to lower my bf% to 20%
I've been eating in a deficit for over a month, and haven't lost a single pound. My maintenance level calories is 2,300. I've been eating 1,400-1,700 calories a day with an occasional refeed of 2,000- 2,300calories. I work out 6-7 days a week, 4 strength days, 2-3 HIIT days.
So since you @trigden1991 are the most brilliant man on earth, and I am clearly an ignorant idiot, please tell me where I can improve in order to see results.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/weight-loss/in-depth/weight-loss-plateau/art-20044615
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I am 5'7" 140lbs with a bf% of 23%
My goals is to lower my bf% to 20%
I've been eating in a deficit for over a month, and haven't lost a single pound. My maintenance level calories is 2,300. I've been eating 1,400-1,700 calories a day with an occasional refeed of 2,000- 2,300calories. I work out 6-7 days a week, 4 strength days, 2-3 HIIT days.
So since you @trigden1991 are the most brilliant man on earth, and I am clearly an ignorant idiot, please tell me where I can improve in order to see results.
I'll ignore your sarcasm and take the compliment.
If you haven't lost weigh then you are eating too much. Firstly your maintenance seems quite high for your weight and your "occasional refeeds" are probably reducing the size of your deficit.
Consistency is key with weight loss and gain.8 -
trigden1991 wrote: »I am 5'7" 140lbs with a bf% of 23%
My goals is to lower my bf% to 20%
I've been eating in a deficit for over a month, and haven't lost a single pound. My maintenance level calories is 2,300. I've been eating 1,400-1,700 calories a day with an occasional refeed of 2,000- 2,300calories. I work out 6-7 days a week, 4 strength days, 2-3 HIIT days.
So since you @trigden1991 are the most brilliant man on earth, and I am clearly an ignorant idiot, please tell me where I can improve in order to see results.
I'll ignore your sarcasm and take the compliment.
If you haven't lost weigh then you are eating too much. Firstly your maintenance seems quite high for your weight and your "occasional refeeds" are probably reducing the size of your deficit.
Consistency is key with weight loss and gain.
And adding to this advice, do you use a food scale to weigh everything that is solid? And do you pick the right items from the database?3 -
I do use a food scale to weight my meats, breads, etc. and try to log as accurately as possible. I'm not going to starve myself any more then I already am, so I guess I'll just be content with 23%bf and slowly change my body comp through strength training.
I apologize for my sarcasm @trigden1991. I just don't like being treated like I'm stupid.0 -
I do use a food scale to weight my meats, breads, etc. and try to log as accurately as possible. I'm not going to starve myself any more then I already am, so I guess I'll just be content with 23%bf and slowly change my body comp through strength training.
I apologize for my sarcasm @trigden1991. I just don't like being treated like I'm stupid.
I think part of it is that you're at a really good level of body fat and it's just going to take time. Like when you're already small and just trying to get smaller, it's going to take longer than someone who is much bigger losing weight/fat.
Keep on your strength training and you may even look into doing a recomp which is eating at maintenance and lifting so then you're less starving. This is a much longer process though but it may protect your sanity.4 -
I took a sneak peek at your food diary, you need to weigh everything in which you do not. Your fish weigh exactly the same each time and the sweet potato was measured with cup measures. Food scale is your problem, fix that and you will be golden.
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