Can body type change and why?

siamesekat

I feel like I've gone from an ecto-mesomorph (skinny & muscled) to a meso-endomorph (muscular and tending towards overweight). The change happened in a short amount of time. I have been wracking my brain to figure out "what changed" because now, even though I exercise more, and more intensely than ever, I'm heavier ever. I am still very muscular, just not lean looking.

So...how and why do body types change, and is it possible to change then back? I'm wondering if it could be hormonal because I did get an IUD (since removed) around the time when my body seemed to change. I've slimmed down a bit since I had the IUD removed but I still find that I retain a great deal of water and I am nowhere near as slim as I used to be, which was 118-120 lbs.

I eat a very good diet of all natural, healthy foods like greek yogurt, avocados, whey protein, tons of veg, etc., but I am hungry a lot so I probably eat a large amount. Still, I feel that I used to eat MORE and WORSE when I was THINNER and less active. Ugh! I guess I am venting a bit but I'm also wondering if there is any hope for me and if any of you have struggled with, or conquered, similar challenges.

3dogsrunning

Somatotype is a theory that has basically been dismissed. They were created by a psychologist to associate body types with human temperament traits.

I know wikipedia isn't the best source of info but a quote

"Sheldon's theories enjoyed a vogue as the "pop-psych flavor of the month" through the 1950s.[2] Modern scientists, however, generally (with occasional exceptions[3][4]) dismiss his claims as outdated, if not outright quackery.[5]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatotype_and_constitutional_psychology

uconnwinsnc

Age changes your body. I don't know how old you are, so I am only taking a guess.

ndj1979

are you logging, weighing, measuring, everything?

Fithealthyforlife

There's no such thing as somatotype. Your behavior has little to do with your body. Bodytype might be more real a phenomenon than somatotype, but no two people have the same body, as it really all comes down to the intricate mix of hormone levels over your life course, from pre-natal, to infancy, to childhood, to teenage years, to young adulthood, adulthood, etc. And those do tend to be inherited to a degree, as does growth, roughly speaking. But, people with certain insulin sensitivities in different tissues (muscle vs. fat cells) tend to have different hunger levels, and this in turn dictates weight gain or loss (and whether that weight is muscle or fat), unless you consciously override it. Insulin is also an anabolic hormone, so it may influence bone mass development as well. Also, activity level in childhood and teenage years will influence bone density and growth, and LBM. And of course in adulthood, exercise alters whether weight is gained as fat or muscle.

By the time you're an adult, you have to work with what you have from all those years. Bones will not change very much once you've reached adulthood. So, muscle and fat levels are the two things that you can change.

If your hormone levels change, it can alter hunger. So your brain can definitely expect more food, for example, if insulin sensitivity changes in a certain way. And if you eat more, you will gain more LBM and fat, essentially becoming more endo-mesomoprhic, as you said.

Tracking calories to see what you're eating, and then comparing to your requirements is the only thing that really works in my opinion. And then you can factor in your goals to move your body in a certain directon.

ninerbuff

Somatotype is a theory that has basically been dismissed. They were created by a psychologist to associate body types with human temperament traits.

I know wikipedia isn't the best source of info but a quote

"Sheldon's theories enjoyed a vogue as the "pop-psych flavor of the month" through the 1950s.[2] Modern scientists, however, generally (with occasional exceptions[3][4]) dismiss his claims as outdated, if not outright quackery.[5]"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somatotype_and_constitutional_psychology

THIS. Your shape that you're born with can be enhanced with physical fitness and muscle hypertrophy, but you're not gonna be able to make your hips smaller, your shoulders less broad, or the length or your torso change.
If you're heavier, it's because you're eating more than you need to.

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siamesekat

Thanks for your thoughts, everyone. It's just sooo frustrating. I guess I was "naturally thin" before and now I have to watch out or I'll be fat!

ndj1979: I don't log or weigh everything, but that is because I am hungry most of the time and just can't stick to the calorie counts. I don't know if that's because I'm so muscular and because of my super tough workouts...but I am definitely a hearty eater. That might be some of the problem, but I have not had any success reigning it in because I feel hungry. I eat VERY healthy (no chips, pizza, fast food, fries, candy, etc), but I'm not at 1500 calories, either.

cafeaulait7

Birth control sorts of hormones can definitely affect hunger at least! You really may be hungrier than you used to be, and that could be the hormonal change doing it, yep. I was on one that was as bad as prednisone for making me ravenous. I don't know if they affect weight in other ways, and they don't do it for everyone at all, but it could be the hormone change, imho. If it's been recently enough, give it at least 3 months to settle down. It usually takes about that long for BC changes to get more stable. Good luck!