Endomorph Body type

Flowerbaby2 · March 8

Get so frustrated with weight gain.Had weight issues as a young teen .Lost it as a teenager, just rode my 3 speed Shwinn everywhere or briskly walked around Philly I moved to Albq NM and everything is spread out,got a car,and lowered my resting metabolism.Went to college for nursing and worked 30 hours a week.Studied so hard,just did not have time to go to the gym.I am 4 “10” and it is so easy to gain weight.I just read about body types and endomorph literally fits me to a T.Now 65,really struggling.Just discouraged but not giving up.Guess I need to someone else dealing with metabolism frustration..Please share your experiences .Thank you

robertw486 · March 8

In the long run, the only way to control weight is through energy balance. You can only eat based on your activity level and size, and it has been proven over and over again. There is no real science behind the body types thing, and never has been, other than it somehow classes some basic shapes that people have or end up in. As those people lose or gain weight, there descriptive body type would change.

I'm not saying weight control is easy for most, because it's not. And when I see the calorie difference between myself and a shorter person, it does make me have sympathy for their greater calorie restrictions.

Unfortunately, the only thing you can really do if you want to drop weight is find your proper combination of eat less and move more. Figure out what foods (consider macros as well) help make you feel full for longer, up the exercise if possible, and play the long game. We are just as capable at your age as we are when younger. Speaking for myself I think some of us at some point just don't have as much priority on it as we did when we were younger. And really as we approach retirement years we should focus on it more, I'd hate to see someone die younger or enjoy life less through a shorter retirement span due to health issues. Live long enough to beat the system and enjoy that retirement income for as many years as you can.

ninerbuff · March 8

You're NOT an endomorph. That type of information has long been debunked because it was actually labled by a psychiatrist and not a physiologist. It's a sales "jargon" to get people to think that they are in a category just to sell them a program or product.

If you're overweight it's because you ate too much than what you needed for too long. The approach for everyone to lose weight is the same.................burn more calories than you take in.

Walking a little more, eating a little less is the first easy approach.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 35+ years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

cmriverside · March 8

I don't feel sorry for myself for not being able to eat as much as a tall man...jus' sayin', robertw.

I think our bodies are perfectly designed to function well if/when we are at a healthy weight. All the extra weight is causing illness, and part of that illness is caused by the types and amounts of foods we eat. I believe that food is #1. Fuel and #2. Medicine.

Flowerbaby, if you were to get to a healthy weight and learn to eat a well balanced nutrient rich mix of foods, you would be able to stay at a good calorie level to keep you there. It can be done.

Start.

AnnPT77 · March 8

I was an endomorph, until I morphed myself into a mesomorph. At age 59-60. While severely hypothyroid, if that matters. (I think it doesn't.)

Nah, I'm kidding. 😉🙂 Those other folks are right: Somatotypes are an unscientific construct.

Not kidding about self-transformation, though. If we commit to it, we can accomplish quite a remarkable degree of it, IME . . . starting at any age or stage.

I'm 68 now, lost from class 1 obese to a healthy weight at 59-60. I've been at a healthy weight for 7+ years since. All my health markers improved dramatically (blood pressure, cholesterol, etc. - high when obese, fine now). I honestly feel better than I did in my mid-40s. That, after around 3 previous decades of overweight/obesity.

If a hedonistic aging hippie flake like me can do this, I suspect most anyone can. Gotta wanna. Believe in yourself!

I actually think we have an advantage at an older age: We know ourselves quite well by now, and know how to game our strengths (and limitations) to accomplish big goals via patient little steps. We've done this over the decades to get an education, build a career, raise a family, create a home, or other things like that.

Those same skills can apply to weight management, fitness progress, nutrition improvements.

I'm not saying it's easy every second, because it's not. But the basic steps are simple, straightforward. All of it can happen in small steps, manageably.

We just have to decide to do it, take the steps, accept that there will be occasional setbacks, but Just. Keep. Going.

Don't tell yourself it's impossible, that fate has solidified. It's not true. Too many people here have succeeded to believe that. Decide to join them, and mean it.

I'm cheering for you to succeed: The results are worth it!

Retroguy2000 · March 8

As well as body types being a myth, you didn't lower your RMR by getting a car. Your metabolism was just fine. You may have lowered daily TDEE due to walking less.

I doubt there's anything wrong with your metabolism. It's simply that at 4' 10" your RMR (the calories to keep you alive if you were doing literally nothing but breathing) is probably not very high. So if you aren't very active, then the total calories you can take in without gaining weight won't be much higher.

Start tracking your food, make sensible substitutions, "cheat" less, load more fruit and veg on plates instead of carbs, get healthier snacks, walk more, etc.

tomcustombuilder · March 8

Your weight will be determined by your overall weekly calorie consumption over time. Somatypes are a myth, endomorph can be used to have an excuse for being overweight.

“I’m just a big person and also have a slow metabolism”

It’s just a matter of not enough activity and/or too many calories.

PAV8888 · March 8

RMR is highly dependent on height, weight, age, gender, muscle mass* (*either explicitly considered or implicitly assumed by the other variables).

If you are female, shorter, older ... you "lose points" in the RMR lottery.
Well. No.
You don't ACTUALLY lose points.

A 2 seat car just requires less total energy to move around town than a 100+ seat articulated bus--no deep thought required as to why.

It is quite likely that the 3-500 extra calories you may have given up from not using your bike and walking have a much more direct impact on your energy balance than whether you occasionally go to the gym or not. And 500 Calories are a much larger percentage of your total energy expenditure than they would be for someone with a larger body. This, btw, will also apply to the size of deficits you can create and tolerate.

Major daily reductions to our energy needs due to changing circumstances are the hardest to adjust to and it doesn't help when your total budget for the day can be wiped by a single restaurant entree.

Endomorph Body type

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