Weight Loss & Your Body Type
The shape of your body is a direct result of your genes and your lifestyle. Learn what and how much cardio and strength workout you need to do and which area to focus on according to your body shape. This video will show you the 6 basic female body shapes and how you can plan your workout according to your body shape to see results.
First determine your body type and shape.
There are three basic human body types:
- The endomorph tends to store a lot of body fat and has trouble burning it off.
- The mesomorph is generally shorter and more muscular with stocky arms and legs.
- The ectomorph doesn’t have a lot of fat or muscle.
You also fit into a distinct body shape category, based upon the size of your features and the proportions of your body. Men tend to be either rectangular or cone shaped, and women tend to be pear, apple, hourglass or ruler shaped. Weight loss techniques can focus on specific combinations, these tips focus primarily on weight loss for the three main body types.
Endomorph
Because people with endomorph body types tend to store body fat easily, they usually struggle with weight loss.
Diet
To keep their metabolism burning at a high rate, endomorphs should eat five or six small meals, mainly lean protein and green vegetables, every few hours throughout the day.
Exercise
A combination of fast-paced weight training and 30 minutes or more of daily moderate-intensity cardiovascular exercise are needed to burn more calories. Exercising and eating first thing in the morning can help rev up the metabolism from the get-go.
Mesomorph
Mesomorphs are generally more muscular than endomorphs and ectomorphs, and they can also gain and lose weight more readily than other body types. When mesomorphs do cardiovascular exercise, they have the advantage of being able to lose fat while maintaining a muscular physique, which enables them to burn even more calories.
Diet
Mesomorphs should avoid eating junk foods, because they can gain that weight back about as quickly as they lost it. They should also eat six small protein-rich meals to help sustain energy and muscle bulk. Moreover, they should eat more complex carbohydrates than simple carbohydrates, and make fats and oils no more than 20 percent to 30 percent of their diets.
Exercise
Mesomorphs benefit from doing combinations of workouts that include circuit training, high-intensity cardiovascular activity, moderate weights, strength and core training.
Ectomorph
Ectomorphs are mainly tall, thin people who have fast metabolisms. This causes them to have trouble gaining weight and muscle, no matter what measures they take to bulk up. However, not all ectomorphs (or ectomorphs combined with another body type) stay skinny as they get older; they just have the predisposition to have thin frames.
Diet
Ectomorphs should eat healthy and balanced diets that are high in protein and complex carbohydrates and rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, while reducing intake of junk foods. Ectomorphs should be careful when trying to lose weight, because cutting too many calories can cause them to burn muscle to a greater degree than other body types.
Exercise
Doing too much cardiovascular exercise (more than two or three days per week) can cause ectomorphs to lose more calories than they should, so loss of fat should be accomplished through muscle building exercises under guidance from a trainer or medical professional.