What if I told you that, no matter how hard you tried, if you don’t optimize your food and exercise plan to your specific body type, you may not see success despite your hard work?
This could explain why you’ve tried so many diets and exercise plans yet none of them seem to do the trick.
No matter what, the scale doesn’t seem to budge.
That’s at least what happened to me.
But, on the contrary, now that I know and understand my body type, I’m working with it and really reshaping my figure.
To help you do that too, I’m diving into everything you need to know about your body type in this guide, including why it’s important to know, and the specific diet and exercise tips to go along with your figure.
So we’re on the same page, the goal of this guide isn’t to help you slim down to a Victoria Secrets model body type.
Quite the the opposite actually.
My focus is to show you that you can optimize the shape you’ve been given instead of fighting so hard to change it.
That leads us right to the first point:
Why Bother Worrying About Your Body Type to Begin With?
As I learned the hard way, not every exercise or diet plan is going to work with your body type.
You may have also seen this firsthand.
Despite counting calories and reducing your food intake, the same number is still staring back at you on the scale.
Or worse, you could be adding bulk in the wrong places making your weight go up.
However, on the other hand, when you optimize both your diet and exercise plans, that’s when you can start to actually see results.
So the next question becomes, how can you do this?
First, you have to know your body type, which is actually pretty easy to figure out.
What Each Body Type Means
As mentioned in the beginning, there are 3 main body types: endomorphs, ectomorphs, and mesomorphs.
Don’t let the dinosaur-sounding names throw you off; this is simple, I promise.
Starting with endomorphs, this body type is straightforward: if it’s easier for you to gain weight than it is to lose it or you’ve always struggled to maintain or decrease your weight, then you’re probably an endomorph body type.
This particular shape is also curvier and tends to run on the shorter, petite size.
Ectomorphs are the exact opposite of endomorphs, despite having a similar sounding name.
With ectos, think Victoria Secrets models — long, lean.
Ectomorphs usually have longer limbs and are anything but short and petite.
Somewhere in the middle of ecto’s and endo’s lies mesomorphs.
This hybrid body type is usually more muscular and athletic.
They can also be either short or tall but, no matter the size, tend to be super lean.
After reading these descriptions, it’s probably clear which body shape you are.
And if you’re unsure, it could be that you’re a mix of more than one body type — such as ectomorph and mesomorph, which is perfectly natural.
However, most of us, including me, lean pretty straight one way versus another.
What you may not have realized though, it’s not just your jean size that you should adjust given your body type; it’s also your nutrition and workout plan.
Because if you don’t, you’re likely to see the opposite result and could end up fighting against your body instead of working to optimize it.
This leads to weight gain and disappointments.
Instead of getting to that point, I’ll show you what you can do to work with your body, starting with your diet.
Nutrition Tips by Body Type
Thanks to Instagram, I fell into a rabbit hole of “What a Victoria Secret Model Eats in a Day” type videos and was so intrigued that I could see into their daily eating habits, I had to watch until the end.
And I’m glad I did because it further proved just how important body types are.
Unfortunately, what some people don’t realize watching videos like those is that following their approach to a T is still not going to give you a body like theirs, especially if you’re not naturally thin and an ectomorph.
To give you an example, the model I watched, Devon Windsor, is a stunning 6+ feet tall model.
But her meal plan for the day was loaded with healthy carbs and tons of fruit.
For an ectomorph, this is a perfect diet.
But for a short statured endomorph like myself, this would lead to blood sugar spikes, cravings, and weight gain.
This is why it’s so important to figure out and work with your body type.
Here’s how to do that:
If You’re an Endomorph, Read This
I hate to break it to any fellow endomorph readers, but you need to pay attention to what you eat the most.
Avoiding high carb foods and starchy vegetables in favor of healthy proteins and non-starchy vegetables is the key to optimizing your body.
It’s also crucial that you weave in whole-food fats, not processed and packaged ones, if you want to start reshaping your figure.
Endomorphs can enjoy a slightly higher carb intake on days where you’re more active.
But, combining a sedentary day and carb-heavy meals will have the opposite effect and will lead to weight gain and high blood sugar levels.
It’s also a good idea for endomorphs to load up on non-starchy vegetables and only 1-2 servings of low-sugar fruit tops. More than this on the fruit can lead to sugar cravings for unhealthy versions.
Endomorphs can also be affected by not getting enough sleep and being overly stressed.
These two alone can lead to poor eating habits and unwanted weight gain.
Alcohol and sugar-packed drinks should also be avoided if you are an endomorph.
Unfortunately, you are going to find that your fellow ectomorphs and mesomorphs don’t have to abide by these rules and can still rock a flat stomach with no problems even after eating a bunch of candy.
Now’s the time to accept that this is life and that was the hand you were dealt and you can move on by optimizing your body and working with your body instead of against it.
For endomorphs, you can skip ahead to the workouts section since the next one is all about ectomorph eating habits.
For Ectomorph Readers, Check Out This Section
Ectomorphs have the opposite problem — instead of consuming less, this body type usually requires more fuel, especially carbs.
You may see someone with this body type eating every 2-4 hours and yet they still don’t gain a pound.
They were blessed with a very fast and high metabolism, as you may have guessed.
And they can handle the excess carbs, whereas endomorphs cannot.
Many ectomorphs also find that a lower fat, higher carb mix works better.
However, ectomorphs can still accumulate fat if they’re not careful.
Too many carbs can lead to this which means eating the right amount is still key here.
Same as ectomorphs though, you can up your carbs on training days as long as you don’t go too crazy.
If you’re an ecto or endomorph, you can skip ahead to workouts.
For athletic mesomorphs, your tips are up next.
Mesomorph Tips When it Comes to Nutrition
With high activity levels, mesomorphs need more fuel, both in the form of protein and calories.
People with this body type benefit from eating more protein while still including both carbs and fats.
However, similar to the other two body types, mesomorphs aren’t immune to gaining weight.
Excess intake of protein or calories that don’t meet activity needs can lead to unwanted weight gain just the same.
Given the right strategy, mesomorphs tend to have no trouble losing the weight, unlike us endomorphs.
Speaking of that, up next I’ll share the differences between workouts for each body type.
Workout Tips By Body Type
The workout approaches between each body type also compare and contrast to each other.
Endomorph Workout Tips
This is another lesson I learned the hard way.
Endomorphs can get stronger and build muscle pretty quickly.
I had a feeling about this and my theory was that the muscle would burn away the layer of fat I was trying to get rid of.
But that never happened.
Instead, it almost pushes the fat out further because now there’s more muscle and still the same amount of fat.
To combat this, endomorphs should focus on both resistance and endurance exercises.
Circuits with little rest in between are also helpful for torching fat while building muscle.
Endomorphs should also work at finding exercises that keep their heart rate elevated and within an optimal training zone.
Moderate to high reps (think 8-15) and going lighter on weight for compound movements is also a good idea.
As for the schedule, working out 4 days a week is ideal with light cardio, such as walking, on rest days.
Inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle is not going to do anything for an endomorph body type.
Ectomorphs have a slightly different plan with some things overlapping.
Ectomorph Exercise Hacks
As mentioned earlier, ectomorphs struggle to put on weight and muscle.
But that doesn’t mean they should eat anything and everything in sight just to achieve this.
Do that and you’ll end up with a skinny fat physique instead.
Because of this, ectomorphs should go heavier with weights to build strength and larger muscles.
Endurance training, on the other hand, is not recommended since it will continue to keep your body from packing on muscle.
Ectomorphs should also hold their heavier weights for a few seconds and pause to really maximize each move.
Big compound movements with heavy weights are also ideal for ectomorphs, but can have the opposite effect on curvier endomorphs.
And lastly, sticking to 3-4 days of lifting weights is also a good idea for ectomorphs.
Up next, I’ll dive into more about the mesomorph workout plan.
Mesomorphs Workout Tips
If you’re someone who has been blessed with an athletic build, you can have your pick of rotating between strength and endurance exercises without trouble.
Keeping your reps between 3-12 reps, depending on the weights you use, is also ideal to help you build muscle.
Mesomorphs can also alternate between heavy and moderately heavy weights and can lift up to 5 times per week.
Now that you know more about body types,…
It’s Time to Work With Your Body, Not Against It
Understanding your body type is crucial to figuring out where to start when it comes to eating and exercising.
And now that you know more about your body type, you can do just that.
If you have any questions about today’s guide, feel free to reach out via email at devan@behappynothangry.com.