People think they can lose weight with just dieting and following a basic exercise routine. Yes, while this may keep you largely healthy, but it will not necessarily help you lose the weight you are trying so hard to lose. Moreover, by dieting and exercising without first finding out what is suitable for your health, you may be doing more harm than good to yourself.
So how do you ensure that your diet and exercise routine will definitely help you lose weight?
You do it by finding out your body type. Your body type is not merely about the way you look. It is about your overall health characteristics that determine your metabolism and the way your body reacts to food intake.
Largely speaking there are three body types with typical features which people broadly fit into. While you may be a combination of more than one body type, usually the characteristics of one type dominate:
ENDOMORPH BODY TYPE
- Slow metabolic rate, thus have to work hard to lose weight
- Body fat tends to settle in the lower region of your body
- Short limbs
MESOMORPH BODY TYPE
- Rectangular shaped with an upright posture
- Loses or gains weight easily
- Builds muscle quickly
ECTOMORPH BODY TYPE
- Thin body with a narrow frame
- Faster metabolism
- Difficulty building muscles and gaining weight.
Though these generalizations give a fair idea about the physical appearance of each body type, they do very little to explain the implications of a particular body type on your health or the relation between the two.
For this, it is more feasible to segregate the body type based on the dominant gland that determines your shape and metabolism, which in turn affects your personality traits.
Different Body Types and Consequences on Health
THYROID BODY TYPE
Located at the base of the neck, your thyroid will start producing fat if not functioning properly. With a tendency towards accumulation of fat/and or cellulite on the hips, thighs and lower abdomen, this type tends to crave sweets, starchy food, and caffeine. A combination of these cravings and going on a diet in order to control the cravings creates a situation of over stimulation and starvation of the thyroid gland, creating more fat and ruining metabolism. People with an overstimulated thyroid gland tend to have symptoms of brittle and thin hair, with extreme hair fall problem. They also get vertically ridge nails.
Generally, people falling in this category are easily irritable and depressed. They are prone to spurts of high energy and an equal tendency to crash with low energy at particular times of the day. With this body type, you can expect to have loose skin under the neck and arms and thinning outer parts of eyebrows. For weight loss, you should follow a low protein, low fat and a diet with non-cruciferous vegetables. Thyroid body types are prone to ailments involving the nervous system.
ADRENAL BODY TYPE
A person with an adrenal body type is in an overstressed state and starved for natural energy. To deal with this stress, the adrenal gland of such people increases the production of a hormone called cortisol, which helps them survive and handle stress. What excess cortisol also does is destroy the protein in the leg and the butt and stores it in the stomach as fat or “potential energy”. It is this mechanism of fat reserves around the belly and upper back, which gives this body type a rotund shape. With an adrenal body type, you are always mentally active, always thinking, with a need for frequent meals to maintain blood sugars. As time progresses, along with a sagging stomach and a rotund appearance you can develop problems like arthritis, body pain especially in the foot and the back, and twitching in the left eye.
If you have this body type, intense cardiovascular workouts can help you shed weight around your midsection. Consume foods low in fat and salt, such as fresh fruit, low-fat dairy products, and whole grain carbohydrates. Meditation, yoga and deep breathing exercises will go a long way in alleviating some of the stress that stimulates adrenal glands into secreting cortisol.
OVARY/GONAD BODY TYPE
When your ovaries do not function properly, they produce in excess a hormone called estrogen. The overproduction of estrogen causes an ovary body distortion seen in the fat deposit on thighs, lower stomach, and buttocks. In this body type, the belly fat usually shows up as a bulge just below the belly button. In the case of men, it is the gonads which become dysfunctional and result in narrow shoulders and broader hips, giving them a “pot belly.”
As both thyroid type and ovary body type are triggered due to an excess of estrogen, it is possible for a woman to become a thyroid body type after pregnancy, especially if she develops thyroid in the course of her pregnancy or after delivery. Sugar is harmful to anyone, but for ovary type, it is absolutely toxic. Here, sugar breaks down muscle protein and creates more cellulite. Women with this body type suffer from menstruation problems like PMS, bloating, heavy flow and acne. Ovary types should consume more proteins at night and avoid creamy things which they crave.
LIVER BODY TYPE
Located under the rib cage, the liver is the largest organ in the body and key in some very important health functions like digestion and detoxification. When the liver becomes damaged or weak, it results in a pot belly due to a build-up of fluid, not fat, just below the rib cage. What happens is that the liver leaks a plasma-like fluid into the sac just above the intestines, giving the liver type a belly pooch.
The liver type has a fat stomach but low body fat. This type wakes up sluggish and irritable in the morning due to low blood sugar. Digestive problems make them prone to heartburn and acidity. They also suffer from are skin issues, stiff back, yellowish color in the corner of the eye and bad breath. Craving for junk food, alcohol, and aerated beverages, exacerbates their situation.
You can also look at our article on Fatty Liver
If you plan your diet and exercise routine just based on your weight, chances are the results will be disappointing. For this reason, understand your health and work on improving it with an understanding of your body type.
Ladies! Learn About the Impact of Estrogen Dominance On Your Health
Stress Can Make You Fat and Diabetic – Cortisol led Obesity and Type 2 Diabetes