What Am I? (Endo, Ecto, Meso)
I often get clients who tell me that they have always been out of shape, are predisposed to gaining weight, or they say, "My body is just this way and everyone in my family is this......way." Coming from an ethnic background myself, I have empathized with them and have internalized their pain. The world is filled with many people that supposedly come in all different shapes and sizes. Well, that last part is not entirely true. Yes, we are all different, but within these parameters there are many similarities. But I kinda don't buy it. Here is why, yes, while there are different body styles, body types and their dispositions are more correct. In general, humans can be classified into 3 broad categories or (somatotypes) within these categories are sub-categories containing combinations of two. The first type are the Ectomorphs. Essentially this is the long, lean slightly muscled persons. Think of Mr. Fantastic from the Fantastic Four. The thing about the ectomorph is that he is lean, maybe too lean he has a difficult time gaining weight (and when I say weight I mean muscle), it is almost impossible for this person to keep the 5 pounds they gained binging last summer on. Next we have the Endomorph, think Homer Simpson, he is soft in all the wrong places and is typically short of limb and stocky. If he looks at food the wrong way he could gain a pound of weight (the wrong weight...fat). The Endomorph can gain muscle pretty fast and at the same time pack on 5 pounds of fat in a heart beat. Next we have the specimen or rightly called the mesomorph this individual combines the best elements of both he is neither short nor tall, he has long arms, but is muscular. He could workout for a week and look like a Greek god, think Superman. In between these we have many pairings. Endo-Ecto, Ecto-Meso and so forth and so on. Many people think that “body type” just describes the way someone looks. In fact, your body type can also provide information about how you respond to food intake and about your hormonal and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) characteristics. Physique characteristics can thus be linked to metabolic differences between individuals. Once someone establishes their body type, they can then adjust nutrient intake to maximize body composition and health related goals.
http://www.precisionnutrition.com/all-about-body-type-eating