I want to introduce you to the ‘endomorph’ body type. The genetic make up of this body type dictates that you will be able to easily put on body fat, and you will simultaneously find it very difficult to get rid of that same body fat. Endomorphs seem to be able to consume calories from simply looking at a piece of food, and get easily discouraged when they are unable to get rid of the undesired weight.
If you can resonate with this, join the club! I was born to be big. Earlier in my life, I wasn’t as active as I am now, and I was uneducated on the effects of certain foods. This cause be to balloon and become the chubby teenager of my past. You see, I am a weight loss coach, and what gives me an advantage is that I have already been in the position of needing to lose weight. Because of my genetic make up, I have always been able to put on body fat very easily, and so I have always needed to find new ways of getting it off and keeping it off. I didn’t become a weight loss coach because I was passionate about it and wanted to do it, I got into it because I needed to, and it eventually became a passion for me.
Now, to clearly illustrate the message that I want to give to you today, let me take you through the three main body types…
-Ectomorph: The people with this genetic make-up are naturally tall, skinny, and find it difficult to put on fat and muscle. They seem to be able to eat whatever they want and never gain any kind of weight.
-Mesomorph: These people are naturally athletically built, and they are seemingly the lucky ones with the ‘good genes’. Mesomorphs can put on muscle easily, and also lose fat easily.
-Endomorphs: This is my genetic make-up, and this is the body type that this article is speaking to. We are naturally shorter people, and stocky. We are able to put on weight very easily, and find it difficult to get rid of it. We were made to store body fat. The good thing, though, is that it’s easy for us to put on muscle mass and keep it on.
The main trait that endomorphic body types have, that other body types (to their benefit) miss out on, is slow metabolism. If you are an endomorph, your metabolism is naturally slow. Your body processes food very slowly, and doesn’t want you to be burning much energy throughout your day. Now, being an endomorph is not an excuse to laze around and blame our genes for not being able to burn fat as efficiently as others. There are a few simple things to keep in mind and live by, in order to stay slim, fit, and healthy.
Firstly, carbohydrates hate us. If we, as endomorphs consume too many carbs during the day, our body will find it very easy to pick up some fat. We need to make sure to only consume carbohydrates before afternoon, and never have high-carb foods in the evening. Stick to a high-protein, moderate-high fat eating regime.
Another thing to remember as an endomorph, is that we require much more cardiovascular training in order to stay fit, in comparison with ectomorphs and mesomorphs. Cardio training has to be a routine for us and isn’t something that we can take lightly. I used to not enjoy cardio and therefore wouldn’t do it, and I struggled to keep kilos off. Now that I have found an enjoyable way of doing cardio training, it has become a routine for me and a lifestyle habit, and I am much more in control of my weight.
The important thing here is to always mix up your cardio sessions. It doesn’t always have to be walking or running, for example. You can train at a high intensity with things like battle ropes, sandbags, and other equipment of the like, along with body weight exercises such as burpees, squat jumps, jumping jacks. Be creative and always do something new!
There are a million bits of advice that I could give to you from my experience of living with genes of an endomorph, however the two biggest points in getting rid of body fat and keeping it off, are those two points above. Stick to a low-carb style of eating, and make cardiovascular training a ritual to live by. Don’t think of cardio training as something boring and tedious, there are always ways to mix it up and make it fun!
Originally published at medium.com