There are many ways to “type” your body. Blood types and metabolic types are just two of the ways., but you can also be typed according  to your body shape. Are you are an endomorph an ectomorph or a mesomorph? If you’re eating wrong for your body type, you may never be able to lose weight successfully. If you want to maximize the results of your diet, regardless of whether your ultimate aim is to lose weight or gain muscle you it is essential that you adjust your diet to comply with your body type.

As far back as the 1940′s, an American psychologist called Dr. William H Sheldon, became fascinated by the study of human body types. Sheldon’s devoted his life to observing how body types were related to temperaments. As a result of his research, Sheldon developed a three part classification system for body types known as SOMATOTYPING.

Sheldon identified three distinct body types:

1. Mesomorphs – these types tend to be lean, muscular and naturally athletic. They are thought to be the type that is genetically gifted.

2. Endomorphs – these types are the fat retainers. Endomorphs have a round body shape and large joints (they are “big boned”) and they often have great difficulty losing body fat. There’s a good chance that if you struggle to lose weight, you are an endomorph.

3. Ectomorphs – these types are the lean, skinny types. They are usually very thin and bony, with fast metabolisms and extremely low body fat. They have difficulty putting weight on so are unlikely to be in the overweight category

It is very clear from the above information that the endomorph body type has a slow metabolism and is genetically prone to store fat easily. Endomorph body types usually, but not always, have large-frames with medium to large joints. If you’re an endomorph and you fail to stick to your diet, the surplus calories are almost certain to go to fat. Even when you’re eating more calories than you are burning, it seems as though the fat reduces at a painfully slow rate. Your ability to lose weight will be impaired if you do not know what to eat for your body type, to encourage weight loss

If you think you are an endomorph it is important to remember that you need to understand your body type and adjust its nutrition and training accordingly .You  can’t get away with copying someone else’s diet to help you to lose weight unless that other person has the same type of body.

Most women will fall within one of the four body types.

The four body shapes or types are:

1. The Apple Shape
2. The Pear Shape
3. The Rectangle Shape
4. The Hourglass Shape

The type of body shape you have determines where you will accumulate excess fat on you body. For example, the “Apple Shape” will generally store fat in the upper part of her body in her bust, shoulders and upper arms. The “Pear Shape” on the other hand will accumulate fat on her hips, buttocks, and thighs.

When losing weight, it is important to determine your body type and where you store fat. This will help you make your weight loss activities more productive by focusing your exercise regimen appropriate to your body type.

Regardless of your body shape, engaging in regular exercise will not only help you lose weight by burning extra calories, but will raise your basal metabolism rate (BMR) so you will burn more calories even at rest.

Aerobic exercise helps to improve cardiovascular health, while strength training increases muscle strength. Through strength training your muscles will naturally burn more calories throughout the day.

A Practical Fat Loss Diet

If you eat in a way that causes you to eat less fat than your body wants to excrete through your bile, you will lose weight without even “trying”. If you were to eat a whole food, plant based diet with no added fats (7-10% calories from fat) you would lose weight naturally. Think of the traditional Chinese or Japanese diet, rice and vegetable three time daily.

Actually about 60% of the world’s billions of people eat a starch centered, plant based diet with very little food from animal sources. When they come to America and adopt our protein centered, high fat, high cholesterol approach to eating they often become fat and develop diseases like heart disease, and diabetes.

Identifying your body type will help you determine what areas of your body you need to focus on when doing your strength-training exercises. Not only will strength training help you to lose weight, in addition to the aerobic exercise, but it will help to tone and shape those areas of your body where you need it most.

1. The Apple Body Shape

Since apple body type develop heavier upper bodies, they will want to focus their exercises on their upper body. This does not mean, though that they neglect the other areas of their body, because exercising all the major muscle groups will increase your resting metabolism rate causing you to burn more calories every hour.

2. The Hourglass Body Shape

The hourglass body type usually stores fat more evenly over their body, usually with the least around their waist and abdomen. Women with this body shape will want to focus on more cardiovascular exercises. This will help you lose fat more evenly from all areas of your body.

3. The Pear Body Shape

Women with a pear shaped body store fat mostly in their thighs, hips, and buttocks. Exercises which focus on these areas can help to tone and tighten muscles in these areas in addition to burning calories.

4. The Rectangular Body Shape

Women with a rectangular body type will store fat more uniformly though out their tissues and they need to have an exercise program that involves whole body workouts. Strength training, to develop overall muscular strength, to strength your core muscles will help you to lose and tone muscles over your body.

Acknowledging your body type can help you focus your exercise program on specific areas of your body. As you lose weight, not only will you become slimmer but a more shapely figure as well.