LGR Holistic Wellness

There was a time, still in living memory for many people, when those who were struggling with excess weight were in the minority. Today, in first-world societies at least, more people than not are dissatisfied with their weight and wishing they weighed less.

While there is more than one contributing factor, the largest single influence by far is the changes to our diet in that time. Collectively, we do eat much differently than earlier generations.

When we scope out, we can see that the biggest change is in the ratios of the macronutrients we consume, being protein, fat, and carbohydrates. We eat more carbs.

For those wishing to control their weight, this is compounded by the fact that different people respond to high carb intake differently. We all know that someone who can eat anything and never gain a pound.

Your body ‘type’ is a large factor in how you process and utilize your carb intake, because of factors such as your metabolic rate.

This post can help you determine what body type you are, and from that, what your relationship to carbohydrate consumption is.

You will gain some understanding as to why you may be able to eat more carbs than most and maintain a steady weight (lucky you!) or why every bite you eat makes the needle move higher.

You will also be given suggested macro ratios for your body type to get you moving on a ‘diet’ that has proven itself over and over.

The Body Type Diet Explained

Before you read any further, let’s come to the very first understanding about using your body type to determine the best way for you to lose weight:

Body Type and Body Shape are not one and the same

In fact, the shape of your body is greatly dependent on your diet and can drastically change in a relatively short period of time.

Body type is more about your metabolism, how and where your body stores fat, how easily you build muscle, your ability to handle carb-dense foods, and your frame. Each person’s shape is defined by what the body is fed and how much of that is used for fuel or stored as fat.

That being said, it stands to reason –

• Because carbs are processed differently based on body type, our body shape must be dependent on what we are eating.

• Your body type, not just shape, can help determine what is the best for you for weight loss and the culprits that promote unwanted weight gain.

• It’s completely unfair that some people can eat carbs all day long and not gain a pound, but others feel if they even smell a carb their body explodes like a busted can of biscuits.

The 3 Main Body Types

Body types can be broken down into three basic categories for both men and women.

• Ectomorph
• Mesomorph
• Endomorph

Ectomorph Characteristics	Mesomorph Characteristics	Endomorph Characteristics
Smaller bone structure/frame Smaller chest Narrow shoulders Minimal muscle mass Usually overall “thin” appearance Faster metabolism Difficult to gain and/or maintain weight or muscle	Average to athletic build Rectangular shape from shoulders to hips Strong body Muscle definition Easily gains muscle Gains fat faster than an ectomorph	Softer body; some “baby fat” Usually shorter in stature Stocky build Slow metabolism Muscles not well-defined Harder to lose fat than a mesomorph
High carb tolerance	Medium carb tolerance	Low carb tolerance

The last line in the body type chart above may have particularly caught your attention. Dietary needs, in general, are based on macronutrients:

• Carbohydrates
• Proteins
• Fats

Each body type has a recommended macronutrient ratio for achieving weight loss. Someone with a higher carb tolerance can get away with eating more carb-rich meals and snacks than a person with a lower carb tolerance because each of their body types has different metabolic rates.

Macronutrient Ratios by Body Type

Once you have determined your body type, the next step is to focus on your daily macronutrient intake to achieve your weight loss goals. Not everyone is going to fit perfectly into one body type profile, thus minor tweaks to the macro ratio might be necessary to get the best results.

Just because a bodybuilder has a stocky, muscle-bound body doesn’t necessarily drop them into the endomorphic zone.

Likewise, a thin body isn’t always a dead ringer for the ectomorph. Appearance isn’t the only factor, so it’s important to take into account the whole picture for your body type before settling on a macronutrient ratio.

The following depicts macronutrient ratios based on body type for the purpose of losing weight. Proper diet is essential for healthy weight loss, and the addition of routine exercise will enhance results.

Macronutrient Distribution for Ectomorph Body Type	Macronutrient Distribution for Mesomorph Body Type	Macronutrient Distribution for Endomorph Body Type
Ratio: 55% Carbs 25% Proteins 20% Fats	Ratio: 40% Carbs 30% Proteins 30% Fats	Ratio: 25% Carbs 35% Proteins 40% Fats

What Can You Eat on a Body Type Diet?

As a general rule, overall health and wellness are greatly increased by limiting processed foods and choosing whole foods instead. A diet rich in lean proteins, healthy fats, and minimally processed carbs is ideal. In addition, the best results will be seen when the biggest portion of carb consumption is centered around times of higher activity.

If you exercise, ideally your biggest carb intake would be immediately after. If exercise isn’t your thing, spread your carbs out throughout the day, particularly when you might need more energy or brainpower.

Be Aware of Carb-Rich Whole Foods

A medium-sized banana has more than 20g of carbohydrates! Apples and oranges are high in carbs also. Berries, watermelon and avocado are your best option for lower carb-count fruits. As far as vegetables go there are many great options. It’s easier to list the veggies with high carbs.

Corn, plantains, potatoes, butternut squash, bell peppers, peas and onions top that list. Though, that’s not to say you should completely avoid them. Many high-carb vegetables are also loaded with fiber which lowers the net carb value.

Also, vegetables are packed with many other essential nutrients we need to be our healthiest.

To be successful on a body type diet, or pretty much any diet, planning is key. Plan your meals ahead of time. Make shopping lists so you aren’t tempted to buy junk. Have a variety of healthy snacks available for when you are craving a sweet treat.

However, if you are making whole foods a priority, limiting processed foods, and following the macronutrient ratio for weight loss based on your particular body type, you are bound to reap many more rewards than just dropping a pants size!

Macronutrients and Your Body Type

It seems that almost every “diet” burdens us with an extremely long list of foods to eat and foods to avoid.

Fortunately, this isn’t the case when you’re trying to lose weight utilizing the body type diet.

The body type diet focuses more on macronutrients allowing you control over what you eat. Another positive with the body type diet is the ability to simply modify your macronutrient ratio to suit your needs. What does that mean?

Well, let’s say you have 20 pounds to lose and decide the body type diet is the way to go. Once you’ve reached your goal, you can increase your carbohydrate intake by a couple of grams per week until you’re no longer losing weight.

It can’t get much easier!

Dieting vs. Way of Eating

The word diet has some negative connotations. We too often tend to think of “diet” as temporary. The way you are eating right now is your diet. Everything you eat is your diet. If you think of the body type diet as a way of eating instead of a temporary fix, it will get you much further.

Especially when you’ve reached your weight loss goal! Instead of going back to the old way of eating that packed on the pounds, it will be much easier to just modify your macros to continue to maintain your weight loss successfully.

Body Type vs. Body Shape

Now you know the three main body types for both men and women – ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph. The term “body type” suggests a focus on body shape, but that’s just a small part of determining a body type.

Your tolerance to carb-dense foods plays a way bigger role in your dietary needs than whether or not you feel you are shaped like a pear or an apple. Unused carbs get stored as fat, plain and simple.

How likely you are to use consumed carbs, or how much remains unused, is greatly determined by your body type. Where your body stores fat doesn’t have anything to do with what you should eat, but what body type you are.

The Delicious Truth

Whether your body type is ectomorph, mesomorph, or endomorph, the endless list of foods remains the same. Endomorphs can enjoy the same exact foods as an endomorph and vise versa. The only difference is in how often and how much – because each body type handles carb-dense foods differently.

An ectomorph has a high metabolism and can handle carbs like no other.

The mesomorph has a medium metabolism thus less carb-dense foods are recommended. The endomorph has the slowest metabolism, thus carb-dense meals are less tolerated than the other two body types.

Your Macronutrients

As stated, there is no difference in what’s “allowed” when it comes to reaching your weight loss goals. What’s important is the ratio of your macros. Here we will go over some of the best choices for all three macronutrients; carbs, proteins, and fats.

Carb Choices

Since much of the success with the body type diet relies on carb tolerance, you’ve also got to consider where your carbs are coming from. Try to steer clear of processed foods as much as possible and get the majority of your carbs from whole foods.

Don’t freak out just yet! This doesn’t mean you can’t ever have pasta or French fries again. Instead of white starches, opt for whole-grain choices like brown rice, quinoa, and whole wheat bread and pasta.

Protein Choices

This type of animal protein can get pretty costly, so if your budget doesn’t allow for top-shelf animal protein, just cut off excess fat prior to cooking and you’ll do just fine.

Because we are looking at the healthiest options here, the obvious choices for animal protein are going to be grain-free and free-range, where there are no hormone growth enhancers or other chemicals used in processing.

Try to avoid processed meats like deli meat or other pressed meat.

The negatives of chemical additives far outweigh the nutritional value in processed meats. Eating for your body type is vegetarian and vegan friendly too! Tofu, tempeh, edamame, soybeans, nuts and seeds, and dairy products are great sources of protein.

Fat Choices

If you can’t pronounce it, avoid it. Avocado is a fat-favorite fruit. You can do just about anything with an avocado; make a dip, top a salad, grill it, bake it, or just stick a spoon in it and indulge yourself.

Eggs are another versatile source of good fat. Additionally, eggs are an excellent protein source as well.

If you need fat for cooking, opt for a natural oil like coconut or olive.

Here’s a handy, but non-intuitive tip – low-fat and fat-free choices are higher in carbs than whole fat products. The best choices for fat are again, those with the least amount of processing and if the fat count fits in your daily macro ratio.

The best way to be successful on the body type diet is to mind your macros. And the best way to get the most out of your macros is by limiting processed foods and making healthier choices across all macros.

Think of it this way – the more processing, the higher the carb count.

This means if you choose a natural carb source, in most cases, you get to eat more! A serving of lasagna could pack a carb count of 40g or more per serving. But substitute the pasta with zucchini and you’ve just cut more than half of the carbs.

The natural flavors of whole food blow processed food out of the water anyway. Once you actually taste your food, it’ll be hard to settle for anything less!

In Summary

Hopefully this post has helped you understand the huge role that the consumption of carbohydrates plays in gaining and maintaining your ideal or desired weight.

Unfortunately, the types of carbs we eat today are different too. Today’s carbs of choice are lower in nutritional value but higher in calories, pound for pound.

As explained, achieving your weight loss targets are so much easier when you make wiser choices about the foods in each macro group, but especially carbs.

When your carb intake is mostly coming from fresh vegetables, you will struggle less with hunger problems and weight loss will be easier too, as you will be able to eat larger quantities for the same net carb intake.

Conversely, if your carbs are coming from highly processed foods, they will almost certainly contain more sugar and other simple carbs. This means less nutrition and more calories, which will most likely end up as more unwanted body fat.

Combining macro counting with an understanding of your body type is a diet that works. If you can make the mindset change to think in terms of lifestyle rather than diet, you will be on your way to a healthier slimmer you for the rest of your life.