Follow A Diet That Suits Your Body Shape: Find Out Yours

Many people are under the illusion that a particular body type is indicative of only one's physical appearance. But as it turns out, our body type can also tell about how we respond to the food we consume, about our hormonal characteristics and sympathetic nervous system (SNS) characteristics. Thus, people with different body types will have different metabolisms. Getting a hang about your body type can be very helpful in increasing your body's composition and your health-related goals. Body types are generally divided into three categories: ectomorph, mesomorph, and endomorph.

While very few people actually fall into any one of these categories, good physical training and healthy diet consumption can vastly change one's outward appearance. But many people tend to find their general tendencies in one of the three groups.

 

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(L-R) Ectomorph, Mesomorph and Endomorph women
Photo Credit: iStock

Ectomorphs are people who are lean and have small bone structures and thin limbs.

Here's the possible diet (according to hand portions) that ectomorph men and women should follow per meal:

2 palms of protein rich food for men and 1 palm of protein rich for food ectomorphs are essential. Similarly, 2 and 1 fist of vegetables for men and women respectively should be consumed. Food rich in carbs should be consumed in portions of 3 and 1 for men and women respectively. 1 thumb of foods rich in fat for men and half a thumb for women are suggested.

Mesomorphs are people who have a medium-sized bone structure and have an athletic body. They are physically active people and have a good amount of lean mass.

Here's the diet per meal that mesomorph men and women should follow:

Vegetables should be consumed in 2 palms and 1 palm for men and women respectively. When it comes to vegetables 2 fists for men and 1 fist for women should be enough. Carb dense foods should consumed in quantities of 2 cups and 1 cup for men and women respectively. For foods that are high in fat content, men should have 2 thumbs and women should have 1 thumb per meal.

Endomorphs are people who have a larger bone structure and have more body mass and fat mass. They are comparatively less active and face difficulty in burning excess calories.

Endomorph men and women, here's the diet that you should follow:

Men should have 2 palms of food rich in protein and women should have 1 palm of protein-rich food. Vegetables per meal should be consumed in quantities of 2 fists and 1 fist for men and women respectively. Carb dense foods should be consumed in 1 cup of quantity by men and half cup quantity by women. While endomorph men should consume around 3 thumbs of fat-rich food, endomorph women should consume only 2 thumbs of fat per meal.

All in all, people should be aware about their carb tolerance, which is extremely dependent on how active they are.

Here is the general carb tolerance of each of the kind of body types:

Ectomorphs

Ectomorphs need high carb intake. They should ideally include lots of carbs in their diet before or after exercises. Their meals must also include vegetables and fruits in a 3:1 ratio in each meal.

Mesomorphs

Mesomorphs can do with moderate intake of carbs. They should include some carb-dense food around their exercise times and should have vegetables and fruits in 4:1 ratio in each meal.

Endomorphs

Endomorphs require low carb intake and yet they are recommended to include foods rich in carbs around their timing of exercise. The should have vegetables and fruits in the ratio of 5:1 in each meal.

The above mentioned details are great for muscle gain, their maintenance and moderate changes in the body composition or weight loss. Whatever the case maybe, the first step towards healthy eating is getting familiar with your body type and then following the diet accordingly.