Am I doomed by genetics to battle my weight?

Hi there, this is Jonathan Clark from Lose Weight For Scotland – it’s my mission to Crush Obesity, Add Years To Your Life & help you to Look Good Naked!  I challenge Scots to lose 10 lbs of fat or gain 10 lbs of muscle, even if they’ve tried everything else, and it’s guaranteed.  One of the questions I get asked all the time is  “Am I doomed by genetics to battle my weight?”

A: No. It IS true that some people have a slower metabolism, and others put on weight more easily or carry extra pounds in certain areas [and you know the areas I’m talking about} >wink< . Even so, staying slim is not a hopeless battle. You can outsmart your genes and lose weight fast.

When I first got into the fitness scene, it was being sick and tired of being sick and tired.  Having gotten pneumonia for the second time in my life, I set a goal of getting healthy and fit.   I was toally swamped  by the amount of different training programs, supplements, diet plans, articles and information there was out there.  And I was also fed up with my belly jiggling.

There were so many conflicting diets and training programs available and I had no idea what I “should” be doing. So after 6 months in the gym I saw very little gains and almost no desire to workout anymore.

I was at a complete loss and about to chuck it and give up. Then a guy in the gym [who had a body like Daniel Craig] gave me a magazine and said “You need to read the article in there about body types”  So I did and it opened my eyes up to the reason why I wasn’t getting anywhere.

Now I am a true ectomorph (the classic hardgainer) ALSO KNOWN AS SLIM.  and my bodyweight was 60.2kg (132.5lbs) when I first walked into a gym. And trust me, it took a lot of guts to get myself to walk into a gym in the first place! I had no idea about body types back then. I assumed (like most beginners do) that the more I worked out the fitter I would get. Thinking that “more was better” I started following a program designed for an elite bodybuilder. This resulted in gains of about 1.7kg in 6 months.

After reading the body type article in that magazine I started to understand more about how my body type worked, my metabolism, and gaining weight. Being an ectomorph I need to focus on calorie intake, long rest periods, and minimum cardio. It was only then I started making some real gains and I’ve never looked back.  So it’s important to be able to identify and understand your body type. Different body types require different training methods and diet plans. So there are 3 body types: the ectomorph, the mesomorph and the endomorph

Body type influences how you respond to diet and training. Understand your body type in order to plan your training and diet programme.

So this is another basic reason why you might find losing weight, or gaining lean muscle, to be difficult – it’s simple genetics – you’re one of the huge group in the population who has a slow metabolism, or big bones, and your genetics are set for you to be bigger than most.  The round face, the pear shaped body, short muscles.

So if you want to delve into the theory of “body types” and find out which one YOU are… you want to grab my guide at the end of this video.  But briefly there’s 3 types of body shape:

Ectomorphic: characterised by long and thin muscles/limbs and low fat storage; usually referred to as slim. Ectomorphs are not predisposed to store fat nor build muscle.  An ectomorph is a typical skinny weed.

A mesomorph has a large bone structure, large muscles and a naturally athletic physique. Mesomorphs are the best body type for fitness training. They find it quite easy to gain and lose weight. They are naturally strong which is the perfect platform for building muscle.

The endomorph body type is solid and generally soft. Endomorphs gain fat very easily. Endo’s are usually of a shorter build with thick arms and legs. Maybe that’s you?.

These body types aren’t set in stone. In fact, most people have a combination of two body types.

One final point I want to mention is that no matter what your body type you can build drop the pounds and lose inches, or build a more muscular physique. We’ve got thousands of success stories from obese people who aren’t anymore.  And even the skinniest of guys can bulk up.   I know cos I’m doing it, and I’m in better shape now at age 47 than I was at age 27 J

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