What is Endomorph Body Type | What is Intermittent Fasting | How Does Intermittent Fasting Work For Endomorphs | Best Intermittent Fasting Types for Endomorphs | What to Eat During Intermittent Fasting
Have you ever pondered as to why some people are competent enough to ingest any amount of food and yet do not put on weight, whereas some people always struggle to shed weight and want to be fit? Well, in this entire process, body type plays a key role. Each one of us has different body compositions which impact our body functions such as digestion, energy levels, and metabolism significantly. Let’s dive into the Endomorph Intermittent Fasting Guide.
To lose weight and maintain overall well-being, you are required to develop a diet and exercise schedule depending on your body type.
According to William Herbert Sheldon, an American researcher, and psychologist, the human body is categorized primarily into three main body types: the ectomorph body type, the mesomorph body type, and the endomorph body type.
The endomorph body type among these three has a predisposition to weight gain, accumulates fat mass, and is often difficult to lose weight.
In this article, let’s discuss the endomorph body type and how intermittent fasting can be helpful for endomorphs to lose weight.
What is Endomorph Body Type?
The endomorph body type is the most common among the three different body types. Generally, endomorphs have a high percentage of body fats and less muscle mass. The endomorph body often appears to be rounder, having flat shoulder width, large chest circumference, short and thick neck, and a strong structure.
Ectomorph body type appears to be long, slim, and linear type. They have narrow shoulders, thin necks, flat chests, and tall bodies. They tend to have a fast metabolism which helps them not to put on weight.
Mesomorph body type appears to be symmetrical all around. These people are athletic, muscular, and can gain or lose weight easily.
Endomorphs have to be extra cautious while ingesting calories because they are highly sensitive to the amount of calories they consume. Due to slower metabolism, endomorphs have a tendency to easily accumulate fats around their lower body (belly, hips, buttocks, and thighs) and also have a higher risk of developing conditions like obesity, type II diabetes, hypothyroidism, and insulin resistance.
Endomorphs find it tough to shed weight and therefore have to keep a close watch on their food quantity and habits. They should ensure not to take more calories than the amount of calories they can possibly burn. Although it is a little difficult for the endomorphs to remain in proper body shape, the best approach for them to lose weight is to prepare a diet and physical activity regime specific to their body’s needs.
Intermittent fasting can be a worthy option that may help endomorphs to lose weight effectively and improve their overall well-being.
What is Intermittent Fasting?
Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that transitions between periods of eating and fasting. It is an eating and fasting practice in which people limit their consumption of foods to specific hours of the day.
The concept of intermittent fasting does not emphasize what to eat rather it focuses on when to eat. During the fasting window, you refrain from eating any calories however, you can have water and other calorie-free beverages as many times as you want. You can have two or three meals during the eating window.
Some of the most popular types of fasting may include time-restricted eating (TRE), the 5:2 diet plan, the eat-stop-eat method, the warrior diet, and the alternate-day fasting method.
If you want to learn more about intermittent fasting, read “A Complete Guide To Intermittent Fasting & Schedule”.
How does Intermittent Fasting Work?
When you eat food, your body’s responsiveness to insulin increases and causes your muscles, liver, and fat cells to store glucose. When you fast for a long time, the blood glucose level of your body drops because your body reduces the production of insulin hormone.
In such a scenario, your body starts to burn energy from the glycogen reserve. When this glycogen reserve or glucose reserve depletes completely, your body immediately shifts to stored fat for burning energy which results in weight loss.
Besides, fasting helps your body produce norepinephrine hormone, which expedites the process of metabolizing the stored fat into usable energy. This, in turn, promotes fat-burning and weight loss.
Intermittent fasting also helps increase the human growth hormone level, which leads to increased muscle mass and fat loss. It also induces autophagy which helps repair the body at a cellular level.
Benefits of Intermittent Fasting
Besides weight loss, there are several other health benefits of intermittent fasting, which may include the following.
- It helps enhance the metabolic rate
- It improves insulin sensitivity, reduces insulin resistance, insulin levels, and risk of developing diabetes
- It reduces chronic inflammation by alleviating oxidative stress
- It improves cardiac health by lowering LDL cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood pressure levels
- It improves cognitive function
- It helps live longer
- It helps detoxify your body
How Does Intermittent Fasting Work For Endomorphs?
Intermittent fasting is considered to be an effective weight-loss tool for endomorphs. When you restrict your eating window, you eventually reduce your food intake and begin to lose weight gradually. Moreover, intermittent fasting induces hormonal changes that promote fat burning and helps to shed stubborn body fats in endomorphs.
Intermittent fasting is beneficial for an endomorph because it may help improve insulin sensitivity. Endomorphs are more resistant to insulin since their body cells do not respond well to insulin hormones. This condition increases the risk of developing type II diabetes as well as weight gain.
Furthermore, intermittent fasting benefits endomorphs by reducing inflammation. A 2019 study indicates that inflammation occurs due to infection or injury, and chronic inflammation may give rise to various health issues.
Since endomorphs have lower metabolic rates, they are much more likely to have chronic inflammation, which could be a contributing factor to obesity. Intermittent fasting helps reduce inflammation and thereby promotes weight loss in endomorphs.
Intermittent fasting can help endomorphs with improved brain health because it increases the levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). BDNF is a protein that repairs and protects the brain cells.
Read “How Does Intermittent Fasting Work? Explained” to know more.
Best Intermittent Fasting Types for Endomorphs
Although there are several fasting plans, endomorphs can try different fasting types and figure out what suits better for them. Depending on their body type and preferences here are some effective fasting plans.
- The 16/8 method: This method involves fasting for consecutive 16 hours and eating meals within the following 8 hours window. This can be one of the highly effective fasting plans for endomorphs as it restricts the overall calorie intake for a prolonged period of time. It also helps regulate the body’s circadian rhythm, which results in improved metabolism and fat burning.
- The 5:2 diet: In this plan, you can eat normally for five days a week and fast for two non-consecutive days. However, you can ingest up to 500 to 600 calories during the fasting days. This method is beneficial to endomorphs because they can reap the benefits without giving up normal eating.
- Alternate Day Fasting: This method is highly recommended for endomorphs because it involves fasting every other day and then eating normally the day after. During the fasting days, they can restrict their caloric intake to 500 -600 calories. According to a 2020 study, ADF is an excellent strategy for weight loss in obese individuals.
What to Eat During Intermittent Fasting?
Endomorphs should always be careful while choosing what to eat. Being an endomorph, your diet should be filled with clean and healthy foods that would reduce inflammation, provide the required nutrients and be easy to digest. Here are some foods to choose from for endomorphs who are on intermittent fasting.
Green Leafy Vegetables
Leafy greens are low in carbohydrates and calories at the same time high in nutrients that provide a number of healthy benefits. Loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, green leafy vegetables help alleviate heart disease by reducing the cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and lessen the risk of various chronic diseases.
Being a rich source of fiber, they aid healthy digestion and prevent constipation. Examples of some best green vegetables include collard greens, kale, spinach, Swiss chard, beet greens, cabbage, broccoli, and lettuce.
Fruits
Fruits are high in fiber, minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants. Hence they are required for endomorphs on intermittent fasting. Fruits like berries, apples, pears, passion fruits, citrus fruits, and grapefruits are packed with essential nutrients and can be a good option for endomorphs.
Healthy Fats
Healthy fats are rich in essential fatty acids which have a range of health benefits including boosting brain health, reducing inflammation, and lowering the risk of stroke and heart disease. Additionally, healthy fats help lower blood sugar levels and keep you feel satiated for a long time. Options for healthy fats include fatty fish like salmon, tuna, sardines, mackerel, eggs, chia seeds, nuts, avocados, olive oils, and flaxseeds.
Whole Grains
Although intermittent fasting targets to reduce carbohydrates, you still need to include the right carbs to function your body correctly. Complex carbs are filled with essential nutrients like minerals, vitamins, and fiber. Complex carbs have a myriad of health benefits including reducing the risk of heart disease, certain types of cancer, respiratory infections, infectious diseases, diabetes, and other chronic diseases.
Studies also suggest that it helps reduce obesity and maintain healthy body weight. Brown rice, oats, bulgur wheat, quinoa, barley, and millet are rich in complex carbs.
Lean Proteins
Irrespective of being on a diet, protein is essential to maintain your overall well-being. Proteins make your immune system stronger to fight off inflammation, and stress. It also helps build muscle mass which plays an essential role in blood sugar optimization, lowering blood cholesterol, improving brain functioning, and boosting metabolism.
A fast metabolism helps in maintaining healthy body weight. Without proteins, your body would lead to frailty, weight gain, and high blood sugar. Another benefit of having lean protein is that it makes you feel full for a longer period of time and prevents you from unnecessary eating.
Some good sources of lean protein may include white-fleshed fish, skinless white poultry and meat, low-fat cottage cheese, lean beef, lentils, tofu, and plain Greek yogurt.
Conclusion – Endomorph Intermittent Fasting
Don’t get discouraged! Even endomorph’s can have amazing success with intermittent fasting! I’ve seen it time and time again!
Maintaining a healthy body weight might be a challenging task for endomorphs. Since their body type is more susceptible to weight gain, following an intermittent fasting plan with some lifestyle changes and strength training can prove to be beneficial for them. However, if you are an endomorph and want to get the best results from intermittent fasting, it is recommended to consult a registered dietician or doctor before making any major dietary changes.
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