hey guys...

just curious to know which body shape do all of you belong to?

there are mainly 3 of them, namely <b>ectomorph</b> (Kate Moss), <b>mesomorph</b> (Sophia Loren) and <b>endomorph</b> (Marilyn Monroe) ...

I belong to endomorph.....and my mesomorph friend who is overweight often thinks she is always 'thinner' than me no matter how much i lose.....

But from what i read from being an endomorph : when in shape i will have a feminine hour glass figure...but if i am overweight by simply a few pounds, my figure goes distorted easily. Fat deposits easily compared to ectomorphs.

In Indian, Mid-Eastern culture where they prefer the voluptous women, those promotional posters of Hollywood movies in those countries are often featuring those female movie stars to look 'plumper'...

In this present world, are all cultures narrowing down to worship the ectomorph figure? I find that esp in Singapore, guys wont look for girlfriends with endomorphic figures. It could be due to the media as well...but whats so fertile with a stick figure? Often what they said doesnt match with what they do....

just my 2 cents.
fumih

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Endomorphy - most definately. I agree that with extra weight, our shapes look a little distorted. I always thought of two yo-yo's put together. A well defined waist, but everything else just kind of fills the space up. And since I am loosing weight not evenly all overy (which is normal), now I just look like I am pregnant (I am definately NOT!).

FumihI am very impressed with your weight loss so far - overall you must feel so much healthier!

To me the only difference in the pictures is overweightness.
Is there more information on the body types?
Is it body structure or just view?
Thanks... this is a very interesting subject.

Ok Lessara..here it goes...

(I got this from another diet book (not LC) and the picture was from there too)

Ectomorph
The perfect ectomorph is long, lean and elegant, the model type most women would love to be. The typical ectomorph is slim and long-limbed with little body fat, what they have been evenly distributed and inconspicuous. Female ectomorphs have small but shapely breasts and dieters strive to attain this figure for this century.

If they put on a bit of weight, the ectomorph's slim limbs easily absorb the surplus pounds. A weight gain of seven pounds will simply make them look well, often goes un-noticed. Seemingly able to eat whatever they like without gaining weight. (Envious!)

Mesomorph
The typical mesomorph is well-built, muscular and robust with more fat than the typical ectomorph, but less than the endomorph. Female mesomorphs are usually well endowed with good breasts and their fat is often concentrated on the hips and shoulders. When they put on weight it is more noticeable than it is for ectomorphs, and they often look top heavy when they are out of shape. An extra 7 pounds will give them a rather stocky appearance, esp. if they are on the short side.

Endomorph
Marillyn Monroe, the world's greatest sex goddess was the quintessential endormorph, perfect of her type - rounded and curvaceous, a well proportioned size 14-16 with an hourglass figure.

The typical endormorph has a fuller figure, with a naturally higher fat content than the other two body types. Female endormorphs have comparatively short limbs, large rounded breasts and hips, and they go in at the wasit - womanly curves in all the right places, when in shape. Glamour and sex appeal in the 50s and 60s were defined by the likes of Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte Bardot. Statistics were vital and female contours were rounded and full. But although the endomorph is still considered the perfect shape for women in many non-Western cultures, and Marilyn Monroe's enduring appeal is proof that many still prefer voluptuous curves to the svelte models of today. However the endomorph is generally no longer fashionable in the West.

When endomorphs put on weight it is difficult to conceal. An additional 7 pounds makes them look fat. Because their rounded shapes expose any excess weight far more obviously than do the other two shapes, overweight and obesity appears more widespread amongst endomorphs (gulp!).

I'm none of these types.
My fat is evenly on my body, not one place more than another.
I'm muscular and very strong. Always have been.
I'm smaller in breast than any of my sisters. I barely make a B cup.
(48B, try finding bras for that size )
My limbs are long.
So what the heck am I?
Oh my hips and chest are close in measurements.

One of the most common comments I get are:
You weight that much? You look like you weigh 220 maybe.
My sisters who are only 60lbs overweight look heavier than me.
What's up with that?
They are also shorter 5'2" while I am 5'8"

I feel like a freak.

Perhaps if you really dont fit into either of the three....maybe you belong to the "Apple" or "Pear" shapes....That is either top heavy or bottom heavy...

But according to what u said abt your figure...maybe you are a mesomorph?


fumih

I'm pretty much a rectangle. Carry my weight in my stomach and have big arms and shoulders. No hips and waist/hips/bust are about the same.

I guess it is just another word for what we look like.
I could even call my self an overly large tinkerbell if I wanted to
So where is my wand?!

Lessara, I'm with you on the breast thing. Why do all bra manufacturers think that plus- size women have plus sized boobs???!!!! Even when I was pregnant and weighed about 270, I still had trouble filling a C cup. And now, well, it's a case of the incredible shrinking boobs! If you go into Lane Bryant or one of the other fat-lady stores, all the bras that are big around are a DD! I went to a store in the Baltimore area called "We Fit" -- it's one of those no-nonsense places with old ladies in orthopedic shoes who measure you and then recommend a bra. Well, after the lady measured me, she said (loudly) "You're very SMALL, aren't you?! We don't have a bra that will fit you, I don't think!" Needless to say, I have NOT been back! Since I've lost weight, it's evened out a little, but now I barely fill a B cup, and I'm still about a 40 around. Currently, I'm limping along with old, worn out bras because I HATE bra shopping!

As for the body-type thing, I think most of us are kind of a combo. I'm a pear. Small chest, medium waist, and very muscular, big legs. Hips aren't huge, but they are much bigger than chest. As I've aged, the hardest area to lose from is my waist.

I think I fall somewhere between mesomorph and endomorph. Where I live they call girls like me "thick". I am muscular and tend to look stocky when I gain weight because I gain on my arms and shoulders (althought the fat seems to be eveny distributed all over my body right now). However, I usually manage to keep an hourglass shape that tends to look more muscular than just thin. Right now I have an hourglass figure- it's just a big hourglass . I wouldn't say and extra 7 lbs is really noticable on me though. It takes a good 15-20 to even tell that I've gained any (or lost any for that matter). I was cursed with big muscular legs and the calves from hell. Even when I was at my thinnest I was always getting asked "Do you play soccer or something? Your calves are really muscular." I will never have those model legs and I guess just need to accept that.

Interesting topic, fumih!

I've read up on these body types before and have always thought of myself as an mesomorph. I gain muscle tone easily, have fairly large breasts (oh, believe me, they have shrunk!! But pre-weight loss they were a 38D) with my most noticeable weight gain in my stomache...top heavy....yes!.But not quite apple-shaped. Luckily, while I have always had scarce hips and butt they did manage to increase as the rest of me did, I just didn't notice till my pants fell off me! I can't say what 7 pounds looked like going on, as I've never gained rapid weight, but at 180 I still wore a size 14 and looked OK. At 147, though, I am getting harrassed by guys everywhere I go though LOL.

Lessara--lucky you! When you're forty, your girls will still look perky and cute. Mine, even at 23, have not faired so well, alas

No, not as in regal, as in a straight stick! There is a book out now called something like "Escape your Shape", and it divides the body types into rulers, cones, hourglass and spoons. I am pretty much straight up and down, although I am a C-D cup now with breastfeeding. Problem is, all my fat goes to my abdomen, so when I gain 7 pounds (assuming it is fat weight) I look terribly out-of-proportion. I would just as soon have an hourglass figure with more bodyfat that is better distributed. The ectomorph models have very low bodyfats - about 10%. Not only is this ideal unrealistic for most women, it is also unhealthy.

Jen

Hey guys

I just bought the book Escape your shape and it does break your body types down to either the hour glass, spoon, cone and ruler. What I liked is it help you fiqrue it out also!! I am a ruler basically when I gain weight it shows up more in the stomach and butt area. The book is interested because it tells you how you should exercise to not make your body work against itself. It has also turned me on to jumping rope--which is the only exercise proven to reduce cellulite~~~if you can get a chance to buy it or get in from the library I would suggest reading it. I don't agree with it all but when do you ever!!!

Good Luck from a ruler shape
Sonja

PS I have the opposite problem I am a 36/38 DDD and bra makers assume if your cup is that big so should your girth!

last time on a tv advertising channel i think i came across this 'Escape your shape' exercise programme. And I remembered they have the hour glass, spoon, cone and ruler categories.

I see that they have a diet video....wonder is their diet a low-fat high carb diet?

Anyone tried this exercising programme?

I've never been able to slot myself into one of those "morph" categories. I have narrow shoulders, bony sort of forearms and slim lower legs but the closer you get to my middle the thicker it gets. I am very short waisted with about 1 1/4 inch between the top of my hip bone and my lowest rib. Even when I'm at goal I have a lousy waist/hip ratio because when my waist shrinks so do my hips.

And when I gain weight where does it go? First my belly and waist, then my upper back and bust, then my thighs and upper arms. When I gain 5 lbs I need to go up a pants size because the waist gets too tight.

I think I'll check out that Escape Your Shape book.

PS I am fed up with Bra shopping too! My favourite sports bra is 3 yrs old and getting pretty threadbare. I've been trying to find a replacement for the past three months and hardly anybody in this town stocks them. I tried on every bra in my size 38C, in the local sports store and none of them worked. Time to start investigating online shopping but I'm a little leary of buying a bra before trying it on. Making returns is such a hassle.