In this lesson, we'll be finding out what your body type is, also known as your somatotype.

It's important to know your body type because it will determine the ratio in which we eat our macronutrients (those being carbohydrates, protein, and fat).

Everyone's body is different. We all come from different backgrounds, and we all produce hormones differently, have different metabolic rates, have higher or lower nervous system activity, and have different carbohydrate tolerances.

With this in mind, it's time to figure out where you are at.

Here are the different types of somatotypes:

Ectomorph (naturally thin with skinny limbs)

1. Performs well in endurance exercise
2. Thyroid dominant
3. Fast Metabolism
4. High Sympathetic (breaking down) nervous system activity
5. High Carbohydrate Tolerance

Mesomorph (naturally muscular / athletic)

1. Performs well in bodybuilding / relative strength exercise i.e pushups, dips, pullups, etc
2. Testosterone / Growth Hormone Dominant
3. Moderate to High Sympathetic Nervous System Activity
4. Moderate Carbohydrate Tolerance

Endomorph (naturally broad and thick)

1. Performs well in absolute strength exercises i.e lifting heavy things
2. Insulin Dominant
3. Low Sympathetic Nervous System Activity
4. Low Carbohydrate Tolerance
5. Slow Metabolism

Low Carbohydrate Tolerance refers to poor insulin sensitivity (insulin is a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels). Insulin either stores excess blood sugar in the liver as energy as glycogen (sugar) or as fat.

Figure out which of the above body types matches you the most.

What's interesting is depending on your activity level in recent years, you can actually fit into different somatotypes that may not be your natural type. For example, I am an ecto-mesomorph. However, I notice that when I go for a long time with no activity, my metabolism slows, and I become hypoglycemic more often (potential symptom of insulin intolerance), showing symptoms of an endomorph.

You may be a combination of somatotypes. Like I said, I am generally a ecto-mesomorph, so keep this in mind while determining your body type.

Now for the next step.

We have to look at your goals you listed in the previous lessons, while cross referencing that with your body type. Using these two groups of information, we will determine a good starting point into what ratio we want to eat our Macronutrients, the main building blocks that make up a human diet. These include carbohydrates, protein, and fats.

Below, I am going to give the recommended ratios based off body type given in my Precision Nutrition, "The Essentials of Sport and Exercise Nutrition" Certification Manual.

Ectomorph: 

Protein 25% of Calories

Carbohydrate 55%

Fat 20%

Mesomorph

Protein 30%

Carbohydrate 40%

Fat 30%

Endomorph

Protein 35%

Carbohydrate 25%

Fat 40%

Eating within your somatotype guidelines is a great place to start to work your way to an optimum body composition for your build. However, if you are looking to accelerate your progress, you can eat outside of your somatotype recommendations.

For example, if you want to prioritize muscle gain as your goal, then eat in within the ectomorph guidelines.

If you want to prioritize fat loss, eat within the endomorph guidelines.

If you want to prioritize strength and performance, go with the mesomorph guidelines.

Want to prioritize endurance? Go ahead and follow through with ectomorph guidelines.

All of the ratios above are not set in stone. You may have to adjust them along the way to fit your needs. This is something we'll will dive into deeper at a later time.

In our next lesson, we are going to discuss how many calories you will need to eat based off of your goal, and easy ways to measure calories without counting them!