How to Know Your Metabolic Type: What Is My Metabolic Type and Why It Matters

If you’ve ever wondered why some people carry weight in a different way to others, you’re actually wondering about metabolism and body types.

Everyone has a metabolism, though the way it works in each individual is different. [1] Metabolic type can vary vastly from person to person. [2]

• Your body type is influenced by your genetic makeup and determine how your body processes food, energy, and responds to diet and exercise. [3, 22]

Some people have a very fast metabolism - we all know that one person who can eat huge portions of fast food and regular treats without putting on any weight! [2]

On the other hand, we all know someone with a slow metabolism - someone who really struggles to keep the weight off even when they are following the principles of weight loss. [2]

Understanding your own metabolism and body type will help you better understand your personal fitness and ability to lose and gain weight. This eliminates guesswork and allows you to tailor your lifestyle with strategies that actually move the needle. [3, 27]

Here's what you need to know.

What is Metabolism?

Metabolism, which is closely related to your basal metabolic rate, is the term given to the bodily process of converting food into energy. [1, 5]

Food and drink directly fuels our metabolism, which then goes on to fuel our body. [11] Different macronutrients, such as protein intake and carb intake, play a role in how efficiently your metabolism functions and help regulate blood sugar levels. [12]

While this is an easy process to explain, it is actually a rather complex process that takes place in the body. [1, 11]

Many chemical processes take place in order to release the energy our body needs for various movements, from walking, talking, and breathing, to hormone production, growing, and blood circulation. [1, 5, 11]

To put it simply, our metabolism is one of the main factors that keeps our body functioning and working as it should! [1, 5, 11]

6 Factors That Affect Your Metabolism

Your basal metabolic rate refers to the number of calories your body uses to carry out the above mentioned bodily functions as well as many other functions. [11, 17]

There are a number of factors which can influence how your metabolism works, which include:

Sex: Men tend to burn more calories (have faster metabolisms) than women due to typically having less body fat and more muscle mass. [2, 6]

• Age: Children have a lot of energy for a reason - your metabolism works much faster the younger you are. [23, 24, 25] As you age, your metabolism slows down due to typical muscle loss and fat gain, which slows down the process of burning calories. [7]
• Body size and composition: Larger individuals and those with more muscle mass are prone to burning more calories, even at rest. However, older and larger people who have excess body fat tend to have slower metabolisms. [3, 8]
• Physical activity: How much you move (the energy you burn) can greatly influence your metabolic rate. Movement = energy burn, especially any movement outdoors! [1, 9, 10, 11]
• Blood sugar: Your blood sugar levels and insulin response after eating can significantly influence your metabolism. [3]
• Sleep duration and quality: How well you sleep affects your hormones, glucose regulation, and energy expenditure, among other metabolic processes. [13]

Foods that Fuel Your Metabolism — and What to Avoid

Including foods that support metabolism, such as complex carbs, healthy whole grains, and healthy oils, while avoiding ultra-processed foods (especially ones with high glycemic index and glycemic load) can provide sustained energy and promote overall metabolic health. [14, 15]

What's more, a diet rich in healthy fats, such as avocados, nuts, seeds, and olive oil, is important for optimal metabolic function and helps support body composition. [16]

How Does Metabolism Affect Weight Gain (and Weight Loss)?

Weight loss and weight gain are much more complex than just being associated to your metabolism. There are many factors that influence your weight, such as:

• Genetics
• Diet
• Hormones
• Lifestyle - including how you manage stress, how much sleep you get, and how much you exercise

Each person’s own body responds differently to these factors, influenced by unique metabolic responses, health conditions, medications, and of course, genetics. [2, 3]

Weight gain occurs when there is something in your environment that your metabolism isn’t efficient enough to allocate its resources. [1, 2, 11]

People with certain metabolic body types can find it harder to keep a healthy weight due to a tendency to store extra body fat, especially around the waist and belly. [2, 3]

Struggling to Lose Weight? How Your Body Type Influences Weight Gain

As previously mentioned, we all know someone who is thin but eats like an elephant, and we know someone on the flip side of this, someone who struggles with losing weight despite not eating much.

People with the latter body type may store more body fat, making losing weight and developing muscle mass more challenging—but not impossible! [3]

If this sounds like you, make sure to stick around. We'll explain how to address this body type in the following sections.

Though, however common these instances seem, it’s not really the norm.

If someone wants to lose weight, they must get to the bottom of what’s affecting their physiological symphony in your body that’s responsible for your metabolism. [30]

Keep in mind that some people may have perhaps a combination of metabolic traits, rather than fitting into a single category. [3, 28]

Your Metabolic Type and Body Composition

Using BMR to Guide Your Calorie Intake

From this, you can then begin tracking calories or using this number as a guideline for the quantity of food you consume.

Eating consistently less than your daily energy expenditure would result in weight loss, and eating more than your daily energy expenditure will result in weight gain. [11, 14]

Obviously, it’s not as straightforward as this.

While this is the principle of weight management, the habits and behaviors needed to make these dietary changes to align with your desired energy balance is the more difficult part of the journey.

You can start with small, practical steps, such as replacing sugary foods with complex carbohydrates from whole grains and high-fiber foods. These can provide sustained energy for workouts and support your metabolic health. [11, 12, 14, 15]

So, how does our body type affect this process?

A Quick Note on Body Types

While there is speculation around the benefit of knowing body types and if it’s really necessary, it’s still good to understand from the viewpoint of what to expect out of your weight management results.

There are 3 body types:

1) Ectomorph Body Type

An ectomorph body type has a small, narrow frame, thin build, lean muscle mass, and a fast metabolism. [3]

In order to gain weight, some ectomorphs find success in low-rep, heavy weight gym training, with workouts lasting no longer than 60 minutes.

Combine a smart training approach with higher calorie intake—and not skipping meals, especially making it a habit to eat breakfast. [11, 26]

Don't forget about key lifestyle factors like getting 7-9 hours of quality sleep per night and being consistent. [13] Doing this will help you break through plateaus and achieve your ideal body shape as an ectomorph. [30]

2) Mesomorph Body Type

The mesomorph body type, or mesomorph body types, are known for their naturally athletic body, medium frame, and muscular, lean, rectangle body shape with strong leg muscles. Mesomorphs typically gain muscle easily, and are a common bodybuilder’s body type. [3]

Obviously, it's important for any body type, mesomorphs included, to stick to some basic health and fitness principles to see optimal results. [20]

These include strength training, sleeping well, avoiding ultra-processed food, and keeping a consistent fitness routine. [9, 11, 13, 14, 18] Compared to other body types, mesomorphs might see results a bit faster than other body types. [18]

3) Endomorph Body Type

The endomorph body type has a soft, round body medium build, a larger bone structure, thicker arms, and possibly more overall body fat. [3]

They often have weaker upper body muscles compared to their legs and gain fat easily, resulting in a stocky build. [3, 4, 18, 19]

This isn't set in stone, of course. Some endomorphs are strong, but they generally tend to struggle with excess fat due to slow metabolism. [3] People with this body type sometimes respond well to low carb eating plan, which helps them keep weight in check. [3, 11]

If this sounds like you, consider following a diet rich in vegetables, lean proteins, and healthy fats, which can support metabolic health and keep you on track. [3, 11]

Focus on strength training in the gym to build muscle and raise your basal metabolic rate. [9] If you're not fan of lifting weights, steady state cardio such as running is another good way to kick your metabolism into high gear. [10]

Training Smarter for Your Body Type

Depending on your metabolism and body type, you can tailor your exercise routine to gain muscle or burn calories quickly. [18]

The crucial part is sticking to a consistent workout routine and developing exercise habits tailored to your metabolic body type. [21]

You can start by adding strength training and high intensity interval training (HIIT) into your exercise plan. These are particularly effective at helping to both lose fat and build muscle. [9, 10, 11]

The Takeaway

No matter what body type you feel you fit into best, or how you feel your metabolism works, you can see success by following correct training and nutrition principles.

The only difference would be is that someone may find it harder or easier than someone else to either gain or lose weight, depending on typical metabolism and body composition! [3, 6, 7]