Meso Endo Ecto Morph ... What is That?*

In my quest to figure out a workout and nutrition scheme for myself, and possibly my husband, I kept coming across the concept of body types.  If you're an ectomorph, you have difficulty gaining fat and muscle weight.  If you're an endomorph you can easily gain both fat and muscle.  If you're the enviable mesomorph, you can gain muscle easily and trim the fat easily.  I may either be an overweight mesomorph (my broader shoulders may indicate this) or an "apple shaped" endomorph.  In any case, an apple shape could indicate excess insulin and cortisol.  I think my cortisol levels were high, which was one reason for the post-partum insomnia and depression.  My hormones got out of whack from pregnancy.  Magnesium helped after my first was born, but I had to upgrade to a pharmaceutical after the second!  Too much cortisol is detrimental to your health.  It can increase appetite and cravings (not fun if you need to go on a diet), contribute to a loss of muscle mass, lower bone density, etc (see article).  I tried to go on a diet several months ago to no avail.  Just trimming a little made me so cranky I could not be a great mother to my kids.  I started a diet (or "cut") on the 21st, I get cranky but the higher amount of protein is keeping me afloat.  For my health, I really need to "take care" of that cortisol and body fat, which was probably a result of my adrenals pumping out cortisol.  High cortisol levels impair insulin sensitivity and the body's ability to burn fat.  As I know by experience, the ability to sleep is impaired.  This article suggests that my current workout and nutrition scheme may help me.  Great!  I hope I don't have to remain dependent on pharmaceuticals to sleep!  I think my body has yet to start healing itself, since my medication seems to be losing effectiveness and I toss and turn more as the night progresses.  It's still better than taking up to four hours to fall asleep at night, or waking up way to early and being unable to fall back asleep.  I lost a pound since starting the diet, which is the maximum I can lose in a week. A pound is within the margin of error, so I'll see if it's still a pound (or two) from my starting point next week.  I suppose I really need to figure out why my body is in stress mode and fix the situation or else I would not be able to sleep on my own anymore.  It can be stressful taking care of little kids, but I think hormonal dysfunction is probably the main culprit.

*Update Oct 5, 2020: Based on how quickly I'm putting on lean mass and losing body fat, I'm probably a mesomorph.

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