Lose Weight for your Body Type

Do you wonder why that diet that worked so well for your friend doesn’t work for you? Have you struggled to stay on a diet, then blamed yourself for lack of will power? Chances are it’s actually the diet that’s faulty – not you.

It’s most likely that the diet you tried did not support your body type. There are 25 different body types – so that diet was probably created by someone whose body type is different from yours. This one fact is the reason there is so much controversy and disappointment in diet books and in the diet industry.

What’s Wrong with My Diet?

The diet industry started out by studying the people who were able to lose the most weight the quickest. These people became known as the Star Dieters, and they are the Adrenal body type. Consequently, the classic weight loss diet consists of eating raw fresh fruits and vegetables, yogurt and cottage cheese. If you happen to be an Adrenal body type who has not exhausted their adrenal glands, this works great.

If however, you happen to be one of the 24 other body types, meaning your dominant gland is not your adrenals, the classic weight loss diet does not work for you. With so many other weight loss diets to choose from, I had patients who followed other diets and were able to lose weight as well. Unfortunately, all too many would lose the weight only to put it right back on.

The problem lies in knowing what to eat once you choose to rejoin society and add more variety to your diet. The all-too-frequent pattern is to put the weight back on. This is why I initially wrote Different Bodies, Different Diets. I saw a lot of patients who would follow a diet and lose weight but didn’t know how to eat to keep the weight off when the diet ended.

Are Body Type Diets Really That Different?

Your body type diet tells you what kind of diet is best for losing weight, and what are the foods and eating plan to best support your body for optimal health and vitality. It’s designed to be an on-going plan for maintaining optimal weight and consistent energy levels, making “dieting” unnecessary. So what are some of the differences between body type diets?

The time of day you ideally eat your largest meal varies significantly according to your body type. The Adrenal body type does best with a light breakfast of fruit or yogurt, a moderate lunch and a larger dinner when they are able to relax and enjoy it. The Pituitary body type, on the other hand, needs to eat the majority of their food by 2:00 PM. Steak and eggs is a great breakfast for the Pituitary body type as they need to move their energy down into their body by stimulating their adrenal glands. However, when an Adrenal body type has steak and eggs for breakfast, the beef overstimulates their adrenal glands, and they will eat all day long. A Pituitary body type does not digest protein well in the evening, so something light like fruit or a salad is perfect.

Another difference between body types is the size and frequency of meals. There are a number of types, such as the Thyroid body type and Eye body type, that are better eating a number of smaller meals throughout the day rather than a larger meal at breakfast or dinner. Fortunately, both the Thyroid body type and Eye body type are quite adaptable, when healthy, and can adjust their eating schedules to accommodate the activities of the day.

Consumption of fats is another key difference between body types – with some body types working opposite to conventional thinking. One woman decided she was going to focus on her diet once she retired, so she reduced her dietary fat content and ate what she thought were healthy meals. Being a Gallbladder body type, she gained rather than lost weight. Conventional thinking is that reducing fats (which contain more calories than protein or carbohydrates) is a good approach to reducing overall caloric intake. Although it works well for the Brain body type and Medulla body type, it proved disastrous for Gallbladder, Blood and Eye body types.

High protein diets work well for the Liver, Spleen, Stomach and Thymus body types. The Gonadal, Heart, and Skin could do it for a short term of up to two weeks before their bodies would rebel and they would start craving other foods. The Hypothalamus body type would have a difficult time since they do best with nuts, seeds and lighter protein like shell fish. Pineal body type is better off with lighter proteins, such as fish, at dinner, as they are easier to digest.

Choice of foods is a major difference between body types. The 25 Body Type System goes into great detail for each body type with extensive lists of foods that ARE or are NOT supportive for each body type. Nearly all body types have “exceptions” that defy conventional dietary beliefs. The Blood body type is stressed by olive oil, while the Pancreas body type loves it. Grapefruit is excellent for the Gallbladder body type, but not for the Skin or Spleen body types. Almonds are great for Thyroid body type, but stressful for the Thalamus body type and Pineal body type. While the Thymus body type can eat 4 eggs a day 6 days a week, Adrenal body types need to limit red meat and eggs because they naturally generate so much cholesterol.

Do you tend to eat the same foods 3 or 4 days in a row? Then switch to a different food and repeat the pattern? This is known as rut eating and is characteristic of the Pancreas body type. Eating the same food day after day, or even eating the same daily breakfast at the same time every day, depletes pancreatic enzymes. The Eye body type tends to find the foods they like and eat the same things, because they don't want to have to think about it. After years of this pattern, the Eye needs to focus on variety and rotation of foods.

Why is My Body Type Diet Better Than Other Diets?

The problem with the majority of diets and the reason they are so difficult to maintain, is that they are based on deprivation. Whether it is calories, protein, carbohydrates, fats or time of day, it is still a deprivation that the body interprets as famine. Once the diet (famine) is over, the body wants to put on not only what was lost, but extra to prepare for the next famine; which is why yo-yo dieting does not work.

Your body type “diet” is really an individualized eating plan meant to support your body – increased energy, stamina and health. When you are eating right for your body type, food cravings go away, and it’s much easier to maintain an acceptable weight level than putting your body through cycles of dieting that can be taxing.

Discover your body type today and begin your path to a healthier, happier you.