What Body Type are You?

According to one theory there are three basic body types and to some extent personality can be determined by your body type:

The Endomorph is a body type that naturally tends to be overweight. These body types are assumed to have a greater love of comfort and luxury and they are more tolerant than the other two body types.

The Mesomorph is the muscular body type. These people are naturally endowed with more muscle and their respective personality is thought to be more dynamic, energetic, competitive and inclined to take risks.

The Ectomorph is the naturally slender person. They are thought to be more artistic, introverted and sensitive than the other two types.

When I took a university kinesiology course many years ago, at one point the professor had us all stand on a stool against a backdrop of engineer type squared paper to measure what body type category we fell into. I thought it was a bit creepy at the time and from what I gather it's unlikely people study William Sheldon's theory of 'somatotypes' in kinesiology courses these days. But it is a fact that different people are born with different predispositions toward one of these physical body types. Whether personality can be correlated with body type is another matter altogether.

A weight loss strategy may possibly be more effective if it takes into account your natural body type. I'll look into this in a future post.

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The above fine art print is 'Fat Cat' by Kevin Snyder

Plus Sized Prom Dresses

If you are an overweight teenager and need to find an attractive dress for your highschool prom this year, take heart that there is an incredible selection of beautiful prom dresses in plus size available for your perusal online. Check out Sydney's Closet to view dozens of different plus size styles. Also check out some of the leading wedding dress websites, they usually have large prom dress selections for all sizes.

Black seems to be back in a big way this year. Black is very flattering especially for women with a 'winter' season complexion. The other colors that seem to be in this year for prom gowns are punch colors. No more pastels, rather consider citrus yellow or sunset orange. If you think this might be too bold for your look, a good solution would be to find a black dress with beautiful punch color accents. Also consider some kind of glitter accent for your overall look on this very special night.

Congrats to all 2006 grads!

Fitness Goal: Muscles

Sometimes the main goal of a fitness program is not weight loss, but rather a healthy and muscular body frame.

In these pictures, Aaron Ferguson weighs only five pounds less in the 'after' photo. In the before photo, he weighs 166 pounds and has a body fat ratio of seventeen percent. In the after photo he weighs 161 pounds but his body fat ratio has been reduced to an unusually low six percent.

Aaron was able to transform his body into a supremely muscular frame within only twelve weeks. This wasn't done primarily for appearances sake. In the process he cured the pain in his lower back (due to sacral joint problems). He had thought he would need a spinal fusion but his intense fitness program fully cured his back pain.

In the process he has become a muscle man extraordinaire. See Aaron's story here.

Acupuncture for Weight Loss

Acupuncture can help you lose weight. It is recognized by the World Health Organization as an effective treatment for weight loss together with a range of other common health problems including headaches, neck pain, stress and fatigue.

Acupuncture is a central component of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and has been practiced for over 2500 years in parts of Asia. There's a growing interest in traditional Chinese medicine in the Western World. It's an alternative to the Western path which often seems to rely excessively on prescriptions or surgical solutions.

If you've tried losing weight without success, it may be really worth your while to investigate accupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine solutions.

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The above photographic print is 'a close view of acupuncture needles treating a stomach ailment' by O. Louis Mazzatenta