Get rid of flabby chest / moobs / gynecomastia

gynoman · 26-06-2014 2:24pm #1

As a teen i developed what can only be described as male boobs. I was pretty overweight and also have hypo thyroid since then but have managed to lose most of the weight but there's still weight hanging around the chest, belly, love handles that's very stubborn. I do a lot of cardio with different sports but admittidly not a lot of weights or body conditioning so although i'd be relatively fit, i wouldn't be well built and certainly not toned.

this has obviously hit my confidence, not wanting to take my top off in front of anyone. some doctors have said i just need to lose weight, one plastic surgeon said he could get rid of them but i was more overweight then and he advised i lose more weight, that was a long time ago now and ive done nothing about it since.

ive looked up about the condition and it seems it cant be improved no matter how much you build muscle or lose weight that it's actual tissue and it needs to be surgically removed.

id prefer to go the exercise route instead of the surgery route and would love to hear from anyone with a good track record and knowledge of personal training and if anyone has dealt with im just wondering if anyone has experience with dealing with such a client and believes they can "cure" it through exercise alone.

Also with regards my stubborn waistline, I'd like to tone that up too, but it's a bit disheartening the amount of cardio I do and it seems get stuck at a certain level so I don't know if that's even possible to improve without surgery?

I'd also like to go somewhere for an overall professional/scientific body fat % test and someone to be able to tell me exactly what I need to do.

This is a new account so I can't post links or pictures, but I'll try here, just delete the spaces:
http : // omg. wthax. org/ 6GPPgY. jpg

I also won't be able to check any PM's on this account so please leave all info out in the open if possible.

cheers!

Mr. Manager · 26-06-2014 2:44pm

Not to go into detail on health advice but wouldn't exercise only reduce the size of the gynecomastia slightly?

I had the same thing earlier this year and opted for surgery to have it removed...

desultory · 26-06-2014 3:34pm

~Surgery is your only option. Nothing you can do will get rid of them, sorry to say.

edit: extensive chest workouts will however improve the look dramatically. It will take a long time though and you may never be fully happy

Squat Rack Curler · 26-06-2014 4:36pm

Losing weight will reduce the appearance of it, but if there is actual glandular tissue, you'll need surgery to get rid of it.

Start lifting weights

IR1SH RANG3R · 26-06-2014 4:40pm

Hi, sorry to jump on the OP thread but I have a quick question relating to this. How would you know one way or another if a flabby chest "moobs" is caused by excess fat or gynecomastia?

I have always had a flabby chest but have always been chubby rather than very fat. I always put it down to the fat. I have just started a weight program and cardio along with a healthy diet to lose weight but am worried I won't lose this. Is there any way to tell other than waiting until I lose a good bit of weight to see if there is a difference?

Thanks

Squat Rack Curler · 26-06-2014 4:50pm

IR1SH RANG3R wrote: »

Hi, sorry to jump on the OP thread but I have a quick question relating to this. How would you know one way or another if a flabby chest "moobs" is caused by excess fat or gynecomastia?

I have always had a flabby chest but have always been chubby rather than very fat. I always put it down to the fat. I have just started a weight program and cardio along with a healthy diet to lose weight but am worried I won't lose this. Is there any way to tell other than waiting until I lose a good bit of weight to see if there is a difference?

Thanks

If you can't see your abs, it's definitely possible to have fatty deposits behind the nipple that look like gyno whilst not actually having gyno.

If you can feel hard, lumpy tissue behind your nipple, its more than likely gyno, but it will get much less noticeable as you get leaner.

gynoman · 27-06-2014 6:48am

cheers for the replies, not really what i wanted to hear though but was prepared for it, would have much preferred a few months of intense training as this would have improved my overall everything at the same time. I guess i can still do that and THEN get surgery if im still not happy, but then maybe if i didn't keep up the intense weights, it would get bad again?

what about the abdominal area? does it look like this can be improved with a proper routine to get rid of the belly and love handles??

also what about about the nipple positioning and SIZE?, most guys would have nipples a lot smaller and positioned much higher and central and not sagging low and to the side. Would that all be improved with surgery?

Finally, what's involved with surgery? Is it a general or local anasthetic, does it take long, is it a day procedure or do you need to return multiple times, how long is healing? will it be obvious I've had work done and will it greatly improve it to the point you'd never know it was an issue?

atilladehun · 27-06-2014 9:23am

Best of luck with whatever route you go.

I would also add that doing weights (bodyweight) training 3 times a week will make you feel better about yourself even if it doesn't reach your ultimate goal. There's no harm helping yourself along as much as you can before you chose the surgery option.

siochain · 28-06-2014 8:44pm

Good decision on going the training route first. This should always be the first option.

Mellor · 29-06-2014 5:28am

Has the doctor indicated it was gyno specifically. Or was this your own assumption?

There's a difference between moobs caused by breast tissue, and just by body fat. The latter can absolutely by exercise and diet.

SpannerMonkey · 29-06-2014 2:41pm

Mellor wrote: »

Has the doctor indicated it was gyno specifically. Or was this your own assumption?

There's a difference between moobs caused by breast tissue, and just by body fat. The latter can absolutely by exercise and diet.

depends on the size of them and your age if over 22-23 the skin is not elastic enough to retract. for me weight loss and workouts did nothing as the skin does not just disappear regardless of how much you excercise.

Chancer3001 · 29-06-2014 8:52pm

When you can pm, pm me. I have some.info that may help

gynoman · 30-06-2014 12:44am

cheers for the replies. i haven't had a definite answer on whether its gynocomastia or if its just fat.

i was hoping to maybe find a specialist in this field and maybe somehwere i could get an overall analysis of my body, the fat %, what can be improved with exercise and what can't.

then there's the worry of what i mentioned earlier, the nipple positioning, scarring etc.

one thing that makes me thinks its more gyno than fat is that ive seen a lot of guys fatter than me, with much bigger bellies and carrying far more weight, but their chest looks smaller than mine, or at least it doesn't hang down the same way and with big nipples.

id really like to go see someone who deals with this all the time and who's first suggestion wouldn't be plastic surgery and who might know about how to deal with it through exercise (as much as possible).

An experienced personal trainer or a specialist doctor perhaps. it's something im very consicounce of so id be too shy to go looking for recommendations other than an anonymous internet account

Chancer3001, can you PM whatever info you may have please? I don't think i can PM you first..

cheers again everyone, reading all feedback with gratitude

Kevhog1988 · 02-07-2014 12:14pm

im in the same boat, always put it down to being overweight…. Would gp give a proper diagnosis

syklops · 02-07-2014 12:50pm

gynoman wrote: »

cheers for the replies. i haven't had a definite answer on whether its gynocomastia or if its just fat.

i was hoping to maybe find a specialist in this field and maybe somehwere i could get an overall analysis of my body, the fat %, what can be improved with exercise and what can't.

then there's the worry of what i mentioned earlier, the nipple positioning, scarring etc.

one thing that makes me thinks its more gyno than fat is that ive seen a lot of guys fatter than me, with much bigger bellies and carrying far more weight, but their chest looks smaller than mine, or at least it doesn't hang down the same way and with big nipples.

id really like to go see someone who deals with this all the time and who's first suggestion wouldn't be plastic surgery and who might know about how to deal with it through exercise (as much as possible).

An experienced personal trainer or a specialist doctor perhaps. it's something im very consicounce of so id be too shy to go looking for recommendations other than an anonymous internet account

Chancer3001, can you PM whatever info you may have please? I don't think i can PM you first..

cheers again everyone, reading all feedback with gratitude

If I was you, I would start weights. Lift heavy, also post your diet up here and get others to critique it. Aim for a six pack. Once you can see your abs, your self confidence will sky rocket, your posture will improve and you will feel more confident about taking your top off. That alone might resolve your issue. However, if it doesnt, then you can look into surgery.

Zillah · 02-07-2014 9:59pm

If you're overweight then there is definitely fat on your chest and the apparent size of your moobs would be influenced by that. It'd be very hard to tell what the scar tissue from gyno would be until you go down to a much lower body fat %. Your tummy and love handles can be gotten rid of completely through calorie control. Eat less food, working out will help too, but it is mostly about diet.

You should work on getting your body fat down to <12% before you panic about what surgical intervention might be needed for your chest.

gynoman · 03-07-2014 12:43am

cheers for the replies again!

aiming for a 6 pack is a good idea, not that Im too pushed about having one, but I geuss if you can make out abs, it would mean by body fat % is low and anything in the chest area should reduce too?

Zillah, the thing on body fat % is interesting. I actually had a check done in a gym and the instructor found it very difficult to get a reading on my. He couldn't grab my belly with the callipers at all, there's plenty to grab on the chest obviously, but the belly and love handles were difficult to grab and I didn't get a proper reading after all.

That's why I was asking about a proper check up. I don't know if a GP can test for body fat % or if he'd be able to tell if it was gyno or not. when I asked before he didn't seem too sure.

If I knew of somewhere I could go where somebody is an expert in body fat, the allocation of body fat, gyno, moobs and toning up and losing it all, I'd book asap regardless of the cost!

I feel like I've never really been given an experts opinion on this.

To me when I compare my chest to guys who have more fat on them and they have a flat chest, it screams gyno to me. Also what's up with the big nipples?

Motivator · 09-07-2014 11:12am

I am considering the surgery myself, don't have a major case of gyno. It's very mild actually but I have terrible puffy nipples & although the rest of my chest is in fairly good shape I can't seem to shake the soft, flabby bit around my nipples. It's awfully embarrassing & at this moment in time it is really getting me down. I have made contact with a couple of clinics & only 1 has gotten back to me with a quote - €5,000. I would be willing to pay around €2,000 but certainly not €5k.

Has anyone got any recent feedback regarding surgery? i.e cost, length of time for the surgery to be done from initial consultation to the actual procedure, best hospital/clinic to go for etc.

I'm desperate at this stage so I'd appreciate any help!

dartstothesea · 09-07-2014 12:32pm

I used to feel like I had a bit of this crappy chest skin/fat thing going on. I don't feel too much that way now, 4 or so years on.
Get to a good bodyfat percentage (<15% if you're a guy I'm assuming. not that I even spent much time sub 15% myself) and stay that way for as long as possible - literally years - while eating a diet that tends toward a better hormone response. You can lose weight and get to a lower bodyfat % but could still end up with crappy distribution of fat and trying to know what undersirable hormonal stuff happens with your diet is the best approach for that I think. Try to get lower than 15% if you can and just make sure your diet after that point - regardless of overall intake - is one that doesn't cause crappy levels of insulin and estrogen to be happening.
But again, expect it to take several years of clean eating (and a loss of bodyfat) for the situation to be a lot better.

gynoman · 19-07-2014 7:52am

Cheers again for the replies. Will deffo try lower the body fat % and tone up at the same time with added attention to the chest.

An update anyway, i finally got a diagnosis from my gp, he had a proper feel and confirmed it is indeed Gynocomastia and is breast tissue as opposed to just fat, well, he kinda said breast tissue and fatty tissue are the same?!

He suggested to work on coopers ligament, he mentioned something called coopers droop which is what women can get that causes saggy breasts and if worked on can improve the appearance.

He said surgery is really the only option to completely get rid of it, but unfortunately surgery won't decrease the nipple size, but it will pull the nipple up to a better position. The puffy nipple is a result of the extra fatty tissue apparantly having pushed out the nipple itself in a way.

some good news for you "motivator" is that he said this is definitely something that could be strongly fought for health insurance to cover. he said it would be much easier to get breast reduction for a male then for a female as it's simply not normal for a male and can attribute to mental anguish etc, he seemed pretty confident on this so has possibly done it before for a patient. All I asked about the surgery is whether you go under local or general anasthetic and he said it would be general. I'm not sure how long the procedure takes, how long you'd be in hospital for or how long it would take for the wounds to heal or if even if they do heal or are you left with obvious scarring.

gynoman · 20-10-2014 11:19pm

I was looking this up again and came across something called Gynexin. It looks like the typical quick cure gimmick and the price reflects what might be trying to get people desperate for results to invest in for a few months before realising it doesn't work. But if anyone thinks it may actually work, it could be worth trying. I'm not trying to avoid working out and have improved my routines and learning more about how to approach this.

Mellor · 21-10-2014 12:10am

gynoman wrote: »

An update anyway, i finally got a diagnosis from my gp, he had a proper feel and confirmed it is indeed Gynocomastia and is breast tissue as opposed to just fat, well, he kinda said breast tissue and fatty tissue are the same?

If he said there is breast (glandular) tissue there then its gyno.
But saying breast tissue and fatty tissue are the same contradicts. Maybe he meant its caused by both?

dartstothesea · 21-10-2014 11:29am

gynoman wrote: »

I was looking this up again and came across something called Gynexin. It looks like the typical quick cure gimmick and the price reflects what might be trying to get people desperate for results to invest in for a few months before realising it doesn't work. But if anyone thinks it may actually work, it could be worth trying. I'm not trying to avoid working out and have improved my routines and learning more about how to approach this.

There is definitely no freely available product for this that works. If there was, the legions of aspiring bodybuilders on forums across the internet would be talking about Gynexin or whatever. But they aren't - they have weeded out what works from what doesn't.
They tend to use anti-breast cancer and 'anti-estrogen' substances. That stuff's all controlled and shouldn't be talked about here.

Other than those, and diet, cardio etc, there doesn't seem to be much real talk out there about any other 'cure'.

Lots of people seem to say that once the gland (breast) tissue has settled in long enough; 'solidified', none of the above necessarily even works and guys start to look at surgery options. Sounds like a bummer. Then again, don't underestimate people's tendency toward lazy pessimism about stuff they could possibly work to turn around more organically.

gynoman · 07-11-2014 7:06am

cheers for the replies, that's not good to hear about it "settling in", ive had this for probably 20 years at this stage

taking anti estrogen and breast cancer tablets doesn't sound too appealing to me, im going to try give the organic approach a go.

MechGuy · 19-12-2018 2:05pm

Hi Guys, I recently had gynecomastia surgery done in the Maher hospital Cork: cost approx €2800. Even tho I am only a few weeks out I am very pleased with the results.

Bit of background info: I'm about 6'1" and weigh 13st, age 29. As far as I can remember this issue only become noticeable about 8 years ago. I even dropped down to 11. 5st to try to get rid of it but it was still as noticeable. After a quick visit to my GP he confirmed it was gynecomastia and arranged a consultation for me with a plastic surgeon (just message me for more details on the surgeon)

The surgeon was very straight talking and explained the exact procedure involved. I get very anxious with hospital related procedures but somehow got over this and set a date for the surgery. It was performed under general anesthetic so I was asleep for everything. I woke up in recovery and, as previously explained to me, I had two small drains connected to my chest area, I also had stitches on both sides of my chest (felt no pain whatsoever, thanks to pain killers I suppose).

I had to stay just one night in the hospital and had the drains removed before I left. I felt a bit sick after the anesthetic but came around after a few hours. The surgeon met with me after to answer any questions I had, then I had bandages fitted and was given a compression belt to keep pressure on the area. The compression belt had to be worn for 4 weeks to aid healing the area. I was giving painkillers to take daily for a few days after but quickly stopped as I didn't really need them. I also got the stitches taken out with my local GP about 10 days after, again I hardly felt anything pain wise. I slept fine on back during the recovery time as I was a bit conscious about sleeping on my side for a while in case I interfered with the recovery.

I am very happy with the results and can return to wearing normal fitting/ non baggy shirts and t shirts which I constantly wore to conceal it. Overall I would say if anybody is considering getting this procedure done, go for it!

I will post pic's whenever my new boards account lets me

SpannerMonkey · 24-12-2018 12:33am

MechGuy wrote: »

Hi Guys, I recently had gynecomastia surgery done in the Maher hospital Cork: cost approx €2800. Even tho I am only a few weeks out I am very pleased with the results.

Bit of background info: I'm about 6'1" and weigh 13st, age 29. As far as I can remember this issue only become noticeable about 8 years ago. I even dropped down to 11. 5st to try to get rid of it but it was still as noticeable. After a quick visit to my GP he confirmed it was gynecomastia and arranged a consultation for me with a plastic surgeon (just message me for more details on the surgeon)

The surgeon was very straight talking and explained the exact procedure involved. I get very anxious with hospital related procedures but somehow got over this and set a date for the surgery. It was performed under general anesthetic so I was asleep for everything. I woke up in recovery and, as previously explained to me, I had two small drains connected to my chest area, I also had stitches on both sides of my chest (felt no pain whatsoever, thanks to pain killers I suppose).

I had to stay just one night in the hospital and had the drains removed before I left. I felt a bit sick after the anesthetic but came around after a few hours. The surgeon met with me after to answer any questions I had, then I had bandages fitted and was given a compression belt to keep pressure on the area. The compression belt had to be worn for 4 weeks to aid healing the area. I was giving painkillers to take daily for a few days after but quickly stopped as I didn't really need them. I also got the stitches taken out with my local GP about 10 days after, again I hardly felt anything pain wise. I slept fine on back during the recovery time as I was a bit conscious about sleeping on my side for a while in case I interfered with the recovery.

I am very happy with the results and can return to wearing normal fitting/ non baggy shirts and t shirts which I constantly wore to conceal it. Overall I would say if anybody is considering getting this procedure done, go for it!

I will post pic's whenever my new boards account lets me

thanks for the update . can i ask how long would you be out of work to get this done ?

MechGuy · 27-12-2018 4:13pm

I guess it depends on what type of work you do, you could probably return to a desk job after 4 or 5 days. I was advised not to do any heavy lifting for 4 weeks after.

italodisco · 27-12-2018 4:28pm

gynoman wrote: »

Cheers again for the replies. Will deffo try lower the body fat % and tone up at the same time with added attention to the chest.

An update anyway, i finally got a diagnosis from my gp, he had a proper feel and confirmed it is indeed Gynocomastia and is breast tissue as opposed to just fat, well, he kinda said breast tissue and fatty tissue are the same?!

He suggested to work on coopers ligament, he mentioned something called coopers droop which is what women can get that causes saggy breasts and if worked on can improve the appearance.

He said surgery is really the only option to completely get rid of it, but unfortunately surgery won't decrease the nipple size, but it will pull the nipple up to a better position. The puffy nipple is a result of the extra fatty tissue apparantly having pushed out the nipple itself in a way.

some good news for you "motivator" is that he said this is definitely something that could be strongly fought for health insurance to cover. he said it would be much easier to get breast reduction for a male then for a female as it's simply not normal for a male and can attribute to mental anguish etc, he seemed pretty confident on this so has possibly done it before for a patient. All I asked about the surgery is whether you go under local or general anasthetic and he said it would be general. I'm not sure how long the procedure takes, how long you'd be in hospital for or how long it would take for the wounds to heal or if even if they do heal or are you left with obvious scarring.

I know several men involved in the bodybuilding scene whom have all had their gyno surgery done in Poland, under local anesthesia and the results were great.

They had it done in NOA Clinic in Wroclaw, I suggest you take a look. Significantly cheaper, serious amount of experience in this particular area and highly recommended by those who've been.

As far as GP's go in Ireland, don't waste your time. Your only hope here is to go privately to a consultant in a modern clinic. There are other treatments apart from surgery such as leteozole/ tamoxifen /cabergoline but a GP won't entertain that here.

Surprise surprise to see a GP recommended exercises for actual gyno, just confirms how ridiculous they are.

You need lypo on the area but to truly be done with it you'll need the glandular tissue removed. I'm shocked that you weren't sent for a mammogram to confirm just how bad the gyno is........

I can guide you in the right direction with this, if you want my help just send me a PM anytime

MechGuy · 04-01-2019 10:10pm

Hi Guys, I recently had gynecomastia surgery done in the Maher hospital Cork: cost approx €2800. Even tho I am only a few weeks out I am very pleased with the results.

Bit of background info: I'm about 6'1" and weigh 13st, age 29. As far as I can remember this issue only become noticeable about 8 years ago. I even dropped down to 11. 5st to try to get rid of it but it was still as noticeable. After a quick visit to my GP he confirmed it was gynecomastia and arranged a consultation for me with a plastic surgeon (just message me for more details on the surgeon)

The surgeon was very straight talking and explained the exact procedure involved. I get very anxious with hospital related procedures but somehow got over this and set a date for the surgery. It was performed under general anesthetic so I was asleep for everything. I woke up in recovery and, as previously explained to me, I had two small drains connected to my chest area, I also had stitches on both sides of my chest (felt no pain whatsoever, thanks to pain killers I suppose).

I had to stay just one night in the hospital and had the drains removed before I left. I felt a bit sick after the anesthetic but came around after a few hours. The surgeon met with me after to answer any questions I had, then bandages were fitted and I was given a compression belt to keep pressure on the area. The compression belt had to be worn for 4 weeks to aid healing the area. I was given painkillers to take daily for a few days after but quickly stopped as I didn't really need them. I also got the stitches taken out with my local GP about 10 days after, again I hardly felt anything pain wise. I slept fine on back during the recovery time as I was a bit conscious about sleeping on my side for a while in case I interfered with the recovery.

I had very little bruising during recovery, the yellow coloration in the picture is from the iodine. I am very happy with the results and can return to wearing normal fitting/ non baggy shirts and t shirts which I constantly wore to conceal it. Overall I would say if anybody is considering getting this procedure done, go for it!

wally1990 · 04-01-2019 10:16pm

MechGuy wrote: »

I had very little bruising, the yellow coloration is from iodine.

Brilliant results!!!!!
It will mean so much for your confidence etc
I would have thought the surgery would have been more expensive..

Is it simply moving the tissue from the chest area?

MechGuy · 17-02-2019 8:20pm

Thanks (wally1990), it certainly will. Ya the surgeon removed a mix of gyno and fat tissue. So happy I got it done, it healed very well and in a short space of time.

Get rid of flabby chest / moobs / gynecomastia

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