Ask Fitz! Your Fitness Questions Answered -- Man Boobs
Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose one per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.
Q. Hello Fitzy. I need your help! I'm six feet tall and last year I was close to 300 pounds. I am now down to 250. I'm still in the process of losing weight but am stressed because I cannot get rid of my "man boobs."They're devastatingly embarrassing. I wouldn't take my shirt off at the beach if you paid me. What can I do to make them go away? Liam
A. Hi Liam. Isn't it funny how big boobs are super cool on a chic but not so much on a guy? Interesting. Listen, I feel for you. Man boobs are not the status symbol of the day, and it's hard for most people to deal with any unusual bulging pockets of fat. Man boobs, love handles, and saddles bags; nobody wants 'em!
Unfortunately for you, Liam, you earned them. Lots of reckless eating and avoidance of exercise leads to big bags of fat. Wish you could go back in time and change that, I bet. You can undo this, though. You're 50 pounds down, and I suspect that as you draw closer to 200, your man boobs will shrink and disappear.
Of course, you can do things like the bench press, flies, push-ups, and dips to develop your pecs. But, the boobs will not go away until you are much leaner. Just like other problem areas, you cannot spot reduce. If you religiously burn more calories than you consume, your weight will drop and all areas of your body, including the problematic spots, will cease to annoy.
As for the rest of my readers, let this serve as your warning. Do not gain tons of weight! Eat wisely, exercise regularly, and you will not have to deal with crummy issues like man boobs. Now get to work!
Punches & Kicks,
Note: The content presented in this Q. & A section is for informational purposes only and should not be viewed as medical advice or substitute for professional medical care.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-22-2008 @ 11:14AM
John said...
I hate to say this, but I went from 250 to 150 about 5 years ago, and they're still slightly there. I can't afford expensive plastic surgery. However, I took some good advice from Jillian Michaels - you focus on how far you've come, and look at things like that as battle scars; it's the price you pay, but you're in a much better place.
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10-22-2008 @ 2:17PM
andrea said...
"man boobs" are actually gynecomastia, a medical condition caused by too much estrogen. Lots of things can have this effect, including marijuana use and medications, but it is most commonly seen in obesity. It is a misconception that when guys get fat, they just get fat in the boobs too. There's more to it.
Gonads (testes and ovaries) produce androgens (like testosterone), which can then be aromatized (converted) to estrogen in the ovary in women. Men and women both can convert testosterone to estrogen in fat cells, which also contain the necessary enzyme. Men who are obese naturally have more fat cells, and thus produce more estrogen. The effect is the same as taking steroid injections: they sprout boobs. The same process accounts for overweight girls having enormous breasts.
The down side of this is that once this process has occurred, it is not as easy to reverse as simply losing weight. It's hormonal. Often, gynecomastia requires surgical correction. By all means, work out and eat well, but unfortunately the damage may be done.
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10-22-2008 @ 9:39PM
... said...
Can we trade please, Liam? I went from BMI 34 to BMI 23, and it often looks to me like the all the weight came ONLY off my boobs. Being a girl, that can be quite devastating, and it's sometimes very tempting to just eat enough for it to all come back.
Contrary to what Fitz said, I would recommend that you avoid building your pecks. The part Fitz said about "you cannot spot reduce" is correct. I lose most of my weight playing DDR (lots of leg work), and a few doctors told me that's why I still have thunder thighs and very frustratingly flat boobs. They say that I probably have less fat all over my body, but my thighs look even fatter than before because everything else is smaller except for the muscle under my thigh fat.
I'm afraid you might have to learn to love how you feel in spite of how you look. Hang in there!
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