Get Rid of MAN BOOBS

I want to talk about a topic today that affects a lot of men in the fitness industry, and that’s man boobs! This is that extra fat on your chest that makes your chest look droopy, even though you’re not particularly overweight, and may even have a good amount muscle mass. In fact, in my experience man boobs are one of the things that makes men the most self-conscious both inside and outside the gym. But what’s the solution? Do you need surgery?  Are there specific chest exercises that melt the fat away and tighten up the area?

But before we dive right in, please keep in mind that TRUE GYNO is the result of the enlargement of the gland under the nipple caused by a rise in estrogen (which is mentioned in the video) and can only be fixed with surgery.  A lot of people THINK they have GYNO, but in reality there are steps they can take to clear up the excess fat.  But if the problem doesn't go away with the steps offered in this video, then surgery is your only option.

Well, man boobs, also known as gynecomastia or gyno from the Greek words “gyneco” which means woman and “mastia” which means breasts, is a predicament that many young guys are faced with every day, and to understand how to fix it requires that you understand what caused it originally, or better yet, what’s STILL causing it now. So what is it exactly?  Gynecomastia simply means that regardless of your muscle mass and body fat percentage, you still hold onto a lot of fat surrounding your chest area. More often than not, this extra layer of chest fat is also accompanied by a lot of extra belly fat, which actually ties in nicely to my “Skinny Fat” video I recently posted, so make sure you check that out.

How Can I Lose JUST Chest Fat?

In this article, however, I want to provide you with the information that you’ll be able to take, apply, and FIX your current issue. To begin with, what you have to understand is that chest fat is not all that different from any other fat. But the problem with fat loss and fat gain is that YOU don’t get to decide when or where to store or burn extra fat. What actually happens is that YOUR BODY decides where to store extra fat when there is an excess of calories in your meal plan, and it also decides where extra fat comes off when you’re dieting down.That’s why you might gain loads of fat in certain areas, but when trying to lose it you can’t spot reduce fat by targeting that area alone.

However, the general rule of thumb is that fat will leave first from areas of your body that it was stored last. Similarly, fat that was originally stored when you were still pretty lean will be the last fat to come off even after extreme dieting. That’s why most people experience “stubborn” fat around their stomach, lower back or legs. Those are most likely the first areas that fat was stored in the body. So if you’re currently afflicted with man boobs, you may just have to lose MORE fat, and it will eventually come off from your chest as well.

Can I Lose My Man Boobs Following IIFYM?

Having said that, our current theory of fat gain and fat loss is not as simple as calories in versus calories out. We know that hormones play a GIGANTIC role in many functions of the body, including fat storage and fat burning. In fact, the excess or inadequacy of specific hormones can have all kinds of consequences on where and when you store or burn fat, as well as how much! To be honest, this is EXACTLY why I’m NOT an advocate of If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM). It’s NOT just calories in versus calories out. In fact, it even goes far beyond macronutrient amounts and ratios. Micronutrients, too, have a MASSIVE impact on our health, and more specifically on our hormones.  

This means that with a high enough calorie deficit, people can lose weight while being on an unhealthy diet like fried chicken and Big Macs every day.  However, to be fair, you can also lose weight if you smoke cigarettes, if you’re an alcoholic, or if you smoke crack. The point I’m trying to make here is that there are MANY roads to weight loss. But which would you rather be? A healthy, lean person with a clean bill of health or a lean-ish person who’s at major risk of a heart attack, diabetes or even death because you eat in a calorie deficit, but all the food is processed junk?  

Losing fat doesn’t mean eating “less”. It comes down to portion control with HEALTHY FOODS, as these are the foods that contain the macronutrients, vitamins and minerals your body needs to be at its best. If you don’t know what “healthy foods” are, check out the article “Healthy Shopping List For Life”!

How Important Is My Diet To Losing My Man Boobs?

So why all this talk about nutrition? Well, it’s nutrition that caused your man boob problem in the first place, and what’s still causing it. However, the good news is that you don’t have to be a nutritionist and you certainly don’t need to have a good grasp of hormones to fix the issue at hand. This is because the root of the issue is actually a hybrid of eating too much in general, and eating too much saturated fat at the same time, because saturated fat can wreak havoc on your hormonal profile. It doesn’t affect everyone the same, but clearly, it’s affecting you! So, the simple way out of your man boobs problem is to clean up your diet!

The second part of the equation is your overall calories. If you’re not on a slight caloric deficit of 250 – 500 calories per day, how can you expect to lose weight? As far as your nutrition is concerned, eat in a calorie deficit and until you get on a regimen of ONLY healthy choices, stay away from IIFYM! Eat lots of fruits and vegetables, get your micronutrients in, improve your health and your hormones and I can guarantee you that your man boob days will be behind you sooner than you think.

What Else Do I Need To Know To Eliminate My Man Boobs?

There are just four more quick things that need to be said before we wrap things up.

#1: Testosterone

You should definitely get your testosterone levels tested if your gynecomastia persists even after you clean up your diet. It’s possible that you have a more severe hormonal problem that goes beyond nutrition, in which case you should see a doctor. If your testosterone levels are severely low and your estrogen levels are very high, it could be that your man boob problem stems from this hormone imbalance.

#2: Chest Exercises

What about chest exercises with weights? Can they help you eliminate gynecomastia? Well, as we talked about before, you cannot spot-reduce fat. You don’t get to decide where the fat comes off and it certainly doesn’t happen because you’re lifting weights. Also, fat doesn’t magically turn into muscle even if you’re training an area frequently enough. However, with frequent chest training utilizing heavy weights and compound movements, it IS possible to increase the circulation of blood in those fat tissues around your chest, which could potentially trigger more fat loss in the area. In fact, I suggest you take a look at my chest routine video for skinny guys and hardgainers, which is a routine you can do 2 – 3 times a week to build MORE muscle in your chest.

#3: Surgery

Should you get surgery? Well, if you have a SEVERE case of gyno, it might be worthwhile getting surgery. However, note that going under the knife will only eliminate the symptoms of your issue. The ROOT CAUSE of your issue could still be undertraining, hormonal imbalances or bad nutrition. So definitely make sure that you’re not repeating the same mistakes after you get surgery.

#4: Hormone Disruption

A hormonal disruption can also be a symptom of environmental causes. There are certain pollutants, such as arsenic, mercury and oil that could be going into your system unnoticed, perhaps through your nutrition or your lifestyle, and messing with your hormones. This, however, is just another reason why you should clean up your diet and your lifestyle in general. Adopting a healthy meal plan and exercising properly could very well limit your exposure to these hormone disrupting pollutants and help you get on the right track with your physique goals.

Conclusion

I bet before you took in all this information, you thought getting rid of your man boobs would be extremely difficult. However, I hope that while you realize it won’t be a quick fix, it’s also not something too hard to achieve. If you need help cleaning up your diet, you can always check out the @mealplan section on this site, and then post in the @forums for more help to get rid of those man boobs once and for all!