what now?

[TheAlias]

I am 20 years old and recently lost a LOT of weight. The motivation behind it is because I've always had manboobs, and it's made me completely miserable. With persistence I've gotten over the depression, and about a year ago started working out to complete the circle of self-healing.

So far I've lost 80 lbs, putting me down now to about 198 at 6'3". The problem is, my man boobs are still there. They haven't gotten any smaller. I do not feel any glandular tissue, what I feel is fat covering muscle tissue, because I have large pectoral muscles, but I do not know what to think. I know that I can lose more weight, I still have a tummy and fat rolls if I hunch over, so I think there is still a chance to just burn them off with vigorous exercise.

It's good to see other people who understand how awful it can be to be ashamed of your body, and especially to see people who have recovered. Here's to the next 10, 15 or 20 lbs, or whatever it is. But the question I have is, what if I get past that, and I still have manboobs? Should I go to a doctor sooner rather than later and see if it's fat or glands? How can I fathom an excuse to see a doctor in the first place? Thanks for any ideas and thanks for sharing your stories with me.

[DrBermant]

I am 20 years old and recently lost a LOT of weight. The motivation behind it is because I've always had manboobs, and it's made me completely miserable. With persistence I've gotten over the depression, and about a year ago started working out to complete the circle of self-healing.

So far I've lost 80 lbs, putting me down now to about 198 at 6'3". The problem is, my man boobs are still there. They haven't gotten any smaller. I do not feel any glandular tissue, what I feel is fat covering muscle tissue, because I have large pectoral muscles, but I do not know what to think. I know that I can lose more weight, I still have a tummy and fat rolls if I hunch over, so I think there is still a chance to just burn them off with vigorous exercise.

It's good to see other people who understand how awful it can be to be ashamed of your body, and especially to see people who have recovered. Here's to the next 10, 15 or 20 lbs, or whatever it is. But the question I have is, what if I get past that, and I still have manboobs? Should I go to a doctor sooner rather than later and see if it's fat or glands? How can I fathom an excuse to see a doctor in the first place? Thanks for any ideas and thanks for sharing your stories with me.

Loose skin after weight loss can be a major contour issue.

Weight Loss, Dealing With Excess Skin of the Chest and Body is also a major emotional issue.

Check out this section on the emotion of body lift surgery for those after massive weight loss:

Personal experiences and emotions of dealing with weight, loose skin, and body lift surgery.

I see many patients after massive weight loss and most men tell me that their chest is their biggest concern.  When there are issues of Lifting Drooping Breast or Male Mastopexy for Chest Ptosis from Loose Skin, understanding issues of the whole body are very important.  Lifting the nipple / areola back into position typically needs to be part of the solution.  Having drooping nipples below the pectoral muscles can look bizarre.

The problem is that once the chest has been sculpted, the remaining deformities tend to stand out more.  If a patient needs to consider Lower Body Lift Surgery or Tummy Tuck Abdominoplasty, either operation tends to pull the nipple areola lower.  Having the coarser lower surgery first is typically the better solution to minimize needing to then revise the chest. 

Combining both operations can make recovery more difficult.  My Tummy Tuck and Lower Body Lift patients find that their arms are very helpful in getting back to normal.  Male chest sculpture can limit upper arm function during early healing.  In addition, there is only so much safe tumescent solution that can be used, and both areas at once negates my Tumescent Tummy Tuck option which has proven so much more comfortable for my patients.

Take your time and look at the many videos and movies showing the three dimensional nature of the problem and the solution for this problem after massive weight loss.  It can take some time to review these massive sections on my website, but the education can be very important.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Gynecomastia and Chest Sculpture

[TheAlias]

This:
http://www.plasticsurgery4u.com/images/breast_male/male_breast_lift-02_08.jpg
is pretty much exactly my profile. Thanks for the link to the site, there was a lot of good information about the surgery and seeing exactly what I've got in a photo is reassuring, to say the least.

Can this fat be burned off through exercise as well? An additional 15-20 lbs of weight loss honestly seems like nothing to me, and probably something I will achieve anyways. I am not looking to have a 100% flat as a board chest, but I don't want "breasts" anymore. Does this necessarily require surgery or can it resolve itself over a continued strict regimen of exercise?

[manic91m9]

because everyone is different noone can say for sure how your body will react in time to weight loss however it is generally considered unlikely that a case such as that surgery willl resolve itself without surgery.