Past:
I have had Gynocomastia since I was very young. I think the around the age 7 was my first memory of it. There was one particular teacher who made the boys do PE with their tops off (wasn’t that not a bit weird given that we all had t-shirts?). Anyway, there were these 2 kids in my class that used absolutely rip the shit of me and say stuff like ‘big breasts’ or ‘can I drink some milk out of them’. Anyway, I got this from these particular kids throughout my primary education. Since then I used to just go right out of my way to hide them from everyone, even my family. On the odd occasion the odd family member or friend would make a comment about them, but I honestly don’t think they had a clue about the affect that these comments had on me, it was devastating at the time. It was awful, I just felt like a freak all the way through my teenage years. My mum did take me to the doctor at one point, but the doctor just dismissed it and said it would go by the time I was an adult, either way they couldn’t do anything until I was 18 anyway. That stuck in my memory because as soon as my 18th birthday hit I went straight to the doctor who arranged a hospital appointment where they took blood tests. They come back with nothing abnormal so I was told there was they could do. I resolved to just deal with it. I hadn’t been in a relationship at this point because I still felt like such a complete freak. I did begin in engaging in sexual activity with guys (I’m gay by the way), but I felt so comfortable with the gyn that they would only be one-off encounters and I was always drunk as skunk. I then moved to London when I was 24 and made another hospital appointment. I was desperate to get something done. I was so surprised that after a few appointments they said they would arrange for me to have surgery on the NHS. I went for the pre-op consultation and having been a regular on these boards at the time I knew that some kind of gland excision would be needed, but the consultant was having none of it and said they would just try lipo first and then wait and see. It sounded wrong to me, but I thought what the hell it’s free. I got the date through for the op, but in the end I couldn’t go through with, so I didn’t turn up. The consultant did not fill me with any confidence at all. The consultation was only about 5 minutes or even less! How the hell could they cut me up and suck bits of me out with only a five minute consultation. I felt guilty for not having turned up because there were probably loads of people out there who would have been dying to take place. But what could I do, it was tough decision. I have to say over recent years, it has bothered me less, I don’t mind walking about in the gym changing room with my top or going swimming. Relationships are still really uncomfortable. I sometimes think it’s harder in the gay world, just because all gay media is obsessed with this perfect ‘adonis/gladiator’ body, which for the most people is unobtainable.
The present:
Anyway, after all that waffling, it brings me to where I am at now. In the last part of 2009 I resolved to change my body first by health eating and nutrition and then once I have reached my goals in those areas to pay for professional cosmetic surgery to remove he gland tissue that cannot be removed by natural means (I still kind of keeping my fingers that I can rid of them naturally – I know unlikely).
I have decided to post on here to motivate myself to reach my goals and possibly motivate others. I truly believe that the best strategy for removing gyn from your life is to reduce your body fat as low as it can go naturally and then removing what’s left through surgery.
Here are my current progress pics:
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/llmohj3/GynPics?authkey=Gv1sRgCIOqs8H2yPv1Jw# The gyn is largely the same but the fat around it has reduced. Also the muscle underneath has made a difference to how it looks from a distance, which I am really happy about. Also, the pictures (I think) are taken in quite a good light.
Previous to this I was weed smoking, booze drinking, comfort eater. I am planning to remove all of this from life completely in 2010.
The future:
Ok, so in August this year I had 25.4% body fat and weighed about 12st 8lbs. In December 2009 I am at 19.5% body fat 11st 7lbs. So this is about 4 month’s progress. My target for the end of June 2009, which is when I plan to have surgery will be body fat under 14%. In terms of weight I would like to be the same or higher, because that would mean I have put on muscle.
Anyway, if there is anyone on here who is interested in following a similar path, bearing in mind this has only taken me 4 months! Get in touch, I’m happy to talk further about the kind of exercise and nutrition programme I’m doing. Also, it would be great to engage with others for that all important motivation.
I reckon I will be posting on here my progress throughout the year. Hopefully we’ll see some major changes.