So What Do You Think?

[lightboro]

First, a little background. I'm 6 feet tall.  I was 275 lbs. this past June. Over the summer, I started doing a lot of sports and started losing weight. I continued and even joined a gym now that the winter is here. My workouts consist of strictly cardio, and I eat a lot healthier now. In June, my weight was 275. I am now 187 lbs.  But these man boobs just don't seem to go away! I figured they'd be gone by now and it's extremely frustrating. I'm only about 30 lbs. away from my goal weight and hope they disappear soon.  My chest was 44", now it's 41". Here are some pics of me now.  I'm gonna continue with the weight loss, I just wanted some opinions if you guys think this is gyne or not.  Thanks!

[Bakajin]

Yeah I would think that with a near 100 pound weight loss you are bound to have some loose skin.   I can't see any stretch marks so it might just be fat but it would be unusual not to have some left over skin after dropping 30-40% of your bodyweight.  the problem with loose skin is that even when you get to a normal body fat level, you tend to retain a much 'fatter' looking appearance because the fat hangs so low in the skin compared to someone with compared to someone with regular skin and the same BF %.  

In my own case I have fairly large chest and back muscles which helps a lot to aleviate my condition but on a regular sized guy loose skin around the chest is far more obvious.   On Dr Bermant's site you can see a cases that appears to be fairly similar to your own (if indeed your problem is primarily loose skin).  

http://www.plasticsurgery4u.com/procedure_folder/male_breast/shortscar_male_breast_lift.html

In this case surgery was able to completely eliminate the problem.    Loose skin does correct natural in some people, especially the younger you are.  I know of at least one guy who dropped from 270 to 190 and within a year he was completely ripped without any signs of excess skin and without surgery.  However it really varies a lot from person to person and if there isn't improvement within a year or two then surgery is the only option to fix it.

[brownman]

cant loose skin all over the body be corrected by continuing weight lifting all over the body ?

i am 175 lbs and hope ot drop to 150 or so and i figured i could loose the skin by working out

(not my 150 lbs is my ideal weight loss i may still weight 170 or soemthing if i have alot of muscle)

[DrBermant]

cant loose skin all over the body be corrected by continuing weight lifting all over the body ?

i am 175 lbs and hope ot drop to 150 or so and i figured i could loose the skin by working out

(not my 150 lbs is my ideal weight loss i may still weight 170 or soemthing if i have alot of muscle)

Congratulations on your weight loss.  Hanging male breasts shown in this view look feminine and I have seen many patients unhappy with their drooping chest tissues.

After massive weight loss, excess skin can be a problem.  The extra skin can be around the stomach, thights, buttocks, chest, arms, and face. Body building can fill loose tissues with muscles to a degree for the chest, but not well in the stomach.  Tummy Tuck Abdominoplasty and Body Lift Sculpture can help with the stomach and extending around the back. For men this can result in Male Chest Ptosis or drooping boobs.  The areola and nipples can be well below the pectoral muscles giving a strange look to the male chest, especially when flexed.  Loose skin can be difficult to show in photographs.  That why I evolved the bending over view to demonstrate problems that loose skin can cause.  Male Mastopexy Breast Lift can help but there is a trade off for the loose skin.  

Skin reduction scars can be a significant compromise best explored during a consultation.

Hope this helps,

Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Gynecomastia and Chest Sculpture

[lightboro]

Seems like it to me.  A mild-moderate case.  Working out some more and getting your body fat percentage down will help, but it looks like you've got gland and excess breast tissue in there that only a good excision can rid of.

Hmmm...I just went to my regular doctor yesterday for my physical and he checked it out and felt around. He said that it's just fat and not gyne.  If he just feels around, can he be accurate in his diagnosis?  

And if it is just fat, does that mean that my continuing to exercise and diet will make this pretty much go away completely, or if not, at least make it hardly noticable?  

[Worrier]

It depends I had good results from diet and exercise, some people don't though. I was eighteen stone and was six feet 2 when I started .I lost four stone before I got down to my ideal weight. Iam a waist 32 which I boast about

It is pretty hard to tell actually if it is fat or gland from touch. Most of the time fat is soft and gland is hard but sometimes it can be the other way round and you get hard fat and soft gland.

However seeing as your doctor thinks it's fat and you said you had a weight problem in the past it might be worth  carrying on and seeing if your chest gets even better. It is pretty hard actually to get  the fat off your chest but if you stick with it you may see an improvement.

My advice is to add some weights in now (not too heavy plenty of reps) as getting toned up may well help from looking at your chest.Circuit training is good to for burning fat. It may help with loose skin too.

I added in circuits and weight training almost from the beginning when I got in shape and I don't have any loose skin. It took me a year before I saw a great improvement inmy chest. All I have left is a slight puffy nip on the right hand side . I lost fat from  my feet , face, arms legs before it went from my stomach and chest to a huge degree . If I were you I would get to my goal weight and add in some weight training and then have another think .

[intilt]

hummmmm
what do you wanna???
ask your girl friend.

[Bakajin]

My advice is to add some weights in now (not too heavy plenty of reps) as getting toned up may well help from looking at your chest.Circuit training is good to for burning fat. It may help with loose skin too.

circuit training (especially intense crossfit style training) is good for fat burning but it won't do anything for loose skin.  Everyone's body composition is different and that includes the skins ability to recover from damage.   Some people's skin will remain tight after weight loss or even recover slightly, but there is a limit to how much it can recover.  4 stone is only around 50 pounds so it would not be unusual for you not to have loose skin after your own weight loss.  However its far more common for someone who has dropped 100 pounds to have some degree of loose skin.  

[webster]

loose skin following weight loss?
read this:
http://www.bodyfatguide.com/LooseSkin.htm

this chap basically says if you loose enough weight and get your BF below 10% your skin will shrink to fit.

Comments anyone?

I have gone from 240 lbs to 185lbs (at 6'2") in the past 10 months and the skin on my chest and gut is a bit loose what fat is left is much softer than b4. Not really noticeable unless i'm leaning forward with muscles relaxed but I'm gonna try and get down to 160lbs to see if that article is right.
Webster.

[Bakajin]

its an interesting theory but that guys site looks more than a little dodgy.  He makes lots of claims but doesn't back any of them up with evidence or studies.  Snake oil salesman trying to sell training guides, books and videos are very common in the training world and you have to wary of people making big claims without evidence.

Furthermore his credibility looks doubtful due to his claims that women should try to get under 10% bodyfat.  Women naturally carry more body fat than a man of the same weight.   According to the American College of Sports Medicine the healthy body fat percentages for men and women are;

Men; low 6-10%, healthy 11-17%,  overweight 18-24%, obese 25+%

Women; low 14-18%, healthy 19-22%, overweight 23-30%, obese 31+%

Many high level male and female athletes and models have the low bodyfat range but its not healthy long term and dropping below those levels can be dangerous.  Women actually lose their periods at around 12-13%  and can develop serious bone problems such as osteoporosis.  Despite his claims elsewhere on his website (which again had no supporting evidence) these problems occur in women irrespective of whether they have healthy or unhealthy diets.  

seriously you have to wonder about a guy who thinks that a 5'8" 120lbs woman needs to lose 20 pounds of fat to shape up.  Even if she was at 20% bodyfat (likely to be lower at that height/weight) that would put her at 4%.  My girlfriend is an ex-model and is very slim at 5'3" yet weighs 4 pounds more than that and is about 15% BF.

[Bakajin]

I have gone from 240 lbs to 185lbs (at 6'2") in the past 10 months and the skin on my chest and gut is a bit loose what fat is left is much softer than b4. Not really noticeable unless i'm leaning forward with muscles relaxed but I'm gonna try and get down to 160lbs to see if that article is right.
Webster.

Like i said before, everyone's skin is different and reacts differently to weight loss. I've seen two fightres drop from 250~ to 190 and end up looking no different to anyone else of the same weightl.  However I've seen a lot more who lost the same amount of weight (sub 10% BF) and still have a fair amount of loose skin.  You'll know what I'm talking about if you've ever seen someone with a defined 6-pack when they stand up straight but also has a loose flabby gut that hangs over their pants.  Its a weird combo.

[intilt]

Normal
only flacid, need exercise. sure.
but you can ask you wife or girl friend.
will be the best opinion.
bye.