Unsure About Surgery

[IndyGuy]

Hello all,

I've been wrestling with body issues since before puberty, when I put on a lot of weight. I was certainly obese, but manged to lose about 70 pounds in high school. However, I remained *very* flabby.

Underneath it was a lot of muscle, and I found that when I got down to 150 pounds, I could see bones when I sucked my gut in. But I still looked like I weighed a lot. I'm heavier now thanks to a desk job, and I really want to feel better about myself. These pictures (sorry they're out of focus- time for a new camera) are showing how I currently look. You can see how I'm able to grab and pull all of this stuff, and how it looks like quite a bit of fat, especially when sitting down. You can even see the red marks from where my chest rolls over itself.
















To say the least, it's embarrassing to have all this flab when I've done dieting and exercising. No matter how much weight I gain or lose, I still look like this. It was so depressing to weigh 150 and still need to wear baggy clothing or dark colors constantly.

So, my questions are: What is this? Fat? Is it loose skin? Gynecomastia? How should I best go about getting rid of it? If I need surgery, who is best qualified/recommended for this particular situation? I don't have unlimited funds, but several thousand isn't going to hurt me, especially if I'll finally be happy with my body.


Thank you for taking the time to read and view, and for any help you can give.

[**Gynefor**]

BUT all that being said and done, you ought to also get a consultation with an experienced plastic surgeon. Consultations are typically free. You may have some gyne going on there - but it's hard to say.

I totally agree with that.

[outertrial]

I would say your body fat is too high to make any assumptions about atypical breast growth at this stage.

[anon643]

how much do you weigh now, did your chest shrink at all with weight loss? My gyne looks similar to yours but i'm 5'7 236 right now. I think i'm gonna start doing incline bench press to see if it helps as i continue to lose fat.

[gettingrid]

its hard to tell if it is real gyne or just fat. A PS may be able to tell. Were you ever at a normal weight and did you have it that time?

In any case, lipo or excision can only help to some extent and is not a weight loss technique. The most lipo can safely remove is around 7-8 lbs. I would suggest you get down to a BMI close to 25 then evaluate yourself. If you are lucky and it was fat u shd see a difference. If not, u can get a surgery then and ur results will be much better if you are thinner.

Except for picture no. 1, the rest look somewhat like mine when I was 247 lbs and look mostly fat. Pic 1 nipples look slightly puffed.
Try the weight loss first. u anyway need to get in overall shape even if u need the surgery eventually. Cardio is imp and try to create a calorie deficit of around 1000 calories per day.

[IndyGuy]

how much do you weigh now, did your chest shrink at all with weight loss? My gyne looks similar to yours but i'm 5'7 236 right now. I think i'm gonna start doing incline bench press to see if it helps as i continue to lose fat.

I weigh 180 right now, which is when those pictures were taken. And no, my chest stayed the same, even at 150. Pretty much all of that stayed the same, I just "weighed" less. It was very aggravating.

Since the consensus seems to be fat, I'll just exercise and diet again. Maybe I'll get it right this time. I'd hate to just fill it all up with muscles, since I really, really don't want to look like that. I'd rather be trim.

Still, thanks for everyone's input.

[mgrady]

Dude go to a specialist(endocrinologist) or a plastic surgeon that's done gyne several times to get their word on it, it is really hard to tell. Don't go on a crazy diet before you get a word from a professional, maybe it is gyne & u'll save urself months of dieting!!!