Ive been a big boy my whole life.. I took these tonight. Im 5'9-5'10, and weigh 215. I played football in highschool, and weighed about the same, but was in much better shape, although ive had boobs as long as i can remember. I was pretty big on working out, with benching being a big workout, 325 was my max. I also did incline and decline as well ad flys to try to get rid of my chest.Even as a kid i had them, w/o being a very large kid. I weighed about 250 4 months ago, but the size of my chest hasnt really shrunk.
My chest has always been a huge problem for me, and it really affect my confidence.. I just wanna know if this is a weight issue, im very athletic even now can out run most kids my age who are smaller.
Congratulations on the weight loss!
A
BMI Calculator (Body Mass Index) can help to a certain degree, but Body Mass Index does not take into account muscle mass vs. fat.
Body Fat Analyzers can help define that issue.
Rate My Gynecomastia - is a frequent question.[/b]
Unfortunately, it can be difficult to distinguish just what is causing the problem. Gynecomastia male breasts can be fat, gland, or most commonly a combination of both. Sometimes skin and sagging tissues can be a factor.
Pseudo Gynecomastia (Pseudogynecomastia) is supposed to be fat only gynecomastia. The problem with that "classification" is that in almost every case of gynecomastia I have seen there is some component of gland. This gland can be very small, but it is present almost all the time. All mammals have gland, that includes both men and woman. So do you have Pseudo gynecomastia when there is a 1%, 10%, 50%, or 90% deformity from fat? Reality just does not work that way.
Defining the problem with photographs sometimes can help.
However, it is impossible to tell from photographs if the deformity is from fat or gland. The dynamic images,
of my standard set of images can show a region that compresses differently. Even clinical examination differentiation can be difficult.
Fat tends to be soft, gland tends to be firm. Fingers of gland often dissect between fingers of fat. Look at this
drawing and move your mouse over the arrows. However, gland can be soft and fat firm confusing the picture. Gland tends to be located under the nipple and pinching pressure can sometimes tether to the nipple pulling it in.
Men with excessive fat do tend to have certain contour issues. Check out this
link about Sumo Wrestlers. Men tend to carry excessive weight in their chest and stomach.
Losing weight first, to something you are comfortable with and can maintain is typically a much better option. Weight loss is a coarse tool. Unfortunately, you cannot pick where weight comes from - nor can you pick where weight goes back on to. Gland that contributes to the breast shape is not helped with weight loss. Fingers of fat in the gland can become smaller, but the contour problem from gland does not go away.
After losing weight plastic surgery can help with localized fat, gland, and extra skin. After surgery remaining fat cells can put on more weight.
Hope this helps,
Michael Bermant, MD
Learn More About Gynecomastia and Chest Surgery