Gynecomastia commonly referred to as “Man boobs” can be an embarrassing problem for men.

Excessive chest fat can be caused by a number of things which we will touch on in this post.

We will also cover ways you can reduce male breast growth and even get rid of man boobs.

Male breast growth can be inconvenient to endure or cover up, but there are forms of male breast reduction and ways to keep male breasts from being obvious.

First, what are man boobs, really?

We’ve all heard of them. But many of us don’t understand what they really are. Can men actually have real breasts?

It turns out that male breasts ARE real.

What Causes Man Boobs?

There are two entirely different types of male breast growth caused by two separate, but sometimes related, events in a man’s body.

The most common type of man boobs consists almost entirely of chest fat. This type of male breast growth occurs in overweight men. It’s caused by the same thing that causes a man’s “spare tire” and “love handles.” These male breasts are simply made of excess body fat. Just like a man’s belly can get large if he gets fat, his chest can get large, too. The fatter he gets, the more chest fat he gets, and the bigger his man boobs will get.

Man boobs made of chest fat don’t usually look much like female breasts. They don’t have the same type of “curve” to them. They just kind of hang there looking like extensions of excess fat found around the chest area.

A less common type of male breast growth comes from a condition called “gynecomastia.”

Gynecomastia Occurs When A Man Begins To Grow True Breasts Complete With Breast Tissue

This happens when a man is exposed to excess feminizing hormones or a less masculine hormone balance in his body. For example, if a man ingests or is exposed to estrogen-like chemicals, this may throw off his hormone balance and cause his body to react by becoming more feminine. Usually, his breast growth is accompanied by loss of body hair and a generally “rounding out” of his body.

Here are some examples of substances that may contain estrogen-like chemicals:

• pesticides
• contaminated drinking water
• soy-based products
• dairy products
• meats that come from animals that were injected with hormones
• foods that were cooked in plastic or stored in plastic
• certain hormone supplements
• certain medicines

Sometimes gynecomastia (“real” man boobs) can be caused by an excess of REAL estrogen in a man’s body. Here are a few examples of what can cause a man’s body to make too much estrogen:

• excess body fat
• poor circulation due to cigarette smoking or lack of exercise
• excess stress

Male breasts caused by gynecomastia contain “real” excess breast tissue, not just fat.

These male breasts also LOOK more like female breasts than man boobs that consist only of chest fat. They have a more genuinely feminine shape. They’re more prominent and accentuated that “chest fat” man boobs, standing out from surrounding body fat and muscle. They also tend to hang differently than “chest fat” man boobs.

How To Get Rid Of Man Boobs

How to get rid of man boobs depends on how you got them in the first place.

If they’re strictly made of chest fat, then you can completely get rid of them the way you can get rid of ALL of your excess body fat.

Start by working out and eating a sensible diet. If you’re like most men, that will not only cause male breast reduction (or male breast elimination), but it will also do wonders for your health. You’ll look better and you’ll feel better.

Burning body fat can be tough, at first.

Don’t start out thinking that there’s one simple, easy way to lose weight and keep it off. Fad diets don’t work over the long term.

And changing your diet won’t work nearly as well as a good diet combined with good, regular workouts. If you’re serious about getting in shape to get rid of your male breasts, then here are a few “shortcut” tips to help you:

Eat breakfast as soon as you wake up every day. Eating in the morning turns up your metabolism.

Stay away from anything sweet (doughnuts, pastries, jams, sugared cereals). Instead, try eating eggs, meats, and vegetables.

Calm yourself before eating. Taking a few slow, deep breaths (with a prayer, if you like) will help. Stress during meals helps your body turn food into body fat.

Eat fiber, fiber, and more fiber. Fiber does diet wonders. Get as much fiber as you can with each meal. Eat whole grains, beans, nuts, seeds, raw fruits, or lightly cooked veggies with EVERY meal.

Redefine snacking. It’s okay to snack as much as you want if you do it right. Fiber, again, is the key. Nuts, seeds, and raw fruits and vegetables make great snacks and are loaded with fiber.

Think about what you’re eating. If it’s close to what you’d find in nature, then you should probably eat it. Examples of “natural” foods are steaks, roasted peanuts, kidney beans, raw bananas, and broccoli. But if it’s been processed all to heck and back, then you should probably find something else to eat. Examples of too-processed foods include bologna, canned creamed soups, instant mashed potatoes, crackers, and most bread.

Concentrate on what is GOOD for you. And then eat as much of it as you can. That’s a much better strategy than trying to avoid stuff that’s bad for you.

For a fast way to lose weight think about doing a 10 day weight loss cleanse.

Keep in mind that these tips will only work as long as you use them. Once you stop using them, you’ll almost certainly balloon back up to your previous weight, regaining your body fat- and your chest fat. So make these permanent lifestyle changes.

Even if you have “real” male breast growth from gynecomastia, though, don’t despair! Reducing your body fat can make them look MUCH smaller. An added bonus is that working out will make you look more muscular and manly and probably boost your self-esteem so you won’t be so concerned about your man boobs.

In fact, some men who shape up for male breast reduction eventually find themselves happier than they’ve ever been with their bodies. In fact, their male breasts may become so small that they’re easy to cover up with a crisp white collar shirt, polo shirt, or suit jacket. Disguised this way, they may simply make it look like a man has large chest muscles or wide shoulders.

Exercises To Get Rid Of Chest Fat

ANY exercise gets rid of chest fat.

That’s because any exercise you do, regardless of which muscles you’re working, reduces body fat over your ENTIRE BODY.

In other words, when you work your chest muscles, you burn fat all over your whole body at once, not just your chest fat. So if you want to reduce chest fat, then you can work out any muscles you want to. You’ll reduce your body fat all over. And (eventually) you’ll reduce it so much that your man boobs will be noticeably smaller.

Some men with gynecomastia like to work out their chest muscles, though, because it makes their chest muscles larger and gives their chest a manlier look.

That’s okay, too. On the other hand, building up the chest muscles underneath male breasts may actually make the male breasts appear LARGER.

In general, you’ll want to include strength training in your workout routine. The bigger your muscles are (anywhere on your body), the more fat they burn- even when you’re not working out.

So add resistance (through free weights, weight machines, or resistance bands, for example) to bulk up your muscles and burn off fat faster.

If you practically eliminate all of your excess body fat and you still have large breasts (for a man), then you may have gynecomastia.

Men who have “real” male breasts (gynecomastia) have a tougher time getting rid of their man boobs because the breasts aren’t just made up of fat; they’re made up of breast tissue, too. And no amount of exercise or dieting will get rid of breast tissue.

So if you’ve gotten rid of your excess body fat and your breasts are still large, then you probably have gynecomastia.

Go to a health care provider to make sure. Once you’re sure, the first thing to do, of course, will be to stop whatever’s causing the problem.

So get your hormones balanced. Work with your health care practitioner to check your hormone levels. Have your doctor balance your hormones, if necessary, using bioidentical hormones.

And stay away from sources of artificial estrogens if you can. In other words, stop eating soy altogether. Switch to organic dairy products and meats (if you eat dairy and meat products). Use a good filter for your drinking water to filter out contaminants. And if your female lover uses cream hormone supplements, make sure she showers and washes them off before you make love.

Once you’ve stopped the source of the problem (hormone imbalance) and you’ve reduced your body fat, if you still have noticeably large breasts, you have three choices:

1. Ignore them. (This is a viable option for many men. They may not be as noticeable as you think, especially after you reduce your body fat.)
2. Wear a male bra.
3. Get male breast reduction surgery.

Pros And Cons Of Wearing A Male Bra

Pros:

• It’s cheap compared to surgery.
• It doesn’t require you to take time off work.
• It’s not nearly as painful as surgery.
• It may reduce the apparent size of the breasts
• It may provide support for the breasts to keep them from hurting or to reduce back pain caused by especially large breasts
• It may keep the nipples from rubbing against the shirt and feeling tender

Cons:

• Bras can be just as uncomfortable for men as they are for women.
• A bra may be able to make your breasts LESS noticeable, but it won’t make them disappear altogether.
• Even “inconspicuous” male bras will be evident under thin shirts, light-colored shirts, or tight shirts.
• You won’t have the option of running around without your shirt off.
• Some people may tease you even worse if they notice you own or wear a bra than if they just noticed your man boobs.
• Male bras can be difficult to find.
• Because you may have to buy a male bra through mail order rather than in person, it may be difficult to get a good fit.
• If you wear a male bra, some people may assume (perhaps mistakenly) that you are gay or bisexual or are a transvestite.

Male Breast Reduction Surgery

Before you have male breast reduction surgery, carefully consider both its positive and negative aspects.

Pros:

• Definitely, reduces the size of male breasts when all else fails.
• The ONLY way to reduce breast tissue once it has formed.

Cons:

• There will be some pain after surgery during healing.
• There will probably be some lasting scars on or around the nipples.
• In most cases, breast reduction surgery still leaves breasts that are big enough to notice.
• Breast reduction surgery can be very expensive.
• As with any surgery, there is a chance of infections or complications.

Supplements That Claim To Cure Man Boobs Are A Scam

Unfortunately, reducing body fat and having surgery is currently the only legitimate ways to get rid of man boobs caused by gynecomastia.

Be wary of any “natural supplement” that promises male breast reduction. If your man boobs all either all fat or part fat, then anything that reduces your body fat overall will cause male breast reduction.

But if you have gynecomastia (“real” male breasts which contain real breast tissue), then taking herbs won’t make that breast tissue go away.

Unfortunately, many men feel so desperate to achieve male breast reduction that they try these “supplements.”

I’ve heard SO MANY stories on the Internet about guys who wasted their time and money trying to take something (pills, powders, etc) to get rid of their breasts. Of course, they want an instant cure. But there just isn’t any instant, easy solution for man boobs.

The best thing to do, of course, is NOT get male breasts in the first place. Exercise. Eat healthy foods. Control your stress levels. Meditate. Heck, it’s gotta be better than growing male breasts, right?

But if you’ve already got them, then try getting in shape first. And if you still have them after that, then surgery is an option.