Gynecomastia, better known as “moobs” or, man boobs, is an extremely common, non-malignant growth of glandular breast tissue in men, often causing embarrassment more than a medical complaint.
To be clear, even though from a medical standpoint gynecomastia only refers to growth of tissue, in fitness circles, people tend to loosely classify man boobs as any accumulation of fat around the pectoral region when this should not be the case.
If you have these man boobs, we know how frustrating it can be, which is why we have decided to investigate if any of these commonly advocated practices really about how to get rid of man boobs hold any weight.
Table of Contents
Exercise
Exercise is often touted as one of the best ways to get rid of man boobs since many people believe that reduction of fat mass in this area equates to resolution of gynecomastia.
While the suggestion is understandable, sadly exercise will not remedy gynecomastia that has already resulted in significant growth of breast tissue. Exercise will absolutely reduce fat mass, but even at extremely low body fat percentages, a person with man boobs will still clearly notice the presence of swollen tissue around this area.
Diet
Again, in a similar vein with exercise, diet is necessary for improving your body composition, helping to reduce overall body fat percentage, but will not get rid of man boobs. Check out our attempt using the oatmeal diet.
Even though many foods possess natural anti-estrogenic properties, the effect on mitigating already present man boobs is negligible.
What you should do, is up your consumption of the monounsaturated fats to support testosterone production, and reduce the risk of new glandular tissue growth.
Supplements
Supplements have been strongly marketed as a way of getting rid of man boobs, but most of them are absolutely bogus and do nothing to remedy the situation.
To quickly highlight what we mean, often men develop gynecomastia during puberty or following the use of certain medications or anabolic steroids that have a high estrogenic conversion rate.
However, estrogen is not the only hormone that is responsible for the development of man boobs. Prolactin also plays a role, and explains why using simple anti-estrogenic supplements of food do not remedy the situation.
Prolactin is a hormone that actively facilitates the growth of breast tissue, in preparation for childbearing. In men, prolactin is highly undesirable, as the number of applications it has is extremely limited.
Boys with a higher amount of body fat during puberty are much more likely to develop gynecomastia, as a greater amount of androgens are converted into estrogens.
Also, let’s not forget about the role progesterone plays in all of this, with higher levels of this hormone having been associated with suppressed production of the body’s most potent androgen, DHT.
What does this mean regarding supplement usage? They are downright ineffective when it comes to helping you get rid of man boobs.
The right ones can help prevent its occurrence, but if used too late won’t give you the effects you’re after.
Surgery
Last but not least, it’s time to address the elephant in the room. Without a doubt, the only proven way to get rid of man boobs once they are highly visible is to go under the knife.
While this may sound drastic to many persons, if they cause you frequent embarrassment, or you are an athlete involved in fitness competitions, they can become a necessary task to take your career to the next level.
The procedure generally involves removal of the overgrown glandular tissue, helping to remove the lumps and giving the impression of a normal male chest.
Of course, the choice whether to do this or not is absolutely subjective, so be sure to weigh the pros against the possible cons.
Summary
The best way to lose those unsightly man boobs? Don’t ever get them in the first place. If you developed yours as an adult, there is a high likelihood that it could have been avoided with healthy lifestyle choices.
This entails weightlifting, keeping your body fat levels low, supporting normal testosterone production and keeping estrogen levels under control. In the case of running an AAS (anabolic and androgenic steroid) cycle, be sure to implement anti-estrogen therapy both during and after usage.
Other than that, surgery is the only guaranteed way to get rid of them permanently – though recurrence is possible if you’re not careful.
Don’t waste your money on supplements that claim to get rid of them – they will only disappoint you and leave a deep hole in your pocket.