I need some fast and hard advice on this, because I got scheduled for surgery tomorrow. If I want to I can call the doctor and reschedule, but I'm pretty set on doing this.

From puberty onwards I've always had disproportionately large moobs for my size. My stats are

6'1"
176 lbs.
BF: 22-25

To give you an idea, my moobs are as big as people with BMR into the thirties. They stand out about 3-4 cms from my chest when sitting down, they're visible through clothing and of course very embarrassing, make me self-conscious et.c. After reading some threads here I found out about gynecomastia and how some people have glands that need to be surgically removed. That made me pay a visit to a plastic surgeon here in Taiwan yesterday.

After doing an ultrasonic on my chest region, the doctor concluded that there was no gland that needed to be removed; the moobs were adipose and white tissue. I asked her whether or not it was possible to get rid of them through exercise and dieting, she responded that it wasn't all that likely. However, cutting (the knifeless, fatburning kind) is not her field of expertise and she had a surgery to sell.

I got some sleep and thought long and hard about this. The surgery is three times cheaper than it would be back home in Norway. My girlfriend tells me the surgeon is reputable and has done work on the wives of government officials, et.c. I think the result would be decent at the very least.

On the other hand, there are some complications. The surgery still costs around $2000, it will leave a scar in the nipple region and it will take six weeks for the results to appear completely, one of which I can't train.

I also feel that I haven't really done all I can to get rid of the fat through dieting, and that if I did so the results would be better. However, the moobs have been a huge psychological drain on me for a long time (anyone who has them knows this), they make me ashamed of going to the gym, make me depressed, make me overeat and less likely to socialize. They're both the cause and a result of my condition, if you understand what I'm saying.

What's your take on this? Yay or nay?

First, there's no substitute for the advice from a competent doctor - any of our opinions here will be secondary at best.

That said, here are my (medically unqualified) thoughts.

a) If it's adipose tissue (=body fat), it's not gyno. Thus there is no advantage in hurrying treatment (if any). Ordinary body fat, which is what your doc says you have, doesn't become a worse and worse permanent problem in the way that gyno might.

b) Your doctor's statement that it probably can't be reduced by diet and exercise is grossly in conflict with the most widely accepted understanding. If you reduce calories and/or increase activity to make a calorie deficit, you will lose weight and body fat. Now, you can't (by any normal method) influence which parts of your body the fat comes off most or least, but you will lose body fat overall. Sooner or later, that will include chest fat.

c) At your current overall body fat percentage, it's not unusual for one part of your body to seem like it's got a frightful amount of fat. This is simply because we all have a particular body fat distribution. Some people store more fat around their navel, some on their chest, etc. The more fat you have overall, the more chance there is of your "awkward" body area being noticeably over-fat. In your case it just happens to be the chest. Someone else with the exact same stats as you might have a noticeably fat belly, or fat arse. If you reduce your body fat by a reasonable amount by diet and exercise, you'll reach a point where your chest will become leaner.

Truth be told I'd be happier paying 3 times the price in a developed country than $2000 in Taiwan, particularly if this surgeon hasn't done this particular procedure before. I think you want someone reputable who has carried out this procedure before for a start, particularly in terms of keeping the scarring to a minimum.


And with any surgery there's the risk of infection and also a risk with the anaesthetic side of it. For that reason I'd also be a bit concerned about having surgery in Taiwan.


And your body fat does sound fairly high, what is your waist size ? You could maybe get rid of this problem by reducing overall body fat. However if it's depressing the hell out of you maybe surgery is the best bet cos it could take many months of determined dieting to get the bodyfat low enough to get rid of the problem. Am not sure about surgery in Taiwan though.

First, there's no substitute for the advice from a competent doctor - any of our opinions here will be secondary at best.
The more doctors I come across, the less I'm inclined to agree with that. They know their field much better than most us, but sometimes they are wrong, and sometimes they know less about a particular field than "hobbyists".

IMO, you should not get this surgery and the reason I say it is because your bodyfat is 22-25 %. Do you have any idea what your pec size would be if your BF was more like 10-12%? I personally hold fat around my belly and pecs. I've had people call me "bitch tits" before, but when I get my bodyfat low, like 10% or less, I have no meaningful fat anywhere, and the result of my chest size is simply chest muscle. You may disproportionately hold fat in your pecs and it sounds like you do. I'd be grossly hesitant getting surgery to remove something like this until your bodyfat is lower. Very, very, very hesitant.

Dare I say that the vast majority of guys with "gyno" simply need to lose fat? I've seen only a very few cases in which a guy is very lean but otherwise has big he-tits and in generally it's the result of having lost a lot of weight and a lot of extra skin hanging around.However if it's depressing the hell out of you maybe surgery is the best bet cos it could take many months of determined dieting to get the bodyfat low enough to get rid of the problem.Months of determined anything, if it has an effect equal to or superior to surgery, would always be time well spent. Surgery can always have complications, including anesthetic, as you mentioned, not to mention the $2G cost.

It's your body, but personally, I would much rather try to work it off before going under the knife. You may find out after leaning out that they make you're chest look even manlier after getting down to a nice 10%ish bodyfat - meaning you may get the pleasure of having big pec's purely thanks to genetics even when being lean. chicks might not dig moobs, but all the ones I know certainly dig nice pecs. On top of this, you don't have to worry about any issues during or because of surgery.

And if not, well then you can still consider the option of surgery, because that option is always there.

I can't really comment on the psychological issues you may have because of the moobs other than trying to urge you to get past the fact that they hold you back from going to the gym. If you need peace of mind, I think fellow gym patrons would at the very least be sympathetic to "why" you are in the gym and impressed after your transformation if you can dedicate yourself to overcoming da moobz.

:gl:

If you are truly at 22-25% BF and 176 lbs, then you would need to lose roughly 25 - 30 lbs of fat to get to 10%.

Think about that for a minute.

Losing that much fat would undoubtedly make a HUGE difference in the way any part of your body looks.

Plus, if you have what essentially amounts to liposuction to remove fat from your chest but are still genetically predisposed to deposit fat in that area, there is no guarantee you won't grow the moobs back unless you change your lifestyle. Changing, not coincidentally, might very well eliminate the moobs without surgery.

My advice would be to, at the very least, postpone the procedure. Major surgery simply isn't something to rush into, especially if you aren't certain it is the right thing to do.

Good luck.

Thanks for all your replies. I was way too rash in making this decision, I'll call the doctor's office and tell them I need some time to contemplate this and that I will get in touch with them if I reconsider.

I'll work harder in the gym and be more careful with my diet instead. Hopefully I'll see some results this year.