<<<<OMG These moobs>>>>>>>

Stormchaser123

They flop.
They bounce.
They dance.
They start much lower.
Some days they firm and some days they hang and when I say hang I mean like they are like empty udders over the bath. Like two empty ball bags.

It's literally affecting my mental health now!!! They were never this loose EVER.

2000 kcal. 164g protein min. Compound lifts full body A/B twice weekly. I also tried 2200 kcal and 200g - but that made me look puffy.

Man 6ft 50yo 201lbs, bad asthma. - lost 18lbs in 12 months - 190 workouts trillions of press ups and its still not enough.

Oh my god. Mortifying. Some times I wonder if we are better off being fat.

Are there any soothing words possible.

AnnPT77

I'm sorry you're feeling this way: I sympathize, though from an oblique angle. (I'm female, flat up top post-mastectomies.)

Do you feel that you still have some bodyfat to lose? At 6', 201, you're at 27.3 BMI, which theoretically would be around the middle of the overweight range. However, you don't clearly say how long you've been lifting (though the implication seems to be it would be just those 18 months?). Men who have higher muscle mass, but not bodybuilder level, can be at a healthy weight at BMI 27.3; and that's extra true if built skeletally in a broad way (wider shoulders, pelvic spacing, and that sort of thing) because a wider frame requires more muscle and other tissue to wrap it, requiring higher body weight.

My point is this: Different people carry their body fat in different places. It sounds like you carry some in your chest, and that it has somewhat depleted as you've lost weight, getting softer and maybe (apologies for this word) floppier.

Here's a thing that happens for a lot of people during weight loss (for sure did for me): As fat starts to deplete, but it isn't fully depleted yet, there's enough fat weight distributed in a given area that it conspires with gravity to keep skin in that area stretched. Those fat areas - for many people it's the belly - can become kind of like a water balloon partially full of water (no air), so floppy, when they used to be held firmer by the fat in that area.

Once enough fat depletes from an area like that, so that the gravitational effect is reduced, *then* the skin can *start* to shrink. The skin shrinkage itself then can be a slow process. My loose skin (various body areas) kept shrinking at least into year 2 of maintaining a healthy weight, and maybe beyond (gets hard to tell after a certain point).

A lot of us find we look worse part way to goal weight (in terms of loose skin or floppy areas) than we will at goal weight; and worse at goal weight than we'll look further down the road in maintenance. (I sure did.)

So, if you have more fat to lose, you may find that things improve, with persistence, time, and patience. I know that's frustrating, believe me.

I'm a great believer in a "love the body you're in" philosophy: The body can do amazing things, and there's no enjoying life without a body to do it in. However, if truly dissatisfied in profound ways well after reaching goal weight, surgical help is an option, though an expensive one. As someone who knows other women - other breast cancer survivors - who've had much more radical chest reconstruction, the visual results can be very, very good. Reduction surgery in a man would be much less intrusive than that, seem likely to have excellent outcomes.

TL; DR: If you have more fat to lose, you may still see major improvements as you do so, and after you give skin time to shrink in the first months of maintenance at goal. If still unhappy at that point, talk with your doctor.

Wishing you good outcomes, long-term!

goal06082021

Gynecomastia is a thing, you might try speaking with a doctor to figure out if that's what you have going on. If so, having that diagnosis can help with insurance covering treatment, whatever that ends up looking like for you. Sometimes cis men grow breasts, it's a thing that happens. Bodies is weird.

Stormchaser123

Soothing to read. And informative. And a little relieving. I did read here in earlier posts that it is a sign that fat is leaving your body. Thank you very much for such lengthy and helpful post.

Yes I think I have a belly and chest fat to lose and this could be the issue, it appears WORSE because they are literally a lot more visible than before. Where one "could" have fooled someone with it looking like a big chest, previously and in winter wearing a jumper, now in the heatwave, and we are going out again it is noticeable.

201 or 205 I think is a good weight for, so I suppose I have discovered what 200 looks like rather than 220 odd.

I have been 198 and I felt my neck began to look old and saggy, at 200 and over provided it is a good mass of muscle its can look like a nice "large dude" look.

Cheers Goal

I read that Gynecomastia manifests as "busom shapes" with "firmness" to them? i.e. almost like ladies busoms? I did go to the GP some years back when my chest was bigger and the fat was more dense, he did some squeezing and basically said ... it's fat.

Oh Ann yes I almost forgot.

I started again after a 2 year break during lockdown so yes 190 workouts full body compound since lockdown.
I trained on and off for many years but only recently learned about diet and taking it seriously.
The COPD or more likely AGE .... does somewhat mean my recovery can be slow... AND I am susceptible to viruses which take me away from training for 5-10 days at a time. I have to start again with my programmes after each illness.

One thing that is positive is that my lungs have never felt better.

Really appreciate the note back Ann.

AnnPT77

Stormchaser123 wrote: »

Soothing to read. And informative. And a little relieving. I did read here in earlier posts that it is a sign that fat is leaving your body. Thank you very much for such lengthy and helpful post.

Yes I think I have a belly and chest fat to lose and this could be the issue, it appears WORSE because they are literally a lot more visible than before. Where one "could" have fooled someone with it looking like a big chest, previously and in winter wearing a jumper, now in the heatwave, and we are going out again it is noticeable.

201 or 205 I think is a good weight for, so I suppose I have discovered what 200 looks like rather than 220 odd.

I have been 198 and I felt my neck began to look old and saggy, at 200 and over provided it is a good mass of muscle its can look like a nice "large dude" look.

Cheers Goal

I read that Gynecomastia manifests as "busom shapes" with "firmness" to them? i.e. almost like ladies busoms? I did go to the GP some years back when my chest was bigger and the fat was more dense, he did some squeezing and basically said ... it's fat.

Oh Ann yes I almost forgot.

I started again after a 2 year break during lockdown so yes 190 workouts full body compound since lockdown.
I trained on and off for many years but only recently learned about diet and taking it seriously.
The COPD or more likely AGE .... does somewhat mean my recovery can be slow... AND I am susceptible to viruses which take me away from training for 5-10 days at a time. I have to start again with my programmes after each illness.

One thing that is positive is that my lungs have never felt better.

Really appreciate the note back Ann.

I'll risk replying to this then, too. 😉

I'll take your word about your weight being appropriate. Personally, I wouldn't use the neck sagginess as a guide (and didn't, myself), because again, saggy skin can shrink with time. You might want to look at things like the "Navy body fat calculator" (available at various places on the web), or get a DEXA scan (the most reliable way to estimate body fat, but $$$), or evaluate yourself with things like waist to height ratios, as a cross check.

If you're 50, I doubt that age is a full explanation. I do find that now, at 65, detraining is faster than when I was younger, and recovery can be slower. Still, with some luck (when it comes to injuries/illnesses) gradual progress is possible, perhaps in a "two steps forward, one step back" fashion.

I, too, have COPD - though mine is very early - so I understand what you're saying about minor viruses turning into a bigger deal. For fitness progress, it's important to *keep going* as soon as viable, without resuming so aggressively that recovery (from illness or the exercise) is compromised, IME. Persistence, patience, consistency has a big impact.

I didn't start being regularly active until my mid-40s, after cancer diagnosis & treatment, the whole nine yards. I feel like I've come a long way in fitness, though admittedly my focus isn't muscle mass beyond useful strength - it's more like general fitness, especially on the cardiovascular side, and specific performance (I'm a rower). In that context of being a late starter, I found progress to be possible, as, with I said, patience and a view to the long term.

If you feel like you're at a good weight, maintaining and focusing on good nutrition plus a sound strength program may be a good route to gradually increase muscle mass at the expense of fat mass, while staying at a consistent weight (recomposition).

Hang in there, you can achieve some good improvements, I'm certain!

Stormchaser123

This is really good... I had no idea ... what a wonderful soul you are too.

brendog79

I know how you are feeling. I have severe gynecomastia and let myself get morbidly obese going from 206 lbs to 382. I got gyno from meds for mental illness. I thought having a big gut would deflect from my moobs and people would think I have them from being fat. I've lost 135 lbs in 10 months and its so frustrating that area hasn't really changed. Sadly I started wearing compression shirts everyday that I go out and I'm probably gonna have to save around $7500 for surgery.