Embarrasing Question for Me

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Insomnia

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I just turned 16 and I have had it with these man boobs.
Im probably over 215, im 5'11, and I do not constantly feed or snack on food.

I am really optimistic and i have a low self esteem so going to a gym to work out is not a good thing for me. I don't mind fitness class at my school, I am taking leadership class so hopefully that will help a little. I have a pool but no weights or training equipment. i have had these man breasts for too long. My main thing is that i am afraid if I do lose weight, the breasts wont go away or it will be more noticeable. What are some things (pushups, chinups) I should do?
 
Hey dude, you sound like me a year ago! Seriously, its nothing to be embarrassed about. If theres one thing I can go back and change, it would be have a better attitude toward my own self image. This forum pounded that idea into my head. I still have them, and yes, I would like them to go away, the problem is, I got too much fat, and I have to lose much fat for them to go away. We both gotta have the patience for this issue. The only thing you CAN do is workout and keep ur chin up. I doubt they will get bigger if you workout, they will get bigger if you eat more than you need(above your MT line). I've had days where I don't think I'm too fat to days where I think all people are doing is staring at my chest. Trust me, from a person with experience, don't dwell on the fact that you have them, its not the end of the world. Keep looking around the forum and stickies especially. Ask me what you'd like and others, we will help all we can :)
Here's my pics:http://training.fitness.com/photo-gallery/aim-s-progress-pics-2-a-33168.html
 
You need not be embarrassed about being fat. However if you feel too shy to go to the gym then you will be the loser. In the gym everybody minds their own business and you will find people just as fat if not fatter than you are. I know exactly what you mean when you say you have low self-esteem, don't use food to comfort you.
 
While there may be some hormonal reasons for ' man boobs ', I'd say for most normal ( otherwise healthy ) guys, the most likely reason for ' man boobs ' stems from having excess fat in the chest area. That, and ( to a lesser extent ) possibly some muscle growth issues in the chest area- i.e genetics.

To try and help you reduce your ' man boobs ', you probably want to drop some fat and the key to fat loss is to focus on the total calories you use throughout the day. That said, at 5' 11" and 215 I'd guess you're probably somewhere around 22% body fat - where 15% +/-is considered a healthy normal body fat - so you shouldn't have a lot of fat to lose compared to some people.

Over time, you lose body fat ( i.e " weight " ) by simply using more calories than you consume - in other words, you have to create a ' calorie deficit '.

And, to create that ' calorie deficit ' you can simply try to reduce your caloric intake, increase the calories you burn by being more active in general, increase the calories you burn by engaging in some sort of cardio, increase the calories you burn by engaging in some sort of resistance training ( which may also help develop some chest muscle :) )............and / or some combination of all 4.

That's all you need to do.......it doesn't get any more complicated than that.:)
 
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First off, you can't "spot" reduce fat. If you lose fat, it will be overall fat lost in all area of the body.

With that said, it's hard to say. If you notice your chest has the most fat, then it will probably go the last.

Some good exercises to do at home:
Swim, Run, Bike, Walk

Pull ups, situps, push ups, flutter kicks, squats, lunge, etc.
 
Hey

Best advice I can give is a repeat of whats already been given.

I'm 208lb 5'11 and have just started gym, I was paranoid at first, yes there are some very fit people there but there are also people with a lot further to go that what I have and good luck to them coz I feel challanged enough myself.

You need to concentrate on your diet as priority (look for the weight loss stickies in this forum which contain the info and calorie calcs) on top of this start the gym or if your really not ready just find a big field or something you can run around 3 times a week.

As well as this look for some full body workouts, again easier at the gym but there are some exercises using body weight you can use. If you gonna lose the fat you want to look good underneath :)

Don't expect miracle results, they take time, lots of time. Think how long it took to put the weight on and if you can get rid of it in that time your doing well.

Good Luck
 
First I would go to the doctor, get checked out make sure everything is ok. Next I would watch your calories, eat a balanced diet of claen protein (egg whites, chicken, fish) and clean carbs (non processed, low sugar, low sodium), and a little healthy fat (avacod., flax seed, raw almonds) and TONS of water. 80% of weight loss is DIET. The get moven. You have to burn more then you consume to burn fat. You have to burn 3500 calories just to burn off 1 lb of fat-sounds hard but it's not. It's just puts into perspective how many calories you may be putting in your mouth.

Cardio: Run, walk, swim (burns fat)

Resistance: push ups, pull ups, squats and lunges. I would do that every other day 3 sets of high reps (25+). if you nees resistance get some resistance band at the store.(build muscle to increase you resting metaolic, burn more fat!)

Once you are confident enough go to the gym...do not be afraid of the other people. Almost everyone is there for same reasons, and that is health and fitness.

Good luck!
 
so december 06 i weighed 205 at 5'10
december 07 i weighed 155 at 5'10

I'm 16 now
This is the time to lose the weight because it'll be the easiest while we're teens.
All I did was have a caloric deficit and lift 3 times a week. I you don't like to run (and I only assume you don't because when i weighed about as much as you did I dind't like to run) that's fine, because YOU DONT NEED TO. Lift, and eat a deficit. REad the nutrition 101 sticky in the nutrition forum, that's how you determine BMR and caloric deficit. Always round down, that way you know you'll have a deficit.
 
Hey Insomnia. The fact you have a pool. In my opinion swimming is one of the best exercises you can do to lose fat. If i were you i would swim 3-4 times a week and do HIIT for the other days. HIIT is basically sprinting for around 60-90 seconds and then slowing down to a walk before sprinting again. You can also by a jump rope and skip in your garden until exhaustion.

Also it doesn't matter if you don't have weights, you main priority is to lose weight and not gain muscle mass, therefore you don't technically need weights. Reducing your fat should rid you of those "moobs".

But if you must do weights try using jugs of water, a book bag filled with stones etc, be creative :) Although i would join a gym if i were you. I'm kind of in the same boat as you being overweight and shy, and i didn't want to join the gym but when i did i found the people there were:

1. Not bothered and just wanted to work themselves
2. Helpful, giving me tips and advice were they saw fit or
3. Even bigger than i was.

Good Luck in whatever you do :)
 
I recommend doing a combination of exercises targeted for your pecs and some form of cardio, ie running, biking, etc.

My favourite pec exercise? Pushups. To focus the exercise on your pecs, make a diamond shape with your hands (so the thumb and index finger are touching). Start on your knees and move to your feet as your strength progresses.

Things to watch out for:
1. Your elbows need to bend. Your shoulder blades shouldn't be crunching together to get you closer to the floor. You need a wide space between the shoulders.

2. Don't drop your head and look at the floor. Keep your neck and head in line with the rest of your body.

3. Don't drop your lower back towards the floor, or stick your butt up in the air. Make sure your whole body is a long straight line.

Working out beside a mirror will help you check your form.

Start by doing 3 sets of 3 pushups, then 3 sets of 5, then 5 sets of 5... etc. After, do your cardio.

Pushups are great because they also tone your core muscles, abs, and back. Want to get your legs involved too? Try doing them on only one leg and feel your glutes working to hold the other one up in the air.
 
hey man, don't be embarressed. To be able to lose weight, you have to mentally know you will be able to do it. Secondly, read around the stickies here for weight lifting and dieting(dieting being the absolutely the most important thing). Oh, and don't be shy about going to the gym man. Trust me, i've seen the weirdest things done in gyms and i'm sure people have thought some of the things i do are weird. Just remember, this isen't for them, it's for you.
Good luck buddy. Oh yeah, it might help to keep a log. We have one on this site and people will help you out/congradulate you on your progress.
 
Pilates Core said:
You don't!

You already have pecs. They're the muscles under your "man boobs". By toning them up and cutting down the fat on top of them, you can sculpt your chest down to a size you'd like it to be.
Click to expand...

Thanks mate. Thats what I meant :)I hear if you lift heavy weights the peck muscle increases in size and makes your moobs look fatter as the muscle pushes through. Is this correct?
 
The only thing I would add, and this is only in a small minority of cases, man-boobs could actually be gynecomastia rather than just 'fat'.

Gynecomastia, or gynaecomastia, pronounced /ˌgaɪnəkoʊˈmæstiə/ is the development of abnormally large mammary glands in males resulting in breast enlargement ...

A friend of mine a few years back tried like hell to get rid of his 'moobs' and despite shifting a hell of a lot of weight, plenty of cardio, and then bulking up they wouldn't shift. He read about gynecomastia in a men's magazine and saw his doc (who wasn't too helpful). Eventually he had surgery to remove the tissue - not sure whether this was through his doc or whether he saw a surgeon privately.

Some more info:
 
Hi and welcome to the forum!

You could not have found a better place for help!

;)

Having said that though I encourage you to check everything that has been presented to you here with a professional in order to make sure it is appropriate for you.

I was like you at your age...until recently I found out that the best thing you could do for yourself is to exercise your WHOLE body. Not just the pecks but every darn muscles that you got! Doing this while having a clean diet will get rid of these man boobs you refer to.

Also, if you have low self esteem, then I encourage you to go to the gym and desensitize yourself to this. You might think that you will find a bunch of ego-inflated iron-pumping goons in there, but it isn't the case. Everyone is there to work. *IF* someone is trying to ridicule you in anyway, ignore them and keep working, you will have the last laugh my friend, while they are laughing their butts off you will be walking the walk and getting closer to your goals and that's what it's all about.

If you want a little direction, here it is:

- Introduce yourself to proper nutrition.
- Introduce yourself to proper workout program development.
- Grab the above, use it and reap what you sow.

PM me if you need some more help man!

Good luck! :D

Eric
 
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