Men love boobs, but not when they are on their own body. It sucks to have man boobs, moobs, or whatever you want to call them.
Moobies plague many men and it's time to put those sweater puppies to rest with some simple tips and lifestyle changes. There are a couple of reasons that moobs appear; because you have some excess fat, or you have gynecomastia.
Gynecomastia mostly occurs when your estrogen to testosterone ratio is out of whack. Hormonal imbalances in your teen years can cause them when you are young, but your body will regulate and eventually even out.
Older men, however, need to go to their doctor to get some lab tests and a detailed evaluation.
Gynecomastia can also be caused due to certain medications, health conditions, or steroid abuse. Diseases in your liver, a pituitary tumor, or cancer can also cause gynecomastia.
Most cases of man boobs are due to excess fat and are curable by eating right and exercising.
5 chest exercises for better size and shape.
Get Rid of Your Man Boobs Now
Following consistently following these tips and creating a better lifestyle will melt the moobs away.
#1 - Eat Healthier
The years of eating donuts and Oreos are finally catching up with you. This doesn't mean you have to completely stop eating these foods, but you need to implement an 80/20 rule.
What's an 80/20 rule?
Something that's worked out well for me and many others is making sure 80% of our food comes from nutritious sources. You know, those fresh cooked nutritious foods.
So instead of 80% junk processed foods and 20% semi-healthy foods, learn how to cook and start preparing your own meals.
What should you eat?
Think about the perimeter of the grocery store. You have fruits, veggies, fresh meats, and seafood. Your TV dinners and six pack of brewskis aren't on the perimeter, are they?
Dietary changes are necessary to get rid of these man lumps. How bad do you want to get rid of them?
#2 - Lift Weights
Lifting weights yield a few benefits to losing moobies; you get stronger, you start building a body worth looking at, and the hormonal release from lifting all play a role.
Lifting weights is fun, challenging, and helps you create a better mindset for life outside of the gym. You'll learn how to track progress, make small changes when needed, and achieve goals.
No, building muscle under fat doesn't make you look like a balloon animal, it actually does help. The more muscle you have, the stronger you are, the more calories your body naturally burns, and the better you feel about yourself.
Find a workout plan that has a wide variety of quality exercises, sell out to it, and get rid of the moobs.
#3 - Fix Your Posture
The more weight I lose, the more I notice how bad my posture is. Believe it or not, the posture you hold will determine the type of hormonal response your body has.
Power poses such as taking up more room, hands on hips, or an overall "alpha male" type stance releases testosterone and gives your body an overall better look. Passive poses such as folding your arms and taking up less space will trigger a different hormonal response.
Working behind a computer all day, or hunched over some equipment causes our shoulders to slouch, our overall body looks bad, and makes the man boobs seem much worse. What's worse, our hip muscles tighten and our belly looks bigger as well.
Throughout the day, remind yourself to sit up straight, pull your shoulders back, and maintain a decent posture. Your body may start to ache, and that's okay. You are starting to use antagonistic muscles to hold your posture, similar to a paused rep... they are always under pressure.
Some simple stretches and shoulder dislocations to stretch your chest, hip flexors, and quads will make it easier to maintain proper posture.
#4 - Make Better Life Decisions
Making better overall life decisions will affect your body more than simply hitting the weights. Any drugs, alcohol, or other substances that affect the way our bodies produce hormones can have an adverse effect on those sweater puppies.
In fact, according to some studies, drinking alcohol can increase estrogen production in the body. Since your liver plays a role in reducing estrogen from the body, it can't do its job since it is processing alcohol.
While I'm not saying stop drinking, I am letting you know that those weekly (or daily) benders you have at night are not doing anything in reducing the man boobs. In fact, it's probably making them bigger.
#5 - Avoid Junk Food
If you take my advice and start utilizing an 80/20 rule with your foods, this particular section won't apply to you. Avoiding the processed junk foods, meals in a box, frozen TV dinners, and everything that is bad for you to eat is important.
Your body has a hard time processing it, you will never lose weight if you don't cut down on junk food, and you certainly won't get rid of those man lumps.
You can have your chips, you can have your ice cream, just be mindful of how much you are eating.
#6 - Eat More Zinc-Rich Foods
A zinc deficiency has been shown to cause low test levels. Low test levels are one of the main reasons for larger boobs in men. This is due to them mostly being overweight, making bad food choices, and not getting enough exercise.
Eating more zinc-rich foods like cashews, raisins, and yogurt could help you regulate hormones, lose weight, and ditch those man boobs.
Finding a good zinc supplement could also benefit you.
#7 - Try a Sport
Everyone always asks me if they can do this or do that for cardio in the gym. Why not free yourself from the gym and enjoy the outdoors?
Picking up a sport such as boxing, rowing, swimming, or any ball sport would allow you to get into shape, meet new friends, and make you feel years younger.
Go for a hike at a local park, walk around your neighborhood, or go for a bike ride. Enjoy your life and your body will change drastically.
#8 - Do Some More Cardio
If going outside isn't your cup of tea, trying to add in more cardio with a balanced diet will help. Being active and keeping your heart healthy is the name of the game.
Tips for getting more exercise.
Looking for ways to get a little more exercise in each day? Try to park at the end of the parking lot and walking in, instead of driving around for 8 minutes getting mad.
Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
Carry a backpack with some weight in it - you can get the effects of a weighted vest without looking like a tool.
Try HIIT cardio. HIIT stands for high-intensity interval training. Basically, you will have an interval of intense cardio (running/sprinting) and then an interval of less intense cardio (walking). This allows even the most out of shape people a way to get moving, burn a lot of calories, and melt those man boobs.
Aim for at least 75 minutes of moderately intense cardio every week. Sure, your job may have you walking around and moving a lot, but it's not the same as intense cardiovascular work.
Again, try considering jogging, walking, running, bicycling, rowing, or swimming.
#9 - Drink Enough Water
Most of us don't drink enough water. Sure, that 64 ounce Mountain Dew you just drank was a lot of fluid, but it's wrecking your body as we speak.
Drinking plenty of water allows us to stay out of dehydration. Even a small 1%-3% dehydration rate causes our body to hold onto water weight, impacts our performance, and can make us sluggish.
The excess water weight will make those man boobs flourish, so quit letting them.
Try drinking more water throughout the day. Take a few sips every 30 minutes, carry around a gallon jug and make it a goal to finish it, or whatever works for you.
The more water you drink, your body will regulate its water retention, and you'll start seeing the "water weight" come right off.
#10 - Sleep More
During sleep, our body rebuilds our muscles, helps our nervous system recover, and allows us to wake up fresh and ready for the day.
Many of us cut this short by not sleeping enough hours, being distracted while going to sleep, or simply not sleeping.
You're messing up your hormones, making it so you don't perform at your best, and you're making it harder to get bigger and stronger.
Strive for at least 7 hours of sleep. Sure, you may have adapted to 5 hours of sleep per night, but your body is paying for it.
Wrapping It Up
Let's not sugarcoat this, the reason you have man boobs are most likely due to poor food and exercise decisions. You've decided to throw willpower to the wind, eating and doing whatever you please.
While the ability to do so is amazing, it comes with a price.
If you really want to get rid of those man boobs, work on cleaning up your diet and taking charge of what you eat. Spend time in and out of the gym exercising, and then make sure that you take care of your body. You only have one, you know.