With the New Year in full swing people all over the UK simultaneously vow to get in shape in order to obtain that beach body come June/ July. For men this often means losing their ‘moobs’ and beer bellies. Most of us will give up on our resolutions early, while those that persevere often find some areas of their bodies simply do not response, no matter how hard they try in the gym.
According to NHS data nearly 20% of adults (over 16 years old) in England are obese with a BMI of +30, while 42% of men and 30% of women were overweight with a BMI of between 25-30.
Test your BMI using the following NHS tool: (will shown tool not code in post)
As UK waist lines increasing in the news (and literally), we ask Dr Ros for suggestions on reducing man boobs that most men may not have considered.
Tissue or fat?
The main distinction we need to make is that of the enlarged breast area being due to breast tissue or to fat. If it is the former there will be more firmness with softer fat surrounding. This requires a medical consultation with a general practitioner.If it is the latter the area is uniform and soft. In this kind of breast are enlargement just losing weight will not be the answer.
Your diet
A low carbohydrate diet and increased consumption of proteins with lots of green vegetables and berries is the best way to reduce weight. Beer (13g carbohydrate per 356g can) is often the biggest culprit as it contains a huge amount of carbohydrate. ( Red wine is a good alternative to beer as it contains only 0.5 g carbohydrate per small glass).
Your hereditary build
If weight is not an issue and, despite a low BMI, fatty man boobs are still present then exercise is not going to remove the problem. This is because our fat cells are laid down at birth and at puberty and so if we have more fat cells in the man boob area they will increase in size whenever we put on weight but never go unless we become extremely thin.
Potential solutions
Traditionally the solution would have been liposuction an invasive procedure that involves a general anaesthetic and an operation with all the associated risks. LumiSlim, as used at Radiance MediSpa uses very low level laser to liquify the fat which the ‘leaks’ out of the cells and when followed by 20 minutes of vigorous exercise removes the fat from the desired area. Usually a course of treatments is required over a 5 week period until the results are achieved. CoolSculpting, as used at Radiance MediSpa, is a simple way to remove the fat cells permanently without an operation. It involves putting a suction head onto the area that sucks up the skin (and fat beneath) and then the fat is literally frozen. This kills the fat cells that are then gradually removed, by a natural process by the body, over a period of 3 months. There is little to no downtime although there may be some temporary bruising and sometimes some pain. Most men just carry on with their daily lifestyle and wait for the results to appear and as the fat cells are removed, so the results are permanent. Both treatments can be used on most areas of the body and require an initial complimentary consultation before treatment.
Radiance MediSpa provide individual LumiSlim treatments for £100 and CoolSculpting treatments for men starting from £800.