How to Lose Chest Fat by Balancing Your Daily Life with the Right Diet and Exercise

​In a literal sense and physiologically speaking of course you have chest fat. But! That’s not what you‘re going to hear while parading in the gym or at home and among friends because no one is subtle enough to regard your chest fat as anything else except MAN BOOBS!  

If that’s what you have, then rather than be embarrassed by it, own up and do something about it. Regardless of how old you are or what you’re going through, no women like seeing those saggy pouches of fat protruding from your chest and certainly no men would like it either.

Since you’re reading this article, it can be safely assumed that you do want to know more about how to lose chest fat but before you start, it would be wise to know more about it so that you never see those horrendous man boobs in the mirror in future.

By now you must be wondering how on earth men get breasts or man boobs. Well! It’s all due to breast enlargement that can be due to two known conditions:

The big question is how do you determine if you have Gynecomastia or Lipomastia which is also known as pseudogynecomastia (the physical appearance of gynecomastia without the endocrinological reasons)

Gynecomastia is the condition in which a man’s breast tissue swells up to resemble female’s breasts. It is caused because of a hormonal imbalance between estrogen which is a dominant female hormone and testosterone the dominant male hormone.

Well, it isn’t hard to guess that it is an increase of estrogen that causes male breast enlargement. Increased levels of estrogen in the body create a tendency to retain fat in the chest area. Being a female hormone it obviously signals the body to increase fat in such areas like the breasts.

​Prevelance of Gynecomastia in the World

Obviously you need to see a doctor if you find the problem persisting. In many cases, it disappears on its own but if it does not, medical treatment or surgery may be required. This will tell you all you need to know about Gynecomastia

Lipomastia

This article concerns how to lose chest fat which could be caused by Lipomastia or the accumulation of fat around the chest area. This could be caused by poor lifestyle habits, poor diet, lack of exercise and obesity.  Besides the complicated reason of an increase in estrogen and poor metabolism, Lipomastia is also due to stubborn pectoral fat accumulation. When this happens, there is much you can do to lose it through habit, diet and exercise.

In most cases concerning gynecomastia, you may experience the sensation of fullness or tissue under your nipples or areola. This makes it hard to shape your chest. It’s best to have an examination done by a physician or a gynecomastia surgeon specialist. 

However if there is nothing unnaturally wrong with your chest, then once you start working out, the results are bound to show. Follow the image below which is a technique used by most doctors to determine the mass beneath your nipples that causes breast enlargement. It isn’t advisable to do a self diagnosis which should be done by a trained medical professional.

After reading all of the above, it all boils down to one conclusion, your options available to get rid of the chest fat or man boobs. If your problem is an estrogen related one, then of course you need medical help where natural supplements can help restore the hormonal imbalances as well as burn fat.

However if yours is a fat related problem, then committing yourself to a dedicated routine of diet and exercise will help you lose chest fat and build up a healthier toned body too.  Remember, you can only if you think you can!!

By committing yourself to working out, you need to focus on selected exercises that will help you lose pectoral fat. Only cardio training alone is not going to be enough to lose chest fat. You need to complement cardio training with certain effective strength training exercises in order to break down those hard fat deposits that have accumulated in your chest area over many years.

When working out to lose those man boobs, you need to focus on weight loss not building muscle. This means your exercises should consist of less weight training and more high frequency workouts like HIIT (High Intensity interval training) which would be an excellent way to burn fat. Concentrate on upper chest workouts that can burn fat from the lower chest area and those which can shape or flatten the chest. Some of these workouts can be done from the comfort of your home. All you need is a pair of dumbbells.

​1. Dumbell Pullover

​2. Incline dumbbell bench press

​3. Dumbell Incline ro​w

​4. Dumbbell Goblet Box Squat

​5. Incline Barbell Bench Press

​6. Smith Machine Incline Bench Press

​7. Dumbbell Incline Fly

​8. Seated Pec Fly

​​9. Pec Deck Fly

​1​0. Assisted Parallel Bar Dips

Strength training plays a critical role in reducing chest fat and man boobs because with gradual development of muscle mass, the breakdown of body fat becomes much easier. Not only does muscle growth contribute to overall weight loss, it also helps in shaping your body.

Cardio

While cardio alone will not be effective, cardio along with the exercise above will complement your workout routine. You can consult with your gym trainer how to integrate cardio in a weight loss routine. A good trainer will always advise you to focus on quality weight training and strength training which is more important for weight loss. Performing cardio after weight training makes more sense because weight training initiates fat burn faster by decreasing available sugar in the body.

Nutrition

Your diet is another important factor in losing chest fat. A fat loss diet should always consist of more protein especially since you are going to need an increase of protein to make up for the wear and tear of muscle during exercise. Protein initiates protein synthesis of muscles and provides you with essential nutrients and amino acids for muscle recovery which is the repair of muscle mass.

​There are a number of helpful diets that could help you reduce your chest fat. You could opt for a keto diet or even intermittent fasting but the sensible thing to do is to consult a nutritionist that will set you on a suitable diet taking into several factors of your physiology.

Healthy fats and a certain amount of cholesterol is good for you

When focusing on your nutrition to reduce chest fat, what you need to identify is the grain products and wheat associated with increased estrogen production. Just because you need to lose fat doesn’t mean you need to deny your body of healthy fats (monounsaturated fats).

These are primarily responsible for testosterone production the main male hormone which you might just need more of. Foods like fatty fish, nuts, avocados and olive oil are all huge sources of healthy fats and omega 3 fatty acids that are great for muscle recovery too.

When you eat eggs, you may have been told to lay of the yolk when you’re body building but when it concerns an issue like man boobs, there is no harm in adding a yolk or two to your diet. Egg yolk is also a good source of testosterone derived from cholesterol present in egg yolk.

Not all cholesterol is bad. A certain amount of cholesterol is necessary for production of vitamin D, bile acids for fat digestion, production of cell membranes, testosterone and neurological function. Foods rich in zinc are also beneficial for increasing testosterone

Foods to avoid in case of man boobs

You need to avoid all foods rich in estrogen where certain foods contain isoflavones containing phytoestrogen (plant based compound) that can be classified as having the same function of estrogen.

It’s not only about avoiding or eating food

It isn’t only about avoiding certain foods or eating certain foods because if you go through all the information on the net, you are bound to be confused when you find certain foods in both tables. These are nutrition guides to make you aware of what such foods contain or consist of that helps you make a better choice.

It all boils down to healthy eating and proper nutrition that is beneficial for anyone wanting a healthier lifestyle and a healthier body. Avoid fast foods, processed foods and sugar based beverages such as canned fruit juices and carbonated drinks. All these increase your weight faster than you can lose it.

Frequently asked questions

Why do I get chest fat?

While hormonal imbalances are one of the reasons, an unhealthy lifestyle, obesity, weight gain and the wrong foods can easily give you man boobs even without a hormonal problem.

Can I do chest fat burning exercises without equipment?

​Yes! You don’t really need to go to the gym to get rid of your man boobs. You can perform several exercises like the common pushup that can help burn chest fat.

How can I lose chest fat without losing muscle?

You can lose fat without burning muscle through a combination of the right exercise and most importantly your diet which should consist of plenty of lean protein that replenish muscle tissue lost during exercise.

Why is chest fat last to go?

If your problem is an estrogen related one, then yes your chest fat will always be last to go until and unless you identify the problem. In common cases, it is incorrect training and the wrong combination of exercises that may contribute to your stubborn chest fat. Always consult a trainer or look up information on the right sort of exercise like the section in this article that that focuses mostly on exercises to lose chest fat ​

Yes to some extent you can.  Depending on what your chest fat is due to Gynecomastia or lipomastia (just pectoral fat), then with a combination of the right diet, avoiding estrogen rich foods and exercise to lose chest fat will help you reduce your chest fat to a considerable extent.