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Jeremiah Mastrogiacomo, 19 years old, had finally opened up about something he thought was keeping him from succeeding in his chosen career. Mastrogiacomo, who pursues to be a Mixes Martial Arts Fighter, has a chest that’s somehow similar to that of a female’s, the Daily Mail reports.
Mastrogiacomo revealed that his “man boobs” are becoming more and more of a hindrance to his career path. He suffers from a condition called gynecomastia, or the enlargement of the male breast.
Mastrogiacomo, who’s from Cape Coral, Florida, had been suffering from the perils of his man boobs since he was 13 years old. He tried to get rid of them by losing weight two years ago.
Mastrogiacomo, who stands at 6 feet and 1 inch, lost around 75 pounds, from 254 to 180 pounds. His overall physique became taut and his chest had gotten smaller. But his man boobs are still there, as if they were ready to lactate any second now.
Mastrogiacomo claimed that his man boobs are cockblocking his moves toward the ladies. He’s also blaming them for his plunging self-esteem and his fighting performance. He wants to have them removed or decreased, like how an Amazonian would cut off one of her breasts to pull the bow string better.
Mastrogiacomo, who works out at least five hours a day and five days a week, said, “I look good with t-shirt but when I take my t-shirt off it's noticeable. The doctors think that at puberty there was an imbalance of hormones and my body produced more estrogen than testosterone.
“In that period of time, the gland was able to grow and it's never gone away. I can feel them swaying around. It feels like an alien on my body. It's a serious issue for some people and embarrassing.
“But for me, it's nothing but a hindrance on my top elite level physically performance as an aspiring mixed martial artist so I've learned to be a lot more mature when it comes to the topic of gynecomastia.”
At first, Mastrogiacomo thought that his “man boobs” was caused by all the junk food he ate while he was growing up. He gained a lot of weight when he was going through his adolescent stage.
Mastrogiacomo said, “I became overweight from over eating. I was putting away over 5,000 calories a day on carbs, snacks and sugary foods. I didn't realize what I was doing to my body. But because I was overweight, no one thought I had gynecomastia, every thought it was just fat on my chest.
“I had insecurities about my body and would bully myself every time I looked in the mirror. I used to tell myself I wasn't good enough. I've never had a serious relationship. I never thought someone would want me long term, as a teen it was tough.
“There were limitations like not going to the beach or taking my shirt off. I would research gynecomastia online as it was bothering me and I finally went to a surgeon. The doctor told me I needed to lose weight before having surgery and that was the turning point, knowing I couldn't get surgery done until I lost the weight.”
The aspiring fighter had decided to erase carbs from his diet and lessened his calorie intake. Although he achieved a muscular and toned body from training in mixed martial arts, his “man boobs” are still prominent when he takes his shirt off.
He said, “Having a more defined chest has helped the gland to stretch out and it's not sagging but I can still feel it moving around. I do still feel insecure even when people tell me I look great. I've grown a body dysmorphia in a way.
“I know longer care what people thing but it mentally brings me back to that 13-year-old insecurity. Having surgery would be the last part of my transformation.”
Gynecomastia commonly occurs to teenage boys and older men. When male bodies produce more estrogen than testosterone, man boobs is one of the prominent signs of this reaction. Both hormones are present in all bodies, but the dominance of one over the other depends on the person’s birth sex.
If a female body produces more testosterone than estrogen, breast formation won’t be prominent, as such could be seen on female athletes.
