If You’re Thinking About How To Reduce Breast Size You May or May Not Be Ready For Surgery
Breast size is something that can always fluctuate for women. Although many people believe that breasts stop growing after puberty, breasts can continue to develop throughout the course of a person’s life. When breasts continue to grow past your comfort zone you may want to explore how to reduce breast size so we’ll cover all the options for you.
Common factors that result in larger breasts include hormonal changes as a result of pregnancy and weight gain. The truth is everybody’s body is different, and all breasts come in different sizes and shapes.
Although there are some women who want larger breasts for aesthetic reasons, there is also women who want smaller breasts for aesthetic reasons and pain management.
Luckily, there are options to reduce breast size ranging from a variety of natural breast reduction methods and breast reduction surgery. Below, we will go over everything you need to know to decrease breast size.
What are the Causes of Large Breasts?
As we mentioned, there are women who are dissatisfied with their breast size because they are small, and of course, there are women who feel that their breasts are too large. Large breasts can create discomfort, pain, and insecurity.
Also, large breasts don’t necessarily develop after puberty. There are in fact four main causes of large breasts:
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Puberty
Puberty is the most common and most widely recognized cause of large breasts. As a woman progresses through puberty her mammary glands develop, breast tissue grows, and breast fat collects making the breasts larger.
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Menstrual Cycle
Hormone changes are thought to be the main cause that breasts may grow in size during the menstrual cycle. Increased levels of estrogen in the early period of the cycle cause the breasts to grow in size.
Also, progesterone levels peak around day 21 of 28 of the menstrual cycle, resulting in the growth of the milk glands, also known as breast lobules.
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Weight Gain
Weight gain directly affects the size of your breasts. As you gain weight, fatty tissue may accumulate in your breasts, making them larger.
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Pregnancy
Like menstrual cycles, hormonal changes during pregnancy increase breast size. Additionally, blow flow to the breasts increase as the body starts building up milk ducts.
How to Reduce Breast Size Naturally
If you want to reduce your breast size that is a result of weight gain, there are natural breast reduction methods to try before you decide on breast reduction surgery. However, if your increased breast size is due to any of the other three causes of large breasts, i.e., causes that are not within your control and not weight-related, then breast reduction surgery may be your only option.
Below are ways to reduce your breast size naturally by losing weight:
Exercise
Exercise is a very effective and practical way to lose weight and make your breasts smaller. Plus, exercise is great for you and comes with a whole host of other benefits like increased energy and better sleep! Below are exercises that are especially good for reducing breast size:
Aerobic and Cardio Exercise
Burning body fat and calories leads to a reduction in the size of breasts and aerobic/cardio exercises are a great way to do this. Here are some great cardio exercises to help you get smaller breasts:
- Push-ups and wall push-ups
- Chest press
- Shoulder press
- Jogging
- Side raises
Weights
Combining weight training with aerobic exercises is an effective way to reduce overall body fat, build muscle, and burn fatty tissue in the breasts. Weight training, in general, will help you during your journey towards achieving smaller breasts, but here are four exercises that are targetted at specifically reducing breast size and building chest muscles:
- Dumbell pullovers
- Dumbell raises (front and side)
- Face pull
- Dumbell or barbell for your upper back
Swimming
Swimming is another type of cardio exercise that is great for burning calories, fat, and building muscle. Plus, swimming might be more enjoyable for some people than other traditional cardio exercises. Also, swimming is great for your posture, keeping good posture may help prevent your breasts from sagging over time.
Yoga
Yoga involves great exercises that burn calories while also stretching your muscles and increasing your mobility. Try pairing yoga with the other exercises mentioned above for the best results.
Diet
Eating a healthy diet is crucial for achieving weight loss and reducing your breast size. Here are some things to keep in mind when starting a diet to reduce your breast size.
No highly-processed foods:
Highly-processed foods often contain toxic chemicals like herbicides, pesticides, and growth hormones. These can affect your own hormonal balance resulting in an increase in estrogen levels and larger breasts.
Eat smaller portions more often:
Eating smaller portions throughout the day will increase your metabolic rate and prevent you from overeating at any one time.
Eat more fruit:
Introduce more fruit to your diet. Fruits are a healthy snack that have a high water content, which means they fill you up without too many calories.
Avoid salty foods:
Your body needs salt to function, but too much salt is bad for your body and can result in swelling in the breasts.
Avoid alcohol:
Like salty foods, consuming alcohol may increase your body’s water retention, resulting in swelling. Also, alcohol may prevent the liver from properly breaking down estrogen, causing the breasts to increase in size.
Avoid dairy:
Dairy, and cow’s milk, in particular, is often produced while the animal is pregnant, resulting in a product that has high amounts of estrogen. Consuming food or drinks with estrogen will cause the breasts to increase in size.
Eat raw greens
Green vegetables like cabbage and broccoli contain high amounts of a chemical called diindolylmethane. This chemical helps to body process extra estrogen to keep your breasts from getting larger.
Use the Right Bra
Make sure you are wearing a well-fitted, supportive bra. Wearing an ill-fitted bra can make matters worse and lead to problems that may increase your breast size. Don’t wear your bra for too long at any given time and make sure to replace them after about 180 wears or six months.
Massage
Regularly giving your breasts a gentle massage can break down the fatty tissue deposits in breast tissue to help reduce breast size.
Herbal/Food Remedies
Dietary Flaxseed
Dietary flaxseed may reduce breast size by supporting weight loss and removing toxins from the body. Grind one tablespoon of flaxseed, place it in boiling water, and drink the solution like tea. Or, add one to two tablespoons of flaxseed oil in water.
Ginger
Ginger increases your metabolism, helping you to lose weight and reduce breast size. Grate a piece of fresh ginger and steep it in hot water with honey to drink as tea. Also, try adding ginger to meals you make at home like stir-fries and curries for extra flavor and increased metabolism.
Green Tea
Green tea is great for weight loss, plus it has medicinal properties. Simply steep a bag of green tea in a cup of boiled water and drink a cup or two each day. It will work even better if you can supplement energy drinks, sodas, or other high-calorie drinks with green tea.
Turmeric and Neem
Turmeric and neem are most effective for nursing women who have larger breasts due to inflammation. Turmeric and neem reduce inflammation to ease comfort and reduce breast size. Simply simmer neem leaves in four cups of water until the volume is reduced by about half. Pour the concoction into a cup and stir in two tablespoons of turmeric and honey to taste.
FAQs
What’s involved in liposuction for breast reduction?
Liposuction for breast reduction is a simpler procedure than traditional breast reduction surgery. It involves fewer complications and a faster recovery time. It is usually used for small reductions in breast size, usually reducing a breast by one cup size.
Liposuction is especially common for patients who want to slightly reduce the size of one breast so that it matches the size of the other. This may happen naturally or occur after nursing or weight loss.
Liposuction involves removing fat tissue from one or more breasts to reduce their size.
What’s involved in breast reduction surgery?
Breast reduction, also called reduction mammoplasty, is a surgical procedure that involves eliminating excess fatty tissue, skin, and other breast tissue from the breast to reduce its overall size. Then, the breasts and nipples are reshaped to make them look more natural and youthful.
Breast reduction surgery is a very common procedure for women, and some men have the procedure as well.
How do I know I am a candidate for breast reduction surgery or liposuction?
If you are looking to slightly reduce the size of both breasts or one breast, you may be better suited for liposuction. Liposuction is a simpler procedure that removes fat and makes one or more breasts about one cup size smaller.
Breast reduction surgery on the other hand can be used for larger reductions in breast size.
Here are some signs you may want to get a breast reduction:
- Discomfort and trouble fitting into bras and clothes
- Chronic back pain, neck pain, and shoulder pain
- Discomfort or irritation on the breasts
- Limited activity due to breast size
- Insecurity due to breast size
- Nerve pain
What is breast reduction surgery recovery like?
Breast reduction surgery is relatively short compared to other surgeries. However, you should not expect to resume all of your normal activities for at least a month after the surgery, although you should be able to handle most daily household chores by then.
- In the first week, you will feel fatigue, swelling, pain, and discomfort as the incision is still healing. You will be given a surgical bra and sterile dressings for the incision along with pain medication.
- After week one the pain should subside but you may continue to feel discomfort. Swelling from the surgery may begin to subside, although you will need to continue to get plenty of rest.
- During the second week of recovery, you may return to work. Your wounds will dry and you may feel them itch and become irritated.
- During weeks 3 and 4 you should see a reduction in swelling and begin to resume most of your normal activities, including exercise except for weight lifting and swimming.
- By two months your life should be 100% back to normal, with the added addition of smaller breasts and the relief that comes with it.
Using the Surgeon Network Directory to Find the Right Surgeon for Breast Reduction Surgery
If you are considering a reduction mammoplasty, you need to find an experienced and high-quality breast reduction surgeon. Having a skilled plastic surgeon will ensure the success of the procedure and experienced, qualified surgeons will leave you with minimal scarring, plus you’ll have less worries before and after the surgery knowing that you are in good hands. The best breast reduction plastic surgeons understand that their patients’ appearances are important for their self-esteem so they always ensure that the procedure leaves their patients satisfied with the shape and size of their breasts and that their recovery will be as swift as possible.
Check out Surgeon Network’s complete directory to find top-notch, board-certified breast reduction surgeons using their easy-to-use search bar. Surgeon Network has developed the 5 STAR Surgeon Network Approval Rating™, to ensure that you find the best surgeons available to you so that you are extremely satisfied with your choice. Check out Surgeon Network now to get started.
