Weight Gain, Man Boobs, Weight Loss, and Sagging Skin. Wearing Compression Undershirts.

Alex from Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition: After losing 195 lbs - Click to Enlarge

In years past, Mrs. Tug and I have followed The Biggest Loser pretty regularly and more recently, we’ve been watching Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition.

In fact, just yesterday I was watching the latest episode of Extreme Makeover, where contestant Alex is transformed after losing 216 lbs (from 459 lbs).  During one of the final weigh-ins they showed images of Alex’s sagging skin that had been damaged from excessive rubbing and chafing.

The first thing thing I asked myself is why wouldn’t they encourage Alex, or any contestant for that matter, to wear compression gear during the massive weight loss program to help hold in the excess sagging skin so it’s not as damaged toward the end of the program.

Extreme Makeover Weight Loss: Alex's sores that formed as a result of rubbing sagging skin - Click to Enlarge

So this is pretty timely question from a reader about compression undershirts, who himself experienced weight gain and massive weight loss.

The Question

hi, i just happened to stumble across your site and i figured if anybody could help me you could.

well lets start. im 22 yrs old and i have been overweight for most of my life and i discovered man boobs in the 8th or ninth grade and an undershirt was needed since…it started with one wife beater…then 2 of course (they were two sizes too small for compression) then those tended to stretch out.

i then added a female sports bra (a really small one) just to keep things under wraps so to speak. i reached my breaking point last year when i had gastric bypass surgery.

i have never been happier with the way i feel, however, going from 354 to 230 in less than a year has its drawbacks. my man boobs and stomach went down dramatically but they are still very visible along with my love handles and excess skin that couldn’t keep up with the weight loss.

its not that bad but my question is what is a good compression shirt vest etc that work on my love handle , chest and belly area. any advice you could give me would be great.

The Response

hey g,

first of all, thanks so much for writing in and sharing those personal details on the techniques you have used to conceal the extra weight you’ve been carrying in your chest (aka, your man boobs). that’s incredibly brave and i applaud you for your courage.

also, congratulations on taking the step to shed all the extra weight. i’m certain that decision to get gastric bypass surgery wasn’t easy to make, but i’m happy to hear you’ve lost a whopping 124 pounds! i’m guessing that having the extra loose skin and remaining love handles is a lot more easy to live with than carrying the extra weight.

although right now i am at an average weight for my height, i too have struggled with my weight for my entire life. i was very overweight as a young boy and still to this day have a reasonably tough time keeping the extra weight off. i am not as tone as i would like to be in my chest and midsection area too, so i can truly appreciate the confidence you can gain wearing a compression undershirt that helps to hold your *shit* in.

now, to your question about a good compression shirt or vest, i definitely can make some recommendations. since i don’t know whether or not you’re on a budget, i’ll just make my recommendations based on the products i know perform well.

out of all the slimming undershirts i own, i’d have to say, the one that seems to have the greatest amount of compression is the ardyss abdomen shirt. it is, however, the weirdest looking and most embarrassing to wear. but, if you want a high compression product that performs well, that’s one you should consider. it is a a tank and not a full undershirt, so if you’re looking for a full undershirt, read on. i pretty much always wear the ardyss as my base layer to the gym, then i wear another compression top over that, then a t-shirt. i like how all the compression feels when i’m working out.

the one that seems to be second best performing is the underworks cotton concealer compression undershirts. the only minor issue with these is the inner lining that holds everything in can pinch a little from time to time. i have one that’s about one year old, so they may have changed the design of the inner lining, but you’d have to check with them to be certain. i believe they have 3 different compression levels, going from the highest compression (one listed above) to lightest compression.  i’m in regular contact with the owner of underworks – he’s a good guy – and knows his offering inside and out. plus, the company makes their products in the usa!

another two good overall performing slimming undershirts, are gc2 and instaslim (spanx for men copy cat). again, both shirts do a good job flattening the chest, but i’d say the gc2 holds in the midsection a little better, plus i like the fact they are made in the usa and they’ve been in the compression undershirt manufacturing business for a long time.

from my testing, equmen & spanx for men zoned performance perform about the same. good chest fattening, moderate smoothing around midsection and love handles. since spanx zoned performance is less expensive, i’d say to try out that one first.  although i will tell you that equmen also offers a higher compression grey tank, and since they are on sale right now, it might be a good time to try those out.

hopefully the above recommendations will get you going. to be quite honest, i think you’d be happy with any of the products i’ve listed above. of course there are others that you can choose from too.

the list of nearly every men’s slimming undershirt is here on my compression and slimming undershirts page, so if you don’t find what you’re looking for in the above items, take a look there and check out some of the others.

i would really appreciate it if you’d keep me posted on which products you try and what you think of them, so please stay in touch.

again, congratulations on losing all that weight. please let me know if you have any other questions.

Reader Response

Hi I actually just purchased the power body tank that you have wrote about today I thought for 22 bucks it was def worth a try

Tags: biggest loser, compression for sagging skin, extreme makeover weight loss, featured, man boobs compression undershirt, sagging skin compression undershirt, weight loss compression undershirt

Category: Ask Tug, Mens Shapewear