Breasts come in all shapes and sizes – often on the same woman. The breasts you had right after puberty aren’t quite the same as the breasts you had as a young adult, during or after pregnancy, or after menopause.  And if you’ve gained or lost much weight over the years, you can throw in some more variation.

All these changes in the breasts over the years leave many women unsatisfied with their appearance. They may want larger breasts, smaller breasts, or perkier breasts. And they’d rather not have to have surgery to get them, if at all possible. Can a specific exercise and diet routine achieve the desired results?

Understanding Breast Anatomy

Breasts are different than most other areas in the body you might target with exercise. If you want defined shoulders, you can choose a workout to target the deltoid, or shoulder, muscles. Same with the calves or even the rear end – targeting the underlying muscles will build and define them, and losing excess fat will allow those defined muscles to shine through.

Breasts are different, though. Exercises like pectoral flies and push-ups do target the pectoral muscles. But these muscles actually lie behind the breasts, not within them. Exercising them may help with the general appearance of the chest, but it won’t build larger, tighter, or perkier breasts.

Unlike the shoulders, calves, and rear, there is no muscle in the breast for you to target. Instead the breasts are composed mainly of fat and mammary glands (which produce milk in nursing moms). Fibrous tissue, ligaments, and even the skin provide support for the breast. All of these tissues can become stretched out due to the effects of time, gravity, and weight fluctuations. Exercise can’t change any of that.

Exercise and Diet Are Still Good Ideas

None of that means you are off the hook with regard to exercise and nutrition. A healthy diet and exercise routine offers health benefits that are too numerous to count. In addition, it improves your overall appearance, even if it doesn’t have an impact on breast appearance.

In addition, weight loss can help the woman who has larger breasts than she would like. However, some women may be considered “normal” weight and still have breasts large enough to cause physical discomfort and other issues.

Either way, women who are fit and healthy will heal more quickly from any surgery they do choose to pursue, including breast surgery.

Surgical correction is the only thing that will change the size or shape of your breasts with any reliability. Dr. Slack will be happy to discuss your options and expectations with you, so you can make a decision you will be happy with now and in the long run.