Question: 

Can I reduce breast size with diet and exercise?

Answer from Village Pointe Aesthetic Surgery plastic surgeon Andrew Hollins, MD:

Your breasts are made up largely of fatty tissue, so losing or gaining weight can result in changes in breast size. To what degree your breast size changes depends on how much weight you lose and how your body responds to the weight loss. 

Some people lose weight and do not see a very large reduction in their breast size. However, if you lose a lot of fat in the breasts and your breast size decreases significantly, you may end up with a lot of extra skin.

Exercise, such as weightlifting to build chest muscles, can also affect your breast size. However, changes may not be significant since the pectoralis muscles are under your breast tissue and skin.

If you have lost weight and still want to reduce your breast size, the most effective option is breast reduction surgery. Women with very large breasts often experience neck and back pain, persistent grooving in their shoulders from their bra straps and skin irritation or rashes caused by moisture collecting under the skin folds. Breast reduction surgery will resolve those issues.

Owned by Nebraska Medicine, Village Pointe Aesthetic Surgery is well known for both cosmetic and reconstructive breast surgery options.

This is one of the most common surgeries we perform and has high patient satisfaction. Most women say they wish they had done it sooner.

This is also an excellent option if you have lost a lot of weight and now have low-hanging breasts and extra skin tissue. We may recommend a breast reduction combined with a breast lift, or if you want to maintain volume, we may do a breast lift only.

Recovery time for a breast reduction is about six weeks. Most women feel very good by three to four weeks. However, strenuous exercise should be avoided for six weeks to ensure proper healing. 

There is no quick solution for reducing breast size. There is also no evidence that creams, herbal supplements, drugs or certain foods will help reduce breast size.