Why "just eat more"
fails a pectus body.
Being underweight makes pectus look worse than it is. The evidence-based system for gaining real weight, built around low appetite.
You can't out-train a body you never feed.
The appetite science, the liquid-calorie cheat code, and the 12-week loop that fills a skinny frame.
You train, nothing fills out,
and the dip looks worse.
If you have pectus and you're skinny, you know the loop. Here's why it isn't your fault - and why it keeps happening.
Your appetite isn't the wall.
You fought it head-on.
To gain on a low appetite, flip nearly every "healthy eating" rule: maximum calories, minimum fullness.
Liquid calories your body barely registers, more small meals instead of three big plates you lose to, eating by the clock instead of by hunger - because hunger isn't on your side yet.
That's the whole low-appetite playbook, and it runs on strategy, not willpower.
The science this is built on
Built on The Muscle and Strength Pyramid: Nutrition by Dr. Eric Helms, the most rigorous evidence-based framework in the field. Rebuilt for one person - someone with pectus who needs to gain weight, not lose it. Every claim carries a citation you can tap and check.
Transformations & Real Stories
Read them by rating, or by what people actually got out of it - the transformations, the honest reviews, and the messages that land in my inbox every week.
across 35 rated statements
500+ reviews collected since 2015. Open a bar, a tag or a condition to read the published ones.
What the 4.8 is made of
45 published statements · 500+ collected since 2015
- ★★★★★
I came across your blog about a year ago and I just want to say how much you've changed my life for the better. I thought it was going to be another average article, but the tips you gave were things I hadn't heard of before. Now I've improved so much and im more confident then ever.
Cristian PE 17
Read the blog USA 🇺🇸
- ★★★★★
spent two years researching surgery before i found this. six months in and i wish id found it sooner. the progress photos dont lie
Tom W. PE 24
Pectus Excavatum Course Manchester, UK 🇬🇧
- ★★★★★
Was skeptical, id tried everything before. the custom vacuum bell was different to anything id used. three months of consistent use and i can already see the sternum coming up
Chris L. PE 31
Vacuum Bell Toronto, Canada 🇨🇦
- ★★★★★
direct, no nonsense. mihail knows this condition better than any doctor ive seen. my GP was shocked when i showed him my 9 month comparison photos
Ryan H. PE 29
1-on-1 Coaching Dublin, Ireland 🇮🇪
- ★★★★★
been watching mihails youtube since 2017. finally bought the program in 2023 and kicked myself for waiting. shouldve trusted him years earlier
Liam O. PE 26
PE Exercise Program Auckland, New Zealand 🇳🇿
- ★★★★★
Seven months with the bell now. dip is maybe half what it was and i've stopped turning sideways away from people at the gym lol. didnt expect that part
Tobias PE 24
Vacuum Bell Hamburg, Germany 🇩🇪
- ★★★★★
started at 19 with a chest i couldnt look at in the mirror. went with the excavatum course cus everyone kept telling me nothing but surgery works and i didnt buy it. 5 months of doing the work most days and my chest sits noticeably flatter now - the surgeon who told me wait and see at 17 wouldnt recognise it. only regret is i didnt start the day i turned 17
Wes PE 19
Pectus Excavatum Course Colorado, USA 🇺🇸
- ★★★★★
Nine months in and my cardiologist literally asked what id changed. resting heart rate came down and i sleep breathing through my nose now. still kind of wild to me
Andrés Vásquez PE 31
1-on-1 Coaching Santiago, Chile 🇨🇱
- ★★★★★
1100 pages sounded ridiculous til i realised its a reference not a book you read front to back. im in the vacuum bell chapters basically every day
callum_g PE 22
Breathe Deeper Glasgow, Scotland 🏴
- ★★★★★
Back and rear delt work changed how my chest reads more than anything i did to the actual chest. did NOT expect to be told that
Dmitri PE 29
PE Exercise Program Riga, Latvia 🇱🇻
- ★★★★★
App keeps me honest ngl. i log the bell session and it tells me when ive earned the next step up. before this i was just guessing
Joon-ho Park PE 26
The app Seoul, South Korea 🇰🇷
- ★★★★★
my mum found mihail tbh. four months of coaching and the difference between the photos is obvious. never had to sit in front of a surgeon
Tomás Ferreira PE 17
1-on-1 Coaching Porto, Portugal 🇵🇹
- ★★★★★
gaining weight was the bit nobody would explain to me. 3 months on the nutrition plan, 5kg up, and the same chest reads completely different at that weight
Felix PE 28
Pectus Nutrition Program Graz, Austria 🇦🇹
- ★★★★★
It works. the suction takes getting used to and i gave myself a bit of skin bruising the first fortnight, until i dropped the pressure back to what the guide actually says. my fault not theirs
Marc-Antoine PE 33
Vacuum Bell Quebec, Canada 🇨🇦
- ★★★★★
honest review. 5 months of consistent bell use and my depth has barely moved. im 35 and my chest wall is stiff, which the guide does warn about upfront. the posture and breathing side genuinely helped and i dont regret the money, but i wouldnt tell someone my age to expect what the teenagers are getting
Nikolai PE 35
Vacuum Bell Guide Sofia, Bulgaria 🇧🇬
- ★★★★★
dip and flare at the same time. THE FLARE WENT FIRST, which nobody warned me would happen, and that alone changed my whole silhouette
Bruno Salgado PE + Rib Flare 30
1-on-1 Coaching São Paulo, Brazil 🇧🇷
- ★★★★★
brace did its job on the flare. what i actually wanted was how to run it alongside the vacuum bell work in the same week. asked and got a proper answer same day, but that should be in the material, not something you have to know to ask for
Otto PE + Rib Flare 25
Rib Flare Brace Tampere, Finland 🇫🇮
- ★★★★★
Had rib flare since i was a teen. the brace plus the breathing drills changed everything. my waist looks normal in a fitted shirt for the first time in my adult life
Daniel K. Rib Flare 27
Rib Flare Brace Bristol, UK 🇬🇧
- ★★★★★
Mihail doesnt sugarcoat anything. told me exactly what to expect and exactly how long it would take. 12 months in and my carinatum is flat. i finally take my shirt off at the beach
Aiden R. PC 19
1-on-1 Coaching Melbourne, Australia 🇦🇺
- ★★★★★
the breathing protocol alone changed how i feel day to day. didnt realise how shallow i was breathing until i fixed it. the rib flare correction kind of followed on its own
Sam B. Rib Flare 21
Rib Flare Course Oregon, USA 🇺🇸
- ★★★★★
The carinatum brace is really well made. fits perfect to my chest and i can wear it under a t-shirt at work. results started showing around 4 months
Nico P. PC 17
Pectus Carinatum Brace Milan, Italy 🇮🇹
- ★★★★★
the course structure is exactly what i needed. not overwhelming, not vague. each module builds on the last and you always know what to do next
Jake M. Rib Flare 23
Rib Flare Course Texas, USA 🇺🇸
- ★★★★★
My son is 15 and was getting self-conscious at the pool. The carinatum brace and the fortnightly check-ins are what kept him consistent. Six months and the ridge has visibly dropped.
Parent of Ethan PC 15
Pectus Carinatum Brace Michigan, USA 🇺🇸
- ★★★★★
what sold me is that every claim links to a study. only place online that treats pectus like an actual training problem instead of selling a miracle
David P. Rib Flare 34
Read the blog Rotterdam, Netherlands 🇳🇱
- ★★★★★
Everyone i asked just told me to do more core. turns out i was breathing into my neck this whole time. learning to actually use my diaphragm was the entire fix
Georgia Rib Flare 24
Rib Flare Course Perth, Australia 🇦🇺
- ★★★★★
started out flat on my back every night checking whether my ribs still stuck up, they always did. got the rib flare program and actually did the breathing side properly this time instead of just the exercises. four months later i lie down and theyre flat - i still check out of habit and still cant quite believe it
Hanna Rib Flare 22
Rib Flare Program Malmö, Sweden 🇸🇪
- ★★★★★
the fortnightly check-ins are the only reason im still doing this. left on my own id have quit around week 3, easy
Katarina Rib Flare 31
1-on-1 Coaching Split, Croatia 🇭🇷
- ★★★★★
obsessed with watching that number drop every month ngl. 10/10
marta_v Rib Flare 25
The app Valencia, Spain 🇪🇸
- ★★★★★
clear, cited, actually practical. heavy going in the anatomy chapters if you have no background, but id rather be given too much than too little
Aisha M. Rib Flare 27
Rib Flare Brace Guide Dubai, UAE 🇦🇪
- ★★★★★
material's good and i have no issue with the science. my honest gripe is the early modules cover the same ground as the free blog posts, which id already read before buying. the later phases are where the real value sits. wouldve paid the same to skip straight to those
Stefan Nagy Rib Flare 34
Rib Flare Course Budapest, Hungary 🇭🇺
- ★★★★★
Wore it 8 hrs a night for 5 months. the ridge is basically gone. im 16 so i got lucky on timing, but you still have to wear it every single night. beat the operation they were lining us up for
Elias PC 16
Pectus Carinatum Brace Bergen, Norway 🇳🇴
- ★★★★★
The wear-schedule chapter is honestly the whole product. everywhere else online just goes "wear a brace" and leaves you to figure out the rest
hamza PC 20
Pectus Carinatum Course Casablanca, Morocco 🇲🇦
- ★★★★★
spent two years hiding the ridge under hoodies before i actually did anything about it. what changed it was the carinatum program - building the chest and back around the ridge instead of just bracing and hoping. six months in and it reads flat enough that the hoodies are gone
Rafael PC 22
PC Exercise Program Cebu, Philippines 🇵🇭
- ★★★★★
He replied to my messages same day, every time. at 17 with a chest you hate, that matters way more than the plan does honestly
Théo PC 17
1-on-1 Coaching Ghent, Belgium 🇧🇪
- ★★★★★
solid guide and the pressure numbers are genuinely useful. half a star off cus im 28 and the whole thing is pitched at teenagers. an adult section, where the timelines are honestly different, wouldve been worth a lot to me
Jonas B. PC 28
Carinatum Brace Guide Aarhus, Denmark 🇩🇰
- logged case
Two months in and I've put on 3.2 kg of muscle. My chest doesn't cave the way it used to when I'm standing relaxed, and that alone was worth it.
Milo PE 25
Germany 🇩🇪
- logged case
Nine months, 5.7 kg of muscle on, and 0.9 cm off the depth of my chest. I am 32. I had been told the window for fixing this closed at 18.
Liam PE + Rib Flare 32
Seattle, WA 🇺🇸
- logged case
I came in skinny with a deep dip and ribs that flared out. Six months later I am 4.5 kg heavier, and the flare is the part people notice is gone.
Ian PE + Rib Flare 22
Canada 🇨🇦
- logged case
The brace handled the flare, the training filled out the chest. 6 kg on and 0.9 cm less depth in seven months. I wear fitted shirts now.
Alejandro Sanz Torres PE + Rib Flare 29
Bilbao, Spain 🇪🇸
- logged case
Five months, 4 kg up. The dip is still there if I go looking for it, but nobody else finds it anymore.
Lars PE + Rib Flare 25
Sweden 🇸🇪
- logged case
I am 52 and carried both a ridge and a dip my whole life. Dropped 9 kg in five months and my chest finally reads as one shape instead of two.
Greg Henderson PC + PE 52
Ohio, USA 🇺🇸
- logged case
Three months, 5 kg on, and the ridge sits lower than it ever has. At 19 I thought surgery was the only thing that would fix it.
Ethan PC 19
North Carolina, USA 🇺🇸
- logged case
Nine kilos in six months. Building the muscle around the ridge did more for how it looks than the years I spent hiding it under loose shirts.
Omar Al Mansoori PC 24
Abu Dhabi, UAE 🇦🇪
- logged case
Four months of coaching and the ridge you could see from the side has flattened out. I stopped checking my profile in every window I walk past.
Beau PC 30
Missouri, USA 🇺🇸
- logged case
My carinatum was the first thing I saw in every photo of myself. Now I have to point it out to people. Same chest, trained differently.
Taras Bondarenko PC 29
Czech Republic 🇨🇿
"I came across your blog about a year ago and I just want to say how much you've changed my life for the better. I thought it was going to be another average article, but the tips you gave were things I hadn't heard of before. Now I've improved so much and im more confident then ever."
"spent two years researching surgery before i found this. six months in and i wish id found it sooner. the progress photos dont lie"
"Was skeptical, id tried everything before. the custom vacuum bell was different to anything id used. three months of consistent use and i can already see the sternum coming up"
"direct, no nonsense. mihail knows this condition better than any doctor ive seen. my GP was shocked when i showed him my 9 month comparison photos"
"been watching mihails youtube since 2017. finally bought the program in 2023 and kicked myself for waiting. shouldve trusted him years earlier"
"Had rib flare since i was a teen. the brace plus the breathing drills changed everything. my waist looks normal in a fitted shirt for the first time in my adult life"
"Mihail doesnt sugarcoat anything. told me exactly what to expect and exactly how long it would take. 12 months in and my carinatum is flat. i finally take my shirt off at the beach"
"the breathing protocol alone changed how i feel day to day. didnt realise how shallow i was breathing until i fixed it. the rib flare correction kind of followed on its own"
"The carinatum brace is really well made. fits perfect to my chest and i can wear it under a t-shirt at work. results started showing around 4 months"
"the course structure is exactly what i needed. not overwhelming, not vague. each module builds on the last and you always know what to do next"
"My son is 15 and was getting self-conscious at the pool. The carinatum brace and the fortnightly check-ins are what kept him consistent. Six months and the ridge has visibly dropped."
"what sold me is that every claim links to a study. only place online that treats pectus like an actual training problem instead of selling a miracle"
I came across your blog about a year ago and I just want to say how much you've changed my life for the better. I thought it was going to be another average article, but the tips you gave were things I hadn't heard of before. Now I've improved so much and im more confident then ever.
Shared with each client's permission.
Did I help you with your pectus?
Share your before & after
Drag each slider to compare. Published only with the client's written consent.
Medically reviewed by Prof. Dr. Mustafa Yüksel
Tap any message to read it full size. Instagram, Facebook, YouTube & TikTok comments, DMs, WhatsApp and email - real messages from real clients. Names and handles blurred, content untouched.
“Two months in and I've put on 3.2 kg of muscle. My chest doesn't cave the way it used to when I'm standing relaxed, and that alone was worth it.”
“Nine months, 5.7 kg of muscle on, and 0.9 cm off the depth of my chest. I am 32. I had been told the window for fixing this closed at 18.”
“I came in skinny with a deep dip and ribs that flared out. Six months later I am 4.5 kg heavier, and the flare is the part people notice is gone.”
“The brace handled the flare, the training filled out the chest. 6 kg on and 0.9 cm less depth in seven months. I wear fitted shirts now.”
“Five months, 4 kg up. The dip is still there if I go looking for it, but nobody else finds it anymore.”
“I am 52 and carried both a ridge and a dip my whole life. Dropped 9 kg in five months and my chest finally reads as one shape instead of two.”
“Three months, 5 kg on, and the ridge sits lower than it ever has. At 19 I thought surgery was the only thing that would fix it.”
“Nine kilos in six months. Building the muscle around the ridge did more for how it looks than the years I spent hiding it under loose shirts.”
“Four months of coaching and the ridge you could see from the side has flattened out. I stopped checking my profile in every window I walk past.”
“My carinatum was the first thing I saw in every photo of myself. Now I have to point it out to people. Same chest, trained differently.”
What people ask
before they begin.
The four that come up most, answered the same way I would answer them on a call.
Take the 60-second quizHow long before I see a change? +
Posture and breathing shift first - most people feel that inside the first few weeks. Visible chest change is slower. In the case log above, Milo saw his first real change at 2 months, Ian at 6, Liam at 9. The programs run 16 weeks because that is roughly how long it takes for the training to show up in the mirror.
Am I too old for this to work? +
Almost certainly not. The clients documented on this page were 22 to 32 when they started. Cartilage does stiffen with age, so progress is slower the older you are - but slower is not the same as stopped. What changes is the timeline, not whether it is worth doing.
Do I need a gym, or can I do this at home? +
Either works. Every program ships with a gym track and a no-equipment track for the same 16 weeks, so you pick the one that matches what you actually have access to. You can switch between them mid-program without losing your place.
Pectus excavatum, carinatum, rib flare - is it the same plan? +
No, and that matters. A sunken chest and a protruding chest need close to opposite work, and rib flare often rides along with both. There is a separate program for each. If you are not sure which one you have, the 60-second quiz sorts it out and points you at the right starting place.
Set the number.
Run the loop.
The whole program becomes one repeatable cycle you start this week. It isn't a rigid menu - it's a set-track-adjust loop that corrects itself as it goes, so it works for any body.
Start gainingEstimate maintenance, add your surplus (most skinny beginners start at +300–500 calories), hit the number and your protein target every day. Buy the blender. Get the staples in the house.
Compare weekly-average weight. Gaining ~0.25–0.5% of bodyweight a week? Hold. Flat? Add ~250 calories a day - easiest as one extra shake - and re-check. Keep training hard so the food becomes muscle.
Loosen strict tracking, keep the anchors: shake times locked, tinned fish and milk always stocked, eat by the clock. Re-assess maintenance as you get heavier and nudge calories up.
Progress photos, tape measurements, then the next block. The loop, run patiently for months, is how a skinny pectus frame fills out.
Everything the program
gives you.
What's in the program
One document, front to back: from the number that decides everything to the habits that make it stick. Long on purpose - this is the one guide a skinny pectus person actually needs.
- Start
- Part 1Start here 01–04
- 01 How to use this program
- 02 The nutrition pyramid
- 03 Why weight gain is the missing lever
- 04 Why pectus people are skinny
- Part 2Part 1 · The foundation 05–06
- 05 Energy balance and the surplus
- 06 Find your calories - the quick estimate and the accurate way
- Part 3Part 2 · The macros 07–08
- 07 Protein - the build material
- 08 Carbs and fat - the fuel
- Part 4Part 3 · The low-appetite playbook 09–12
- 09 Why you can't eat enough
- 10 The Blender Protocol
- 11 My plate - sardines and the blend
- 12 Calorie-dense food lists
- Part 5Part 4 · Put it together 13–18
- 13 Meals, timing and frequency
- 14 Supplements - the short list
- 15 Train to build the frame
- 16 Gaining + your correction work
- 17 The 12-week gain plan
- 18 A worked example, step by step
- Part 6Part 5 · Make it stick 19–25
- 19 Track progress and when to adjust
- 20 Sleep and recovery
- 21 The mental game
- 22 Stay healthy while you gain
- 23 Common mistakes
- 24 Gaining on a budget
- 25 Beating the bloat - eating big comfortably
- Finish
Every research claim has a lime citation number you can tap to see the exact study - 65+ of them, listed in full in the reference section.
I'm not writing this as a doctor looking at a scan. I had the sunken chest, the flared ribs, the shirt that stayed on at the pool, and nobody could tell me what actually works.
Everything on this page exists because I needed it to exist ten years ago.
I had it. I fixed it.
Now I help you do the same.
I'm Mihail Veleski. Pale, skinny, sunken chest, flared ribs, I had it all, and it wrecked my confidence. Years of consistent, non-surgical training made my deformity unnoticeable.
I founded Mr. Pectus to give people the exact path I had to find the hard way, tested on my own body first, then refined every time someone hit a wall I had not planned for.
Featured in Healthline · Level 5 DUKE Institute Certified Personal Trainer (ISSA) · Specialised in pectus excavatum, carinatum and rib flare.
Medically reviewed
Every clinical claim on mrpectus is reviewed by Prof. Dr. Mustafa Yüksel, MD
Thoracic surgeon, founder of the Chest Wall International Group
What each path
actually costs.
Not in dollars. In time. Side by side, honestly.
Let's be honest about
who this is for.
This is education, not medical advice. If you are underweight or have any heart, lung or digestive condition, get cleared by your doctor first.
No surprises between
you and starting.
No waiting on a reply, no onboarding call, nothing to install.
Food is the lever
nobody's pulling.
One payment, lifetime access, free updates forever. You pull this lever three times a day, every day - it feeds every workout, every vacuum bell session, every rep of correction work you already do.
Try the whole thing for 30 days. Use it, and if it isn't what was described, message me for a full refund, no questions asked. The risk stays with me, not you.
Common questions.
I get full after a few bites. Will this actually work for me? +
That exact problem is the reason this program exists. Three moves fix it: drink more of your calories (shakes barely register on fullness), eat 4–6 smaller times a day instead of 3 big plates, and pick the densest version of every food so small volume carries big calories. The whole of Part 3 is that playbook, with recipes and food lists.
Won't I just get fat? +
Not at the right pace. Keep gain to roughly 0.5–1.5% of bodyweight a month, hit your protein, keep training, and the research shows most of the gain is muscle. People get fat by force-feeding way too fast or eating junk with no protein and never lifting - the program is built to avoid both.
Do I really need a blender? +
If your appetite is low, it's the highest-leverage $40 you'll ever spend - more useful than any supplement. Liquid calories barely register on fullness, so a blender gets hundreds of quality calories down in minutes when a plate would defeat you. A homemade shake also beats any commercial mass-gainer on cost, quality and control.
I've tried eating more and nothing happened. How is this different? +
Two things were probably true: you ate less than you think (counted honestly, almost everyone does), and your metabolism quietly burned off part of the surplus - research shows a 10-fold difference between people fed identical extra calories. The program handles both: a real tracking method, and a simple rule - add ~250 calories and re-check every two weeks until the scale moves.
Is this for PE, PC or rib flare? +
All of them. Calories, protein and the low-appetite playbook work the same regardless of which way the chest goes. The research on the skinny build is strongest for pectus excavatum, but the system itself is condition-agnostic - if you have a pectus chest and can't gain, it's for you.
Is this a meal plan? +
No, and on purpose. A rigid menu breaks the first time it meets your kitchen, your budget or your food culture. You get the formulas (your calories, your macros), the food lists, the shake recipes and the daily structure - then you build it from food you actually eat. There's a fully worked example so you can copy the process step by step.
How does this fit my vacuum bell, brace or workout program? +
They're the stimulus; this is the building material. Keep your correction protocol exactly as prescribed and layer this eating system on top - fed properly, the same training finally produces visible muscle. There's a dedicated section on combining gaining with correction work, including around surgery.
What supplements will I need to buy? +
Almost none - that's one of the honest parts. Creatine (~5 g a day, a few dollars) is the only supplement with strong evidence, and protein powder counts as convenient food, not magic. The program tells you to skip mass-gainers, BCAAs and test boosters and put the money toward real food.
I'm a teenager. Is this safe for me? +
The program has specific guidance for teens: focus on eating enough quality food rather than aggressive bulking - your body is primed to grow and good nutrition supports both height and muscle. Involve a parent and your doctor in any big changes. If you have any heart or lung involvement from the pectus, get cleared first.
How long until I see a difference? +
The scale moves within 2–3 weeks once you're truly in a surplus. Visible muscle that changes how the chest reads takes months of consistent gaining and training - and slow is exactly what keeps the gain lean. The program asks you for three honest months before you judge it.
How do I get access after checkout? +
Instantly. Checkout takes a minute and the access link lands in your inbox right after - read it on your phone, tablet or laptop. Lifetime access, free updates, nothing to ship.
What if it's not for me? +
You're covered by a 30-day, no-questions-asked, 100% money-back guarantee. If it isn't what was described, email me for a full refund.
Three honest ways forward.
Take the free 1-minute assessment and get a straight answer for your condition and severity.
Take the assessment →The chat bubble in the corner reaches me directly, ask anything about your case before you decide.
Try the whole thing. If it isn't right for your chest, every dollar comes back.
Start risk-free →Feed the frame.
Fill the chest.
The evidence-based gaining system built for a pectus body and a low appetite: your numbers, the Blender Protocol, the 12-week loop, and the habits that make it stick. One payment, yours forever.
Start gaining P.S. If you've read this far, part of you has already decided. The only thing you can lose by trying is the version of next year where nothing changed. - Mihail