I have had boobs since I was 11. I wore a C cup in 7th grade. And, I have been overweight my entire life. For me, that means that the big boobs turned to saggy big boobs. I know that overweight women can have small and/or perky boobs, but I am not one of them. Oh, I'm pretty sure that they were perkier when I was a teen, but they have never been what one would call perky. Support has always been very, very important. As I gained weight, the bra size grew until I could not often find them in "regular" stores. Or if I did, they looked like something my grandmother would wear.
At my highest weight, all of my bras were too tight. I refused to buy bigger bras, so I loosened the straps, hooked them on the outermost set of loops and ended my days with painful red marks around my midsection. Now, 54 pounds lighter, all of the straps are at their tightest and so are the bands. And the sag is just awful. I don't have really cutesy bras, but I like the ones I have. I have smaller clothes from the last time I was at this weight, but the bras are long gone.
The sag problem was highlighted today by the shirt I am wearing. Technically, it's now about 4 sizes too big, but I love it. It's a short-sleeved button-down shirt with a grosgrain ribbon sash, and the shirt has loops sewn on it to hold the sash. The loops are under the bustline (for that "empire" waistline, I suppose). I have tied the sash in the back today. But it pretty much disappears under the boob hangover unless I put the shirt down when I stand up. This is my pushiest of push-up bras. Clearly it is no longer doing it's job. I find myself singing the song "Do Your Ears Hang Low?", replacing "ears" with "boobs."
I think it's time to do it. I think it's time to actually get measured for a bra. I know we're all supposed to do it; I've read the articles that say that we're all wearing the wrong bra size. But the idea of someone putting a tape measure around me is very uncomfortable. I think I'll have to do it, though. I'm obviously not a 46D anymore. Maybe I never really was!
mental exertion vs physical exertion
8 years ago
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Oh sister, I hear ya! I have the same problem as you, with one exception (in the next paragraph). I don't remember what cup size I was in junior high, but I remember first learning about minimizer bras at the beginning of my sophomore year. I also remember being devastated in 6th grade when I first had to wear a bra. My Mom thought I was a little nuts because all girls are supposed to be excited about that, right? She was so small growing up (not anymore, although, actually, she has NONE now since she had a double mastectomy last year, heh) and wanted bigger boobs. I remember in college complaining about the size of my boobs to another woman and she exclaimed that I didn't know what it was like to have small boobs, so how could I say that? My reply was "bullsh*t, how do you think I *got* these boobs?!"
ReplyDeleteAnyway, my one exception is the summer after my freshman year of college, I had breast reduction surgery. Other than getting banded last year, it was the best thing I did for my body! I went from a DD bra that was way too small to a C and I was ecstatic. Even better was that we got insurance to pay for the whole thing because of back problems (I have slight scoliosis).
There's one catch, though... The doc explicitly asked me if I stopped growing taller because if I hadn't, my feet, nose, and boobs will still get bigger. I was 19 years old! I thought I had stopped growing when I was 17. Well, I was *wrong*. I didn't stop growing until a few months before my 22 birthday. Argh! What women DO that?? Coincidentally, that's when I started to gain weight because my eating and exercise habits were the same, but I was no longer growing taller, only wider!
So, sure enough, a few years later my breasts increased to a D cup. I was really bummed. And then since then when I've gained weight, I'm back to a DD. I know that when I lose weight, they'll get smaller, but they'll never be the "perky" C's they once were.
There are so many reasons why I'd love to win the super lotto, but being able to have cosmetic surgery again after I lose a bunch of weight is one of them. Ah well. At least I'll lose weight, that's good enough for me!