I warn you guys....disturbing visuals may occur if you continue to read...Okay, I know you saw the word BOOBIES and now you are on Auto Pilot..Continue on if you must...BUT I WARNED YOU...
I watched Oprah the other day, the kids were napping late and I indulged in a little couch time myself. Her show was one of those 'change your life' shows...about BRAS...I thought yeah how hard is that, snoooze........zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...I know I wear a 38D down from a 40 D...
I woke up a few minutes later and the English chicks from What Not To Wear were abusing women on the street and telling them how hideously they were dressed and what was wrong with their boobage...and they were grabbing the women's boobs!! Note to Oprah staff, That crap would not go down in the south, grab a redneck woman's tit and we will show you real fast we don't play that stuff here, you will have a bloody stub where that hand used to be..
Then a woman came on and said more than 80% of women were wearing the wrong size bra. I sat there smugly and thought "Duh how hard can it be to buy a bra." Then she said if your straps are always falling down your bra is the wrong size... Really?? Uh oh...that's me.... She said if the back is riding up...wrong size....I have one that does that also....ugh!! She went on to point out all the other things like, if you have 'extra' boobs coming over the tops or out the sides, back boobs or back fat coming over the strap...etc etc...Pretty huh?
I'm still thinking 'I used to sew, I know how to measure my chest'...duh....Then she mentioned that most women haven't measured their chest recently. Ha! I have to! I measure every week for my tracker on extrapounds.com!!
She said if you've had recent weight loss or weight gain it will dramatically change the size of your bra... Ha! Wrong, Oh Expert of the Brasserie. I am still hovering in the 38-39 category... Then it happened...she reminded us you also must measure the ribcage under the breasts... I indulged her and got out the tape measurer....pulled out 38 inches and lifted my arms put the tape where she said.....and uh...oh my! 33 inches...Wow
She then explained that the cup size is the difference in inches between the middle of the breast...and the ribcage measurement.. 39-33=6... 1=A 2=B 3=C (My dream size where all the cute bras are) 4=D 5=??? DD 6=???? = What? What the hell does a 6 inch difference get you?
A spot in a freak show?? Do they make bras like that?? If so I ain't never seen any at our Walmart. (Whole 'nother rant about Walmart's placement of the bras in their store coming on)
What happens as I continue to lose weight, my ribcage will get smaller and my boobies will stay enormous and I will need what? Bigger cups??? A crane to hold me upright??
WTH am I supposed to do?? It's almost impossible now to find a bra...(Remind me to tell you about the guy who was sooooo interested in me and my moms conversation about my selection in Lane Bryant) I mean it's bad enough that the manufacturers think if you have big boobs you don't need any padding...Heeelllllooooo frozen food aisle, need I say more???
Every big girl needs a 'cold weather' bra unless her girls have just lost all feeling. My twins are an excitable pair and although I don't get many dates, I prefer not to attract attention in that way.
So now I know, I have it all wrong, My boobs could look better and I could 'change my life' if only I knew where to buy bras for the freakishly endowed on a tight budget.
Thanks Oprah, thanks alot, something else for me to worry about fixing. Losing 100 lbs couldn't be enough, oh no, Now I need to go on a bra buying adventure probably every time I lose 10 more lbs...Our society has organ donors, tissue donors, bone marrow donors, can't we have boob fat donors?? I mean if someone would pay for me to get a nice perky pair of size C cups I'd donate all the extra gladly.
Whew that rant is over but now I have 2 or 3 more to get off my ummm....chest...
Another thing, go to a Sears store and visit the bra department. They will measure you and help find an appropriate bra. My chest is ENORMOUS. Although I haven't been measured at Sears yet, I have made more of an effort to find bras that fit no matter what the size on the tag says. Olga bras are great big-boobie bras, too. And I have had to buy the DDD in some bras just to have them fit comfortably. I would say I'm a 38DD, but my bra size now says differently. My Le Mystere bra makes me boobies look smaller and stands them up where they are supposed to be. It actually makes my torso look longer!
I have enormous uneven breasts. I have no idea what size of bra to wear! And now that I am losing weight it is even worse. I am going to take kache's advice and check out sears!
I agree, it doesn't matter what the tag says, try them all.
JC Penney does free fitting, too, but I have always been skittish about being 1/2 naked in front of the Grandma-types working there. If I am going to be treading on the lesbian line, I want it to be with someone hot. ;)
I am going home tonight to measure!
I did find Olga bras at Penneys, but some of their inexpensive brands fit well, too, and this way I won't mind tossing them in a few months.
I've always been self-conscious about my chest. I realise I look heavier than I am because of them, and I wouldn't mind learning how to keep them restrained better.
What is this love that men have with breasts, anyway. Everytime I started to lose weight, my husband would complain. Geez, I would still be a DD, and that wasn't enough?
I noticed that doing NS foods for a lot of my meal planning seems to have aided in keeping things in that area in proportion. I mean, I've gone from a 40 DDD to a 36 DD, but it has all been proportionate. I wonder if the high soy protein in the meals affects the hormones?
I am so looking forward to being a 34 again. That means sweaters looking good, not obscene!
Hey Brat, I just joined this site and you were the first post I read and I just got to say, you have come a loooong way!! You look absolutely amazing! Gorgeous. You are definately a motivation and a half. Keep it up! I see you're almost to your goal weight too! My hat goes off to you-for not choosing a quick and easy way out. :) -Liz
Dontcha just love a sports bra? Kind of creates this wall on your chest, a uniboob, if you will that is neither flattering nor supportive. Just wrong for us more well endowed women. But I do wish I could find a comfortable number with little construction, that would do the job and look at least ok and not weird.
That's not how I measure.....you take your ribcage and if it's under 33 inches add and if it comes out to an odd number round up to the nearest even. If you rib cage measurement is over 33 add 3 inches...also round that up to the next even number. This is your band size. Then subtract that from the measurement of the fullest part of your chest.
So for you you would add 3 inches to get a 36 inch band. you'd be a C. I had to buy new bras a few months ago because they were too big, but I apparantly a 40 C is the same cup(although narrower) as a 38D. I just measured myself again because of this post and now I'm a 36D, but I'm still wearing 38 D's and they ride up in the back, but they're ok for now. One thing is the smaller I get rib wise/stomach wise....the bigger my boobs look... before they sort of just blended in.
I suggest going to Victorias Secret and getting measured and then try on the different cup sizes to find one that covers well without gapping and spillage. The point between your breasts of your bra is supposed touch your chest.
Posted By:
07/22/2006 14:52
ACK no edit..
Umm that was supposed to say if it's under 33 inches add 5.. if over 33 add 3 inches to get your band size.
Posted By:
07/23/2006 17:13
Transplant
Girl, you are a hoot! I would like to be on the transplant list for extra boobs..lol And if you listed them on ebay I would definately bid!! I am just jealous because I always lose my boobs first. I need that extra padding you write about..that no one wants to make for big girls.... All joking aside, your blogs are truely entertaining and you weight loss is inspiring.
Sorry, I just had to comment! You do add inches to your ribcage measurement to get your band size. I always read you add 5 inches, but that never worked for me. I think 3 inches is closer. I have always worn a 34C, but after I quit nursing my twins, I went to get measured for a bra, and they told me I was a 32D (which is the same cup size as a 34C). My bras were riding up in the back because my band size was too big. The biggest problem is that most stores don't even carry bras in a 32! I have to pay a fortune for bras. When you go up a band size, then you go down a cup size to actually keep the same cup size. Yes, it is very confusing, but that's how it is. So, I get charged more at VS for a D cup, even though a 32D bra actually uses less material than a 34C! Talk about frustrating!
Well, I have a 10 month old son, so I'm still nursing, but I'm finally getting smaller. About 6 months ago, I was wearing a 32H! I didn't even know they came that big! I had to pay a fortune for a nursing bra in that size! I was bigger with my twins, but I never got measured. I think I'm in about a 32DD or 32E now, so that's MUCH better. I'm waiting to get measured again when I wean. JCPenney does measure, and so does VS. I go to a specialty store, though, because they really teach you how a bra should fit. That's how I know all about them.
I think you are doing awesome by the way! You look fantastic!
