[KrystalJade]

Sorry if I'm being TMI! Is anyone else out there so top-heavy that it gets in the way of them having an effective workout? What kinds of exercises do you do to compromise? I love medium/high impact exercises like kickboxing, dancing and doing jumping jacks, but I can't for the life of me stand the back and neck strain I carry throughout the day! Ironically those are the only exercises for me to get rid of them quickly, but it's super painful in the process.

I just feel frumpy and so unsexy. They make my body look older than I am. They're actually the reason why I started on my weight loss journey to begin with. I'd love to get back to a smaller cup size where I felt pretty and youthful without so much pain carrying them around. I try to do some yoga and pilates and it helps some, but it doesn't do much for weight loss than it does strengthening and increasing my flexibility. I'm just so tired cracking my back every 5 seconds because my chest quite literally drags me down. Did anyone else's breasts decrease significantly when they lost weight? Please tell me it gets better! I'd love to run but it's completely out of the question at this point

[doingmybest]

I have the very same problem and I feel exactly the same way. I hate having large breasts.

I limit my exercise to walking, swimming, weight training and biking. I was always afraid that doing exercises that cause the kind of pain that you experience would create a more serious injury.

Maybe someone with a medical background can shed some light on the best way to exercise.

Thanks so much for your post, KrystalJade. This problem has always bothered me.

[Diamondonalandmine]

...I Love having big(ger) boobs no joke!
weirdly enough I don't like wearing cleavage baring tops.
I guess I am weird like that lol

I do a lot of muscle training on my back so I can hold them up with out pain. And it works! I wear two bras at the gym but anything to do with fast movement or running, no dice! There is always some movement. Try investing in a quality sports bra like shock absorber or something you will notice a pretty big difference.

When I was at my biggest I was a 44H and now I am down to a 37i soooo my boobs are shrinking slower but my rib cage & back are getting smaller faster so it's almost like they appear to be getting bigger... love it lol. They don't have a stomach to rest on so much now so it is more work on my back. But getting strong has DEFINITELY helped!

What about some kind of a compression bra? I have heard of these was thinking of getting one so I can run outside instead of at the gym.

[LilDazed]

=3 I gots the big breasts too. And yeah, the cardio can get a little painful. But I've been getting better at ignoring it and focusing on other things. I should invest in some new workout bras though. Ones with more support please.

[grinchygirl]

I'm a 38HH, and I find I can do elliptical with no problem. I also am in a core training class and that helps so much with back support. Work those abs!

I wear standard full coverage bras because I hate sports bras at my size. Perhaps when I'm smaller ill feel comfortable in them again.

I don't think ill ever run, might take an eye out

[KrystalJade]

thanks for the responses ladies! Where do you all buy your sports bras? I feel like the ones I see at the store are some kind of generic "small, medium, large" size that won't provide the structure I need. I'd love for my boobs to get down to a C, or even a D. In the summertime I can't wear spaghetti straps or any kind of V neck shirt that bares cleavage because it makes me look trampy. I know if they were smaller I'd definitely be focusing on my stomach area rather than just trying to decrease their sheer size. Have any of you noticed with your weight loss if your boobs decreased in volume? Or have they firmed up at all? Mine are decreasing in volume and I've been doing strength/weight exercises to tone up my chest, but there's been no...ahem...lift in them yet, so to speak. I don't want to end up with a toned body and saggy boobs

[Pattience]

I would disagree that yoga and pilates don't do much for weight loss.

firstly what type of yoga are you doing? Are you doing a class? Try standing on your head for 30 minutes and tell me you are not puffing away like mad. If you are puffing you are burning calories fast. If you are just sitting on the floor and with your legs out to the side and stretching, then ok perhaps not much calorie burn there. Do a backbend, that will burn calories too. I just think its all better than sitting on your arse and i think there are so many other benefits to yoga that it far outweighs what you can gain from a gym lifting weights.

So look for a really good teacher.

if you are doing a class maybe you can find a more strenuous class. Some are very fast paced and will be a good cardio workout. Some are more strength based like Iynengar. in my view Iynegar will also be good for weightloss if you do a 1.5 hour class.

I haven't done much pilates but if you are puffing and feel somewhat tired at the end, then you have to be burning calories.

And both of them are building/toning muscles and so you will have more muscle mass to burn up calories faster.

When i say muscle building, i don't mean like weight lifting but even weightlifting for weight loss doesn't have to mean big muscles.

But then you can mix these activities up with others as well such as swimming, or dance or walking. Walking 10km will burn up a fair bit of calories. Or make that walking for an hour.

[mothermavis]

I'm a 40 something not a 20 something, but your post caught my eye. The best sports bra I have found are the maximum support from Victoria's Secret. Love them!

[Diamondonalandmine]

As you lose more weight your boobs will deflate. They are made of fat so ya. You can work the pecks it helps a bit for sure. The other option would be a breast reduction. If you are in Canada it can be covered if the strain on your back/body is to much.

[shanhat81]

Your boobs will deflate, but genetics play a role in it, too.

I started as a 38D ... now I'm a 32FF. So that's not exactly the 34C of my dreams!

I find running to be uncomfortable no matter what, but I'm OK otherwise.

I wear a sized and underwired sports bra (I like Freya's activewear for this) and a compression tank to hold me in as much as possible.

And I love, love, love Pilates. Great for tightening the core.

[grinchygirl]

How and when your boobs shrink depends on where you lose weight. Losing weight will slim overall but you'll find rate of change varies by area. For me, the last fifteen pounds have been tummy and calves. My boobs havent budged and they probably won't until I'm down another 20. My boobs have always be huge regardless of my weight.

My sister on the other hand, her boobs flattened to As as soon as she started losing weight.

[toastedsmoke]

Okay so when I first started my journey at 275lbs, I was a 44J so I definitely understand what you're saying. As a big-boobed girl, you NEED good support in general which unfortunately means usually you have to pay quite a bit extra. The difference between a bra that gives good support and one that doesn't is the difference between walking tall and a backache, so if surgery is not an option and you're dealing with boob-related back pain, definitely look into making sure you have a quality bra that's giving you good support and that you're wearing the right size. There's a member who used to be active on here but isn't as much anymore who has a site called Braless in Brasil (www.bralessinbrasil.com) which is an excellent resource for everything big-boobed- from bra-sizing, to brands with pretty supportive bras, to even clothing for a bigger chest.

Regarding your actual question. Your real option is to get a proper sports bra with support. Even now that I'm like a 34E, I don't consider those compression sports bras (S, M, L, XL) to be sports bras, they support nothing! I wear them yes, but over a proper supportive sports bra with underwiring and proper strapping and support. Freya, Panache, Elomi, Goddess etc have some good ones in bigger cup sizes (check Amazon, ebay, google etc). I always wear a compression sports bra OVER my supportive sports bra to further help with the bounce for higher impact workouts.

When I first started working out, I did C25K (a couch to 5km running training program) and Jillian Michaels' 30 Day Shred workout DVD. These 2 were pretty high impact so support was a requirement. As a 44H (pre-knowing about good sports bras/being able to find any in my size), I would wear a compression sports bra over 2 regular underwired bras. My first bra would be a minimizer bra that was slightly too small in cup size, then I'd layer a minimizer bra that was my size over it, then I'd wear a compression sportsbra over that just to be comfortable and reduce the bounce. With bigger boobs, one needs to take extra care, but you can definitely do high impact workouts once you're well supported/"fully strapped in" if you are otherwise fit to do so.

Re: the question of boob-shrinkage... all I can say is sigh! The boobs do not become perkier or firmer in any way with weight loss, they literally deflate in volume. I wanted smaller boobs so badly at my highest weight and now I'd love more volume and fullness. A 34E might not sound that little, but it is when most of it is droopy. In fairness, I didn't have perky boobs to start with (anyone who's naturally a 44J and does is extremely lucky).