I think the modest swimwear looks like it would be an interesting option. I'd never even looked into that before. I'm one of those people that -mostly- doesn't care though.

What I do, that could be modified easily to meet your leg requirements, is I take a bikini top and bottoms (that I got from Walmart, go figure) and wear a normal cotton tank top over it. My thing was that I have a long torso, so it's hard for me to find one pieces that work, and tankinis (that I've found) ride up when I do any sort of physical activity. This way, I feel like I'm wearing a bra and shirt, instead of a swimsuit. It's also better for concealing the mid-section. Given, the tank top would float up in the water (or cling to you, not sure which), but I usually don't get in the water when I go to the beach.

To talk about the bikini above though, I don't really know why Walmart sells bikinis up to a size 3x. I'm pretty sure they're not thinking along the same lines I am. I'd like to meet women who are my size and brave enough to wear a bikini all by itself and be happy in it! Haha. I know they exist, but... I just wanna know HOW.

A bikini? Wow that is bravery, even with a cover up shirt :)

I also have a long torso so it does take work finding the right swimsuit. I found a JMS one piece faux tankini that works well for swimming as well as an eddie bauer miracle suit tankini for the beach. I guess the tankini is close to a bikini with a coverup shirt considering the tankini top will float up. I have no desire to ever wear a real bikini though :)

I actually did wear a bikini (ok it was a boy-shorts style) about 7 years ago when I got down to about 170 on Atkins. I thought I looked fabulous! I saw some pictures and I didn't look half bad. I felt VERY naked though. Only wore it to a freinds small swim party in her back yard. I still have it and will wear it again!!!!

Kerri

Hi bibler, I just wanted to say thankyou for posting and posing your question because by doing so you helped all of us! :) You inspired me to think and look into some things and that was so nice. As for a certain rude poster, ah heck, jelousy! lol your going to be on a gorgeous hawaiin beach and she is going to be sucking on snail leaves, hahahaha :) I think it is so super you wrote and reached out, I admire you :hug: we are all thinking about bathing suit time right about now and your post helped us all, so ty : ) I really mean it when i say I admire you. FOr me, its not always easy to reach out and is something I am learning to do. The result is usually faboulous, but of course there is bound to be an apple here and there witha worm in it, lol ;) you have a beautiful time sweetheart and bravo for writing! Have a beautiful time and thank you again :) ohhhhhhhhhh by the way, have some of those mona loa macadamia nut chocolate covered things for me , ok? ;)

Good luck with the trip, and I hope you find a suit that lets you throw caution to the wind and enjoy yourself, without feeling self-conscious. I spent two weeks in Trinidad and Tobago in February, and was really self-conscious to start with but it was my first trip to a beach EVER (I grew up in land-locked Iowa - it's over 1000 miles to any ocean), and I learned to just have some fun.

We spent 8 days of our two weeks at various beaches - I started the week in a tankini and knee-length board shorts. Frankly, I realized that I was probably getting more looks from wearing shorts in the water than if I'd just worn a suit like all the other normal fat chicks on the beach! I was advertising how self-conscious I was. Especially since the biggest board shorts I could find were not quite big enough - I looked like a stuffed sausage!

By the next day, I decided to break out my bikini top with boyshort bottoms (I'd packed 4 swimsuit tops and 2 bottoms, and ended up buying 2 more suits there!), and actually felt much less self-conscious. I'll admit, there were a couple pictures my friends took that caught some really mortifying back-fat rolls that are part of my motivation to lose weight, but I just decided to forget it and enjoy myself. No one there was ever going to see me again, anyhow!

At 200 pounds, I wore a bikini on the beach for a week straight - I never would have thought this was something I could do. I certainly didn't look like a model, but I had a lot of fun and did NOT look too bad! Frankly, we are the size we are - and we're going to look this size whether we dress in a sack or in a fitted suit... it's a matter of wearing something that best flatters the body you're in now.

So, I never planned to share this picture with anyone, for obvious reasons, but here's a good demo of why NOT to wear boardshorts just because they cover you - since they created one heck of a belly roll!
http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y26...k/IMGP0127.jpg
Whereas a few days later when I wore the suit on its own, I looked a lot smoother and the suit fit well, without the shorts over top. (Granted, I'm still trying to hide behind my arms, but I guarantee you it looked better!)
http://lh3.google.com/image/brianne....JPG?imgmax=512

I've spent too many days hiding under jeans while others swim and play - I'm not going to do it any more! Have fun on your vacation, buy clothes that fit you well today (regardless of where you think you "should" be), and enjoy yourself!