I didn't measure myself before losing some weight, I think I'm up to about 15 lbs lost now - but really it's more since I've been weight training - gaining muscle. So bye, bye fat frumpy bras. I know my measurements are down because they are loose - maybe an inch or two. I gain my weight in my upper body, and truth is I just can't gain it because I look so top heavy. At least I'm a losin' and I can go buy a few more bras. Can't wait to get back into some sexy cute ones again instead of these rediculous support minimizers...

Good for you! I'm down another size myself. I've gone from 42DD to 36C in the past several months.

Jay

Woohoo for you. I went WAY down in the bra department and I am sad about it. I didn't want to lose everything.

OK - a Big GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR from me again. I have lost 100 lbs and I swear my bra size is the same - how is that possible ???????????????

I know i've lost a couple inches across my boobs. I haven't tried on any bras lately to see how i fit into a "b" cup. I know my "C" cup is looking a little less full these days. That makes me pretty sad though. I liked my "c" cup. Although i want the diameter around the underneath my boobs to shrink!!

Yeah, I need to invest in new ones, because my friends are starting to comment that it looks like I'm not wearing a bra, because they no longer provide support. I wear a 42DDD or 40F, but I think I need to go look at 36Ds, or so, since I've lost 35 pounds so far. I just need to find the time to look. I would love to go down to a C cup! I've also been losing pretty fast, so I'm debating getting a new one now, or waiting a little longer and getting a smaller size...

Anna829, this may not appeal, but I bought some Bestform brand bras at Wal-Mart that cost $6 each. I bought 3 of them. They won't last long, but at that price they don't have to--and I plan to shrink some more. I don't want to spend $30 on a bra that I'm going to shrink out of.

Jay

Make sure to do your measurements periodically when you are losing weight. You might go down a cup size, or a band size, or both. Measure the ribcage, under the breasts, where the bra band fits. If you get an even number, add 4" to that, and you have your bra band size. If you measure an odd number, go up 3".

One of the best ways to tell if your band is getting too big, or the elastic is wearing down and you need a new bra, is that the back will start "riding up" and sit up higher than the front. If it is doing that, the band is too lose, or the elastic is worn out. The back of the bra should sit at the ribcage, below the breasts, even all the way around-and snugly.

I suggest getting a professional fitting. I started out a 38DD and was hoping to end up at 36D after losing 50 pounds. Imagine my surprise when I ended up a 32DDDD (G!) after my professional fitting. In some brands I'm a 34, others a 32. I learned a lot from that fitting, first and foremost that you want to use the last hooks (furthest out on the band) when you try on the bra. That gives you some room for the bra to stretch after a few wearings. My fitter even suggested getting some bra extenders so that you can wear your new bra the first few days and still be able to breathe, then when it stretches out you don't need the bra extenders. She said a new bra should be super tight around your ribcage. I bought the 32DDDD (Chantelle) thinking that if it didn't stretch out I had made a big mistake, but it did in just a day or too. I'm so glad I bought the smaller size. I think I'm in a 34 in other brands because Chantelle runs large. I have been getting cups that are way too small and bands way too big. The support comes from the cups and band, NOT the straps.
Hope this helps,
Pam

You can do the measurements just as I have described, it is the same way that a professional fits. (I do seamstressing, and fit women for costumes.)

Most women DO wear too large a band size, and too small a cup. They have bras that ride up in back because the band is too large, and they have spillage in the cups, or the center (between the breasts) is out away from the skin, rather than lying next to it, because the cups are too small. An underwire bra center should lay flat against the center of your chest if the cups are large enough.

The straps are just to stabilize, so that they don't slip off the shoulder. They shouldn't be used to "hike" up the breasts. Doing that causes ride up in the back as well. The back of your bra shouldn't be up at the shoulder blades.

My mom wore a 36C for years, and I measured her...and she was a 34D.

As someone who has learned alot about this issue from my own experience, I want to point out that reasts are made up a breast tissue and fat. The ratio is different for every woman. So, some people will loose weight, but their cup size will go up because the band size goes down (ex. 34c=36b in cup volume size). I am one of the women with mostly dense breast tissue, so I was a 32ddd or e when I was forty pounds lighter than I am now. I had a breast reduction earlier this year, and am now a 34c, but my doctor said that my breasts are still mostly dense tissue, so not to expect to loose much as I loose weight. Hope this helps some who may have had ?'s about this issue.

Tiffany

And just like with every thing else, we all lose in different areas. Some people will lose more around their middle, others will lose more in the rear end, and others will lose breast mass. Everyone is different.

A good point was made up though, if you take a 34B bra, and a 40B bra, the cups are bigger in the 40, because the A,B,C, etc. is only meant to mean the "projection" of the breast. A person with a 40 band size will have "wider" breasts than someone who is a 32 or 34...if that made sense.

So, if you start at a 40DD and end up at a 36DD, your breasts did actually get a little smaller, but they kept the same proportions as they were before to your ribcage.

Good idea. I'll have to look into that. I'm pretty cheap when it comes to clothes anyway. I'll pay a mint on tuition for myself and my daughter and on my mortgage, but clothes have never been a priority for me, simply a necessity (even when I was a size 4), so I love Target and Old Navy for clothes. I haven't tried Walmart much, but mainly just because Target is closer.

Thank you Aphil - I need to go get a tape measure. I think what is going on - and see if this makes sense to you - I did go down a couple of band sizes but I stuck with the same cup size. I think the cup size needs to be bigger now that the band size is smaller - make any sense ???? The new bra I did buy is smaller band size but the same cup size and my breasts bulge out at the top - which they did NOT do in the larger band size (now too big).