Can we talk about bras?

[house]

So how does exercise affect your boob size? What am I expecting in a month, if I stick to my 3 days/wk schedule? I really need new bras. Should I wait another month to get them?

[katyintx]

I think it probably depends on your size to begin with. Right out of college when I was about 20-30 pounds heavier, they shrunk enough to make a significant difference and need new bras. Now that I'm stable, when I'm training vs. not training they'll fluctuate a bit, but not enough to warrant a new size.

That was totally not helpful, I know. I'd guess that maybe if you've historically been smaller, to wait?

[billysgirl07]

I think that it depends where you lose the weight. I tend to gain weight in my boobs but then I don't seem to lose it there either. I have lost weight in my band area.

Another suggestion would be to buy a sports bra with a band that feels snug and buy one of those extender things. I used these when I was too fat for my old sports bras but couldn't afford to buy all new (bras are expensive yo!)

I would get at least one good sports bra for the time being if you are that concerned with it and then maybe re-evaluate in a month or so.

[wambam]

I went under the knife because of how much my boobs affected exercise lol. And even when I lost 20lbs of fat, my knockers didn't budge in size uggghhh.

I like to have one sports bra for every day that I work out during the week. Pre-surgery, that was like a $300 investment so I understand why you wouldn't want to do that. Since you're working out 3x/week, I'd get two and do laundry until you know what size you're going to end up.

[runaways]

There was one point in my life in college where I transitioned from a year of being pretty sedentary to much more active that I dropped a size, but it hasn't changed with any fluctuations since then. I really think you're just going to have to wait and see how your body responds, to be honest. Bras are expensive though so I'd err on the side of waiting if it were me.

ETA - Wait, are we talking about regular or sports bras? If the latter, definitely get at least one that fits now.

[ebeth]

my bra size has never changed. even with a 40lb weight loss. my breasts are more tissue than fat. so in addition to where you tend to lose/gain weight, whether you see any changes in bra size will depend on the tissue/fat ratio of your breasts.

[jordylee]

My bra size is hugely correlated with my weight. I feel like a 5 pound weight gain goes straight to my boobs. So I have "fat" bras and "skinny" bras, like most people have fat jeans and skinny jeans. If you really need new bras, I would get at least one now to hold you over. A bra that doesn't fit properly is the worst.

[emilyinchile]

I think you mean regular bras, not sports bras. Have you recently been slimmer than you are now? If so, did you wear the same size bras? As you can see, it depends on the person, so I'd go by whether your boobs have fluctuated in the past with weight gain/loss.

FWIW, I don't think that a month of 3x/week exercise is going to cause a massive change in your body, but if you're coming from not doing any activity and eating a bunch of crap to doing intense exercise and eating cleaner foods, you're going to have a bigger initial drop than if this is a smaller change in your routine. That said, since you just want to wait a month max, and that's really not that long, I'd hold off on the purchase just in case. Well-fitting bras are important!

[mainewifey]

I would be pretty surprised if after a month there would be much difference.

If I were going bra shopping and planning on losing some weight I would make sure that when I put the bra on that I could comfortably use the first set of hooks on the band, that way you have a few more sets of hooks if you quickly lose inches in that area.

[house]

 So I got fitted at Nordstrom and because I have always been wearing the wrong size, my first reaction with all my correct size was to immediately reach for the last set of hooks! I have always been wearing a 34C and now I am a 28DDD. Of course there wasn't any 28 I could try on in the store. So the fitting lady brought me 30 band and that's what I went with. I still can't think I can be comfortable in size 28! :?

[jordylee]

My nordstrom bra fitting was lifechanging. I had been wearing a 36B/C for as long as I can remember. Got measured as a 32D. It instantly made me look like I lost 10 pounds, and my boobs looked amazing. The bras there were expensive, so I bought only bought one... then I went on ebay and bought 4 more of the same style for half price. SO WORTH IT.

[house]

OMG thank you so much jordylee! I didn't even think about ordering from ebay!