Petite ladies at goal weight - back size for bras?

Dragonnade
Dragonnade Posts: 218 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I have a question for everyone who is at goal weight, esp those who are ripped from lifting heavy. What is your back size for your bra?


For background, I got fitted for bras this weekend, after having lost some weight and I'm now a 30" back and a G cup. Which is ridiculous. I seem to not be losing breast size *at all*.

It poses a larger question which is whether, if I reached my goal body, I'd be able to find bras at all! I just have no idea how small one's back measurement might go as there are ribs and stuff.

I'm 5'2 and generally quite tiny, norks excepted...

So help! Do I continue to lift heavy or drown my sad face in a mountain of pie?! (clearly going to keep lifting heavy; just might up the pie ration to maintain fat %)

Replies

  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    I have the opposite problem to you.... 40" strap size with small boobs. My strap size is unlikely to go down either, because it's all rib cage and not fat. I'm 22% body fat and just 8mm skinfold on my ribs. (and yes I'm petite (in stature anyway, not in frame size lol) just 5'1")

    I'm already at a bra size that doesn't exist in all but about one shop, so if I get any leaner (which will equal an even smaller cup) then my size won't exist anywhere

    if your bra strap size has gone down, then your breast size will have done as well, even if the cup size number stays the same. Though I think it's really stupid of bra companies to assume that small ribs = small boobs and big ribs = big boobs. It doesn't work like that for everyone.
  • srworthy
    srworthy Posts: 21 Member
    Don't worry about your boobs, keep lifting and let Bravissimo take care of the girls. They carry all of the non-standard sizes, have really good quality products and customer service.
  • Dragonnade
    Dragonnade Posts: 218 Member
    They don't have less than a 28" back size though. No one seems to. I'm going to keep lifting cos ... well, I want to be strong enough to punch out a cow. I just want to ensure I can get bras should I get Dat Body, rather than get there and have to up the pie ration so I don't knock myself out when running as I can't get a sports bra to fit. Hence asking if I'm ever likely to slip below fitting a 28" back cos I don't know if that's even possible.


    This is like, the vainest thread ever.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    nothing wrong with vain :smile:

    if you beef up your intercostal muscles (the ones between the ribs) chest and back, you may be able to increase the size of your rib cage a little. Things like planks, pendlay rows, bench press might do this, although you may need to eat at a surplus for a while to put on any size, and I think there's a limit to how much, I don't expect you can make it bigger by more than an inch or two, but that might be enough to stop you going below a 28" strap. I've heard a few times that swimming and singing is the cause of having a big rib cage (had this suggested to me a few times as to why I have a big rib cage) but I really don't think so (or only just a little bit), because it depends on the size of the actual rib bones mainly, which is genetic.

    you can check your skinfold on your ribs to see how much fat is there, if there's a lot of fat there, then your strap size will go down as you lose fat, if there's not, then it won't.
  • Dragonnade
    Dragonnade Posts: 218 Member
    Interesting theory. I used to play clarinet as a teenager so if there was a link between such activities and size of ribcage etc, I'd expect to see it. But I have smaller than average lung capacity and the scientists we were speaking to basically said "smoke to decrease; nothing you can do to increase it". Which suggests that it could well be linked to rib cage size and thus, I'm guessing my cage is on the petite size.

    There's also a noticeable layer of fat on them. I would have guessed last week that you'd be able to make out a shadow of rib cage were I able to wear a 30" bra, but evidently not. I can pinch like a cm width out more than half an inch...

    I shall definitely keep up with the chest exercises. If I have roaring pecks then that would definitely be preferable to being wraith skinny. Plus it's yet more ways to keep them nice and perky.

    I suppose the thing to do is to keep on trucking and keep an eye on it all.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    I've only had my lung capacity measured once, and it was way above the normal range for a woman of my height. I'm pretty sure rib cage size genetic as several people in my family have huge rib cages, including my 3 yr old daughter (compared to other 3 yr olds) and she's too young for environmental things like learning to sing to have made any difference. I think those things may increase the size of the intercostal muscles, which would expand the rib cage a little but I highly doubt it would make more than in inch or so difference.

    pinching only 1cm means you don't have a lot of fat there. My skinfold there is 8mm you only have about 2mm more than me. I can see my ribs (as in count individual ribs) when I flex my upper body, which IMO is more due to having big ribs than a low body fat percentage, as it's at around 22% and I don't think you usually can see ribs at 22%. How far you can pull out the fat doesn't mean anything, just how loose the skin is (it tightens up with time). I don't think you'll go below a 28" strap based on that, probably you won't go below a 30" strap especially if you are doing plenty of lifting. Big pecs sound great, I'm aiming for those in the hope that they make my boobs look bigger lol.
  • Dragonnade
    Dragonnade Posts: 218 Member
    That all sounds very rational. Especially when pinching stomach and confirming I hold all my fat there. I'll go with your explanation and keep on plan A then. And when I can *finally* do an unassisted pull up, I shall probably have a whole heap of back muscle to pad out the strap length.

    Thought also occurs that, were I to totally undereat and get teensy but skinny-fat, my body would probably reduce breast tissue in an act of cannibalism thus ensuring I could still get bras. But that would be rubbish so shan't be doing that.

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