How to prevent saggy breasts when losing weight?

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  • LynndaThompson
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    YES you should always be doing strength training - a few days a week!

    I have the same problem. I went from a DDD to a D now. and it's annoying, but the strength does help tone things up! Pushups are also great for this! :)
    I just wanted to say congrats on almost 120 pounds lost! that is amazing:)
  • whierd
    whierd Posts: 14,026 Member
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    .
  • tonightokayalright
    tonightokayalright Posts: 289 Member
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    I read a study recently that shows that wearing a bra LESS (going au natural) actually helps strengthen the tissue in your breasts because it has to hold itself up. Makes your nipples raise up. Chest exercises never hurt, and building up the muscle behind the breast tissue can make them seem fuller.

    Here's a lovely quote from that study:

    "Our first results confirm the hypothesis that the bra is a false need," Rouillon told France Info. "Medically, physiologically, anatomically, the breast does not benefit from being deprived of gravity. Instead, it languishes with a bra."

    The 15-year study involved 330 volunteers between the ages 18 and 35. Researchers measured their breasts using a slide ruler and a caliper and recorded any changes throughout the study period.

    Women who did not wear bras had a 7 millimeter lift as measured from their nipples each year. Their breasts were also firmer, and their stretch marks faded. There was also no evidence that the bras helped get rid of back pain.

    The researchers believed that wearing bras prevented the growth of breast tissue, which lead to deterioration of the muscles that support the breasts. If you don't wear a bra, the muscles are worked-out more, the findings suggest."
  • JudithEssex
    JudithEssex Posts: 34 Member
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    1. Breasts are mammary gland tissue and fat in a skin envelop OVER the pec muscles.
    2. As you lose weight, the fat in your breasts might shrink, since you don't get to decide where you lose fat from.
    3. Building and firming the underlying muscle can help, but it doesn't change the breast itself.
    4. Bouncing around without a bra puts stress on the skin = saggier breasts.
    5. After you have lost all the weight to goal, for the next year the body composition changes, as you continue to work out and maintain. things get tighter and more normal over time. really.
  • karl39x
    karl39x Posts: 586 Member
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    Find a good pair of willing hands to hold and entertain them while endlessly following you


    Ladies if you really need help, I'm your man.
  • aradje01
    aradje01 Posts: 12
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    I am having the same problem, I was (and still am) a 38C, but I notice they are sagging more. I haven't done any chest strengthening exercises yet, but one of my friends lifts weights and she lost her boobs pretty much all the way. Now she has pecks moreso than boobs. Boobs are fat, so be careful when toning them! I say just wear a good bra and tone up your chest a little bit.
  • PaintedAlice
    PaintedAlice Posts: 37 Member
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    Bump
  • Lara42
    Lara42 Posts: 1
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    http://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/avoiding-saggy-breast-syndrome-after-nursing/
    Written for nursing mothers, but there's a section on diet and breast health. Bone broth should help too - the glycosaminoglycans will support the connective tissue of your body, including the breast. I've gained and lost weight and my breasts have always stayed perky, but I also have eaten a traditional - foods diet for many years. I also don't do much in the way of chest exercises yet either.

    Hope that helps!
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,585 Member
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    CHEST EXERCISES!! THEY FIRM YOU UP. YOUR BREAST IS FAT MUSCLE AND TISSUE SO IF YOU LOSE FAT YOUR BOOBS SHRINKS..BUT WORKING YOUR CHEST FIRMS!
    Working your chest firms the pecs, but does nothing to firm the breast tissue itself.

    A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
    IDEA Fitness member
    Kickboxing Certified Instructor
    Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
  • Glampinupdoll
    Glampinupdoll Posts: 234 Member
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    I wish my boobs were big enough to be saggy....good luck sista!
  • WisheeNY
    WisheeNY Posts: 72 Member
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    Man there really is a thread for everything on here. Even if it is 3 years old.

    I am 25 years old, 320 lbs and a DD (A DDD depending on the brand) and somehow I've managed to avoid flapjack breasts and tons of stretchmarks even while ballooning to this size over the past 15 years. While my breasts are obviously nowhere near "perky", I really think they look okay for someone my size and I'd hate to see them really start to sag and flatten out while I lose this weight. I'd also hate to see them develop a ton of stretchmarks because while I still do have some stretchmarks at the tops of my breasts, they're only noticeable if I'm not wearing a bra which no one ever sees me without a bra anyway so who cares. I obviously plan on someone seeing me without one in the future though and would rather my breasts not make them want to put butter and syrup on them, or maybe I would I dunno. Anyways, does the whole sleeping in a bra/wearing a bra more often thing really work? I'd be completely fine with wearing a bra to bed and around the house as long as it didn't have wire in it and was comfy.
  • SugaryLynx
    SugaryLynx Posts: 2,640 Member
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    Mine lost their bounce but I got the *kitten* to make up for it ;) all about perspective
  • kitlynnJ
    kitlynnJ Posts: 78 Member
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    why do so many women worry about "bulk"?

    I wish I knew. It is so frustrating to hear this myth over and over again when strength training can do such wonderful things to shape your body.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I would also be interested in knowing. I'm scared to do too many chest exercises due to not wanting to losse too much of my chest.

    Actually chest exercises and a good supportive bra, especially when exercising, are the best things you can do.

    Chest flies, pushups, bench press, etc. Wear the bra to minimize bounce (gravity is not a friend of breasts). Do the exercises to firm up the pecs under the breasts.
  • WisheeNY
    WisheeNY Posts: 72 Member
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    Mine lost their bounce but I got the *kitten* to make up for it ;) all about perspective

    Yeah I don't know which one I care about more. I will be doing lots of squats throughout this whole thing though.

    I guess if wearing a bra all the time doesn't really help and I still don't really like my breasts I will go ahead and get surgery.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Chest exercises and toning.

    I just read an article that said that scientists are realizing that bra's actually make your boobs saggier because by holding them up for you all the time, the muscles there have atrophied and after 10, 20, 30 + years, they can never be the same. I don't know if that's true but it's what I read. Makes some common sense.

    No, I don't buy this. It doesn't seem to match my experience, anyway.
  • Bounce4
    Bounce4 Posts: 288 Member
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    Chest exercises and toning.

    I just read an article that said that scientists are realizing that bra's actually make your boobs saggier because by holding them up for you all the time, the muscles there have atrophied and after 10, 20, 30 + years, they can never be the same. I don't know if that's true but it's what I read. Makes some common sense.

    They've apparently never read the National Geographic.