Help! I need to decide on a breast size before I’m done losing

[ShoppGirl 4,958]

I had a revision to SADI on 8/7/2024. Lost 70 pounds but then I started chemo for breast cancer that I was diagnosed with a day shy of my 3 month surgiversary. I was told not to lose quite as fast by the oncologist and the oncology dietician so I have since only lost ten more in 2.5 months.

Anyways, my double mastectomy is tentatively scheduled for 5/8/2024. During that surgery they remove all the breast tissue and put in Empty bladders they call expanders and then they slowly fill them each week with saline in the office to stretch the skin making room for the implant. The cosmetic dr says that I could take my time and try out all the sizes and go up and down and then do the reconstruction surgery to put in the saline implant when I’m sure of the size I want and I loved that idea because I want to go smaller but I know it’s going to take a while for my brain to get used to it.

The problem is that I have to begin radiation 6 weeks post surgery and the process does something to your skin that makes it very hard to stretch so the radiation Dr says I need to decide on a size before I start radiation treatments. Well I don't think it would be a good idea to postpone radiation just to decide on a breast size so I kinda need to know what my goal is right away so he fills it fast enough for me to get there within 6 weeks. At the same time it will hurt worse the faster we go. I am currently a 36 G. I was thinking maybe a 36 C or D would be small enough that they don’t get in the way with exercise and hurt my back and neck but not look too small after seeing myself larger for so many years. Also if I drop more weight and get to say a 34 I would be a D or DD but what if I lose more weight I mean I want to keep going if I can and then I’m a 32 DDD.

I was a 32 C when I was younger and I think when I got my implants I went to a small DD but I sorta doubt i will get that small again, honestly. how much weight did you guys lose between band sizes. I was thinking that if I get to 158 I would be thrilled and that’s only 20 more pounds so I know that I won’t get to a 32 at that size. Do you think it’s possible I will get back to the 120’s. I know the last two months threw my pattern off a bit but I was losing steady at 3-4 pounds a week before all of this. Is there anyone with similar stats that can tell me about their experience with SADI or maybe a virgin bypass. My loss trend was similar to that according to the NP at 3 months out. I really wish I could do this after I get to my low weight and stabilize. All I want is to be able to buy bras in a normal store and not have to pay a fortune for lunch lady bras anymore or have my back breaking and poor posture from a too large chest. But at the same time I don’t want to look too small. I figure that I would find the smallest size that I could get used to so when I lose more weight it will probably be perfect but I won’t have time to get used to it like the surgeon and I hoped. 😢

So I get that cup size is a matter of preference but can anyone with similar stats tell me how much they ultimately lost if they were losing 3-4 pounds at 3 months or how much weight they lost between band sizes or 36-34 and 34-32. Or anything else that may help me. I’m so scared I’m gonna decide on a size and my body is going to change but since it’s all implant after this surgery my boobs won’t change with me with loss or gain and I will be way too big or small for my frame.

Edited 15 hours ago by ShoppGirl

[SpartanMaker 807]

Well, as a guy I obviously have no real experience here but I wanted to point out a male perspective. My experience is that breast "size" is relative to overall body size.

What I mean by that is proportionally a C cup can seem quite big on a 5 foot tall 100 pound gal, whereas a DD cup might seem small on a 6 foot 250 pound woman. What the majority of guys like is just for a woman to look proportional. There are certainly exceptions (afterall people like what they like), but the majority of guys probably prefer something in the middle, thus not super small and not super big.

If you have a significant other right now, you might ask for their thoughts here? If not, I'd definitely recommend going no larger than a D cup as that can look normal at almost all the weights you're likely to land at based on your height. In other words, I think your initial gut feeling that a C or D cup will be right for you is spot on.

As to weight loss and where you "should be", it's all up to you. This whole idea that you will eventually stop losing at some number of months or percentage lost post surgery is based on averages, not science. I also think if you were to poll people here, you'd find that almost all of us tend to set initial goals much higher that what is attainable, so for those that have gotten into a "normal" range, we've probably adjusted our goal weights down at least once, it not more.

In my own case, I initially set my goal for 200, partly because it's a nice round number, and partly because that was lower than I remember ever being as an adult. Once I blew through that, I adjusted down to 180. I'm leaving my "goal" there at this point because I'm now focused on body recomposition. In other words, I'm trying to add some additional muscle and lose a bit more fat. Per my last In-Body scan, I'm at 13.5% BF and would like to be sub 12%. (Lean, but not shredded.) That would put me in the 165-170 range, but I want to also add roughly 8-10 pounds of additional muscle, so I'll leave the goal where it is for a while.

Let me close by saying I'm in awe of how well you've been handling the cancer diagnosis and treatment! I think I would have have completely fallen apart had I been in a similar situation. I know many of us here are rooting for you.

[ShoppGirl 4,958]

1 hour ago, SpartanMaker said:

Well, as a guy I obviously have no real experience here but I wanted to point out a male perspective. My experience is that breast "size" is relative to overall body size.

What I mean by that is proportionally a C cup can seem quite big on a 5 foot tall 100 pound gal, whereas a DD cup might seem small on a 6 foot 250 pound woman. What the majority of guys like is just for a woman to look proportional. There are certainly exceptions (afterall people like what they like), but the majority of guys probably prefer something in the middle, thus not super small and not super big.

If you have a significant other right now, you might ask for their thoughts here? If not, I'd definitely recommend going no larger than a D cup as that can look normal at almost all the weights you're likely to land at based on your height. In other words, I think your initial gut feeling that a C or D cup will be right for you is spot on.

As to weight loss and where you "should be", it's all up to you. This whole idea that you will eventually stop losing at some number of months or percentage lost post surgery is based on averages, not science. I also think if you were to poll people here, you'd find that almost all of us tend to set initial goals much higher that what is attainable, so for those that have gotten into a "normal" range, we've probably adjusted our goal weights down at least once, it not more.

In my own case, I initially set my goal for 200, partly because it's a nice round number, and partly because that was lower than I remember ever being as an adult. Once I blew through that, I adjusted down to 180. I'm leaving my "goal" there at this point because I'm now focused on body recomposition. In other words, I'm trying to add some additional muscle and lose a bit more fat. Per my last In-Body scan, I'm at 13.5% BF and would like to be sub 12%. (Lean, but not shredded.) That would put me in the 165-170 range, but I want to also add roughly 8-10 pounds of additional muscle, so I'll leave the goal where it is for a while.

Let me close by saying I'm in awe of how well you've been handling the cancer diagnosis and treatment! I think I would have have completely fallen apart had I been in a similar situation. I know many of us here are rooting for you.

Thank you for your kind words. I think I am going to be the same with the moving goal. I was actually tiny my whole life and didn’t start gaining until around age 25. I was a size one when I met my husband so I would love to get back there but I am not nearly as active now even when I exercise like mad. My hobbies have changed from very active ones to sedentary ones so formal exercise is my primary form of activity. I just want to feel good at this point and if I get to a size medium I will be happy enough. I won’t just stop there though unless my body wants to. Building muscle is going to be my next big challenge. I wish you the best of luck in your goals with that. I am thinking that at some point I am going to have to get a personal trainer for the muscle building since that is something I have never even tried. Hopefully next year I will be In a place that I can start working on that. Maybe insurance will cover it since I will need help to do it safely after my surgery 🤔 I need to ask about that.

[SpartanMaker 807]

12 minutes ago, ShoppGirl said:

Maybe insurance will cover it since I will need help to do it safely after my surgery 🤔 I need to ask about that.

Personal Training is not normally covered by insurance, though if your doctor prescribes specific types of training where a CPT can help, it's remotely possible. More likely to be covered would be a Clinical Exercise Physiologist since they are healthcare professionals that focus or health or illness rehabilitation. They are also more than qualified to develop a training plan and instruct you on movement patterns. They typically work in hospital rehab settings or for large physician practice groups. This differs from a Physical Therapist that focuses more on rehabilitating injuries vs. illnesses.

[NickelChip 1,284]

I was wearing a 42DD pre-surgery at 251 pounds, and at 165 pounds, I am in a 38DD. If I lose the last 10-15 pounds I hope to lose, I doubt I will change band size, honestly. The reason I say this is I run my hands around the area where the bra bad goes and I have almost no pinch-able fat left. I could see dropping to a D cup because the breasts themselves still have plenty of room to get smaller, but the band size is limited by the size of my ribcage, which I can feel prominently in that area. In the past few months, I dropped more than an inch from my bust and less than 0.25 inch from my band. In an ideal world, I think I would like to wear a 38C, but that's just my preference.

And I am so amazed by how well you are taking all of this. I'm really wishing you the best with the cancer treatment and hoping you are well again soon!

[ms.sss 15,694]

something to note that i discovered many women (and men) don't realize is cup size is not static across band sizes (sorry if you do know, i just got the feeling that this wasn't clear in the thread above...)

anyway...

the amount of "boob volume" that can be stuffed into a 36C is actually LESS than the amount you can stuff into a 34C. along the same lines, that same 36C boob is larger in VOLUME than a boob in a 38C.

sooooo... 3 women with bra sizes 34D, 36C, and 38B actually all have the same size boob (if they are wearing a properly fitting bra of course), however their TORSO sizes are different.

with that said,

1) @ShoppGirl its reallllllllllly hard (impossible?) to tell what size you will be in the future. on top of that, it's equally (more?) difficult to determine if you will stay that way.

2) i do understand that you have a decision to make (under time crunches and duress, omg) but like everything else on here, its reallllllllyy hard to compare yourself and your outcomes to others cuz, well, you know... but since you asked, here are my deets:

btw, 28D is like a unicorn to find in a retail store...i just get the sister size of 30C (which isn't that easy to find either, but at least better than trying to find 28D!)

i didn't keep meticulous records of my changing bra size during active weight loss, so i can't say how quickly i changed bra sizes. i dont think i even bought a new bra during weight loss phase, just kept wearing ill fitting ones or none at all, ha.

not sure i was any help here, but it there is anything to take away from this data of my sample of ONE, is that if you shrink proportionately as you lose weight, you will stay the same bra size (remember 28D has same boob volume as 30C, just smaller torso, which has nothing to do with implant size)...now, will you shrink proportionately? who even knows.

3) lastly, in my insignificant opinion (i mean i am just a stranger on the internet), if it were me, i would opt to err on the side of smaller vs bigger. i can always wear a padded bra if i wanna go bigger afterwards, but not much i can do to make a set too-big boobies smaller.

good luck! ❤️

[ms.sss 15,694]

something to note that i discovered many women (and men) don't realize is cup size is not static across band sizes (sorry if you do know, i just got the feeling that this wasn't clear in the thread above...)

anyway...

the amount of "boob volume" that can be stuffed into a 36C is actually LESS than the amount you can stuff into a 34C. along the same lines, that same 36C boob is larger in VOLUME than a boob in a 38C.

sooooo... 3 women with bra sizes 34D, 36C, and 38B actually all have the same size boob (if they are wearing a properly fitting bra of course), however their TORSO sizes are different.

with that said,

1) @ShoppGirl its reallllllllllly hard (impossible?) to tell what size you will be in the future. on top of that, it's equally (more?) difficult to determine if you will stay that way.

2) i do understand that you have a decision to make (under time crunches and duress, omg) but like everything else on here, its reallllllllyy hard to compare yourself and your outcomes to others cuz, well, you know... but since you asked, here are my deets:

btw, 28D is like a unicorn to find in a retail store...i just get the sister size of 30C (which isn't that easy to find either, but at least better than trying to find 28D!)

i didn't keep meticulous records of my changing bra size during active weight loss, so i can't say how quickly i changed bra sizes. i dont think i even bought a new bra during weight loss phase, just kept wearing ill fitting ones or none at all, ha.

not sure i was any help here, but it there is anything to take away from this data of my sample of ONE, is that if you shrink proportionately as you lose weight, you will stay the same bra size (remember 28D has same boob volume as 30C, just smaller torso, which has nothing to do with implant size)...now, will you shrink proportionately? who even knows.

3) lastly, in my insignificant opinion (i mean i am just a stranger on the internet), if it were me, i would opt to err on the side of smaller vs bigger. i can always wear a padded bra if i wanna go bigger afterwards, but not much i can do to make a set too-big boobies smaller.

good luck! ❤️