I’ve been having a lot of back issues lately. Between the card table and antique dining chair I’m forced to sit in at work three days a week (it’s a home office, so there isn’t a real office chair or ergonomic desk), the cramped seats on the subway, and regularly carting heavy bags around the city for my other job as an assistant, my lower back has been in quite some discomfort and pain lately.
When I complained about it to my boyfriend, he also pointed out that my posture is dreadful, even when I’m just standing around. So I’ve been making an effort to sit and stand up straight lately. It helps that I switched to a new three-day-a-week job just this week, where I get to sit in a real office with a real desk and office chair. But even when I’m just standing in wait for an elevator or the next bus, I’m trying to be conscious of my posture.
Then the other night, when I was reiterating this newfound consciousness to the boyfriend, he also pointed out that I’m carrying a lot of weight on my chest. At first I scoffed, but then he lifted them up as I was standing there—and what a difference! It felt like I’d just taken off a heavy purse or other carryall after a long day.
Then I got the genius idea that we should weigh my boobs! We grabbed the scale, weighed me alone, then I stepped off and stepped back on while he held up my breasts. The difference was 5.2 pounds. That doesn’t sound like that much, but I suspect if I could actually remove them from my body completely, it would be even more. (Maybe I should buy a kitchen scale, so I could just plop them right on the scale?) Anyways, this means I’ve got 5.2 pounds at minimum pulling my chest downward all day, every day. No wonder my posture sucks!
With excellent timing, the next day I received a package of four brand-spanking new Freya Deco bras (two regular and two strapless) that I’d ordered a couple weeks prior. My old ones were worn out and didn’t fit anymore, since I went up a cup size a few months ago. Putting on the new bra felt pretty similar to when someone else held my breasts up. That’s what I love about a good molded push-up—if it fits well, it hoists the girls up enough that they feel less heavy. Even if you don’t like the ultra cleavage look of molded push-ups, you have to concede to this most excellent benefit. Plus, just having a bra that fits well, push-up or not, makes it a lot easier to hold my shoulders back and keep my back straight.
Have any of you tried weighing your boobs? Were you surprised by how much they weigh (or how little)? What method did you use?
I haven’t yet but I don’t think mine weight *that* much. They’re really soft and there’s loose skin there so I don’t think it would be that bad? Then again, I’m someone who seems to have issues when a band size is just slightly too big so maybe they weigh more than I think?
When my mom was growing up my grandma would tap her on the back every time she did slump. She is a 38HH I think she still has a great posture. Sorry but If Norma Slitz has good posture there is no reason for any large busted lady to blame our boobs for poor posture.
I do think one of the main reason why a lot of large busted ladies have bad posture, is because they adopt a bad posture on purpose. Most teens with larger than average breast will feel embarrassed and they don’t want to be gawked at. Even if you love your breast no one wants to be looked at like a piece of meat by every guy they see over 13. Once you start a bad posture the back certain back muscles beginning to weaken and it can be much harder to get back to having a good posture.
Angela, I think what you said is really true – I know I purposefully developed a bad posture early on in my teens to try to hide my boobs. It’s gotten better now that I actually wear bras that fit, but I still tend to slouch out of habit!
@June – I find that since I’ve been wearing bras that fit, nothing annoys me more than a too loose band (even if its only a teensy bit too big).
I’d be really curious to know exactly how much mine weigh. Perhaps I’ll have to do some experimenting with different weighing methods.
Riding horses (with a good instructor mind you) does wonders for teaching you good posture. Probably the only thing that saved my back is that I knew I rode horses that weren’t really an American Hunter type and so weren’t going to pin so the only way I could pin would be to enter equitation (your form). I’ve had excellent trainers who helped my posture- none had to deal with a large bust but that’s not an excuse to ride like a sack of potatoes.
There have been some hilarious pictures from rides that it looks like I’m going to be knocked in the chin.
Apart from just the posture, you also get some quite good core muscles… Few other ways of working out can give me so much muscle ache as riding. 😛 So, I think riding can do more than just learning a good posture.
I did wore terrible sport bras back then though… Thankfully the safety west strapped them down properly, but one should never forget that when it comes to boobs and sport bras horse riding is one of the most heavy impact sports one can do. 🙂
You could get a vest to fit? I never shelled out for a Tipperary, but the only other vests I could fit up top ended up way too long in the back and it became dangerous over fences when it would catch on the cantle.
It’s amazing how unwilling tack stores were to carry the more bust friendly lines of hunt coats (like everywhere else, I suppose). Not all of us are going to fit George Morris’ ideal.
The store where my sister and I bought our safety vests (or where we selected and our parents paid) they sell them in extra short lengths and if that isn’t suffiecent (too short or too long) they can also shorten the vests that they do have. And, they stock extra curve friendly vests too, not only the unisex sized ones. They actually have a quite good selection in everything (boots with different widths, different brands of pants with more or less room for hips etc).
Yes, I’ve actually taken out the kitchen scale and weighed them. Just over 5 pounds. I still don’t think that’s as much as they would weigh if they were removed from my body, but still.
Can you imagine not carrying that weight around all the time? =) I bet it would feel both exceptionally strange and wonderful at the same time.
I’ve always struggled so much with bad posture. Being tall (5’10) coupled with big boobs as a teenager? Not fun. It’s something I struggle with to this day.