The Struggles of Having Big Boobs (And How I Solved Them)

For my family, big boobs are just a part of our genetics, but I never understood how frustrating it would be to have them.

I was an early bloomer. From the age of nine, I found I was starting to develop breasts, acne started to break out in places I didn’t think you could get it, and my weight was beginning to yoyo – I felt like a beautiful disaster. Even worse, attention from primary school mates who found it funny I was developing the way I was, gave them a license to be cruel. They would poke fun at the way I couldn’t play sports and run like the other kids without having to hold onto my breast, afraid the growing mounds on my chest would knock me out and give me a black eye. This did happen during my teens; it got to a point that if I wanted to do my Judo, school sports and swimming; I would have to strap them down somehow. So, I began to wrap a bandage around my chest to flatten and hold my boobs in place. This worked and for a long time it became a norm for me and my own little secret. Still, I found it hard to be myself and find a balance that was considered healthy, therefore the weight gain continued and therefore my breast grew; that idea to look right and fit in with everyone else eventually broke down my self-confidence and killed the love I had for myself.

By the time I was in my senior year at high school, I was obese, seventeen, weighing in at 124 kilos. Because of this, the snide remarks only pushed me to wear clothing a lot larger than what I was because the thought of showing my figure was traumatising. When it came to a bra that fit right; it was a nightmare, I always thought the right bra wasn’t out there for me. Just like my daily wardrobe, lingerie for plus size young women was not as easily accessible or appealing to buy. My first bra fitting was at the age of 13 and I must admit it felt awkward and I wasn’t even sure if I was given the right advice in the end, mainly because no bra felt like it fitted right even after that initial sizing. I had too many rolls and no matter the bra every one of them was either thin and daintily strapped or stretched to where the elastic no longer held my breasts in place due to the heaviness of them. It takes me back to not long after my nineteenth - a dear friend of mine who was driving me home from TAFE was concerned about my breathing as he listened to me in the car. The embarrassing thing was my boobs were that big from the weight that each time we went over a bump they would bounce and make the rest of my flabby skin jiggle well after the bump had past and this in turn made it difficult for me to breathe and slightly feel insecure around my male friend despite him being genuinely concerned. That concern for my health was important to hear from him, although painful to admit to myself, it made me think about what I wasn’t doing to look after myself.

I went on to a Low GI, Low Carb diet and for the first two weeks I’d say I struggled. But then after those weeks began to fade and I stayed headstrong in my own mission the weight began to disappear. I was finally finding love for myself again and things were starting to feel holistic overall with my well-being. Yet, no one told me that your boobs would be the first to lose the weight. I think I spent more time searching for bras to fit while I lost the weight, more so than buying clothes. I went from 124 kilograms to 80 kilograms after being on my journey for a year and half.

But did I end up finding that perfect bra? No. Unfortunately I had a drawer full of bras but not one of them fit me the way they were supposed to. Now I am in my thirties and to be honest I still am figuring it out. Well that was until I had the chance to come into Brava. They have walk-in fittings and sell bras that are a dream comfort. I wasn’t expecting the experience I got with them, but I walked away with more than just a fitting. I walked away feeling much more supported (in a literal sense too), and a part of a community of women who understand the drama of having big boobs.