Thursday, August 03, 2006

Unintended consequences

So, I've been going to the health club for over two months, after years of lassitude. I'm not doing as much cardio as I should because I have precious little self-discipline, and getting enough cardio exercise would entail going to the gym in between sessions with my trainer.

The trainer, however, puts me through my paces with all the weight machines and assorted crunches and small free weights. The results are great. I've got some muscle tone for pretty much the first time in my life, I'm feeling stronger and more energetic, and I no longer make those horrible groaning sounds when I get up from sitting on the floor. I've lost some excess flab, which is good because I need to take better care of my health. (I've got enough health conditions going on without jacking up my risk of heart disease with belly flab.)

But! The all-important "but." While fat is being replaced with muscle, it turns out that some body parts merely lose fat without then bulking up with toned muscles. To wit, my boobs are shrinking. I took some measurements this morning, and it appears that while my band size is the same or bigger (hello, chest and back muscles!), the cup size has plummeted by two to three letters. I haven't totally flattened out or anything, but sheesh! Three cup sizes? I wasn't expecting that.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have three cup sizes to lose? And God or whoever couldn't muster anything up for me one for me? Well, in spite of this injustice, I will share with you the mantra us flat girls console ourselves with: at least you won't have anything to get droopy in later life. At least, that's what I tell myself, although I'm sure my little nubbins will find a way.

Seriously, though, congratulations on sticking with your workout plan - it's hard to make that kind of lifestyle change. Good for you!

Orange said...

But 36aa, what if a modicum of droopage has already occurred? Then what? (Sigh.)

I swear I'm almost tempted to keep up with the muscle-building workouts, but start eating a crapload of chocolate ice cream to regain my two trusty friends.

Mignon said...

Orange, you can't mess with your bread and butta!

(Just do some more bench press - it'll build up your pecs which will look very nice in a low-cut blouse.)

Feral Mom said...

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Orange said...

You folks aren't making me feel much better here. Can I get a "more than a handful's a waste" here? :-(

Anonymous said...

"More than a handful's a waste."

You're quoting my husband, and he's a happy man! No, really - whatever bodily changes are going on in that area, if it's resulting from exercise, it's definitely a good thing.

Mona Buonanotte said...

I always lose my breasteses first when I'm dieting...it's not fair. I'm tempted to try pushing some belly fat farther north and see if I can compensate....

Kudos for working out! You're my hero!

Orange said...

On the plus side, shrinkage would move me into the size range for the Wacoal iBra, which looks great...

figleaf said...

A) More than a handful is certainly wasteful. Don't worry about it. It's totally natural for your breasts to lose volume when you first lose weight because breasts are shaped by fatty tissue. The secret, though, is that if you can keep the weight off your skin will tighten up and your breasts will regain most of their bounce. On a more generally svelt, and definitely more long-term healthy you.

B) Giddybug's totally right about changing band sizes bolloxing cup size.

C) Actually don't worry much about separate aerobics at first. If you're working with a trainer who's any good, he or she will keep you moving from set to set quickly enough, and your workouts will be long enough (12-20 minutes), that you'll wind up with *fairly* decent aerobic benefits anyway.

D) Good for you!

Chris said...

Kudos to you for doing something about it. I just finished week one of Trimming the Couch Potato 101. Can't wait to get two months down the road to enjoy the results. Congrats again.