File this under: apparently I have no body parts I won’t talk about.
Backstory: I have two kids. I nursed said kids longer than, umm, average. In the process, I went from a size B to a robust D (at least on one side, ahem) and back down to a small C. Twice. All the moms out there are nodding their heads. You know what that means.
Thankfully, that problem was easily solved by my friend Vicky and her secrets.
Enter my current dilemma – running bras. Generally speaking, I go for the “fight your way in, look completely flat” style of bra…
Most of the time I’m ok with that look, but since I’ve recently discovered that putting a running bra on at the start of the day GREATLY increases my chance of running that day, I’d like to find one that actually does more of the “lift and separate” action. I’d like to wear one under “street clothes” occasionally.
This is where all you awesome readers come in. Hit me up with your favorite running bra! (And please tell me I’m not alone in this quest LOL).
I LOOOVE ME SOME HANDFUL BRA!!
but Ive got me some littlehandfuls 🙂
people have been doing some great reviews of the under armour bras!
I go for flatten with added padding. Then it looks like more than I had before the bra. My last bra came from Lululemon, and I loved it. I think they don’t have a ton of stores out there, but if you are near one, they have a huge, comfortable, fits-every-size-boob bra collection. It was like 50 bucks for a bra, which is outrageous, but I haven’t regretted buying it.
Moving Comfort! These are so comfortable to run in, super cute AND many of them would make it look like you’re wearing a normal bra under a shirt.
http://www.movingcomfort.com/Sports-Bras/sportsbras,default,sc.html
Oh yes, I hear you… once I weaned L, I became smaller now than pre-pregnancy. I second Handful– they’re a little pricey, but really comfy. I also picked up a few padded sports bras from Old navy, much cheaper, but they run really small. Good luck in the search!
i can’t help. i’m not picky. and i wear mine under street clothes all the time. i wear old cotton ones, or those C9 ones from target. i have some random name brand ones – nike, reebok, zensah… they’re all the same to me, but i’ve never really tried any of the pricy/fancy ones. oh, i’m about a 36B for size reference so it’s not like i’m in the IBTC. i do like some of the new ones w/ the cute backs that would probably be a little more fashionable with street clothes (something like this with thinner straps – http://www.eastbay.com/product/model:144588/sku:00284001/moving-comfort-alexis-sport-bra-womens/black/&SID=8032&inceptor=1&cm_mmc=SEO-_-Feeds-_-Froogle-_-null). i’ve never tried that bra -i just googled it for the skinny straps.
I need to try the handful bra everyone loves so much! Other than that, I just go with the Champion sports bra that I get at Target. Has worked pretty well for these old, sad boobs!
I am so going thru this now with my daughter haha. I went from a small B, to a D, and now back to a B 5 months into nursing. I wear Nike compression sports bras. They keep things in place and relatively flat. BUT I have heard really good things about the Lululemon Ta-Ta Tamer (plus cool name) so we will see!
What are these things you speak of… boobs? I vaguely remember having them at one time… 🙂
Seriously, if you think it’s bad after pregnancy and nursing a few kids, try pregnancy and nursing x3, then losing 80 lbs. I kid you not, the first, oh 12 lbs i lost all came from my chest. I was still fat and had just lost my boobs. Talk about depressing! 🙂
At this point they are practically “innies” instead of “outies”, but I love the Brooks Epiphany bras. 🙂
I just got a Champion that has some padding. It makes me look good under clothes and my running gear. One thing I dont like is that it comes up to high around the top of my boobs and it is annoying, plus I feel if I wore it for a long run it might do some chaffing.
I have a lot of Nike bras I love them , but they definitely dont give me any more boobs. They make me look as flat as a board.
I got a couple of Handful bra and am totally loving them. I have wore them to work, shopping, working out, running. Handful bras are very versitile you are able to wear them as everyday bras or workout bras.; The part I love the best is I’m not as flat as a pancake anymore , I really look like I have some boobs.
I just bought a Fila bra with pads, but I havent wore it yet. When I put it on it sure looked good. I need to test it on a run though.
Good Luck in finding the right bra for you. I know it is hard I have bought a few in my days.
OMG– I would love to help! I had this problem for years until I went to London Marathon Expo and they had tons of sports bra vendors that they don’t have here in the USA. My top recommendation is the Shock Absorber B4490 which you can purchase from Lessbounce.com. It runs true to size. They come out with different colors seasonally but there should always be a black one in stock in your size. It’s expensive, but soooo worth it.
Next is the Thuasne Force 3 with Top strap. You can also get that at lessbounce.com. This runs 2 cup sizes smaller, but the number stays the same.
For more details on my favorite sports bras, see the “Gear” section of my blog. I never had a sports bra I liked until I tried these.
I only wear Handful bras, they are my favorite, incredibly versatile, comfortable and cute. Plus they are having great closeout pricing right now on some of their colors . I nursed both my kids too, I thought I was small to start with but now I am flat and the Handfuls help give a little shape, love them!
I’d LOVE to know the answer!! Nursing just does wonders (ha!) to your boobies!! I’m in the same boat!
Having nursed 6 kids for a total of 108 months, I know just what you mean. I bought a Lily of Dean e sports bra at Kohl’s that I loved. Supportive and separating. Unfortunately, when I went to get a new one, they no longer carried it.
I just love this post because I completely understand!! (and your captions made me laugh!) I also love moving comfort bras now that I’ve got way more than a handful! 😉
http://www.movingcomfort.com/Luna/350032,default,pd.html
Great support, looks great under a t-shirt too.
I want to try VS:
http://www.victoriassecret.com/ss/Satellite?ProductID=1265724568389&c=Page&cid=1327029215326&pagename=vsdWrapper
Does a lift and separate one do the job like a crush-the-girls-against-the-chest one? I’m happy to forgo looks if they’re not bouncing around. It’s a comfort thing. And I also think that under my running tops normal bras look kind of weird – like I’m too well-endowed to be a runner, even when there’s not much there.
My boobs are sore and tender now. And I am looking for something to minimize it. So any suggestions here will be very much welcomed. I usually go for the Champion ones at Target – they are reasonably priced and comes in cute colors. I don’t have huge boobs – just average 34B.
Vixen bra by Moving Comfort. Padding, contours, the whole package.
And that picture of me makes me look super flat. Oh wait. I am super flat.
I was a C before kids then an F (as in oh my f… gawd!!!) and now I’m down to a D. But still, I need support. I’ve been wearing, and liking, Anita bras. Actually, that’s all I have. But I now have problems with the band chafing and I’m kind of over the entire sports bra issue. Stupid boobs.
funny just yesterday when getting ready for my race I mentioned how if I shoved my hair up in a baseball cap with my sports bras on I could probably pass as a guy… They make my sad As disappear entirely.
Rumor has it Athleta has some super good sportsbras. I haven’t invested the $ to see if this is true, yet though…
My champion sports bra is the best out of all of mine. There is an ever so slight amount of padding (nothing ridiculous) and perks the girls up a bit while still being really supportive
I have 2 Moving Comfort bras that I got working at the store / expos that I would not have normally chosen for myself (because I don’t have very big assets and they are pretty technical, beefy sports bras), but I love them. They are the Juno and the Vixen. Two drawbacks though: I had to size up a full cup size (so be sure to try it on in a store) and they tend to hunch down on my shoulders if I wear them for an extended period of time (I think this may be influenced by my lazy posture though). Good luck!
I don’t have any kids. Or boobs! I had some until I started running and lost weight. So I can’t really help you. I usually just buy the champion ones from Target, but they are definitely the flatten kind!
Definitely the moving comfort. Before my nursing situation happened I loved moving comfort. I am now in the world of nothing will lift nor separate and wish I could go back to cute, supportive bras. Hope you find something good soon, a great bra is great for the ego!
I’ve nursed five kids longish, and now I’m stuck with a small b-cup. I started out with a generous c-cup. Life can be so unfair! Anyway, the bright side of a small b-cup is I can wear my regular push-up bras during my runs!
Moving comfort all the way!!!
Moving comfort all the way for me! I can’t remember the name of the ones I like, but any of the ones for firm support are great.
I looove your blog. I’ve never nursed, I was just given the no boob thing at birth. My dilemma is that by day I am a victoria’s secret size B and by running, I am the smallest A known to man!
My bra of choice is the Moving Comfort Juno. I had to size down on the band from 34 to 32 to get it to stay completely still. I had a similar thing with nursing (still do). And being older. I also have a Donna Karan bra that I got at Title Nine. I could run in it but I wear it ‘regular’ instead. Not quite as much motion control as the Juno.
My favorite source for bras, running or every day, is Title 9. http://www.title9.com. They even have a seperate catalog called “Bounce” dedicated to bras. They appear pricey, but every other bit of clothing I have purchased from them has been worth every penny and very good quality. They seem to do a good job of testing out all the bras and rate them based on size/fit. Good luck!
I also love Moving Comfort bras….as a nursing mama I like the Fiona bra because it has velcro straps so I can easily nurse my son after a run. It is more of a boob tube look though. I just ordered an Aurora bra from Moving Comfort that is considered an “All Day Wear” bra. You may want to look at the other all day wear bras they carry. the Luna bra looks cool. Good luck!