“I’ve upped my exercise regime… but to the detriment of my breasts”

Although it doesn’t sound glamorous and sexy, the fact is that breasts are made up of a lot of fatty tissue. When women put on weight, often this migrates to areas such as breasts, hips and bum, which conversely means that when they begin to tackle the weight gain, women often find their breasts can be one of the first areas to notice the results of weight loss.

Sadly, it’s impossible to precisely target which area of the body fat is burned from, so even by exercising particular areas, although this will increase muscle tone and definition, it won’t mean that the fat reserves held in your breasts won’t start to diminish. Your body will burn fat where it finds it most in abundance.

An inevitable process

Even celebrities are not immune. Singer Geri Halliwell was well known for her voluptuous, curvy figure during her Spice Girls days. Cutting an enviable, size 12, hour-glass figure, Geri seemed to be petite but with generous, natural breasts. When she left the Spice Girls, she took up yoga and began exercising much more intensively. Her legs and abdomen quickly toned up, but her breasts reduced significantly.

Gemma Atkinson, currently appearing in Strictly Come Dancing, shared similar experiences. She slimmed down significantly during a period of stress and at the same time began exercising more enthusiastically. As a result, her breasts became smaller and she had them enlarged to a 32E in her twenties.

How to exercise more but to keep your breasts shapely

There are ways to try and mitigate the inevitable breast reduction that comes with slimming down or exercising more rigorously. One thing you can do is ensure that you’re exercising the pectoral muscles too. These are the muscles that surround the breast area, and they play an important role in help keeping your breasts in shape. Exercising these muscles can help give a more natural fullness to breast tissue and can be done with exercises such as push-ups and gentle dumbbell exercises.

As well as being careful about the type of exercise you do, ensuring that you’re eating the right foods can help too. Consuming a diet that is rich in high-quality protein will help ensure that your body focuses on preserving muscles and tackles the fat reserves instead. This will help maintain the pectoral muscles that your breasts rely upon.

Reversing the trend with a breast augmentation

Many women struggle to achieve the desired balance between looking slim and toned, while having fuller breasts and if you feel that is the case, one option could be to undergo a breast augmentation. Warwickshire cosmetic surgeon Mr Alan Park will discuss what is possible to achieve and also what the risks and considerations are, so you can make a fully informed decision about going ahead with surgery.