You're a powerhouse of honesty, lucylee, quite fearless. Your measurements are not as unique as you yourself are, of course. My measurements when starting my exercise program at 45 (taken after one month of a walking program) were right there with you. Plus, every time I go over to my fav fitness site I see these measurements all the time - you are right there with so many women. Yep, there's that abdomen measurement rivaling the hip - very familiar. Does seem like you and I share a delightful tendency toward back fat that changes our bustline measurement. Right now I am able to wear bras without extenders, but not at age 45 and have also had to go back to them several times since, back and forth whenever my fitness/size would fluctuate.
I am a believer in measurements because they will make you smile when you look back at them later. I have had a lot of success with goal-setting that I would take an inch off (for instance, waist or hips) by a certain time, so I'm a believer in goal-setting too. Now, though, I've realized that if I don't remember anything else, there's one magical mystical tip that's going to do the trick. It's the consistency that is going to help me. I could just needlepoint that one word and hang it above my tv and never really need to set any more size goals, take any measurements or step on a scale again to stay where I want! Unfortunately I lose my magical consistency wand and dip backward, then have to pull myself up by my bootstraps again, which is much harder.
I'll have to give Sparkle credit - her example was right in front of me for a long time before I "got" it. She just did something every day and judged how much to do by monitoring how happy she was with her fitness level. I don't get where I want by just walking, though, I do have to do targeted movements.
Poor dh popped a VHS tape in for me yesterday and the VCR ate it. He felt terrible but it had nothing to do with him, he was just changing it for me as he left the room after watching a program. Anyway, that takes one workout out of my rotation for a while until I can replace it, probably with a DVD.