I'm normally pretty good about being body-positive, and I don't want to be or like to be down on myself. But the more I lose, the more I hate my upper arms. It's not the flab (although there's a lot of it) or the lose skin (a lot of that too), it's the fact that they're a size bigger than the rest of me. Instead of enjoying shopping for new clothes, I'm just getting frustrated that I have to buy all of my shirts a size too big so that they'll fit my upper arms. If I find a shirt that fits around my chest and waist, it's either unbearably tight around the upper arm, or it's comfortable but makes me look like a stuffed sausage. I know that there's really nothing I can do about this aside from what I'm already doing (cardio and tricep/bicep stuff), but it's awful. Because of the flab and the lose skin, my upper arm is pretty much hanging down to my elbow.

My big fear is that this is not going to go away, and this area will always be a size bigger than the rest of me. Did anybody else have this, and find that it worked itself out in the end? Is there any reason to hope that it will, or should I just resign myself to it?

Lisa

I'm sorry to say that I do not have this problem with my arms. I do, however have a similar problem with my stomach area. My lower ab area just hangs and the skin is really loose. I'm assuming it's from my pregnancy with my daughter. It's really gross and makes me have to wear a larger pant size than I should. I posed a question on here last week about my problem and got a really good suggestion from someone who told me to continue with the muscle building: in your case weight training geared toward your biceps and triceps. Reason being, the more muscle your build in those areas, the more fat you will burn when you do your cardio. Muscle is a fat burner. Even if you can't see the muscles now, as you continue with your diet and exercise, the fat will burn off and your beautifully sculpted muscles will show through. It just takes time. Don't get discouraged, your hard work will pay off!

My arms are huge, too. I hate it. I've still got a lot to lose and I'm praying they'll get smaller as I go along.

I hate my arms too. They have gotten considerably smaller throughout my weight loss but are still large.

I'm also wondering when my gigantic thighs will stop rubbing together. It makes wearing skirts SO uncomfortable.

I remember that Rockinrobin, who's lost 165 pounds, hated her calves. It wasn't until the last 20 or so pounds that her calves finally got smaller. Maybe your arms are gonna be the last part of you that shrinks?

I've also read that your problem areas are the last to go, so power through! you'll get there and your arms will go I'm hoping for this too, my arms are my least favorite part of me right now...I feel your pain, but I'm hoping once I get down to the last 10 they will start to shrink

bikinidreamer - I hadn't thought of it quite that way, so I'm glad to know that I'm on the right track, anyway. Thanks!

Lisa

I have always hated my arms! I feel your pain. Hopefully like the others said they will go down as you drop. Good luck and dont let this get you down

My arms DID get a lot better as I lost. My gigantic calves, though, are still gigantic (but I have come to accept them, and strength training has made them look big and muscular, not big and flabby).

I still have a rough time with some shirts, but I just go for different styles or those with baggier sleeves.

Oh, I have this exact problem. Anything with a band around the sleeve probably won't work for me. *sigh*

Although I do take comfort in knowing that it's not my stomach that's preventing me from wearing a smaller size!

Oh my gosh Rhonda, I was just going to say "And I HATE my calves".

Well, they did get smaller, but unfortunately, they are by no means
*small* .

Truth is, being only 5 feet tall, the 120's is the high range of "normal" for me. Perhaps if I were to get into the one teens or even the 100's they WOULD reduce even further, but I'm just not willing to eat less or exercise more, so like Mandalinn, I've come to accept them. There are other parts of my body that I love. I try my best not to focus on my calves.

Lisa, I think you WILL see more improvement on those arms as you get further into your weight loss, though they may never be as slim as you wish.

I guess we've all got parts that give us more problems then others. It's just the way it is. *sigh*.

I also have to buy tops that fit my arms. So, often when trying on tops they swim on the rest of my body once they fit my upper arms. I am uncomfortable in tank tops. They are percentage-wise the fattest part of my body. I do see some improvement with lots of upper body work in the weight room. And of course with just losing weight! So, you're not alone!

Lisa F- What do your workouts consist of? If you don't mind me asking.

I know the feeling. The only thing that makes me feel better is tracking the inches lost each month- otherwise I don't really notice it. So far I have lost 3.5 inches off each arm- when you look at it this way it is incredible progress. It is still one of the slower areas for inch lost- I have lost more in my legs, abdomen, and waist. Hips, calf and arms less.