Can somebody help me understand what the HAYLE is going on with my arms? Pics inside
Before I started my weight loss journey, yes, my arms were fat. I didn't like to show them but if I wanted to wear something sleeveless I could do it without much problem. NOW, that I have lost 70 lbs my arms are the bane of my existence. I've always wanted slim, toned arms so I zeroed in on my arms, doing strength exercises to build up the muscles there. Well, silly me, I thought by working my arms and doing daily cardio, that I would also lose a significant amount of fat from my arms. I never dreamed that the muscle would develop yet the fat would still be there, taunting me,
I hate my arms even more now than I did before losing weight. I wouldn't dare wear short sleeves now. At least before, the fat was solid. Now it's loose and flabby. I don't understand what is going on with my unsightly arms. Why does it appear that my muscle and fat have separated?? It is hideous. I know it cannot be loose skin...it still feels like fat! Why is this happening? I am already considering surgery! I can see the muscle there. My work has been paying off, and if it weren't for the disgusting fat, I would actually have a fairly toned arm! I still have a lot of weight to lose is there a chance my arms will rectify themselves by the time I get to my goal?
Wear your short sleeves with pride! You've worked hard and your loss is an amazing accomplishment! Don't let fear of what other people might think of you steal your joy. I think most of us who've lost a significant amount of weight have some degree of 'bat wings'. I still have 14 pounds to go to reach my short term goal and 24 to reach my long term, and I hope I have "bat wing shrinkage" by then. But heck, I have 'em now and I'm still wearing my short sleeve shirts, even tank tops. I just don't care what people think.
But if you want the bodybuilder look, in addition to the cardio (or perhaps even less cardio) go serious on the bicep curls and tricep curls.
3 sets of 10 reps.
Start at 10lbs each on the dumbbells and work up.
When you reach 35lbs, you might find you have gone too far the other way!
At 216, I absolutely think your arms are not done changing. You may have some loose skin, but it will get better.
I'm a regainer (dropped from 295 to 185 maintained for 2 years regained to 285 and am now working on relosing), but here is a picture of me in 2010 in a sleeveless shirt. I started out at 295 and in this picture I think I weigh in the 180s or so. You can see a bit of looseness, but in general I think it looks fine.
Meanwhile, now my arms look absolutely AWFUL. I've got these weird fat globs on the backs of them that were never there before... I think that as we lose, the fat comes off different places at different rates and it takes a while for the skin to catch up.
If I saw you, I would think you looked great, and honestly, your arms probably didn't actually look better at your high weight-- you were just used to how they looked.
(and FYI, I was 49 when that picture was taken... so not exactly a spring chicken. )
I also think your arms look great. We are truly our own worst critics. What I've found happens is that when I'm not trying to lose weight, I don't really focus on my body. I try to basically ignore it. I know I"m overweight, but I just don't want to deal with it. Once I start losing weight, I focus on my appearance to the point of near obsession and guess what? I often feel worse because I start to notice all the imperfections. Do you think that could be what's happening with you? Or at least to some extent?
Try to change the track in your mind to a positive one. Love yourself and be grateful for this body you have and how strong it is and all the things you can do.
I have bat wings too, one day I was sitting with a 5 year old and he saw my sag and said "Wow, you have really big muscles!" He was of course talking about the muscles under my biceps LOL~ He was quite impressed!
I've seen some change (more now that the weight loss has slowed way down - it is like my body is working to catch up) In any case I've earned my wings and instead of hating them I choose to wear them as proof that I've done a lot of work to get them. I still choose sleeves that cover for the most part though... vanity.
I am about your weight, and I, too, lift heavy. And I have some seriously good-looking biceps. I also have the sag that you have pictured. It's frustrating. But the fact that it's fat instead of loose skin is the great news because you're already focusing on losing fat. Losing skin requires surgery. As I'm sure you know, you can't spot-reduce fat. Just because you have muscle in your arms or your abs doesn't mean the fat will run from it. You lose fat where you lose it, as Uber said.
And I hate to disagree with Ian because I think he's incredible, but I am going to disagree with him on the suggested exercises, and the idea that lifting too heavy is a bad thing. (But protein is important for building muscle, and I have been trying to increase the types of lean protein I eat, per his suggestion. I have an unopened can of squid in natural ink sitting on my desk, waiting for me to be brave enough to try it.) Bicep curls isolate the bicep muscle, and they're great for people who are specifically sculpting their bodies to look a certain way. At our weight, though, I think it's better to focus on building muscle everywhere (and getting the resultant small, but significant, metabolism boost) than building one specific muscle. I do the New Rules of Lifting For Women, which focuses on complex lifts, like deadlifts and squats. Unless you've got tons of time for the gym, it makes more sense to me to choose lifts that give you more bang for your buck, so to speak, and both my biceps and triceps consistently get worked.
First of all, congratulations on all your accomplishments so far! You've done soooo well and are an inspiration to everyone!
Now re the arms. Be kind to yourself. I mean in fairness, most people who aren't bodybuilders or blessed with super-toned arms naturally have some degree of sag when they hold their arms unflexed in that position, and in reality, how many times a day does one hold their arms out like that except to inspect and criticize. I just got my lifetime-slender colleague to hold out her arm to check out and yup, even though her arms look toned by her side, she has sag when she doesn't flex her muscles in the position you're holding your arms out at. I bet your arms look great held in their natural position by your sides. In addition, if you're not yet at goal, and you still feel like the sag in your arm is fat rather than loose skin, you're bound to get some shrinkage in your arms as the rest of you continues to shrink as it's been doing. My arms and even my boobs at 210 were a far cry from my arms and boobs at 185 which was vastly different from 155. So you will continue to see changes as you progress down the scale AND work out right with weights.
You look great. Your arms do not look bad at all. Maybe reserve judgement till you get closer to goal and can really see what you're working with. Well done on all your achievements so far!
Can somebody help me understand what the HAYLE is going on with my arms? Pics inside
)
