I hate my arms
 

Seriously. I'm trying to be positive, but ugh. They're big. And they're flabby. And I hate it.

I've started using the upper body weights at the gym, 2-3 times a week and when I do the elliptical I make sure I use the arm portion of the machine and actually put effort into it, but is there any other exercise that I can do to tone them up and make them shrink?

I don't think you can make them shrink just by exercising them more :( You just have to lose the fat to see some definition...unfortunately you can't selectively lose fat from different areas of your body. I've lost 3 inches off my waist since I started this and zero, yes zero, off my thighs :( At least you know that any cardio you're doing is helping you burn that fat and it WILL come off your arms eventually.

Sigh. Yeah, my weight is coming off of my boobs, waist, hips and thighs, but NONE off my calves and arms. I guess I'll be patient.

Welcome to my world.

When I lose weight, I just lose a bra size. I think it's god laughing at me. :)

I hate my arms too, though. And my thighs. :( Weight never wants to come off my thighs, it usually comes off my hips.

Ugh, I feel your pain, girly... Of the ~115 lbs I've lost so far, I *swear* not a single ounce of it came from my arms. :dz: Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but they are one of my biggest bodily insecurities. Right now they're really not even that FAT (i.e. there isn't that much fat stored up in them, or at least I don't think) but I have SO much loose skin in that area that it's constantly just hanging there, making them look all flabby and gross and deluding me into thinking that they haven't changed one bit since I started! Not to mention that my upper arms are literally streaked all over with the disgusting stretch marks that I've had since I was, like, 12--yeah, those aren't going away anytime soon... Grrrr.

I want to start trying to tone up my arms (as well as, uh, everything else! hehe), but I honestly don't even know where to start. Guess we're in the same boat! :dunno:

If I could take some of your arm fat in exchange for you taking some of my stomach fat, I would do it.

Just saying.

I understand this on many levels, too. My major problem area is my hips. I tried on skirts and jeans today and they fit around my waist very loosely as well as my legs but then they are either tight or perfect around my hips. I'm like :?: Oh, and on my back I have these things I like to call "back boobies". They just won't ever seem to go away and I never feel comfortable wearing fitting t-shirts. But my arms are big -- not as big as they use to be -- and they drive me crazy also. I don't have any quick tips for getting rid of that flab, but I'm sure with lots of hard work we can help fix these areas even if it's just a bit. Keep your head up!

i soooo feel your pain i hate my arms and my calves too ... but im more concerned about my arms seeing as how it more heavily restricts my clothing options ..... its so fustrating ! but im sure as we lose weight it will shrink down a bit ... and if not ... well i just tell myself it could be worse you are your own worst critic im sure its not as bad as you think it is

I hate my arms too!! And mine are genetically fat. My mom has flabby arms, my aunt does and my grandma had them as well, so it seems kind of hopeless to have nice toned arms in the future.

BUT, last year I lost about 15 lbs (that I easily regained) and I was working out a lot, too. The combination of weight loss and arm toning exercises (bicep curls, tricep dips and extensions, push ups) helped me get some definition and I think if I had lost another 10 or 15 lbs, they might have gotten to a size I would have been comfortable with. But over the past year, I gained the weight back, stopped exercising as much as I had been and my arms became flabby again.

So, maybe there is hope. Let me know when you get there!

I hate my arms tooo!

maybe you should try weight lifting to tone them up? that's what I do plus of course aerobics.

OMG thanks for starting this thread! My flabby arms drive me insane. The only way they look good is if I stretch my arms up in the air and the fat and skin hang down and kind of blend into my arms! I did get up the nerve to start wearing tank tops but I will only wear them in the house and sometimes outside to talk to my neighbors. My flabby belly drives me insane too. I try to stick w/the cardio and watching what I eat to continue to lose weight but it is frustrating to know I really can't do anything about the excess skin. I'm hoping over time some of these areas tighten up. If anyone has tried anything that's worked please let me know!

I second that!! I hate my arms. I call them "lunch lady arms" they are soooo flabby and disproportionate to the rest of my weight loss. And the fact that I have stretch marks there too doesnt help. Its 93 degrees and what am I wearing? Long sleeves!

I also hate my arm flubber!!! :mad: I wish I could wear a tank top and feel comfortable!!

I've started to do the weights at the gym, so maybe 2-3 times a week will make a slow difference. My collar bones have started to come back (FRIGGIN YAY) so maybe arm definition is next. Oiy.

I can relate too. Of my 20 inches lost only 1 inch has been on my arms and that was well over a year ago. They don't budge. It's genetics. My mom, grandma, aunt and cousin have bigger arms too.

Wish I knew! Thats the spot I hate the most on myself besides my tummy. I refuse to wear short sleeves ever in public. I have to always wear a sweater or I just feel awful. I have *issues* :P but if you find anything that helps please let me know! =)

LOL!! Ain't that the truth! At my biggest, I was a D and now i'm inching my way back down to a full B or barely C ... LOL Terrible!

Same problem here.... we actually call it the Cole Curse. Big arms, huge calves. My sister, that's like.... 5'0 and 135lbs (she used to be a lot smaller) even has them! Her guy friends tease her all the time... tiny chick, huge arms.

*sigh*

My boyfriend thought he was being funny one night and informed me that he's okay going to scary bars with me because I have bouncer arms and can protect him. I could have hit him. *mutter* He's lucky he's so wonderful....... *mutter*

Yeah, my calves are a whole different issue. I was saying how I measure myself and my calves will NOT shrink, and my co-worker was like uh, you have JACKED calves, that's why.

That is why, but I'm a friggin girl. I shouldn't have calves Brad Pitt would be jealous of...

LOL! Damn genetics! Although, I swear there's got to be some way we can get to a place where we feel normal with our problem areas. I mean you see/read weight loss stories about so many different people with different body types (look at the people on all the seasons of the biggest loser!), and most of them manage to get magazine worthy physiques. Granted, they work out for hours and hours a day, but they do have a short time span to do it in, so shouldn't we be able to do it over a longer period of time? At least that's what I keep telling myself to keep me motivated.

Stellarosa, as for your calves, have you tried doing calf raises on stairs? Besides running and spinning, that's probably the best exercise to target them.

I don't know what a calf raise is, but if its going to increase the muscle mass, I don't wanna!

you should get some free weights 3,5,8 or 10 pounds (whatever you can handle) and start toning them up. If you tone them while you lose the weight you will see better results faster, and you will get ride of the flab and have nice solid tone arms.

P.S. don't use to big of weights or else you might end up bulking up

Right. I actually have hand weights and don't use them that often - I prefer to use the weight machines at the gym and use very low weight - just enough so I feel like I'm working and I target each of the different arm muscles - biceps, triceps, shoulders, etc.

arms arms ARMS. if you go to the photo album, you'll find a couple of pictures that include my arms, with the caption ARMS!!!!! because I HATE my arms.
But I've starting weight lifting with the machines at the gym using as much weight as I can while completing all my reps, and I'm beginning to see some definition and tone. The "bulking up" myth scares a bunch of people away, but really, girls can't bulk up. Not unless they eat a very regimented protein-saturated diet and put extensive, intensive work into building those muscles (which means lifting 150-300 lbs and more!)--believe me, I know, my stepmother is a woman body builder and you should see how hard she has to try to 'bulk up.' The reason a lot of girls think they are bulking up, I believe, is because when you begin to lift weights to the point where you're building a little muscle here and there (meaning lifting enough weight to produce the tears in your muscle you need to make them grow), your muscles will retain weight and if you have fat ontop of that, which most of us apparently do, you may look bulky for a short period of time. i didn't really notice it (except a little light bulk at the beginning).
Anyway, you know that muscle burns fat so if you're building muscle, you're burning fat, correct? And once you burn off the fat on top of the muscle (or a good fraction of it anyway), you will either see nice definition and tone if you've been working your muscles, or your arms will appear flabby for much longer because there is no muscle tone there, and you have to lose a whole lot of fat to have those Kate Moss arms!
Now, most of this is just personal experience (and not much of that!) and advice from the body building parents who know the difference between light lifting for tone and heavy lifting for bulk. I do incline presses, bent rows and pull downs for my arms, the inclines at about 30lbs resistance (that's all I can do so far) and the pulldowns/rows at 70lbs resistance, 2 sets of 10 reps if I can do all twenty. if not, I simply work to failure, and consider it a job well done. Weight training is really necessary for healthy weight loss, but doing 100 reps with 5 lbs of weight will simply burn what you'd burn on a treadmill, without developing any muscle. It's impossible to spot-train away fat, but it is possible to develop muscle tone in areas that will give your arms a much more shapely and defined look once the body fat is gone.
As for me, I'm only a few weeks in on weight training and I can already feel my tricep! which I haven't ever been able to do before. Believe me, it feels much better than flabby fat. And I'm not aiming at all for muscular arms in the least--I probably won't go much over 70-90 lbs lifting. Some muscle development is healthy and attractive though.
Good luck, I feel your pain!

I KNOW!! I have been up and down between 180 and 260 and my arms stay the same. My calves hust recently grew. My arms and calves are huge! I can't even wear capri pants. All my jeans are to tight in the calf. I can't wear button up shirts, or shirts with arm bands. The worst part is as big as they are, they are incredibly weak.

I hate my arms too. Especially the bottom when you hold your arm up and the fat swings on the bottom, Gross!!! I've recently started doing the 30 day shred and OMG my arms were killing me and hopefully they will look alittle better with some muscle and some weight loss. I still can't believe that I let myself get back up to this weight. I had lost 70lbs 4 years ago and slowly but surely I've gained 60 back :( and the huge arms.

munchievictim - 70 lb rows? You go girl.

As of late, I've been doing the following

Lat pull downs
Chest Press
Rows
Pull down machine for triceps
Lower back machine
Ab machine

I do all of these for 3 sets of 15 reps each, and the weight is the max I can handle for each machine while still being able to complete the set. (our gym just has the numbers on the weights, and I don't remember if they're in 5 or 10 increments).

I basically looked at all the machines and making sure I'm working all of the muscles in my arms and my back. My back isn't a problem area, but extra toning won't hurt and I'd really like to completely get rid of the little wings under my arms.

I shy away from any leg machines because my legs are really muscular, but recently I started doing the hip abduction, etc (the one where you swing your leg in like 8 different positions) to work my inner and outer thighs as well as my hamstrings. If my quads get any bigger I would cry. I know women can't bulk up, its just the building muscle under the fat that was getting to me. At one point the arms were getting bigger b/c I was doing weights. My biceps have a bit more definition now and my collarbones/shoulders are coming back (YAY) the triceps are just slow in coming.

/patience.

sounds like you're doing a great workout (better than mine)
I'm not sure what to tell you about your calves...I could do with a bit more definition but remember, muscle is beautiful so work it. :)
Of course, cardio is best for burning that fat away and make sure you're getting in enough protein to rebuild your muscles. that's the part I have trouble with, but I love scrambled eggs so egg whites help me catch up on protein without burning up a bunch of calories.
good luck to you dear.

I do a lot of cardio as well. One of my co-workers was a PT for a while and she has a master's in exercise science. She said the same thing, just do the weights and do plenty of cardio, and the fat will "go away" - she was like you have jacked legs, be happy about it!

I'll just get rich so I can get custom made boots :)

I bet those calves would look hot in a pair of knee-high leather boots. Like wonderwoman! :D

I have the same problem with my arms. I've been hiding them in sleeves since I was in grade 9. I graduated a few years ago lol. I've been doing lots of strength training to tone them up and as I'm losing weight, they are firming up nicely. When I lift my arms up to put my hair in a ponytail, they don't sag. I have hope for them yet.

My arms are large too for my size even when I was 35lbs less last summer they were almost the same size as they are now. I hate that puff you get over the elbow. It makes me look heavier then I am. Sigh.

Wow. I would always complain about how I store all my weight in my stomach, but reading this, I can sort of see how from a fashion perspective, I have the advantage here. From a health perspective, it puts me the worst off, since abdomen fat is the most lethal, but it just never even occurred to me before that people might not be able to wear tanktops or shorts because they are overweight. For me it was always just about covering up the belly. Even at my high weight of 212 I was 100% satisfied with my arms and everyone said I had stellar legs. BUT, I seem to wear much higher pant sizes at lower weights than other people, since all my fat is genuinely around my midsection. But I guess I never even realized arms could have stretch marks, or how inhibiting it could be. Thanks for opening my eyes! I guess we all have our own problems, right? ^.~

some things you could try:
1. para para dance moves.
2. swimming, it tones your body overall.

I feel like arms are the easiest way to look fat or fit. Even if you have a big gut or butt, if you have nice arms, you look smaller. Conversely, flabby arms make you look bigger than you probably are. In the mirrored elevator today, I was trying to notice if I looked slimmer in my top... but all I could focus on was my flabby arms. Until they get toned up, I'm just going to look a flabby mess.

Ok I know this doesn't solve the problem and don't laugh but since I really hate the way my arms look in pictures I either pose between my friends or, for times that I'm stuck on the side of a group pic I admit to have practiced posing in ways to camouflage my arms in front of the mirror... :o

So you're not alone!
Love the toning suggestions everyone left and hopefully the more weight we lose the more we'll see come off our arms... Stupid flab :(

I think my arms might be getting better? At least from the side. From the front I still have that puffy look, and that oh-so-fun armpit fat that makes it really hard to wear sleeveless stuff. My lower limbs are ok, as in my calves and forearms, I guess I just store fat on the upper parts, like my thighs and upper arms. Wouldn't you think that your waist would be closer in measurement to your hips than to your thighs? Not so with me. The difference between my waist and hips is double the difference between my waist and thighs. Le Sigh.

http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._6766716_n.jpg

Wow what did your arms ever do to you besides you know help carry things, hold you up, give you balance when you walked a tightrope, lift a child, help a friend up? Bad arms! You should hate them.

omg, i hate my arms, too!!!!!!!! being short, fat, and having big arms do no good! oh and plus, i have chubby cheeks. im sure in time, after losing weight, your arms will get smaller..i just cant wait for that day...

Oh, forestroad if only my arms looked as great as yours do.
I hate my arms, and my family is known for when they get older they get that arm fat that just hangs down....ugh.

but i hate my gut most of all. that right there is a different story. . . =/