when i'm fat, lifting weights makes my arms look fatter!
 

Does anyone else have this problem?

I actually have been weight lifting pretty much all my life, on and off, so I know the mechanics of lifting weights, how it builds muscle which burns more fat in the long run, etc.

But I'm at a very high point in my weight right now and my arms are HUGE. My arms have a tendency to build muscle really easily and really fast so I find that if I lift weights, the muscle builds up faster than the fat is lost and my arms start to look even more huge. Doesn't matter if I lift heavy, light, high reps, etc.

Should I wait until I lose about 20 lb before I start lifting?

Thoughts? Sympathy? Anyone similar?

:-)
~BreathingSpace

I feel you!! I have a tendency to build upper body strength relatively quickly too, and when I first started strength exercises at close to my highest weight my bicep measurements got bigger. All my tops were getting tighter on my arms, and it drove me nuts! Looking back at my records it seems it took about 2 months to drop enough fat for my bicep measurements to go back down to their starting point. I'm SO glad now though that I started the strength work when I did, and that I have kept up with it; I have only a tiny bit of slack skin on my arms (that I doubt anyone but me notices), and my bicep measurements are 5.5 inches smaller than when I began. My arms are even lean enough now that I can see some decent muscle definition in them even without flexing. :) So I say - keep up the lifting!!! You'll suffer a bit with bigger arms temporarily, but the results in the long run will be worth it. :)

I have been doing some resistance training and light aerobic exercise (biking and walking). Ireally do want to eventually weight train, but I want to wait until I am closer to my goal weight for just the reason you describe. I think building muscle under my existing fat will just make me look heavier at this point.

My arms were huge, then I lost the fat and now they look awesome. Build the muscle now and when you lose the fat your arms will look great.

FWIW, after a heavy weight training session my arms are always a little bigger from water retention.

I'm guessing a good deal of that is water retention and not muscle. It's very common that shortly after a work out (even up to a day or two afterwards) your arms increase in sizes because you tore your muscles during weight lifting and it needs that water to repair them. Just as an example many shirts that fit normally during the rest of the week are tight the day after lifting for me.

I'd STRONGLY recommend starting lifting now. You can see pictures of me at the same weights both before and after lifting here and the difference is quite large. ;) Lifting has helped me wear smaller sizes more quickly, definitely not something I can complain about!

Start weight training now you won't regret it... as you lose the fat on the muscles your arms will look awesome...

Thanks everyone! I think I will just start lifting. I mean, my arms are already fat so what's the difference really, right!

runningfromfat - I love your blog!!!

Thanks! And good luck with lifting!!!!

Your muscles are retaining water. It's totally temporary!!! Keep at it, you'll see awesome results soon!

"My arms have a tendency to build muscle really easily and really fast so I find that if I lift weights, the muscle builds up faster than the fat is lost and my arms start to look even more huge."

Really? How did you measure this? Seems very unusual for a woman to build muscle as fast as your suggesting.

How did I measure this? With a tape measure...

and yes, it is an unusual problem, which is why I posted.