Hi everyone,

I went yesterday to try on bridal gowns with my mom and sister, and found my dress, only 2 dresses in!! I am getting married in 4 months and since I'm "really late" as these lovely store clerks like to remind me, I found one in store that was my size so I bought it!

Now it's starting to sink in. I'm getting married, and I'm still too chubby for my own liking.

The dress was really flattering because I have a tiny waist so it accentuated that... but my arms, oh my the jello effect was not cute!!

Does anyone have any great tips for arms and shoulder exercises so I can look like a stunning bride all night

Thank you all

Best wishes for both of you.

For arms and shoulders, you can't beat pushups.

The trick to do your maximum on day 1 and each day after, you add one more.

That way, it's more encouraging to oneself.

Of course, exercise go hand-in-hand with... A healthy diet. Veggie-heavy meals with reduced to no animal protein WILL help you shed fat in unwanted
places a bit faster. Veganism is just too hardcore personally.

These things kind of conflict.

Push-ups are great to build lean mass but you can't choose where you burn fat. So if you have loose skin, you can do push-ups to pull the skin into a better-looking position, but if you're trying to make arm fat disappear, all that will help is losing weight in general, all over.

Veggie-heavy meals are one way to lose weight (although again, you can't pick where you lose the fat), but they won't help you build muscle/lean mass unless you include lots of beans/tofu/eggs or other protein sources.

Personally, I think your advice is good, but there are plenty of ways to achieve the same thing. As I hear a lot around here: Calories in, calories out.

For Alyssa, here's my advice:

Just keep doing what you're doing. You are working so hard and doing so well, and your plan is going to work out just great. Keep coming to the forum for support, because talking to people reminds you what your plan is and how great you're going to feel as you go, and how your challenges aren't unique—you can get through them just like the rest of us can, if we try.

I think it's great you bought a dress in your current size, even though you might shrink a bit before your wedding. Reason? Because you will either look gorgeous in it exactly the way you do now, or you might even get the extra special luxury of taking it to a seamstress to have it taken in for your smaller size. How great would THAT feel right before you get married? Awesome, I bet.

If you're trying to tone up, four months is enough to make some changes, although more than likely those changes will be minor. You could do some push ups—they're great like soexcited said—or another option is to have a single session with a fitness trainer to talk about exactly what type of look you want as you lose weight. If you find someone who's done bodybuilding they'll have a very good idea of what kind of exercises you need to do for the exact type of look you want.

Granted, not everyone can achieve any given look, but there's a big difference in exercises depending on whether you want slender arms or well-defined arms, or if you'd prefer a flat, straight tummy or more of an hourglass shape, and so on. I'm sure there are also youtube videos for any given look, if cost or time is an issue (re: personal training session).

I have been on Paleo eating lifestyle for almost a year now. My arms were my biggest problem as well before. What worked for me was a combination of cardio, yoga, and paleo. It slimmed my arms quicker than when I was doing cardio, weights and counting calories. I added weights back to tone my arms. But different strokes for different folks. Find something that works for you Congratulations in advance!

Oops, should have said that veggie-heavy meant including plant protein such as beans, tofu, etc...