The "waving bye" flab under an upper arm

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blueeyedtraveler
blueeyedtraveler Posts: 209 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I thought I would throw this out there because I'm getting a number of different answers from people I talk to, and I thought the MFP peeps would be able to give me some "first hand" answers.

I started my health journey in January and thus far have lost nearly 54 pounds (yay me!). I have noticed all areas of my body shrinking, including my upper arms. However, I have this flab under my upper arms that I'm VERY self conscious about. My just started taking my toning to the next level in hopes of being able to get rid of it.

My personal trainer friend says that it will never go away, without surgery. My boyfriend, very fit and very healthy and very knowledgeable, says that it will if I keep working at it.

I don't want a huge scar that's caused from surgery, so I'm hoping (with all fingers, toes, eyes, legs & arms crossed) that my boyfriend is correct. So, there's the question: as you've lost weight (especially a tremendous amount) has your "flab" left your arms?

Replies

  • mrschappet
    mrschappet Posts: 488 Member
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    I don't know what your personal trainer is talking about.. there are many resistance exercises that can help to tone up the back of the arms. resistance bands are great for this as are dumbbells. just google it you will find tons of ideas :-)

    good luck!!!
  • mageepilot
    mageepilot Posts: 289 Member
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    How timely! I have been noticing that my stomach and upper arms are not shrinking as much as the rest of me. But just today I looked and I think my arms are getting smaller! I spent 4 days lifting grandbabies and I really think it helped. So I am going to give it extra workouts and see if it will keep shrinking. Fingers are crossed for us both! Good luck. :drinker:
  • gatedialer
    gatedialer Posts: 149 Member
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    BUMP!

    I hate my "wings". I like doing tricep kickbacks and push ups. I tend to bulk up before losing weight and I can feel the bigger muscles, so at least I know things are changing lol
  • jroberts_tx
    jroberts_tx Posts: 1
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    As I understand it all over fat burning exercises will EVENTUALLY get rid of all fat, including the bingo wings!!! Only thing is it's one of the last places to go and it takes dedication, but a few tricep exercises, dips etc will help it along.... Hope this helps you... Congrats on the 54lbs you are doing great that takes committment and you jst have to believe that your hard work will pay off..... JXX
  • ShapeUpSidney
    ShapeUpSidney Posts: 1,092 Member
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    I started doing exercises to tone my shoulders up significantly. I put a huge amount of focus on them, because I read that a toned shoulder makes the whole arm look more toned. I can say that I notice a real difference, and am very happy with my results.

    You can't spot reduce fat, so you may have to really work on your overall body fat percentage to see a noticeable change in that area.

    As for toning, work on the triceps, biceps and shoulders. Lots and lots and lots of quality push ups will also help.

    I don't recommend it, but liposuction leaves a very small scar.
  • bisky
    bisky Posts: 1,016 Member
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    Hi,

    Yesterday I was reading that the biggest loser winner, Olivia WArd, stated that she did have extra skin on her abdomen but she would rather have the flab than the fat and stretched out skin. I think you are young enough that your skin still has a lot of elastin fibers and will shrink. I believe upper arm exercises really help. My yoga instructor is in her 60's and lost a lot of weight when she was younger and she has beautiful toned arms. I have seen YOUNG gastric bypass patients that lost >100 lbs and had the surgery on their arms....very ugly scar.
  • ronda_gettinghealthy
    ronda_gettinghealthy Posts: 777 Member
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    yes mam it will go away--with in reason...depending on how overweight you were and how stretched your skin is...just like anywhere else...BUT tons of great exercises that can tone that area and make the bat wings go away....most already mentioned...bands, nose crunchers, push ups, dips etc...


    Good Luck
  • littleluvbug
    littleluvbug Posts: 137 Member
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    I am here to tell you that if it's skin...it's not going to go anywhere. I have the flap myself, it's not full of fat, it is only hanging there, showing no signs of going anywhere and I'm a swimmer, so my arms are extremely toned. That's just my experience and remember, every body is very different, but there are going to be consequences and extra skin due to the extra weight I was carrying around. Would MUCH rather have the extra skin hanging there than fat!! Good luck in your journey and congrats on doing so great so far!
  • catcrazy
    catcrazy Posts: 1,740 Member
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    I think I need some dumbbells, I have some therabands but theyre made of latex and my cat has a latex fetish so cannot use them if he is around, and he is always around as I hand reared him from 2 hours old (latex fetish from the teat me thinks) and he repays me by being my shadow!

    I hate my afterwave...i've started to use the royal wave to avoid it!
  • blueeyedtraveler
    blueeyedtraveler Posts: 209 Member
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    Thank you everyone. I do know that you can't "spot" lose anything. I plan to continue doing my regular 2 hours of Zumba a week. I just recently added days to focus on abs and days to focus on upper arms, knowing that it will take time to see results. I do push ups, (sorry don't know what the rest are actually called) - weight behind the head raise things & the back arm curls. I'm hopeful that at least some of it will go away and tone up, if not all of it.
  • dayglo4
    dayglo4 Posts: 18
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    It's really hard to answer this question because no one can say what it will look like at the end of your journey. If some of the 'flab' is loose untoned muscle then toning will help to tighten it up, and if it is skin then you can try adding muscle after you've lost weight to fill up some of the skin and lift it. Unfortunately,if there is a lot of excess skin left there you most likely won't be able to get rid of it all without surgery, but sometimes it will lessen a bit within a year or two.

    But don't let that discourage you in the here and now! You never know what it will look like until you have reached your weight goal, toned, built muscle and given it time, and I promise it will look and feel better than being an unhealthy weight. You might even find that it doesn't bother you as much anymore when you feel good about yourself and you've gotten to that point.
  • NeverStopRunning
    NeverStopRunning Posts: 36
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    Kettlebells will certainly help. When I was doing kettlebell classes last year my arms firmed up nicely.
  • Crystal_Rudolph
    Crystal_Rudolph Posts: 632 Member
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    Ironically the owner of my gym told me the exact same thing today--her words..."your arms will ALWAYS be flabby". After I pushed back my desire to cold-**** her with my flabby arms; I smiled and said "huh, is that why you just wrote done in my file that they had shrunk 1.5 inches already?'

    Seriously though...tricep dips, pushups, and tricep extensions will help that flab wave goodbye for the last time! Good Luck!!!
  • cabul3
    cabul3 Posts: 210 Member
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    it may take some time, but eventually your skin should recover and tighten up, altho this could take up to a year. it may never be as tight as you would like, but you shouldn't need surgery!
  • lazatin
    lazatin Posts: 452 Member
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    I have heard it is the very last thing to go..once all the other fat is taken care of it will shrink..yay:sad:
  • blueeyedtraveler
    blueeyedtraveler Posts: 209 Member
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    I have heard it is the very last thing to go..once all the other fat is taken care of it will shrink..yay:sad:

    As long as it goes, I don't care if it's first or last lol. I just want it GONE!

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