When Will The Flabby Arms Go Away? [Pic]

prismperfect
prismperfect Posts: 24 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Can somebody tell me when my flabby "grandma" arms will go away? I'm talking about this...

Untitled.jpg

(Taken at 208 lbs) Has anybody else come down from around 230 lbs, and if so, when did you start noticing your arms changing?

Seriously, when I wave, I'm afraid my arms are going to knock somebody out they're flapping around so much. No muscle in there, just a sack of fat. I know it's not that bad, but It's the thing I'm most self conscious about, as most of the time they're exposed, and with this heat lately they're just embarrassing to me.

I'm 29, 5' 7", started at 230 and now I'm 205. Losing weight slowly, following my food goals and just doing walks for 20 minutes 5 times a week and it's coming off. I'm just wondering about the arm thing, are they just going to shrink on their own, or will I have to lift weights to get them back to shape? Not looking for a lot of muscle tone right now, just want that jiggly-ness to disappear!

Any tips would be appreciated from anybody who experienced this :)
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Replies

  • Heyman09
    Heyman09 Posts: 184
    Change the IMG to lowercase...Cant see the pic.
  • djtessatessa
    djtessatessa Posts: 54 Member
    you should definitely do some weight training! or yoga. if you want to develop toned arms its important to do something to start building muscle
  • BabyGrl726
    BabyGrl726 Posts: 102 Member
    We women hate lifting weights, but it is the only way to snap our skin and bodies back into great form!

    I cant see the pic...but when my arms get really round I do some chair dips!
  • shammxo
    shammxo Posts: 1,432 Member
    you should definitely do some weight training! or yoga. if you want to develop toned arms its important to do something to start building muscle

    yes! weight training. i always had really flabby arms, then i started weight training and now there is no jiggle.

    it's amazing!
  • danimal5867
    danimal5867 Posts: 390
    Pushups are one of the simplest ways to build and tone your triceps. Prior to starting my diet I hadn't done a pushup since the 80's but now I'm doing them as part the exercise I'm doing. I think my triceps are growing better than my biceps ever will.
  • uglyhobo
    uglyhobo Posts: 108 Member
    My arms used to have 0 definition whatsoever until I started losing weight, lifting weights, and eating a higher protein intake.
  • jnhu72
    jnhu72 Posts: 558 Member
    .
  • april1lowe
    april1lowe Posts: 202 Member
    Start doing arm workouts. You have to workout as you go so you tone as you go or you'll be left with the extra :(
  • RuthSweetTooth
    RuthSweetTooth Posts: 461 Member
    Check out the thread on the guns. . . very inspiring.

    Yes, you'll have to exercise them with weights or bands or something !
  • brandiuntz
    brandiuntz Posts: 2,717 Member
    I'm 5'8", started at 220, now at 161. Just continue losing weight and do strength training as part of your exercise routine. The flab will go away. :smile:
  • adbohls
    adbohls Posts: 156 Member
    If you are hesitant about weight lifting, you can buy a resistance band and find exercises online for free. It will help tone your arms and add muscle without the weights.
  • mquarry
    mquarry Posts: 21
    I started at 284 and am down to where you started now (231). I have noticed my arms shrink dramatically since I started doing strength stuffs. You seem to be only doing cardio things, so yes, you will have to do some strength training to get them to stop looking flabby. Not to tone up, but to build up more muscle to burn calories better.

    Even with vigorous strength training, women don't actually bulk up. It's a myth that you will, and all it will do is just tone you out and help you burn more calories. Testosterone is what builds up bulk; unless you have PCOS and have high testosterone, you won't bulk up much.

    Full strength training is key; there is no such thing as spot fat removal. And make sure you do it before any cardio because the way your body works, you will burn fat reserves with the cardio after strength training.

    I did this to get into it, and it might kick your butt. But it's easy enough to do at home with minimal purchases, and it's what made me notice the arm loss the fastest. http://www.prevention.com/fitness/strength-training/ballet-boot-camp-barre-fitness Good luck!
  • amoffatt
    amoffatt Posts: 674 Member
    Bump to follow. I have the same issues.
  • RuthSweetTooth
    RuthSweetTooth Posts: 461 Member
    You could also wear short sleeves in the meantime. . . I see alot of people who are overweight wearing sleeveless outfits and I just won't. . . I would rather hide what isn't nice looking than grossing them out with my grandma arms. I would like to have some Cameron Diaz arms. Trying to talk my husband into a home gym, but in the meantime I guess I'll need to start lifting the little bells and using the bands in my house. I don't think I'll get them from the Gazelle. . . Tony Little mostly likely didn't either.
  • Prudiddy
    Prudiddy Posts: 262 Member
    I know that feeling! I pretend to use a speed bag while doing aerobics, this has been helping alot, but you are going to have to do it for several minutes at a time til it burns, stop do something else, and go back to it about 5-10 times. That should work, and I mean do it every stinkin day!
  • sisierra
    sisierra Posts: 659 Member
    start lifting! if you don't want to go to the gym, start doing push-ups and various types of dips
  • kris4chloe
    kris4chloe Posts: 245 Member
    started at 265, now at 162 and i dont have flab because i started watching my protein intake and making sure it was higher and i do weight training, pilates and yoga. People who have not met me before have a real hard time believing I was 100 lbs heavier. Lift weights, it works wonders and my arms are not big and bulky at all.
  • prismperfect
    prismperfect Posts: 24 Member
    Thanks guys, can anybody recommend a specific exercise to target that area? Thinking of getting the exercise bands...but not sure what movements to do with it. I need a trainer, lol.
    I have to be careful as I have chondromalacia of the knee so I can't really do any thing that puts pressure on my knees, pushups, squats or any dips where my knee goes near a 90 degree angle...blinding pain, it sucks!
  • moran1917
    moran1917 Posts: 1,133 Member
    I started at 250lbs and am also 5'7". I am at 193lbs now. When I only did cardio there was no difference in my arms except that they seemed more jiggly cause of loose skin from weight loss. I started to do Jillian Micheals Body Revolution which has lots of movements of planks, moutain climbers, some weights, push-ups, etc. About 30 days into the program I noticed a shoulder cap muscle (idk what it is called), 60 days in I had a bicep!!! Just started the last 30 days who knows how it will look at the end.

    Before Body Revolution I had one big flabby arm with no parts to it that a person could see other than maybe my elbow. So my experience is that you need to do strength and resistance training to fill up that loose skin. Perhaps this would also work for you?

    Just read the no push-ups bad knees part- this program is not for you- it is all planks and squats. But you can do wall push-ups, stair push-ups, and upper body barbell work to help shape your arms. Try holding yourself in reverse plank- arm killer!!!!
  • BazAbroad
    BazAbroad Posts: 248
    Have heard this a few times from a multitude of people and places.
    This is where the weight loss mantra falls down,
    who cares what weight you are as long as your healthy.
    You have to sculpt your body,
    just running, or dieting, will lose you the weight, but what are you left with.
    Go for the toning machines at the gym, rower and elliptical trainer, these all over body machines will change u the right way.
    Once you've done them then learn and do some weights and hit any target area's you have.
    After that if you really want to and have the inclination, do your warm down on a treadmill, or bike, or jog home,,,

    Its not about losing the weight at all costs, its about sculpting that body.

    Go for it...

    Just for the record, they cruelly call them "Bingo wings" in the UK, Something to do with the elderly ladies having them at bingo,
  • Maxylicious
    Maxylicious Posts: 226 Member
    They never go away the damn things! Im scared i might fly away with my wings..lol.
  • mquarry
    mquarry Posts: 21
    The thing that I linked to doesn't require you to do the bendy stuff.

    And remember, there is no such thing as targeting when removing fat.
  • wendsong
    wendsong Posts: 33 Member
    Thanks 4 asking this, I have the same issue! Now I have some answers:happy:
  • Tropical_Turtle
    Tropical_Turtle Posts: 2,236 Member
    I am working on lifting now as part of my program. I have many friends doing the New Rules of Lifting for Women - which I want to try. I am currently doing Les Milles Body Pump at my gym and LOVE LOVE LOVE it!! I can already see some change in my arms!
  • Masterdo
    Masterdo Posts: 331 Member
    Monitor your fat loss as well as your weight loss. To eliminate that, you will need to lose fat, not just weight.

    Fight the urge to give in to random "spot reduce" techniques. Do arm exercises if you want, but keep in mind that as far as fat goes, doing squats is probably much more efficient than whatever you feel the need to do to "tighten" your arms :p

    And you have the right attitude towards your weight loss I think, slow and steady, but that will also apply to this part of your body. Each day, each decision is a step in the right direction though, so don't give up, stay focused on your goal and you'll do great :)
  • toysbigkid
    toysbigkid Posts: 545 Member
    bumping for info..thanks
  • prismperfect
    prismperfect Posts: 24 Member
    Thanks for all the tips guys!

    I guess really what I'm asking is, as I continue to lose weight, will they shrink naturally, along with the excess skin, (if I end up having any since I'm losing weight slowly).

    Just curious on how much will just be a result of the weight loss itself, or if it will need coaxing with toning exercises to happen, or if there's nothing I can do since I stretched it out too much with the weight it'll never go back to normal, and I'll require some type of surgery to go back to normal. :P (of course I'd never do that)

    I just don't want to go nuts on my arms trying to reduce their size, most say you can't target fat, and end up bulking them up with muscles, I do want to keep them looking ladylike :P
  • Masterdo
    Masterdo Posts: 331 Member
    Fat can be at a lot of places :) This type of fat is subcutaneous, and like any other fat (around organs for example), it will go away, as determined by your genes, as your body fat lowers. I mean, even in the worst case, it will eventually need to get it off from there :p

    Weight lifting is fantastic for the body, but please don't give in to the fantasy that you can control where you will lose the fat... It's really bad because it doesn't work, and efforts leading to nothing is frustrating, nothing positive.

    Good luck :)
  • brandiuntz
    brandiuntz Posts: 2,717 Member
    Thanks for all the tips guys!

    I guess really what I'm asking is, as I continue to lose weight, will they shrink naturally, along with the excess skin, (if I end up having any since I'm losing weight slowly). Just curious on how much will just be a result of the weight loss itself, or if it will need coaxing with toning exercises to happen.

    I just don't want to go nuts on my arms trying to reduce their size, and end up bulking them up with muscles, want to keep them looking ladylike :P

    You will not bulk up your arms. I promise you. It may be hard to tell in those pics, but my arms are a lot smaller AND stronger than they were when I was heavy. People only see definition when I flex them on purpose.

    Fat makes your arms look bulky. Muscle makes them look lean.

    I do strength training at home. Pushups, ab-work like planks (incorporates the arms), and dumbbells. I can do over 100 pushups with my small arms. I could barely do 1 set of 10 when I had "big" arms. :wink:

    If you're losing weight slowly, skin sagging shouldn't be a problem, though that is also influenced by how much weight you have to lose.
  • tidesong
    tidesong Posts: 451 Member
    I started to do Jillian Micheals Body Revolution which has lots of movements of planks, moutain climbers, some weights, push-ups, etc. About 30 days into the program I noticed a shoulder cap muscle (idk what it is called), 60 days in I had a bicep!!! Just started the last 30 days who knows how it will look at the end.

    I tried searching for 'Body Revolution' on Amazon.com and couldn't find something called that except for a set of 15 DVDs that are "currently unavailable". Does it have a different title or subtitle? Thanks!

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