I had a run-in today with my "bat wing" arms, as some bloggers so lovingly refer to their big flabby upper arm area. You know, the part that swings and flaps like a wing whenever you raise your arm above your shoulder? That big huge hunk that hangs there? (If you do NOT know what I mean, thank your lucky stars. And do NOT let yourself become morbidly obese. Ever.)
This morning I got out a new size L (normal!) shirt to wear. I knew it would fit me because I had bought several of the same brand/cut in size L, in tee shirts for summer and they fit me wonderfully. Imagine my surprise when I put on the L long-sleeve shirt and my upper arms were nearly strangled by the fabric, which hung nicely on every other part of my body: chest, waist, hips, forearms. All lovely. But the bat wings? They were stuffed into that fabric to the point of bursting. I wore it anyway, because it looked SO darn good on me everywhere else, but dang! My upper arms feel like sausages overstuffed into tight casings! It might take some Vaseline or butter greasing my skin to be able to get these sleeves back off my giganto-arms.
You know, I am pretty proud of every part of me. (okay, forget the thighs and preggo-belly. I am proud of *almost* every part of me). I have a nice defined waist and a good overall shape and most of me is starting to look kinda normal (not like I am grossly overweight)... except for these ARMS! I swear, the ONLY reason people used to say I "carried my weight well" at 278 pounds is because MOST of it was hanging on my upper arms!! Good heavens...
So I broke out the measuring tape today. My upper arms are still at their lowest measurement over this weight loss journey: 16.75 inches each, measured at mid-bicep. But here's the kicker: when I weighed 278 pounds, do you know what my upper arms measured? Seventeen inches. Seventeen!! Can you even believe that? So they have only shrunk 1/4 inch while losing 50 pounds! I've lost MANY INCHES off my waist, hips, bust, and each thigh... even more than an inch off my neck... but as much as I have shrunk, I still have the upper arms of a 278 pound, morbidly obese woman. Which explains why every time I go to the doctor now, they break out a normal-sized blood pressure cuff, try it, look shocked, and apologize while they go to find the super-huge-sized, extra-large cuff that will fit my arm. (They used to take one look at me and run off digging for the giant cuff, but now that I look normal, they're always taken off guard when the small one doesn't fit).
It is the one spot on me that has not changed. These arms, they embarrass me. I look in the mirror and really, everything else looks pretty darn good, but the arms tell my story. They tell my secrets to the world: "she used to be almost 300 pounds!" There is no denying my fat history when anyone sees those arms. And it's time to do something about it.
Yeah, I hear all the "experts" saying "there is no such thing as spot reducing," blah blah blah, but I am not buying it. Maybe that's true for relatively thin/normal sized people or folks without a lot of weight to lose. Or maybe it is true for some large people. But I have noticed over the past 2+ years that the areas on my body that shrink in measurement are the ones I am working the most. I believe forming the muscle in any area makes it look better AND burns the fat surrounding the muscle. Which is why when I started to bike regularly, my entire butt/hip/thigh area started shrinking dramatically. So, for me, I think there is *some* correlation.
I've lost 50+ pounds but my arms lost nearly NO fat. I hardly ever use the triceps; I am sure that's part of the problem. So one of my goals over the next few months will be to shrink these darned arms! And using them regularly is the key. I'm diving back into strength training with a vengeance; it is something I enjoy, and I am going to put the focus on arm work (along with core exercises). I can't wait to measure those batwings and FINALLY see them starting to shrink! Because I am NOT going to cut the arms off my old 3XL shirts and sew them onto my new size L ones to create a garment that fits!
Time will tell... and strength training certainly can't hurt!
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