Weight loss Insecurity...

[E. Wynn 1]

Soooo I kinda have flabby arms; had them before my surgery. I'm wondering if anyone lost that as they lost weight?? Did you do something to help with toning that area?? I will begin my soft food stage in a few days and have my first appt at that time. I was trying to wait before adding in workouts. I've just been walking for now. For me it's a big insecurity for me. I feel like it not something you can hide like loss skin on your tummy and legs. What are some things you guys did??

[Arabesque 7,601]

There’s really only one way to get rid of loose skin & that is to have it surgically removed. Your skin has been stretched out and it can’t stretch back. But in saying that there are factors, like age, general skin elasticity, how long you were at your highest weight, how much you weighed at your highest weight, etc. that may mean you don’t have as much loose skin.

I have flabby, flappy upper arms but have decided not to have any surgery. I just keep my elbows close to my body. No waving my arms in the air like I don’t care - lol! I even got told I had lovely arms a couple of months ago 😂.

You can dress around your arms too. I don’t wear strappy or strapless tops but that’s no bother. I love all the puffed sleeves about at the moment & off the shoulder tops are very flattering. You won’t feel the heat nearly as much either when you lose your weight so a sleeve won’t be as much as an issue.

Good luck.

[JMJames92 115]

As @Arabesque said, there are many factors at play. I don't know how much you weigh, how old you are, etc. I can say that while I do have loose skin on my arms, you would never know by just looking at me. I can pinch my skin and stretch it way out, but if I am not doing that, it looks pretty much like it is not loose. I did have my surgery pretty young, age 23, so that absolutely effected my outcome.

Anyway, good luck! I hope this weight loss journey goes well for you.

[ms.sss 15,823]

Unless you have the snap-back elasticity of a baby, or have not-so-big arms in the first place, you will most likely have some level of excess skin on your arms if you lose alot of weight.

I hated my upper arms with the fire of a thousand suns, and worked them out regularly (just regularly, not intensely) in the hopes that I would avoid being an arm-flapper. The result was relatively toned-ish arms...BUT with this drape of skin underneath (and some crepe-y skin on top).

The flappi-ness was only noticeable when my arms were up. But *I* knew they were there, and it bothered the eff out of me. So I got an arm lift.

Top pic is one day before the arm lift, bottom pic is 2 months after. I suppose if I worked my arms big enough I could theoretically filled in all the extra skin so there wasn't any, but then I'd be all Popeye looking, and that really wasn't the look I was going for.

[HealthyLifeStyle 351]

5 minutes ago, ms.sss said:

Unless you have the snap-back elasticity of a baby, or have not-so-big arms in the first place, you will most likely have some level of excess skin on your arms if you lose alot of weight.

I hated my upper arms with the fire of a thousand suns, and worked them out regularly (just regularly, not intensely) in the hopes that I would avoid being an arm-flapper. The result was relatively toned-ish arms...BUT with this drape of skin underneath (and some crepe-y skin on top).

The flappi-ness was only noticeable when my arms were up. But *I* knew they were there, and it bothered the eff out of me. So I got an arm lift.

Top pic is one day before the arm lift, bottom pic is 2 months after. I suppose if I worked my arms big enough I could theoretically filled in all the extra skin so there wasn't any, but then I'd be all Popeye looking, and that really wasn't the look I was going for.

Oh I can see the difference. Did it hurt a lot after the surgery? How long did it take to heal? I am thinking of doing this.

[ms.sss 15,823]

45 minutes ago, HealthyLifeStyle said:

Did it hurt a lot after the surgery? How long did it take to heal?

YES. and LONG (I'd say my arms regained their full mobility and healed to the point of no discomfort at round 4-5 months)

Though I am probably the wrong person to ask about pain and recovery, as I had a bit of a rough time. I kept re-injuring myself (i.e., splitting the incisions) because I was a dolt and didn't listen to my doc about taking it easy. I basically went from 100 to zero on the exercise/activity front and I was itching to get moving...so...yeah. I probably extended my recovery time by 2 or 3 extra months because of all the crap I shouldn't have been doing.

Also, my sutures kept popping out of me instead of being absorbed into my body so that added to more splitting. My surgeon told me it was because I was on the small side and the alot of the sutures had no where to go but out. Ugh. it was terrible.

But even with all the pain and hassle, I would do it again in a heartbeat. I love my arms now.

There are a few folks on here that got arm lifts around the same time as me and had waaaaaaay better post-op experiences.

Edited February 21, 2021 by ms.sss

[HealthyLifeStyle 351]

36 minutes ago, ms.sss said:

YES. and LONG (I'd say my arms regained their full mobility and healed to the point of no discomfort at round 4-5 months)

Though I am probably the wrong person to ask about pain and recovery, as I had a bit of a rough time. I kept re-injuring myself (i.e., splitting the incisions) because I was a dolt and didn't listen to my doc about taking it easy. I basically went from 100 to zero on the exercise/activity front and I was itching to get moving...so...yeah. I probably extended my recovery time by 2 or 3 extra months because of all the crap I shouldn't have been doing.

Also, my sutures kept popping out of me instead of being absorbed into my body so that added to more splitting. My surgeon told me it was because I was on the small side and the alot of the sutures had no where to go but out. Ugh. it was terrible.

But even with all the pain and hassle, I would do it again in a heartbeat. I love my arms now.

There are a few folks on here that got arm lifts around the same time as me and had waaaaaaay better post-op experiences.

OUch, it sounds like a very painful recovery. I get that you didn't listen to the doctors. I know someone who had this surgery. They also had a very hard time with recovery. It makes me a bit nervous.