When we lose

[BearaBoSarah99 5]

I’m just curious to see if I’m going crazy or if this is normal. I’m about 5.5 weeks post op and notice I’m losing inches everywhere except my right arm. It happens to be my dominant arm. Did anyone experience places where inches came off slower in places but eventually catch up? Or am I going to end up with one big arm and one small arm for the remainder of this journey?

[Possum220 222]

Our bodies are not machines. It is quite normal to lose at different rates in difference parts of our bodies. Some people lose more on the top half than the bottom half and vice versa. Of course if you have muscles in your dominant arm then there will be a difference. Muscles are a good thing.

Also our bodies have differences from one side to the other. None of us a perfectly symmetrical.

[hills&valleys 130]

Weight distribution is unique for each individual but one pattern is universal.....the first area of a person's body that fat collects is the last area which fat is lost and the last areas to show gain is the first to show fat loss.

[BearaBoSarah99 5]

I think I need to provide more context. I don’t have medical clearance yet to exercise (not until my appointment next week hopefully) so my muscle is the first things being burned from what I was told. And since I use my dominant arm more, shouldn’t I be losing more muscle there first instead of my non-dominant arm? There’s a five inch difference between the arms. I’m already self conscious about my arms as a big woman (SW: 286, CW: 262), I feel like unevenness is going to be a new thing to be self conscious about as my non dominant arm gets smaller while my dominant arm stays the same. Total inches lost in my dominant arm have been 0.25 inches. My non dominant arm lost 5 inches.

I just want to know if anyone else has experienced this with their arms before. I don’t have lymphedema so it’s kinda freaking me out.

Also my stomach has always gained first and it’s one of the first things going down. All my measurements are going down and decreasing significantly…except that dominant arm.

I’ll probably talk to the doc and find a way to delete this thread. It was a stupid question to begin with. Sorry y’all!

[Arabesque 6,478]

Yes, but you are still using your dominant arm so still working the muscles there. Your dominant arm would have had more muscle & less fat than your less dominant arm too. Did your arms measure the same when you first started losing? As @Possum220 said our bodies aren’t symmetrical. The places we are most aware of tend to be our feet or breasts as we’re always measuring them. We rarely if ever measure our thighs, arms, etc.

As @hills&valleys said we carry our weight in different places and we lose it in different places at different times. Density of fat deposits can also affect how much you lose in those areas & over what time. Interestingly I always had a distinct waist regardless of what I weighed yet when I lost all my weight I also lost my waist. No more hourglass shape. I was straight up & down. But over time, my remaining fat resettled & I have a waist again (& also hips). I guess what I’m saying is don’t fret yet. You’re early out with your weight loss.

[BearaBoSarah99 5]

On 4/29/2023 at 8:46 PM, BearaBoSarah99 said:

I think I need to provide more context. I don’t have medical clearance yet to exercise (not until my appointment next week hopefully) so my muscle is the first things being burned from what I was told. And since I use my dominant arm more, shouldn’t I be losing more muscle there first instead of my non-dominant arm? There’s a five inch difference between the arms. I’m already self conscious about my arms as a big woman (SW: 286, CW: 262), I feel like unevenness is going to be a new thing to be self conscious about as my non dominant arm gets smaller while my dominant arm stays the same. Total inches lost in my dominant arm have been 0.25 inches. My non dominant arm lost 5 inches.

I just want to know if anyone else has experienced this with their arms before. I don’t have lymphedema so it’s kinda freaking me out.

Also my stomach has always gained first and it’s one of the first things going down. All my measurements are going down and decreasing significantly…except that dominant arm.

I’ll probably talk to the doc and find a way to delete this thread. It was a stupid question to begin with. Sorry y’all!

Sorry about that! They really weren't kidding when they said hormones would be all over the place as the hormones get released from the fat. I was a bit emotional and freaking out just days before my cycle began. Just doing what I've been advising others - to trust the process! I know certain aspects of my body were never balanced but the arms gave me a freak out moment for a sec but all is well! Thanks for the reminders, everybody!

[LindsayT 551]

Do you have edema?

[Nepenthe44 183]

Does your "big" arm appear larger than the other one on visual examination? If not, I'd chalk it up to measuring inconsistencies between arms, especially if you're doing the measurement on your own.

I don't have help, so I only measure my non-dominant arm and don't put any stock in the number because, unlike with a waist, there's no easily found measurement point. Am I supposed to pull the tape taught around my batwings or just let it drape loosely like my skin does. 🤷‍♂️

"Losing" that many inches in your non-dominant arm doesn't sound like an actual loss of tissue; it sounds like measuring at a different point than you did the last time.