3 reasons why your arms are getting flabbier… and what you can do about it today
We’ve all seen it happen to other *ahem* older folks. The extra roll from the elbow to the shoulder.
But maybe you’re starting to see it sooner than you’d imagine.
Maybe you’re wearing long sleeves, even when it’s hot out.
You might feel healthy yourself, but time moves forward and those pictures become even less flattering.
Age happens to us all, but there are things you can do today to minimize the effects of time passing. But first, let’s talk about why this is happening.
**Disclaimer! I am referring to age-related looseness in the arms. This article is NOT specified to extra skin due to extreme weight loss or another medical condition. If you have any concerns, please bring these up with your doctor.**
1. Too much fat
We don’t like to think about our bodies gaining fat, but they do. Especially in our older years when we aren’t, or can’t be, as active as we used to.
Fat accumulates when we eat too much in proportion to how much we are moving.
So if retirement or injury has caused a slowdown in movement while still maintaining the same amount of food eaten before, it can cause fat gain.
On the other hand, you may be busier than ever before and not paying close attention to what you’re eating. Maybe picking up fast food is happening more than you’d like to admit, and the portions eaten are getting bigger.
Lifestyle factors are a major factor in increasing stores of fat, but your biology is also working against you. Which leads us to the second reason you are experiencing this:
2. Age-related decrease in collagen and muscle tissue
Sarcopenia is the loss of muscle mass as we age, which impacts our strength and coordination. When we lose muscle tissue we become more unstable and less physically able to do daily tasks. It happens to most people as they age, except for those who remain physically active.
Collagen production also decreases over time. Collagen is responsible for the structural shape in our tendons, ligaments, and skin.
To an extent, these decreases are inevitable. However, as well will see below, there are treatments to improve wherever you are now, and prevent further decline.
3. Sun Damage
It’s happened to us all much too often. We lay out in the warm sun, don’t use sunscreen, and end up redder than a tomato.
However, that sunburn is causing irreversible sun damage to our skin. The UV rays are not kind and can come back in our later years with a vengeance. That summer you got several sunburns can lead to permanent skin damage, if not skin cancer.
**If you do suspect you might have skin cancer, please see your doctor or dermatologist to assess the area**
Skin damage can look like dark, wrinkly skin that doesn’t have the elasticity it once did. It may cause certain areas to look more aged than others. This too can contribute to saggy arms.
So what can we do about it? Is there any hope for us or are we slaves to time and biology?
Of course we can make changes now!
However, consistency is key here. Saggy arms don’t happen overnight, and these solutions I’m about to propose require time and continuous effort.
So let’s jump into them!
1. Caloric deficit
If you main cause of arm sag is due to excessive body fat, spending time in a calorie deficit will reduce the total amount of body fat you’re carrying.
A caloric deficit is eating less calories than you’re burning. So for example, a woman who is:
· 200-pound
· 5’5”
· 50-year-old
· Sedentary
would need to eat about 1800 calories to maintain her weight. If she eats less than this, she will see the scale drop.
This is a bit of an overview of a calorie deficit, but I think it paints the picture. Eating less, moving more, will yield fat loss results.
2. Arm strengthening (ie “toning) exercises
For those of you who know me well know that I despise the word “toning.”
It implies that you can decrease fat in a certain area, which is just not how the body works.
However when we strengthen our arms through exercise, we can build muscle which in turn will fill out the skin in our arms.
It will also make daily activities much easier to do, prevent pain, and prevent injury. (Which is SUPER important to do as we age.)
3. Moisturize and Sunscreen
If the saggy skin has some sun damage, the best thing to aid that is moisturize a ton.
The back of our arms get hopelessly forgotten when it comes to moisture, but it is still skin and does require our attention and self care.
Of course, as your dermatologist if there is a product that would work best with your skin if you need additional care.
Regardless of what possible skin damage has happened in the past, always always always ….. apply sunscreen. To all areas, but especially the back of your arms to prevent any further damage.
>>>Also to be clear, if you still enjoy wearing sleeves there’s no shame in wearing what makes you feel comfortable. In fact, they can be another barrier against UV rays. If that’s what you’re comfortable in.
Now that you have some basics in your arsenal, go try them out! Let me know when you see results I’d LOVE to hear from you!
For personal training questions or inquiries, you can reach me directly here