Now that I have the attention of all of the women, I’m sure…

Flabby arms are a woman’s worst nightmare. We hate them so much that we give them names like chicken wings, flags or wiggle wobble. Occasionally, someone will tell me that they have a genetic predisposition to wobbly arms since their mother, sister and daughter has them, but I would like to have medical evidence for that.

The simplicity of flabby-arm condition is too much skin hanging. What causes skin to hang? For starters, you might need to tone your triceps or rear-arm muscles. If you’ve lost weight or if your arms are thick, you might be a bit too heavy in relationship to your healthy body weight. Remember, you always have the option of keeping your arms down so nothing moves.

On a serious note, if you’ve lost a lot of body fat or weight as a result of illness or a change in your nutrition plan, you will have loose skin even though you are thinner. The body’s skin is elastic, for the most part, but not so much on the arms, I’ve noticed. It all depends on how much weight you have lost and how old you are. Kids have more elasticity in their skin, hence, no flabby-arm syndrome.

Exercises, and especially toning, will definitely help. But I must warn you about doing too much weight training on the triceps muscles. When using a good amount of weight to strengthen the triceps, we also build muscle mass and, therefore, enlarge the arm circumference. That can sometimes give the effect of having thick arms. So if you like a thin, lengthy look, avoid too much weight when looking for firmness. I recommend more repetitions and lighter weight to get the desired look.

For the individuals doing radical weight loss either with a biggest loser formula and hard training or gastric bypass, the excess skin of the arms might not retract entirely and you might possibly need other medical measures to remedy the problem. But before you take that measure, make sure that your weight is stable and will continue to be stable for a good while.

The American way is: I want the results instantly, yesterday. But please be kind to yourself and opt for the healthy approach with sensible eating habits, smaller, more-frequent portions of food to speed up your metabolism, a well-rounded exercise program catering to toning and lean-muscle building. Remember to enjoy the process. You are nurturing yourself, after all.

If you try to believe, like myself, that your birth right is to expand your love capacity, and your body is the temple holding the loving spirit you are, then respect your temple with consistency and it will return the kindness in health and vitality.

Stay positive, love much, laugh often and enjoy what you do.

You are never too busy to feel good.