Posted on April 04, 2017 by Kate Halsall
Honestly if you Google “how to get rid of bingo wings”, it just lists all kinds of weird and wonderful arm “toning” workouts which range from 5 all important exercises to 20 minute blasts, 30 day challenges and surgery! None of the sites which come up explain why we have this excess fat on our triceps that we lovingly call bingo wings! Surely getting to the root cause of that is part of the process to get rid of those bingo wings?
In a nutshell, we hold excess fat on our arms for the following reasons:
- high estrogen levels
- thyroid or excess cortisol
- elevated insulin levels
- liver toxicity
- hormones & body shape
So what does this mean in real terms? How can you get rid of those bingo wings?
Food & Drink
Processed carbs and refined sugar elevate our insulin levels – get rid of them from your diet. Choose slow releasing and natural carbohydrate sources. Eat lots of cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli and cauliflower to help reduce estrogen levels. Look at your pre and post workout nutrition; for example prior to your workout consume foods rich in choline and tyrosine such as eggs and spinach as choline helps nerve and muscle function and tyrosine is an essential amino acid. Avoid too much salt and alcohol to keep that liver functioning correctly.
Exercise
There’s no point just doing arm exercises! You can’t spot reduce body fat in that way. Instead look at interval training and get using weights as these are great for fat burning – and I’m not talking low weights and high reps either. You need a periodised plan which is looking at building muscle.
Stress & Sleep
Cortisol has many functions and for the purpose of this blog, the key is that it helps the body use sugar and fat for energy. It also helps the body manage stress. So if you’re not sleeping properly or are struggling with stress, it can lead to rapid weight gain.
External Elements
I need to look into this more thoroughly, but it’s not the first time I’ve come across the concept of “xenoestrogens”. These are compounds which mimic estrogen and can upset hormonal balance. The scary thing is that they’re in every day use products especially plastic bottles and containers -think water bottles and yoghurt containers, hair products and so on. It’s worth a look into!
So before you go and smash out 100 tricep dips, take a second to consider the type of exercise you’re doing and what you’re actually eating and drinking!
Hopefully this has given you an insight on what to do about that extra fat on those arms, but there’s more reading below if you need it!
http://bachperformance.com/fat-deposits-and-hormone-correlations/
https://www.metaboliceffect.com/hormonal-body-fat-signatures/
https://paulaowens.com/your-hormones-where-you-store-fat-bioprint/
https://womeninbalance.org/2012/10/26/xenoestrogens-what-are-they-how-to-avoid-them/
https://authoritynutrition.com/14-ways-to-lower-insulin/