Bingo wings (the unfortunate look of sagging under the arms) can be very difficult to remove. What most people don’t realize is that specific exercises or even surgery are not the only options! Understanding the causes of bingo wings is the first step in banishing them forever, as we can then address these causes.
Being overweight
If you are overweight or have recently gained weight, this is a likely cause of your bingo wings. In this case, you will often notice that when your arms are extended out to the sides, there is a gentle curve underneath where gravity pulls the excess fat down.
Lack of muscle
Women often don’t like the idea of things like weight training as we don’t want to be bulky and manly. However, if we don’t work our muscles at all, they can shrink and provide inadequate support for the skin and the fat that rests on it, causing it to hang off the muscle.
A good test to see if this is part of your problem is to stand in front of a mirror with your arms at your sides. Make a fist with each hand and rotate your arms toward your body so that your upper hands are toward your legs and watch your upper arms as you do so.
This test is to tighten the triceps muscle, so if you noticed very little or no change in your upper arms, it is very likely that this muscle (which is directly under the wings of the bingo and therefore is very important) is not developed enough to support the fabric on top.
Excessive weight loss
Drastic weight fluctuations can really affect our skin. If we suddenly gain a lot of weight we can have stretch marks where the skin has not been able to adapt to our new shape quickly enough. It follows, then, that if we lose a lot of weight in a short space of time (for example, after gastric bypass surgery), our skin will often appear loose and flabby where it has not been able to shrink as quickly as the line of the waist.
If this is the cause of your bingo wings, you will notice that when you extend your arms out to the sides, the skin under your upper arms has a deflated, wrinkled balloon quality and does not form a smooth curve.
Lack of elasticity of the skin
Our skin is delicate so to keep it in good shape we must take care of it from the inside. and the outside. Factors such as poor diet, dehydration, smoking, and sun exposure can cause the skin to lose elasticity over time, which means it is more likely to wrinkle and sag.
A good indicator of poor skin elasticity is if you pinch your upper arm and see how long it takes to return to its original position. If it is not resolved instantly, this could be part of your problem. Wrinkles are also a sign of low elasticity.
Poor diet
Finally, poor diet is a big culprit, as it is involved with most of the other causes of bingo wings. Eating too many calories and not burning enough leads to being overweight, not eating enough proteins and vitamins can prevent our body from building muscle and a lack of minerals, fats and oils can cause the skin to lose elasticity.