Ok, you do need to diet and exercise in order to lose arm flab. BUT, for most women, diet and exercise aren’t the rate limiting factors when it comes to getting rid of the jiggle.

There is so much free information out there that most women know how to eat and exercise in a relatively healthy way.

So, the top factor that hold women back from reaching their sexy arm goal, is a poor mental strategy.

This fluctuating motivation undermined my progress for a very long time. I used to read a lot of motivational books and listened to a lot of motivational speakers. I found, however, that these sources only provided temporary motivation that would always end up fading.

Luckily, I found some awesome work by David Burns M.D., that provided an extremely effective method for optimizing thought processes and maintaining motivation for the long haul. Central to his method is the identification of “cognitive distortions.”

So without further ado, here are 3 major cognitive distortions you need to know today so that you have motivation tomorrow:

1. Pressurizing statements. These types of statements are like using a whip to motivate yourself. They may work initially, but over time they will become too painful and your motivation will fade. How do you avoid them? Avoid telling yourself that you “should” exercise or diet. Instead, tell yourself that you WANT to exercise or diet. The slight shift in wording will have a tremendous impact on you.

2. Labeling phrases. Never give yourself a label when messing up. Labels indicate that there is something internally wrong with you which is NOT the case. So don’t call yourself a “loser” or a “slob.” Instead, describe the situational circumstances that led to the hiccup so that you can prevent it from happening again.

3. Minimization. Doing this will make you feel one inch tall. You see, with minimization you assume that your “true potential” is much smaller than it actually is. Always assume that you can do something, never assume that you can’t. Test your distorted assumptions with action.

Learning how to lose arm flab isn’t just about finding the right diet or exercise program. It’s also about finding the right mental program. And with the above thought distortions in mind, your mental game will be as solid as a rock. Good luck!

Author Katherine Crawford M.S., a Harvard exercise physiologist and recent flabby arms casualty, instructs women on how to lose arm fat. Unearth how to get sexy and toned arms by exploring her blog about fat arms now!