Cellulite

Have you spent most of the summer covered up (even though it’s ridiculously hot) and worrying about the dimples in your thighs (when you should be enjoying yourself)!?

It’s a horrible shame to let cellulite ruin your summer and stop you from wearing the clothes you want. It would be even more of a shame if you let it ruin your Christmas holidays (yes I did say ‘Christmas’, and it is closer than you think) by stopping you wearing that perfect party dress! You are not alone, so don’t despair! Around 80% of women in the western world have cellulite!

So take charge!

I won’t lie. There is no magic cure for cellulite. Even if you can afford something drastic like liposuction, you probably still won’t see the back of it, s a traumatic procedure such as liposuction can impair your circulatory and lymphatic system, and mean that you could end up with more lumps and bumps than before!

The Science Bit…

“Cellulite is caused by the herniation of subcutaneous fat within fibrous connective tissue leading to a padded or orange peel-like appearance” (Rossi & Vergananini, (2000) ‘Cellulite, a review’)

What!?

Basically… fat cells are held by supporting fibres, and cellulite is caused when these fibres squeeze the fat cells, causing them to protrude through (resulting in bumps and the orange peel look). Women are more prone to cellulite as their supporting fibres are more closely interlinked than men’s, so there is less room for the fat cells, and they are squashed through. Obviously, if you are overweight fat cells are larger, and so there is less room for them!

So what can I do!?

1. If you are over weight, then try to return to a more healthy weight range. This will reduce the size of your fat cells. If you are currently at a healthy weight, then you may still have cellulite, as people of all shapes and sizes get it (yes ever super skinny supermodels) it doesn’t mean you are overweight. If you are at a healthy weight, then losing more weight at this point won’t really do much to help.

2. Once you are at a healthy weight, try to maintain it. Yo-yo dieting, and putting on and losing weight won’t help your plight as piling on the pounds stretches your connective tissue and can make your skin look worse!

3. Reduce Stress and relax. Stress can cause an increase in levels of your ‘fight or flight’ stress hormones adrenaline and noradrenalin, which have been associated with the evolution of cellulite!

4. Look after your skin. Firstly keeping your skin hydrated by drinking water and using hydrating body lotions and emollients will always improve the appearance of skin. Body brushing (with a stiff body brush, in circular movements towards the heart) not only removes dead skin cells, helping skin to appear brighter, but improves the body’s lymph drainage and circulation helping reduce cellulite.

5. Drink water. Now drinking tonnes of water won’t get rid of cellulite. What it will do is keep your skin hydrated and help you maintain a healthy lymphatic system so your body can efficiently remove waste and toxins. 1.5 litres a day is a good figure to aim for. Do be careful of drinking too much as it can make skin look ‘puffy’.

6. Eat a healthy diet. Again not guaranteed to send cellulite running for the hills, but can help you maintain your optimum weight. Foods with anti-oxidants (blueberries, raspberries and cranberries are a good source) neutralise free-radicals which are thought to contribute to the cause of cellulite, and ensuring you include essential fatty acids Omega 3 and 6 (eggs, oily fish like mackerel) are anti-inflammatory and can help reduce ‘puffiness’ and fat cells ‘sticking together’ causing the bumpy effect.

7. Last but not least is exercise (of course!). Exercise can help to smooth out the skin by:
• Helping you lose excess weight
• improving circulation
• removing excess fluid from the body
• toning muscles
Psychologically, exercise can also help release all those feel-good hormones like serotonin helping you beat stress and feel more confident.

If you are ready to wage war on cellulite and put an end to your days of covering up in shame why not try Boot Camp, a fun and effective way to improve your fitness, lose weight and tone up, where you can burn up to 800 calories in one workout! You’ll be working out with people who share a common goal, encouraged and motivated whilst building your confidence and changing your body. In no time at all you’ll be wearing what you want, and cellulite will no longer rule your wardrobe (hurrah!).

Thanks for tuning in!

This entry was posted on August 26, 2010 at 8:18 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in Weight Loss Strategies by Jango | 1 Comment