All You Need to Know About Cellulite

Orange peel, cottage cheese and the less known mattress phenomenon are probably the most hated descriptions we can use for our skin. We hate it, we hide it, but the fact is that almost every woman has it. Don’t let yourself be discouraged with all that talk about how it is impossible to get rid of it. It just takes persistence.

What is Cellulite, Exactly?

Dimpled appearance of your skin is caused by fat deposits under the skin. It usually appears on the upper ties, buttocks and lower stomach, but it can appear almost anywhere on the body.

It can occur both on men and women, but it is more common and more visible in women because their skin tends to be thinner and they have a different type of fat and connective tissue. And the thing that most of us don’t quite understand is what is cellulite exactly?

The right medical term is Oedematous Fibrosclerotic Superficial Panniculitis (OFSB), or, to say it simply, it is an inflammation of the surface deposits of fat along with scar tissue and water retention.

Who Gets Cellulite?

So, both man and woman get it, but women are the primary victims of cellulite. Almost any female older than 18 or 19 will have some sort of it. There is a higher risk for fat people, but the skinny ones are not off the hook either.

If you were lucky enough not to get it in your post-teen years, there is a chance you will get it during or after pregnancy.

How Do We Get It?

Heredity is a big reason. That is something you can’t choose, but you can control it.

Unhealthy diet is another reason we get cellulite.

Lack of exercise is right up there with the poor diet. These two go hand in hand in most of our health and beauty problems.

Low water intake doesn’t allow you to flush toxins out of your body.

Smoking can be another cause because among other things, it weakens the skin and damages the connective tissue.

And yes, stress can go straight to your thighs, not just cake.

Wearing clothes that is too tight can cause it because it decreases circulation.

Many believe that hormonal imbalance can cause cellulite as well.

Most people seem to think that cellulite is normal because over 90% of women in developed countries have it, but it is a symptom. Apart from the genetics factor, cellulite is there to tell us that there is something wrong with our lifestyle. And considering all the alternatives, it is the nicest warning we could hope for.

What to Eat?

Healthy diet is the first thing you need to start in your fight against cellulite. Starving yourself is not healthy, so cross that off your list. The most important thing is to get rid of all the junk food, and to keep your diet balanced between protein, carbohydrates, vegetables and fat.

Also, do not remove any food groups completely; it is extremely unhealthy, and impossible to keep up for a long time.

Here are some main food groups that you shouldn’t forget:

• vegetables: spinach, potatoes, carrots, cucumber and onions
• carbohydrates: beans, peas and legume
• protein: white chicken, fish
• fat: olive oil, macadamia oil

How to Exercise?

All exercises that decrease your body fat are good for getting rid of cellulite, but the best are ones that strengthen your legs, buttocks and stomach.

Be cautious! Losing weight by dieting might even worsen the appearance of cellulite, but if you combine it with exercise, the effect will be opposite.

Also, cardio is very useful in the battle against cellulite because it will increase your circulation, speed up your metabolism and get you in shape.

Don’t Give In to False Hope

Things like massages, anti-cellulite creams are not a permanent solution. They can make the affected areas look better, but they won’t keep the cellulite from coming back.

Liposuction does not work at all, because it drains only fat. The fact that fat injections can be used to make the skin look better means that this would only make it worse.

There is no quick fix. The most important thing to know about cellulite is that it is a symptom, and to get rid of it forever, you need to remove the cause.