How to Reduce the Appearance of Cellulite
Cellulite goes by a number of unflattering names. Cottage cheese, lumpy gravy, hail damage. It’s no wonder that people who have cellulite—mostly women—try so hard to cover it up or get rid of it.
If you have cellulite, don’t worry. It’s very common, and you’re not alone. In this post, we’re going to dig into cellulite—what it is, what causes it, and how to reduce it?
What is cellulite and what causes it?
Cellulite is a common skin condition that primarily affects women. It causes flesh to dimple on the thighs, buttocks, hips, and abdomen. It is not a medical condition but has become an aesthetic issue for many people.
The dimpling of the skin is caused by the fibrous cords that connect your skin to your muscle tissue. When the subcutaneous fat cells between the skin and muscle growth, they push up against the skin, while the fibrous cords continue to pull down creating small divots.
A number of things can cause cellulite, from controllable factors like diet and exercise to uncontrollable matters like your sex and genes. For example, white women are predisposed to cellulite whereas Asian women are less likely to have it.
A common misconception about cellulite is that only obese people have it. That couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, there is no correlation between body fat percentage and the presence of cellulite.
How to reduce the appearance of cellulite?
You’ve probably seen plenty of advertisements for creams and serums that promise to reduce or eliminate cellulite. These kinds of skin treatments do not get rid of cellulite. They temporarily tighten the skin causing the bumpiness to level out.
If you want to decrease cellulite, there are three things you need to do.
Diet
Exercise
Improve circulation
Diet
Your diet is the most important weapon against cellulite. By eating the right foods, you can decrease the amount of subcutaneous fat between your skin and muscle tissue. When you start burning that fat, the fat cells shrink and stop pushing against your skin so much. This will help smooth out your skin.
If you need help finding a diet plan that fits your lifestyle and needs, look no further than Diet Center. Diet Center offers in-center and online programs, along with an online shop where you can find snacks and supplements to help you stay on track. Whether you’re trying to burn fat fast or play the long game, Diet Center has a program for you.
Exercise
Exercise is essential for your health whether you have cellulite or not. But if you’re trying to decrease cellulite, then you need to burn fat and tone your muscles. Both of these will help give your skin a nice smooth appearance.
To burn fat, try doing high-intensity interval training, also called HIIT training. HIIT training features short, intense periods of exercise, broken up by short recovery periods. They’re generally pretty short, ranging from 10 to 30 minutes, but they’ve been shown to increase your metabolism for hours after your workout.
To tone up your muscles, you’ll want to work in body-weight and weight training. The type of weight you use isn’t as important as the way you use it. For your muscles to grow and strengthen, you must activate and stress your muscle fibers to the point that they must heal and produce new muscle fibers.
You can use heavier weights for fewer reps or lighter weights for more reps. With the heavier weight, you’ll generally build bigger muscles, while lighter weights will help with endurance. A balanced exercise program will use a mixture of both.
Circulation
You probably weren’t surprised to see diet and exercise on the list. But circulation? How does circulation help reduce cellulite?
First, you need to understand that decreased circulation decreases estrogen production, which leads to a decrease in collagen production. Collagen is important for smooth skin because it strengthens the skin’s connective tissue making the skin more firm and elastic. It also helps hydrate the skin. Without collagen, the effects of growing fat cells become more apparent.
So what can you do to increase circulation? Get regular massages. Massages not only feel amazing, but they also help bring blood to areas of the body that might not always get proper blood flow. But you don’t have to fork out tons of money for a professional massage. You can give yourself a massage every day for free.
Nobody likes having cellulite. But it’s not harmful. The stigma against it is societal, and it’s pretty recent. And most women have it, no matter their weight. So don’t let it ruin your day.
If you want to decrease it, do it the healthy way with diet, exercise, and massages.
