Cellulite is the bain of many a woman's life, and if
you're a woman, chances are you've experienced the down feeling associated with
it.
But what is it? Cellulite is a fat-condition which only
occurs in areas that carry excess body fat (note, you don't necessarily have to
be overweight to have cellulite, but simply have excess fat in specific areas).
The orange peel appearance of this annoying pest is the result of inelastic
fibrous tracts, which, without getting too technical, leads to irregular
extrusion of the adipose (fat cell) tissue into the dermis: (Poor diet, lack of
exercise and some contraceptive pills all contribute to appearance of cellulite).
The good news is there is something you can do about it,
but you do actually have to DO these things, and regularly, to notice the
difference.
Here are my 10 tips for smoothing out those lumps and
bumps;
- Drink 2-3 litres of filtered water a day. As well as helping to increase your metabolism by up to 30% (not to be sniffed at!), ensuring you stay well hydrated helps to flush toxins out of the body, which contribute to the development of cellulite. Flush it out!
- Cut out caffeine
- Cut out Alcohol
- Increase your cardiovascular exercise to burn excess calories and reduce body fat. This doesn't mean just doing more in the gym; walk to work, take the stairs, have walk-and-talk meetings - just inject more activity into your day!
- Increase resistance training, whether it be bodyweight exercises or weight training, to increase muscle tissue and burn more fat at rest.
- Eat lots of fruit and vegetables, especially apples and carrots which contain Pectin; this is an important phytochemical which strengthens the immune system and detoxifies the body - a perfect ally in your anti-cellulite campaign.
- Take Essentail Fatty Acids (EFA) every day. These can be in a quality supplement form, or ideally from natural food sources such as oily fish, seeds, nuts, and avocados.
- Cut out the saturated fat in your diet. If your goals have anything to do with fat loss, cellulite loss or fitness, saturated fat is not going to help. Cut it out.
- Eat as clean as possible, and by this I mean reduce processed and packaged food a much as you can. The closer to nature the foods you consume are, the easier your body is likely to be able to digest it and utilise it for energy, rather than storing it as fat, likely to appear as cellulite.
- Dry skin brush. Improving circulation to your cellulite-heavy areas can really help to reduce the appearance and helps the body to flush toxins out. Even a few minutes every day is better than nothing; use a body brush and work in smooth strokes towards your heart. A decent mosituriser can also help to maintain the elasticity of the skin and improve both appearance and feel.
