Ask any 10 women about cellulite, and 8 of them will probably respond with grimaces, eye rolls, or exasperated sighs - while those lucky other two shrug and smile. Cellulite shows up on the buttocks, thighs, and bellies of so many women, and yet it's considered a flaw, a condition - even a disease! Squeeze it, pinch it, poke it, or try to hide it under concealing clothes or beneath the shade of a tan, but it persists. Oh, cellulite, so common, so hated, yet so misunderstood...
What is cellulite? Proteins just beneath the skin's surface form a layer that gives skin its elasticity. These fibrous cords also connect our skin to our muscle. Between the skin and the muscle lies a store of fat. When the fat presses against the fibrous net, you get that familiar dimpled flesh effect of cellulite. It's the same effect you'd get if you pulled a net down over a blob of jelly.
Why does cellulite happen? The fibrous layer beneath our skin can become stretched or less able to rebound. As we age, our skin naturally loses some elasticity, so that layer of fat beneath the skin becomes more visible. Weight gain can also make cellulite more apparent, as excess fat strains against the skin. However, cellulite can also be present in thin people, because everyone has layers of fat beneath the skin surface.
Who gets cellulite? Cellulite shows up on the skin of women of all shapes and sizes, from supermodels to super-moms, from skinny-minny socialites to the woman next to you on the morning train. A sedentary or stressed-out life may predispose a woman to cellulite.
Why do men rarely have cellulite? First off, men gain less weight around their thighs and hips than women do. And men's thicker skin and way of storing fat - their fat-storing cells are smaller so they store fat in smaller amounts - rescue them from the blight of bumpy cellulite.
Why do men rarely have cellulite? First off, men gain less weight around their thighs and hips than women do. And men's thicker skin and way of storing fat - their fat-storing cells are smaller so they store fat in smaller amounts - rescue them from the blight of bumpy cellulite.
Can you get rid of it? Women try melting it, massaging it, and medicating it away. Some even wear anti-cellulite skivvies, specially designed undergarments that work a bit like support hose. But no cream, potion, or treatment has been scientifically proven effective in miraculously zapping cellulite. Even those treatments that result in minimal improvements don't tend to hold up over time.
The simple fact is that cellulite is a result of fat. You can mask fat or hide it, but you can't magically erase it. To shake off cellulite, you'll need to do the same sorts of things you'd do to get rid of other body fat: eat a healthy diet, high in fibre and low in fats, drink plenty of water, and stay active with regular cardio and strength training exercise. Massage and stimulation of your circulation may help, too, though it's just another of the many scientifically unproven theories about cellulite.
Why fight it? Perhaps rather than hyper-focusing on one perceived imperfection, we should just try to relax.
- Be a cellulite-treatment cynic. Lots of treatments exist, but they're expensive, and none have been found to be truly effective.
- View glossy magazine photos skeptically. Most portrait images are altered, wrinkles erased, jiggle smoothed over, and cellulite smoothed into non-existence.
- Ignore those extreme close-up paparazzi shots of celebrity cellulite and all the mean-spirited comments usually written about dare-to-be-dimpled starlets.
- Explore the spectrum of feminine beauty as it's expressed through art across the centuries. You're bound to see more than one dimpled bum glorified on museum walls.
As long as you're living a healthy lifestyle and rocking a positive self-image, a few ripples shouldn't concern you too much.
Special credit : http://chealth.canoe.ca/channel_section_details.asp?text_id=4697&channel_id=2003&relation_id=11996
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