Orange-peel skin, cottage-cheese skin, hail damage... we've heard it all!
Firstly, your cellulite is NORMAL. Approximately 85% of post-pubertal woman have a form of cellulite. Cellulite is caused by the collections of fat that appear on your thighs, stomach and buttocks, making your skin look bumpy.
Cellulite appearance is different in all individuals and is affected by genes, body fat percentage and age. It is also affected by the thickness of your skin.
Ever wondered why your significant other doesn't have cellulite like you? This is because men and women have a different structure in the tissues of their fat. Females have fat tissue which is contained in chamber-like structures, whereas men have a criss-cross structure. The female's tissues make it easy for fat to push to the skin, whereas men's tissues do not.
There are many ways in which we TRY to reduce the appearance of cellulite, but do these truly work? Let's look at the science. These finding are from a professor at the University of New Mexico.
1. Liposuction - POSSIBLY. Some say it improved the appearance, but others noted that it actually worsens the dimpled skin appearance.
2. Massage - NO. This appears to only give short-term minor skin changes but does not remove cellulite.
3. Thermotherapy - NO. It may actually aggravate the cellulite appearance.
4. Creams - NO. There is very little data to substantiate any of them.
5. Lasers - POSSIBLY. This improved the thickness of the skin which did visually decrease the appearance of cellulite. The long-term side effects are however not known.
With this being said, it seems there is no one-size-fits all approach. We should not readily invest our hope (and money) in these treatments. We should rather:
1. Improve diet. Findings have shown that females who lose weight have less cellulite appearance.
2. Exercise. This assists with weight loss.
3. Resistance training. This definitely for minimizes the appearance of cellulite.
If you need assistance with an eating plan for weight loss, please contact me on any of the platforms below:
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