When it comes to looks and appearance, cellulite is probably one of the worst issues to deal with. But what is cellulite and why does it affect some people more than others, notably women? And are there any solutions available? Here you might find some answers to this problem.
Cellulite is a build-up of fat around parts of the body that gives the skin an uneven and lumpy appearance. It is often called orange peel skin, resembling the look of skin being pinched. It also affects some areas of the body more than others, particularly the legs, buttocks and hips.
Fat stored in other parts of the body is the same type of fat that results in cellulite; this is also known as adipose tissue. Adipose tissue is a build-up of cells in the body that store any excess energy in the body as fat. The energy comes from calories and the body particularly tries to build up adipose tissue if it spends long periods of time with excess sugar in the blood.
Adipose tissue finds any available space in the connective tissue in the skin, resulting in skin looking like orange peel, which is probably the distinctive look everybody knows. It is a little bit like butter being squeezed through a knitted sweater. This is roughly what cellulite looks like on your skin; soft butter squeezed through strands of loosely knitted wool.
It particularly affects women because we put on fat in a totally different way to men. Adipose tissue in men is generally in the abdominal area, and often internally around the important organs. In women, it settles more round thighs and hips, where it becomes more visible in the form of cellulite. Also, the adipose tissue squeezes through connective tissue if it is more elastic, and sadly as we all get older, our connective tissue tends to loosen up.
But enough of the science – how to get rid of Cellulite? Using weight is the number one solution, and there are a couple of options to consider. First, make sure you take in fewer calories than you use up in energy. It is useful to exercise, as using up energy is only one result of exercising. Regular aerobic exercise will increase your metabolic rate and make the body burn more energy. It also helps improve muscle tone. As working the muscle fibres in the skin results in tighter muscles, cellulite will become less visible.
Losing weight can also be achieved by making sure your blood sugar levels are stable, when avoiding eating all those lovely sugary things we like so much. Cut down on foods that make blood-sugar go up very fast, like sugar itself, candies, chips, alcohol, processed white bread, rice and noodles. This is very important because the body doesn’t find it very easy to put on weight if it doesn’t have a lot of sugar in the blood to trigger the process.
Many people will also use hydrating creams and massage. T These only give a temporary look of improvement, as they don’t remove the cellulite but swell the skin around it to make it look smooth. There is no long-lasting substitute for a low-calorie, low sugar diet that is fairly high in protein, fruit and vegetables however. Remember that cellulite is body fat just like any other – diet and exercise is the only way to combat it.
