Everyone knows that cellulite is the cottage cheese like fat that is a woman’s worst night mare. What people don’t know is why?
There are so many creams and remedies available that you can be led to believe that there is a fix in a bottle. No work necessary on your part! If these companies truly explained how cellulite works you would not buy into their products. Body wraps and creams are only temporary. They smooth your skin decreasing the appearance of cellulite, but once the skin goes back to normal your cellulite is back.
Cellulite is just fat. It is the same fat that is everywhere else in your body. Fat cells are separated into compartments by connective tissue. Men tend to have a crisscross pattern, while women’s tend to be more of a honeycomb shape. Unfortunately this causes the fat to bulge in pockets creating a cottage cheese look. Your skin thins over time making it easier to see the fat pockets. This usually starts by your 30’s. With our population becoming larger at a young age we are starting to see cellulite in younger and younger people. The less muscle you have and more fat, the more likely you are to have cellulite.
Liposuction removes excess deposits of fat. There will always be fat that is left behind. In women that will mean smaller honeycombs. If you do not change your lifestyle the fat cells in the honeycomb will grow in size and create patches of fat that may look like lumps under your skin.
Exercise changes your body composition if cardio, strength training and nutrition are all a part of your work out program.
Often when people diet they lose about one quarter of their total weight loss from muscle. Every lb of muscle burns 35 to 50 calories per day, so your metabolism decreases. Once you stop your diet your body will require fewer calories than it did before the diet. If you don’t make changes to your eating you will gain fat at a faster rate than before the diet. We lose about 5% of our muscle per decade as we age. Menopausal women double that to about 10%. Fat gain is about 15 lbs per decade.
A successful good bye to cellulite program should include healthy eating (no diets), strength training and daily cardio. Your goal is to lose fat and gain lean muscle. This will increase your metabolism as well as firm up the areas where skin might start to loosen decreasing the sight of cellulite. Most women tend to have cellulite in their hips and thighs so leg and glute exercises are a must. The more you move around and the less you sit on your toosh the higher and tighter it will be. Walking up hills or taking stairs when possible. The more active you keep yourself the less likely you will be battling cellulite.
Regular strength training sessions for two to three months can add 2 to 3 lbs of muscle if you are consistent and work hard. As mentioned before every pound of muscle burns and extra 35 to 50 calories per day. You need to burn 3500 calories to lose a lb of fat. Strength training is unlike working out on a piece of cardio equipment as strength training at 70- to 80 % of your Max Heart Rate (MHR) continues to burn calories for about an hour afterwards. Upwards of 10 – 15 % of what you burned during your work out. Once you step off of a cardio machine your calories stop burning.
So the truth is out. The only way to get rid of cellulite is by living a healthy lifestyle consisting of regular strength training, cardio and healthy nutrition. |
