It seems to happen like this every year - summer gets here a week or two ahead of schedule, a week or two earlier than last year . . . We look at the ...
It seems to happen like this every year - summer gets here a week or two ahead of schedule,
a week or two earlier than last year . . . We look at the place where we've kept the bathing suits over the winter and realize that we're another day closer to breaking them out and hitting the pool or beach, showing the world what's happened to our bodies . . . Now, more than any other time of the year, is when people - especially women - spend a lot of time in front of the mirror, checking out their bodies. You should see the flood of emails that led me to this realization. I'm writing this article, then, about last week's number one email topic: How can I control cellulite, or even make it disappear?
The many misconceptions and misunderstandings about cellulite surprised me. The efficacy of different topical creams and lotions was probably the number-one topic when it came to discussing how to treat cellulite. In addition, from my perspective, far too many women seemed to think that there's a connection between eating cottage cheese and cellulite development.
Cellulite exposed: What is is and can it be eliminated?
We use the term "cellulite" to refer to the excess fat cells your body stores. All of us have special connecting tissue that keeps our fat cells in little compartments. The connective tissue in men forms a crisscross pattern, while in women the pattern is more like honeycombs. The dimpled appearance of some women's skin - "cottage cheesey" - is due to this honeycomb pattern.
The solution to cellulite is simple, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's easy to accomplish. There's only one way to reduce cellulite, and that's to reduce the overall level of body fat. There's no such thing as "spot reduction" either for cellulite or body fat in any other form; also, no amount of rubbing creams, lotions or ointments on cellulite will have any effect. Likewise, starving yourself won't work. There's one way to banish cellulite from your body, and that's to follow these five simple and effective guidelines:
1) Reduce the size of your meals but make them more frequent. You should eat 5-6 of these small meals throughout the day. Try to separate your meals by about 2-3 hours. Each meal should be composed of one carb and one protein. Have your first meal of the day within one hour of waking.
2) This is critical - you need proper hydration. Drink a cup of water with each meal.
3) Get your proper rest. Proper rest, of course, means that you need to be getting 7-8 hours of sleep every night, without exception. It means a lot more, though. Your muscles need significant rest time between weight training sessions - once a muscle group has been weight trained, it must get at least 48 hours of rest before any additional weight training takes place. Finally, proper rest means taking a one- or two-day break from your workouts every week.
4) Mix up the intensity levels and session lengths of your cardio sessions. Each week, for instance, you could have a session that's high intensity but short duration, another that's low intensity but long duration, and the rest medium intensity and medium duration.
5) Strength training is critical, and every muscle in your body should be strength-trained one to three times every week. Weightlifting, a crucial element of most strength training programs, should also be performed. Make certain to perform the proper number of sets and reps as called for by your own strength training program.
Cellulite can be reduced when these five steps are combined and followed every day. Miracle creams and potions are the stuff of late-night infomercials and internet hucksters. If you want to get rid of cellulite, you're going to have to work out, period. As is often the case, it's not the quantity of your workouts that counts, but the quality. Set realistic goals for yourself, based on your unique understanding of your own body and capabilities, and then formulate a workout plan tailored to achieve those goals. Combining these five tips and following them regularly will pretty much guarantee that you can eliminate your cellulite.
