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 . . . Every day brings us closer to the day when we’ve got to go to the pool or the beach and let everyone see what we really look like. 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?
After so many years of education efforts about fitness and appearance, I was pretty surprised to find that people are as confused and ill-informed about cellulite as they’ve ever been. For instance, many wanted to know which lotion or cream was best for topical treatment of cellulite, and others wanted to know if they should give up cottage cheese. Depressingly, some even asked if surgery was their only option.
Cellulite: What is it, and how can I get rid of it?
The body produces and stores fat cells in the body. We generally refer to this as “cellulite.” All of us have special connecting tissue that keeps our fat cells in little compartments. Men’s connective tissue for excess fat cells is produced in a crisscross pattern, and women’s connective tissue is in a honeycomb-shaped pattern. The dimpled appearance of some women’s skin is the result of excess fat being stored in these honeycomb-shaped compartments.
Although the solution to cellulite is simple and straightforward, it’s not necessarily that easy to accomplish. Reduction of overall body fat is the only way to reduce cellulite. 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. You can deal with cellulite effectively by following these five simple steps:
1) Make your meals smaller but eat more frequently during the day – 5-6 per day is ideal. Try to separate your meals by about 2-3 hours. At each meal, make sure you have one protein and one carb. You should eat your first meal soon after waking – an hour is the outside limit.
2) This is critical – you need proper hydration. Drink a cup of water with each meal.
3) Get your proper rest. This means more than simply getting seven to eight hours of sleep every night, although that’s certainly important. Muscle groups need at least 48 hours between strength training sessions, Proper rest also means taking a 1-2 day break from your workouts every week.
4) Change the duration and intensity of your cardio sessions regularly. 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) Attend scrupulously to your strength training, exercising every muscle one to three times every week. Don’t ignore weightlifting, a critical component of strength training. Make certain you perform the correct number of sets and reps at each workout.
Cellulite can be reduced when these five steps are combined and followed every day. Miracle creams don’t exist. Secret potions and pills don’t exist. Like any other good thing in life, it involves hard work, effort and perspiration. Nevertheless, work out smarter, not harder! Your workout program needs to be specially tailored to the goals that only you can set for yourself, with your unique understanding of your body and capabilities. Here’s a paradox – we’re all unique, yet following this set of five guidelines will practically guarantee you’ll make your cellulite disappear.
If you’re ready to get the body you’ve always wanted and say goodbye to cellulite, check out these articles: lose cellulite on thighs and anti cellulite diet.