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"How to Fight Cellulite"

By Max Hoyt

What is Cellulite exactly? Cellulite is a term that was created a few decades ago as a name for fat that is typically found on women's hips and thighs. Men can and do get it too, but for many women, cellulite is a source of frustration and embarrassment and I want to help them, are you ready for this?

GET RID OF IT! That's right, you can get rid of cellulite, and I mean get rid of it, not hide it with some expensive cream or crazy procedure.

We all need to understand what cellulite is, why it looks like it does and why we get it. Cellulite is fat and only fat. It's the same fat that can be found elsewhere on the body.

There is nothing special about the fat that's on the thighs and hips, it's just fat. There are two main reasons women get the cellulite look on their hips and thighs. Not enough muscle and too much fat, it's that simple.

Every decade of adult life the average American woman loses about five pounds of muscle, and adds around 15 pounds of fat! This loss can be deceptive because on the scale you will only see a ten pound shift due to the five pounds of muscle you lost. However, it's the muscle loss that really sets the stage for cellulite's appearance. If a women's job is a desk job, then she will lose muscle from the hips and thighs due to muscular atrophy and when that happens, there is a softer area for the fat to be deposited over.

I like to use an analogy that I'm sure everyone's familiar with. When you were growing up and your parents told you for the hundredth time to make your bed, did you ever just throw your comforter over the bed without fixing the sheets under it? If you did, you know that trick never worked because your parents would take one look at that lumpy bed and they'd stand there and watch you make it right. Okay, well let's think of your thighs (quads and hamstrings) as the sheets under the comforter and the comforter itself as the fat (cellulite).

When you threw the comforter over the bed, you could see the outline of the unkempt sheets under it. The same thing happens to your legs. Because your leg muscles have atrophied, they aren't tight, they're soft and that creates a dimpled patter in the muscle.

Because losing muscle mass slows down your metabolism, you don't need as many calories to sustain you, but you eat the same. So now those excess calories get deposited over those atrophied muscles as fat and the fat fills in those dimpled areas. Guess what? Cellulite is born!

So you see that there's no cellulite mystery. We get cellulite because as we age we naturally lose muscle mass. We lose about 5% of our muscle mass per decade. Combine that with a sedentary lifestyle and it's easy to see how we get the simple answer of not enough muscle and too much fat.

So why the hips and thighs? Because your body stores fat where it has the most fat cells and on women that's typically the hips and thighs. Now that we know how we get cellulite and why it looks the way it does, let's get rid of it!

If losing muscle mass in your legs is one reason why we get cellulite, then what can we do to reverse that? That's Right! Increase the muscle mass in our legs! By increasing the muscle in your legs you are beginning to "straighten the sheets" of your bed.

As your quads and hamstrings become tighter and tighter, the fat on your thighs will lose that dimpled appearance. That's not to say that you won't still have fat on your legs, it just won't have that cottage cheese look.

We know that the other reason cellulite takes hold is because of too much fat. Where do we get too much fat? Where don't we is a better question.

These same desk jobs that lead to muscle atrophy also are a breeding ground for horrible food choices. Often it seems like it's impossible to make a good choice. Lunch ins, Reps bringing food, ice cream socials etc.. happen so regularly that you don't even realize what's happening.

By bringing food from home and refraining from the social eating at your job you can drastically reduce the fat you are taking in. Do this, and what you're doing is, "making that comforter on your bed a lot thinner." If you aren't depositing as much fat (or in the best case, none) on your thighs and you are exercising regularly to increase the muscle on your thighs, then your lighting the cellulite at both ends!

One key thing to remember regarding the exercise issue. In order to build that muscle we've been talking about, you have to do strength training. Running, walking, swimming, biking, etc., are great for burning calories and they should be used too, but remember, nothing will replace lost muscle except resistance training!

If you have never strength trained before, then I suggest taking the money you might be spending on creams and topical procedures and hire a trainer so you can address the root cause and not just the symptoms. If you train at least three days a week and you follow a sensible nutrition plan then in eight weeks you should notice a good change.

You can expect to lose some inches off your hips, lose fat and gain muscle and you?ll probably find that you feel better too!

Strength training + cardio + nutrition plan + consistency = a reduction in cellulite!

About the Author:

Max Hoyt is an IFPA certified Personal Trainer training in Orlando. He is a regular contributor to Ch.13 Health & Fitness TV segments. his website is www.orlandofitcamp.com