Cellulite: I'm Annihilating It.
I a 25-year old female with a fairly lean figure. This leanness owes more to my height than anything, I suppose. But I have cellulite. Do you??
But even when I was disgustingly skinny, I would have
cellulite on my thighs. I noticed it increases whenever I am in the United States. It is not very noticeable, only when I squeeze it.
Now, there are some common factors associated with cellulite. I took a basic explanation from wikipedia:
Hormonal factors
Hormones play a dominant role in the formation of cellulite. Although people believe Estrogen is the most important hormone and that it seems to initiate and aggravate cellulite, there has been no reliable clinical evidence to support such a claim. Other hormones including insulin, the catecholamines adrenaline and noradrenaline, thyroid hormones, and prolactin are all believed to participate in the development of cellulite.[1]
Predisposing factors
Several genetic factors have been shown to be necessary for cellulite to develop. Gender, race, biotype,[3] a hormone receptor allele that determines the receptor number and sensitivity, distribution of subcutaneous fat, and predisposition to circulatory insufficiency have all been shown to contribute to cellulite.[1]
Diet
Diet has been shown to affect the development and amount of cellulite. Excessive amounts of fat, carbohydrates, salt, or too little fiber can all contribute to increased cellulite.[citation needed]
Lifestyle
Smoking, lack of exercise, fatty/starchy foods, and sitting or standing in a single position for long periods have all been correlated with an increase in cellulite. A high stress lifestyle will cause an increase in the catecholamine hormones. [1]
Fashion
Within the last 40-50 years women went from loose underwear around the thighs to tight underwear going across the middle of the buttock. Underwear that has tight elastic across the buttock limits blood flow, encouraging cellulite to form. Wearing thongs, boyshorts, or sleeping naked can reduce the impact underwear plays on cellulite's development. [4]
I've been tending to ignore cellulite because it doesn't interfere with my being, but recently I decided, if I can do something about it, why not? Moreover, my grandmother used to be skinny and now has gigantic Spanish hips/thighs. My mother is the midpoint between me and my grandma-- relatively shapely, but beginning to become large. I decided this would not be my fate.
I tried two non-exercise things that worked (this will be tried in the coming month).
Vigorous Massage with Spiced Oil
Without any change in diet or routine (I do manual labor and exercise regularly, but not so much with the legs), I decided to use some spiced oil. A light oil, composed of jojoba/sweet almond oil, as well as some spices like mustard, pepper, etc (I bought it in India) was applied to the thighs. Everyday I would rub my thigh's length vigorously about 50 times per thigh. It's a good way to wake up in the morning. When I had no oil (out of town, etc.) I would do a dry massage.
This showed a very visible change in both thigh size (lol) and cellulite-- within a few days! I also noticed that my legs would get tired less easily.
Less Grains
I mentioned in another thread here that I was reading a manual about piggery, and saw that free-range pigs must be fed grain sometime before they are sold so their fat can saturate or harden. I figured this might be the case among humans as well! My grandma often tells me that no one she knew had cellulite when she was younger, not even her mom or aunts! There are dietary references as well in ayurveda (which I practice, to an extent):
The ancient Ayurvedic surgeon, Shushruta, identified a heavy, saturated type of fat tissue he called Vasa. When this saturated fat interacts with digestive impurities (Ama), the result is cellulite.
Cellulite is a localized effect. It's a heavy, sticky substance that sits in the fat cells and is very difficult to eliminate. The longer it sits there, the harder it is to remove.
So I embarked on a little experiment.
I am a vegetarian so I would actually end up eating a lot of grain. I love rice, so I'd go for a healthy serving of both rice and veggies every meal. Recently I decided to cut out the rice/grain from my diet. To make sure it had not to do with calorie reduction, I kept drinking a lot of high-calorie drinks (rich cacao as well as alcohol
). I also stopped the daily massages.
The results were as quick as the massage experiment! My thighs are much smaller and the cellulite is disappearing too. I've started eating grains again slowly, although I know now how light I feel without grains so I think I will never go back to being a large rice eater.
Now I'm sure if I do massage, dietary measures, and exercise all at the same time, I'll have awesome thighs
It's funny for me because I've never been a person with "body goals", but I realize it's kinda fun!
Please feel free to post your experiences with cellulite. I'd also love to see exercises for my next "phase"!
