Get Rid Of Cellulite Using These 5 Easy Tips

Is it my imagination, or has summer arrived early this year?  Again?  Bathing suit weather is fast approaching, and we’re thinking (again) about baring out 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.  Last week’s number one email topic was this: How can I get rid of cellulite?  This article is my response.

The many misconceptions and misunderstandings about cellulite surprised me.  For example, I was asked about the efficacy of different creams and lotions.  Shockingly, many even asked it they should stop eating cottage cheese!  And a depressing number asked if their only option was surgery.

Cellulite: its cause and treatment

We use the term “cellulite” to refer to the excess fat cells your body stores.  Our excess fat calls are stored in small compartments, formed by special connective tissue our bodies produce.  Men’s connective tissue for excess fat cells is produced in a crisscross pattern, and women’s connective tissue is in a honeycomb-shapped pattern.  The dimpled appearance of some women’s skin – “cottage cheesey” – is due to this honeycomb pattern.

It’s not really that easy to get rid of cellulite, even though the solution is simple and straightforward.  There’s only one way to reduce cellulite, and that’s to reduce the overall leverl of body fat.  Cellulite cannot be reduced or eliminated by rubbing a cream on it, and there’s no way to “spot reduce” body fat.  Cellulite also will not respond to starvation diets or crash diets. These five steps constitute a scientifically-proven plan for dealing with cellulite:

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 will address your hydration – with every meal, drink a cup of water.

3) Your body needs its rest – it’s your job to see that it gets it.  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) Mix up the intensity levels and session lengths of your cardio sessions. For instance, every week, have one high intensity/short duration session, one low intensity/long duration, and the rest moderate intensity/medium duration.

5) Each muscle should be strength-trained one to three times weekly. Don’t ignore weightlifting, a critical component of strength training.  Make certain you perform the correct number of sets and reps at each workout.

These five tried-and-true steps will, when taken together, result in the reduction of your cellulite. Don’t put your faith in miracle lotions, any more than you’d put your faith in snake oil.  Like any other good thing in life, it involves hard work, effort and perspiration.  As is often the case, it’s not the quantity of your workouts that counts, but the quality.  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.