What is Cellulite and How Do I Get Rid of it?

Woman's legs in pool

As women, somewhere we took a wrong turn and became so critical of the physical appearance of our bodies. Never mind the fact that we are beacons of strength, literally bringing life into the world. I mean, how could we possibly live with these dimples on our thighs that we lovingly call cellulite?

You know we thrive in a place of honesty here at Foundation FIT. And that’s why when our clients come to us asking how to get rid of cellulite, we tell them this.

Cellulite is normal, and you won’t be able to get rid of it. But there are ways to dampen the appearance of cellulite, and we can help.

What is Cellulite?

Cellulite is made of fat and connective fibrous tissue. The outward appearance of cellulite stems from fat and the connective tissue pushing against each other on the surface of your skin.

Foundation FIT’s co-owner Sylvia Darby gives us this oh too realistic visual.

“Think of a strainer for pasta. Now imagine pushing bread through the strainer. That’s essentially what cellulite is. It’s the fat underneath your skin and the fibrous connective tissue trying to hold it down. And the two of them working together is what leads to the appearance on your skin.”

Yum, strainer bread for dinner, anyone?

All jokes aside, cellulite is perfectly normal, yet we ladies are stuck with this eyesore more than men. But why?

Why Do Women Show Cellulite More Than Men?

We’re blessed with cellulite for many reasons, from genetics to hormones, and much of it comes down to one key hormone:

Estrogen.

Estrogen is the hormone responsible for fat storage. Unfortunately, it also creates thinner skin and gives us slightly weaker connective tissue, which doesn’t help our battle against cellulite at all.

But estrogen is absolutely critical to one of the coolest things we get to do as women. We need to be fat-storing machines because we have to be able to support life.

What Can We Do About Cellulite?

Before you run out to your favorite dermatologist screaming for help, know that there are some natural ways to dampen the appearance of cellulite. But it’s also important to recognize that we can’t get rid of it altogether.

So when you consider how to attack cellulite, think about:

  1. Balancing your body composition: Consider how much fat you have vs. muscle. If you have extra weight, you might show more cellulite than if you spend a few months weight training to build up your muscle tone. Exercise and nutrition are the best ways to focus on getting to a healthy body composition with a good ratio of fat to muscle.
  2. Decreasing sodium in your diet: A high sodium diet can cause fluid retention. And that can, in turn, cause an increase in the appearance of cellulite.
  3. Ditching “quick fix” diets: Diets that claim to help you lose weight quickly may help you shed a few pounds, but they don’t increase muscle. And drastic weight loss can leave you with loose skin. What’s worse, after the diet is over, you may go back to eating exactly what you did before and gain back all the weight anyway.
  4. Changing your mindset toward cellulite: Cellulite is a real thing, and we have it for a reason. It helps our bodies to support babies and generally be amazing, powerful women. If your mother and grandmothers had cellulite, it’s likely you will too. It is what it is, and at a certain point, we’re powerless to change it and might as well embrace it.

The Last Word About Getting Rid of Cellulite

It’s about time that we ladies accept that cellulite sometimes comes along with all of the other remarkable aspects of being a woman. We’ll never be able to completely make it disappear, but building muscle through an exercise program and keeping a diet that’s not overboard on sodium and focuses on fresh, real food can help to dampen the appearance.

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