Fit and fabulous: Fight cellulite with diet and exercise
Are you worried about cellulite accumulating in your body? Here are a few ways to combat the problem, says our expert nutritionist
Women and cellulite seem to have been synonymous words for so long that we often joke about it, hate it, and just don’t know what to do about it. Does cellulite bother you? Do you try to get past it? Do you need be worried if you have cellulite? When have you done enough to help yourself, should you just accept it and love your body as it is?
What is cellulite?
Men and women have cellulite, but being a woman does predispose you to the problem. Cellulite can appear on your legs, especially on your upper thighs, your bottom, your abdomen and your arms. Women have a vertical distribution of collagen between the dermis and the muscle, which then creates pockets for fat to grow into globules with space for retention of fluids.
These fat and fluid globules push up against connective tissue creating a dimply appearance on the surface. Connective tissue joins skin and muscle, but if it has become rigid rather than flexible, it causes the fat to push up against it. So, this means that you can be the most fit and the most athletic woman out there and still have cellulite.
Causes of cellulite
What are the root causes for the development of cellulite? It is evident from a nutritional perspective that cellulite is a downstream effect of an upstream imbalance. One of the root causes is definitely the way certain hormones behave in your body.
If you are a woman who is still menstruating and your blood sugar is imbalanced and your estrogen and progesterone levels are not in balance, then your tendency to develop cellulite is greater. As you move towards menopause, and estrogen levels drop, this imbalance can further exacerbate the problem.
It is important to stay fit to keep cellulite away
When your adrenal hormones are off balance, your electrolyte balance can be off kilter too, causing you to retain fluid in the cells and discover bloating and water retention in the belly.
Your thyroid hormones play a big role in why you develop cellulite. Since a sluggish thyroid causes your metabolism to be sluggish and leads to poor circulation and less oxygen to many areas of your body, it can cause cellulite to appear and make fat globules bigger over time.
Check the lymphatic system
How is your lymphatic system behaving? If your lymphatic system is stagnant, the lymph fluid in your body will accumulate. If your liver is overloaded, then much of your major detoxification ability is impaired. A system overloaded with toxic buildup stores toxins in fat cells in order to protect you from that buildup of toxic waste.
Since cellulite is mostly fat cells, this is an area where toxic waste gets stored. In fact, when there is immense weight loss resistance, it’s a sign that your system might be overloaded with toxic buildup. In fact, if your lymphatic system is not behaving very well, there could be low grade chronic inflammation as well.
When it comes to actual lab ranges and your lipid panel, they can give big clues to your cellulite levels. If your diet is high in starch, sugar, processed food and bad fats and your lipid panel markers are off the charts, it can be a cause for concern.
Not only does this put you at risk for many conditions of inflammation from insulin resistance, metabolic disorder, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, it also overloads other systems in your body, especially your organs of detoxification. It also tells you about why cellulite is building up in your body, and where you could make changes in your diet and lifestyle.
Fight cellulite with the right diet
You can fight cellulite with the right diet
Finally, when it comes to root causes of cellulite, collagen breakdown is a big cause. The reasons why collagen might breakdown are many. A diet itself poor in collagen can be the reason. Inadequate protein, poor levels of Zinc, Vitamin C and other major nutritional deficiencies can cause a breakdown of the collagen in your body.
When collagen breaks down, it directly impacts connective tissue, making it less flexible, and further aggravating the appearance of cellulite.
Exercise is important to keep the lymphatic system active
See that your lymphatic system is not stagnant. If you are someone who is passionate about exercise like running, walking, yoga, swimming or cycling, then you’re definitely allowing for lymphatic movement. Specific massages can also move the lymph around and help breakdown stubborn cellulite.
If you are someone who is averse to exercise, you will find that there is stagnation and inflammation, which will be the root cause for cellulite to build up.
If nothing works, what next?
Now that we’ve gone into the depth of what can cause your cellulite, let’s go into what happens when have you done enough for your body and health.
If you’ve revamped your diet and reduced your sugar intake and bad fats and increased your protein consumption, you are definitely on the right path. It’s important that you make sure that you get adequate complex carbohydrates, quality proteins, good fats, vitamins, minerals and plenty of hydration.
See that you are free of digestive issues, which themselves can cause other systems to go off balance.
If your lipid markers are off range, it is a sign that cellulite can buildup in your body. If you’ve supported your diet in a big way and added exercise that supports your body’s capabilities without stressing your adrenals, it will keep your lipid markers within range. You will not have to look at cellulite as a cause for alarm.
Nutritional deficiencies can be caused by any restrictive diet. If your diet is restrictive in any way, culturally or by choice, it can lead to various systems going off balance and causing more chaos. If your diet is restrictive in any way, there might be certain nutrients you require apart from your diet
There are many beauty treatments to reduce cellulite
What if all your labs are within range and you have no health challenges and you still have cellulite? What if you’ve done everything to support and it’s still visible? Well, don’t allow anyone to tell you that your body is not beautiful. Don’t look at your body with shame, anger or frustration, for then you’re sending powerful messages to your brain to cause something else to go off balance.
Don’t allow anyone to shame you or make you feel less beautiful. You know that your body is healthy. The only time you need to worry about your cellulite, is if you’ve gone through all the root causes, I’ve talked about and something is just not right. If not, celebrate your beautiful curves!
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