cellulite

[margoss]

I don't exercise as much as I'd like but looking in the mirror today has encouraged me so much. Almost all of the cellulite on the back of my legs & bottom is gone!!! Still have some in the front area between my legs but it's not showing from behind. This is so amazing for me.
I have a bike I ride 2-3 times a week & a pilates reformer I use 1-2x week, now I want to do something daily...I truely know this lifestyle is improving my body. I've never been without cellulite unless I work myself silly.

[somelikeitraw]

Thanks for this post! You have encouraged me in a very positive way.

[Revvell]

Besides movement, two other things have worked for me ~ staying hydrated and grapefruit juice.

[somelikeitraw]

Oh... Yeah... grapefruit juice is a wonder juice!

[margoss]

I'll have to get some grapefruit..I've taken a break from them. Love them but they stopped tasting so good to me.

[ViolinCyndee]

oooooooooooo gotta try grapefruit juice!

[domnitch]

REally? grapefruit juice works THAT well? Im not trying to be dismissive, I just have a hard time believing that. How often do you drink grapefruit juice?

[Revvell]

Does for me. A cup or so, daily. Belief not reuqired. Either it works for you or it doesn't. :)



REally? grapefruit juice works THAT well? Im not trying to be dismissive, I just have a hard time believing that. How often do you drink grapefruit juice?

[j923571]

I see that you are working on your aerobic exercises (aka cardio) but how about your anaerobic exercises? They are very important too in order for you to loose all the cellulite and convert them into muscle.
Your recturs femoris (front small muscle in your leg) as well as your Sartorius (sides) and Rectus abdominis (biggest muscle in your body-aka leg muscle) have to be worked out as well as your gluteus and biceps femoris. By doing so, combined with a raw food diet, you will change the way you look in no time. I will try to give you some advise (I am not a physician by I DO enjoy the gym a lot- this would be for people who have no physical problems or have any injuries)
As I see you do work out often you just have to make this muscles stronger, changing that fat for pure muscle and losing weight in the meantime.
Do this circuit after you have warmed up for 10 mins do these exercises 2 to 3 times (the series)

20 prisoner squats Put your legs as far apart as your shoulders are and put your arms behind your back only touching your finger not interlacing. Now do a normal squat (up and down) slowly counting 2 to 3 seconds. So 1 down 2 down 3, stop, 2 up 1 up, stop, 1 down, 2 down and so on. Careful not to pass your knee from your toes (if you are looking down) this would mean you are putting too much pressure in your knee.

12 to 20 lunges The lunges will help your front thighs and glutes. With your feet together to begin, step out with one leg with the heel leading and then bend the leg until your leg forms a ninety degree angle, push yourself back to starting position then repeat with the other leg.


20 vertical leg crunches Lie face up on the floor and extend the legs straight up with knees crossed. Contract the abs to lift the shoulder blades off the floor, as though reaching your chest towards your feet. Keep the legs in a fixed position and imagine bringing your belly button towards your spine at the top of the movement. Lower and repeat 20 times.

10 Jumping squats same as prisoner squats but when you are all the way down jump as high as you can and come back to the bottom position.

Stretch. If you need more exercises let me know, this combined with pilates exercises (you know, the move your legs in circular motion etc) will help you tremendously with the cellulite, do this exercises every other day to give enough chance for your muscles to rest in between. You will see results after 6 weeks. Promise!

[margoss]

Now I know why I always have trouble with the front...the exercises that are the best for it are the ones I dislike the most :). When I use to go classes, I always had to go to the bathroom during these:rolleyes:. I'll give it a try..thanks for all the suggestions.

[5852]

Please tell me how old you are that you are able to lose your cellulite. I am 57 and have been 100% raw for 4 months now. In the last 3 or so weeks, I have noticed my skin is getting looser, and I definitly have more cellulite than ever before. I am 5' 1" and weigh 99 lbs. I have been doing the same amount of exercise that I did prior to going raw. I work out regularly doing pilates, weights and cardio. I believe you can build muscle, but to restore the elasticity in your skin as one ages is quite impossible, at least for me. I would be interested to hear from other women my age. Also, initially, I did lose 8 lbs in 3 weeks of being raw, now, I am gradually putting it back on without trying or even increasing the amount of foods I am eating. What is up with that?!

[Poke Salad]

I'm not your age but let me chime in here...

I've noticed with myself and other people who are closer to your age that your skin will often look worse just before it looks better.

Kind of like the darkest hour is before the dawn sort of thing.

I think that could be what you're describing because there is no way long term your skin will get worse. It defies every natural law.

So stick at it.

Cheers

Poke Salad.

[Revvell]

Please tell me how old you are that you are able to lose your cellulite. I am 57...

I'm 60 and as Poke Salad says, it does get looking worse before it gets better. Quite ugly in fact, for me, 'specially between the thighs.

I asked someone during one of my interviews what the cause of cellulite was and he surprised me by saying dehydration. Don't know if this is true. I thought it was fat yet, being veggie for over 23 years and NOT a big fat eater... how could that be possible?

So, if you've not done so, add grapefruit juice to your food program and see if that helps.

[margoss]

I'm a young 46. They are right about it looking worse at times in the beginning. I thought I looked worse which bothered me bc it's summer here. Keep up the stuff you're doing, it'll get better. I began dry brushing my legs/body daily. I think that's helping. About 10 yrs ago, I lost 100lbs. I did pilates & yoga daily. It took about a yr but my legs were the best they'd ever been.

[Poke Salad]

Incidentally, does anyone use an infra-red sauna?

It can be a really great companion to detox, weightloss and cellulite eradication.

I get one at a health club every month or so.

My skin gets smoother all over every time I do it.

I notice that I end up having to urinate frequently for several days afterwards which is apparently your body off-loading toxins.

I'd highly recommend it.

[margoss]

no, I don't use one of those.

[Belladonna]

I didn't know that about dehydration. Or grapefruit juice. I always here such great things about grapefruits, and I like them okay, but does anyone have any links to yummy drinks or something to make with them so I can get more inspired to actually add them to my shopping list? (I know this isn't the best place to ask but...)

I really want to start pilates. I do callenetics, but I'm now inspired to maybe do a bit of both ;).

[freelive]

Yes, for me grapefruit and other juices daily(and workout almost daily) definetely made a huge difference. I am very lucky in the sense, that I always loved grapefruit juice(even bottled- but i doubt, if bottled is as effective), and that they have a 25 pound bag of juicy pink grapefruits for 6 dollars in my farmers market. I would say I drink about 4 grapefruit juice a day. Sometimes I juice them with hand citrus juicer(juice is not as bitter) and sometimes with my Omega, which makes a very dry pulp and quite bitter .
juice.
I also had couple 10 day and 7 day juice fasts, which probably released some of toxins in fatty tissues(which what cellulite is.)

[Allytiger]

Cellulite is just body fat between skin and muscle. The thinner the skin, the lumpier it looks. Raw food plumps the skin and naturally eliminates all excess body fat over time.. grapefruit is especially helpful, because it contains high amounts of fat burning enzymes.

Another INCREDIBLE and guaranteed way to rid the body of cellulite, is to use a dry body brush on the skin. Sweep the skin repeatedly with rough, long strokes, all over the body. You can focus longer in areas that have cellulite. But still brush down and deeply exfolliate the whole body. Do this every morning. Then take an ice cold shower. The coldest water you can possibly stand. The challenge is to wash up and remain in the water until your body temperature adjusts and becomes accustomed to it. This is incredibly healing for the body. The ice cold water refreshes all of the bodys organs, and changes glandular secretion, keeping the internal body very youthful. It is excellent for the skin and circulation. It skyrockets the immune system. You will also see significant depletion of cellulite, especially if you are exercising regularly!! It is AMAZING. The ice cold shower every morning also gives you a great feeing of accomplishment and healthy self discipline, and is a reminder that you are truly taking excellent care for your body.

[Raw.N.It.Out]

*Bumping the thread/discussion*



I'm 60 and as Poke Salad says, it does get looking worse before it gets better. Quite ugly in fact, for me, 'specially between the thighs.

I asked someone during one of my interviews what the cause of cellulite was and he surprised me by saying dehydration. Don't know if this is true. I thought it was fat yet, being veggie for over 23 years and NOT a big fat eater... how could that be possible?

So, if you've not done so, add grapefruit juice to your food program and see if that helps.

I wanted to add that it was a question that I had about last Spring/Summer, that the more weight I lost, the more VISIBLE my Cellulite became, & I could NOT for the life of me figure out why, or get anyone to explain to me why.

I've brought this question up, on a Body Building Site, Weight-Loss Site, Maintenance Weight Site, Runner's Site..no one can tell me.

All other women tell me is, that there is NOTHING that can be done about it, once you have it you have it. & the reason why I have cellulite is because I need to lose more weight. At that time I'd lost about all the weight (fat) that I could lose & my B.F.% was around 10-12% & I'd had some muscle (still a skinny-fat look to me though) I know I need to build more muscle & that it takes time for the body to change, tighten, build, ect..

I found this site:http://www.freeacnebook.com/11-14.htm

& I was wondering if any of the ladies here that have been 100% Raw can tell me if it's factual?, that it goes away? (over time) I've read through this thread, & see that maybe it has to do with personal experiences.

It's more of a constant battle in my head & is why I keep bringing it up. I hope I've not offended anyone.

I have a hard time being able to decipher info on the web, this is the best info that I have yet to find, that does not say, NO you can never get rid of it, or YES you can get rid of it through on-going laser therapy, & weekly massages for the rest of your life. To me it seems like it has factual evidence to back it up. If not, maybe someone has some better insight to help me out.

P.S. I am by no means expecting it to go away over night, I always give at least 6 months for change, & even after that a good two years of on-going change.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~

Quoted from Site: *just bits & pieces I found interesting*

But since most women have it, isn't cellulite natural?

Lots of people think that cellulite in women is natural, but that is absolute nonsense. What is true is that nowadays it is considered normal for women to have cellulite. About 90% of women in developed countries, where 'supermarket-food' is consumed, have cellulite. And because it is so normal, we tend to think it's natural. The reason why it is so prevalent now is because we all eat the same so-called 'health' foods and 'junk'-food, and consume increasingly more protein. Americans, on the average, consume more protein each year, but from 1984 till today this increase was four fold higher than before 1984. (Source: FAO database)
Another reason is that it is now normal to use hormonal contraceptives from a very early age.

Cellulite is characterized by extrusion of fat cells into the outer skin. [18] This is caused by an increased concentration of damaged proteins, with high water- attracting properties. This leads to a rise in the amount of water retained in the skin. [19]



What does this mean?

That you can only see those subcutaneous fat cells if they are extruded into the outer skin. The fat cells are extruding due to excessive moisture - which is attracted by damaged protein.

Is cellulite hereditary?

Some of us like to think so because it relieves us from being responsible ourselves. But luckily, cellulite is not hereditary.
What does seem to be 'hereditary' is eating habits; Children take over much of the eating habits of their parents. They become accustomed to these foods, learn to like some of them, and adopt them as their own choice. In general, they stick to these foods for the rest of their life. So just like their mothers, the girls will very likely have cellulite too.
Most recipes are passed on from one generation to the next, and are only adapted in the sense that today we use more pre-manufactured products and more proteinaceous ingredients.

[margoss]

that was overhead...'The thinner the skin, the lumpier it looks': my thigh skin must be very this. I have noticed that it's looking worse on the front of my thighs, almost none in the back. To me, thighs are the hardest place for a female. Dry brushing...does brushing deep mean to go deep into the skin? I've been doing it for a while now, feels great, but I do not use pressure.
Lipo is a person's choice but it's not a choice of mine. At times, I wish it were so I could get the thighs sucked out. I will say that when I lost a great deal 10 yrs ago, the pilates & yoga strengthened me so much & I had no cellulite. I'm remembering that to keep me going.

[skier2]

Belief not reuqired. Either it works for you or it doesn't. :)

That is SO true, Revvell. People forget that it's about one's subjective reality, not about what everyone else is doing and why. Thank you for reminding me of why I love being raw.

[margoss]

I'm joyful to say that yesterday when I was checking how things are looking...I did not see any cellulite bumps in my 'batwings'!!! I was so happy. THey are still there but no dimples!!

[Raw.N.It.Out]

I'm joyful to say that yesterday when I was checking how things are looking...I did not see any cellulite bumps in my 'batwings'!!! I was so happy. THey are still there but no dimples!!

Excellent!! I have the batwings, & I've just started to notice cellulite form in them...:eek: gotta stop those babies in their tracks! ;)

[KATIEA]

I wish I liked grapefruit...any tips? Smoothies or recipes that use grapefruit to kind of disguise the flavor? I am definitely going to try dry brushing, I have always heard of it but never gave it a chance.

[Leone]

This is an encouraging thread. Thank you all for posting. I'm not alone out here!

[Bessie the Cow]

"The cellulite solution" by howard murad is a great book. I followed his directions carefully and my cellulite has nearly disappeared. Used to have heaps around my thighs but it's pretty much all gone now.

You are in a great position to work on your cellulite, being raw. Dr Murad explains the causes of cellulite and how to get rid of it. He recommends a whole bunch of supplements too, although personally I think you could skip the supplements and just include more foods in your diet which have these recommended nutrients in them.

No amount of exercise will help you lose it, because it's to do with your skin cells and how strong they are. He tells you about some of the nutrients you need to include in your diet, as well as the ingredients to look for in skin care regimens. These will help repair your skin cells and that will make the cellulite clear up.

Goji berry extract and aloe vera are two great natural ingredients which help to clear up cellulite, but you need to combine both diet and topical creams for it to work. I have just added goji berry powder and aloe to my regular moisturiser and it works great. No need to buy skincare creams which cost a small fortune. He also recommends dry skin brushing/exfoliation daily, to help regenerate new cells.

[Bessie the Cow]

Here are the recommended nutrients to increase in your diet. You really need to focus on getting more of these in order for it to be of therapeutic value.

Minerals - magnesium, zinc, iron, manganese, potassium
B Vitamins - including b12. Yes you might need to supplement for this *gasp* sorry, ladies
Glucosamine - you can get vegan versions of this derived from corn.
Omega 3 (flax or hemp oil) and algae derived DHA
Foods high in antioxidants. Pomegranates are supposed to be amazing, as are goji berries.
Foods high in lecithin. Get this from sprouted soybeans.

Good luck.

[trenchchic]

This post was started years ago, but it's quite interesting. I think the cellulite on the back of my thighs is going away. My skin looks so much smoother nowadays. Wished I would've taken a before photo for comparison, but I didn't think raw food would get rid of cellulite. I bought into the belief that are women are cursed with it, so go about your business. Sheesh! I've been moderate raw for over a year now, and I'm still surprised at the changes in my health, body and mind. Amazing.