Win the battle against cellulite and show off your body confidently on the beach
How am I going to wear a bikini with cellulite or feel confident wearing shorts? Is cellulite removed with exercise? does food count?
If you have asked yourself these types of questions, I understand you. It happened to me too.
I have never had this problem. But around the age of 35 I started noticing dimples on my lower body that made me feel ashamed and insecure.
It is awful! I repeated. Until I decided to ask myself the right questions and take action.
Here I am not going to give you the typical home remedies without scientific bases. I prefer to teach you the techniques that have allowed me to fight cellulite and wear the clothes I want without fear.
What she has that i do not?
It happens to many women. We see endless “perfect” bodies on social media, compare ourselves, and end up feeling bad.
We are our own worst critics and we see enemies where there are none. Trust me, NO ONE is focused on the bad you see in you. You feel like you're competing with the girl next door, and she's probably just as scared as you are.
Therefore, the first step to defeat cellulite is to turn your way of thinking around.
Why lower the vibe to levels of fear, guilt, and shame for having it? You must learn to rise to a higher state of mind.
Embrace the body you have under your skin. When you do, you will feel more relieved and happy.
Say it out loud: I have cellulite, but I'm going to fight it by reducing the fat cells in my body to minimize its appearance.
And then focus on what you can change.
What is cellulite and why is it formed?
It is an accumulation of fat in the deeper tissues of the skin that creates an irregular surface.
It is more than an aesthetic problem and it has peculiarities that you will be interested in learning about:
- Anyone can have it, regardless of body type and weight. Although some women are more predisposed by their percentage of body fat, genes, hormones and age.
- It tends to lodge in the hips, buttocks, abdomen, breasts, and legs, especially the posterior thigh (hamstring) and lateral pouches.
- The thickness of the skin impacts its appearance. Do you know why it is rare to see a man with cellulite? Because they have 20% thicker skin than us.
- It becomes more visible with age. When our fountain of youth runs out, we stop producing the collagen that gives skin thickness and elasticity.
- Wrong lifestyle habits are largely responsible for its appearance.
I want to stop at the point of habits because it is crucial.
When I detected my cellulite I asked myself: did I change my eating patterns? Am I training less? Am I missing more cardio? Should I get massages? and others more. I suggest you do it yourself.
So I realized that I had stopped my usual routine. I was no longer running or doing pilates. To top it off, I was eating too much.
It was common sense. By giving up my healthy routines, my skin began to sag and my muscles no longer reduced the size of the fat cells.
Along the way I also discovered the best secret to minimize the appearance of orange peel skin.
And from now on we're going to dig into that.
Focus on building and maintaining lean body mass
That simple and challenging. Having lean muscle mass under the cellulite will help you lessen its intensity.
Reaching it will depend on how you eat, sleep, train and recover.
So cheer up. You can do it too.
1. To improve the beauty of your skin you have to rest
When you have trouble sleeping, your hormones (including hunger) go out of balance. And that brings negative consequences for your figure, including the appearance of your skin.
- Increase your appetite, especially your desire to consume junk food. If you jump off a cliff of sweets, carbs, and fried foods, you'll accumulate fat and cellulite will show its worst face.
- You feel less motivated to exercise, you lack energy and concentration. And as I will teach you later, exercising can be definitive for you to achieve your goal.
- You can hold up to two pounds of water. Well, it turns out that this is one of the main causes of the appearance of cellulite that worries you so much.
Make sleep your priority and try to sleep soundly for at least 6 hours. Between 7 and 8 is ideal, but sometimes it is difficult to meet it due to the pace of life we lead: children, work and everything else.
The important thing is that you favor quality over quantity. If you sleep 6 hours straight you will wake up rejuvenated. But that won't happen to you with 8 hours of restless, interrupted sleep every 2 to 4 hours.
2. Diet is crucial to reduce the orange peel appearance
The way you eat is reflected in the appearance and degree of cellulite you have.
With a poor diet you will not see improvement. If you eat balanced and nutritious, real changes will come.
I give you an example of how I make my three meals. This is how you can guide yourself:
-Breakfast: 2 eggs, 1 cup of spinach and half an avocado.
-Lunch: 4 different types of vegetables, 4-6 ounces of chicken breast, 1 cup of brown rice or quinoa covered with 1/4 cup of seeds and half an avocado with 2 tablespoons of hummus with apple cider vinegar.
-Dinner: a bowl with a mix of lettuce and vegetables such as broccoli and asparagus, medium sweet potato and ground turkey with oil and vinegar with spices.
Dessert varies based on my cravings, but I try to choose the low sugar options.
Additional tip: if you want to lose weight and fat in less time, as well as take care of your muscles naturally, you can supplement your diet with Fit & Slim or 100% Whey Protein .
3. Dehydration makes cellulite more noticeable
Water cleanses the body and removes toxins that cause cellulite. If you don't hydrate enough, the problem can get worse.
And although few know it, proper hydration is essential to keep muscles flexible, especially when training. This will greatly benefit you for the purposes of building lean muscle mass.
Regarding the amount of water you should drink, studies show that women should consume at least nine glasses a day. Put it as a theme.
4. Avoid toxic agents
Detoxifying your body is essential to free yourself from waste and fat cells responsible for the orange peel appearance.
For that, try to reduce or stop the amount of harmful elements that enter your body.
That includes avoiding smoking, alcohol, processed foods that are made with synthetic ingredients, and artificial preservatives.
Also among other toxic agents that we talk about in this post: [Discovering the enemy] Learn everything about toxins and how they affect your health and even your weight.
5. Specific exercises for the most difficult areas
Believing that cellulite can only be removed with exercise is a mistake, but it should be part of your plan of attack against this enemy.
Any type of exercise will help reduce your body fat. And since you will tend to tone up, the appearance of cellulite will soften.
Also, by increasing your lean mass index, your metabolism will be more active and you will burn calories quickly.
You can do Zumba, spin, walk, weight train, boot camp, CrossFit, tennis or golf. The limit is up to you. What matters is that you are consistent.
Ideally, your exercise program should combine aerobics and strength training.
For example, I divide my routine like this:
- Pilates twice a week, the days I don't do yoga or cardio.
- I run twice a week.
- I do yoga once a week to stretch my body.
- I try to walk on days I don't run for 30 minutes for the aerobic portion.
Some ask me why I choose pilates over CrossFit. Well, I have noticed that it helps me tone the lower part of my body. My muscles look longer and leaner.
Remember that exercise will also relax you and you will sleep better. With that you will burn body fat and get more toned.
6. Intermittent fasting is a good ally
I have been practicing intermittent fasting for a year. I try to do it at least 12 hours a day. Although by now I can extend it up to 16-18 hours.
Practicing it gives the body a break. It helps you heal internally by allowing you to use stored fat cells for energy.
When I do it I feel less bloated and my muscles feel more defined. Also, I eat 25% fewer calories than when I eat regularly.
It has definitely helped me with my hormones and the shrinkage of cellulite around my buttocks and thighs.
Fasting for 12 hours is easy. You only count that number of hours from your last meal and break your fast.
Also, a partial version can be made by consuming just coconut oil, MCT oil, and bone broth to extend it to 16-24 hours.
Of course, fasting is not for everyone. It took me a year to progress and train my muscles to do it.
In fact, it is recommended that women prepare ourselves emotionally, spiritually and physically to do a prolonged fast.
Also, it is suggested not to fast during the menstrual cycle or when you are about to have it because you need the fuel to function on those days.
I do it for a maximum of 15 to 22 days of my cycle, when I am most focused and full of energy.
Additional tips
- Cold showers: although it is difficult for many of us, taking a cold shower has many benefits. In order to improve cellulite, it provides tonicity to the skin and improves circulation.
The goal is to hold it for one minute. I am starting to do it and I reach 20 seconds, but I know that I will reach the finish line in a few weeks. It is a matter of decision.
Arctic Dip: In Miami, where I live, there is an arctic pool with an average temperature of 48° F. Dipping for 20 minutes is ideal, but some benefits are achieved between 30 and 60 seconds.
It feels like you are in an ice bath or under the snow in a bikini for 1 minute. It took me 2 years to get the full body in for the maximum recommended time.
The science behind this practice is that cold activates brown fat, which is responsible for generating heat to prevent hypothermia from occurring. In turn, brown fat reduces white fat, which is what we all know and accumulates where we least want it.
- Cryotherapy: This technique exposes you to extreme cold for up to 3 minutes. I use it to recover my physical condition and speed up my metabolism.
But cold shock has additional benefits. And it helps reduce inflammation levels and reduce the appearance of cellulite.
- Steam baths, saunas, and infrared saunas all have excellent cellulite-fighting benefits, like helping you lose water and boosting your metabolism.
I try to do it for 20 to 30 minutes, at least twice a week.
When I started to take advantage of the benefits of heat and cold, combining cryotherapy with infrared saunas, it took me 3 months to see incredible changes. I had more body definition and less dimples in my buttocks.
Another trick that has helped me to eliminate toxins more efficiently is to consume Evolution Advance Detox 30 minutes before entering the sauna.
- Lymphatic drainage massage:
Who doesn't love a massage? And if, in addition, it helps you improve your appearance, we can come to love them.
The lymphatic drainage massage is gentle and is applied to different areas of the body to mobilize fluids from the body and eliminate the accumulation of toxins through the skin, urine and feces.
I do them full body at least once a month.
If this is difficult for you to practice, try the dry brushing technique. It is claimed to stimulate blood and lymphatic flow, remove dead skin cells and new cell growth. In addition, it supports detoxification and stimulates the nervous system.
It is easy to do and will take you maximum 5 minutes:
- Use a loofah or body brush.
- Start at the feet and move up in long, flowing strokes, or in a clockwise circular motion.
- Brush your feet, legs, arms, and midsection. Armpits just brush them up.
- Press lightly on areas where your skin is thin and apply force to thicker ones, like the soles of your feet.
- Avoid sensitive areas, where you have wounds, cuts or infections. And never brush skin affected by poison oak, poison ivy, or psoriasis.
- Don't dry brush your face unless you're using a softer brush made for that purpose.
- When you're done, take a cool shower to remove any dead skin.
- Pat dry and moisturize with natural oils like olive or coconut.
I include in my routines the Hypervolt, a body massager that soothes my sore muscles. It also makes my body vibrate and helps me mobilize the accumulated fat in my thighs and hips.
Also, I jump on a trampoline for 5-15 minutes, twice a week, to get the same effect as a full body massage.
- Ground Coffee Beans – Popularly used as an exfoliator to remove dead cells, stimulate new cell growth, and tighten the skin.
It is said that it can reduce skin irregularities, stimulate blood circulation and promote lymphatic flow. However, there is no scientific research to back it up.
How are you going to use it?
- You can use them alone or mixed with coconut oil, olive oil or sugar.
- Gently rub the affected area for a few minutes.
- You can leave the mixture on your skin for 10 minutes before rinsing it off.
I take them to steam rooms or saunas to enhance their effects.
Life is a process of evolution and you have to accept the beauty of each stage.
You can't stop time or change the fact that you're going to get old. Nor that your skin will become thinner and lose elasticity as the years go by.
What you can change is your lifestyle to reduce the overall appearance of cellulite and get long-term results.