Cellulite is a term used to describe fat deposits under the skin that look like cottage cheese, hail damage or an orange peel but no matter what the name is it is not pretty! Cottage cheese thighs affects ninety percent of women (heavy and thin) and only 10% of men. You can thank the process and amount of fat storage and hormones for the difference.
5 Dirty Little Secrets That Cause Cellulite:
- Diet: Excess intake of calories, carbohydrates and fat, salt, and estrogen antagonists like soy and bisphenol-A and not drinking enough water.
- Lack of circulation: Exercise gets blood to body parts by keeping blood vessels open, this is important because oxygen and nutrients are delivered to body tissue to keep it strong. Constricted blood vessels tend to lose its function leading to spider veins and cellulite.
- Unbalanced estrogen: Excess estrogen stores fat but too little estrogen constricts blood vessels that decrease circulation making fat cells get bigger. So estrogen and hormonal balance is the key.
- Lack of collagen: “After age 30 we start to lose 1.5% of our natural collagen stores each year. By age 40 when most people start to notice hormonal and body changes, the body has already lost approximately 15% of its natural collagen stores,” http://www.drvenessa.com/dr-venessa-difference/collagen/. Less skin collagen (A natural type of protein in the body that forms the connective tissues holding the skin together giving it a smooth firm appearance.) allows fat to poke outwards towards the skin making it uneven and dimple.
- Genetics and fat storage: You should have picked different parents, lol but you can’t do anything about this so why not laugh? There are certain body areas that have more layers of fat (women are wired to carry more fat on the hips and thighs for child bearing and triceps, hips, buttocks, thighs). The more fat, the more fat receptors. There are alpha adrenergic receptors (stimulate fat) and beta receptors (break down fat). Unfortunately for women, “for every one beta receptor, there are nine alpha receptors,” http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-cellulite-forever/.
Lotions, creams, snake oils don’t work and neither do the lasers, injections and whatever other magic concoctions are out there. If you are absolutely obsessed with your dimples give this a read, “Why Do I Have Cellulite?, https://www.girlsgonestrong.com/why-do-i-have-cellulite/,” written by a colleague, Cassandra Forsythe, PhD, RD. She is the author of two popular nationally publicized books for women, “The New Rules of Lifting for Women”, and “Women’s Health Perfect Body Diet”.
“Treat” Cellulite with:
- Good food and drink: Nourish skin on the inside with water and avoid the items mentioned in diet above. Use a collagen supplement, see above link, and Hyaluronic acid
- Microneedling: Helps stimulate natural collagen production, http://www.smartskincare.com/treatments/noninvasive/skin-needling.html
- Weight training and being active
- Hormone balance
Cottage cheese thighs are nobody’s friend. While it may be near impossible to completely get rid of cellulite, it certainly is not a waste of time to try these skin supporting tips. You can make improvements in your skin’s health and appearance.
