There is no medical condition known as cellulite but if you mention the word to any woman, she'll know exactly what is meant by it.
Cellulite is a term used to describe the chain of wrinkled fat cells and subcutaneous connective tissue beneath the skin and which seems to be more prevalent in women and accumulates more in the lower half of the body.
Most people tend to think that cellulites are only present in people who are overweight or obese but that's far from being the case. In fact, there are many people who have cellulite who are not fat at all.
In reality, nobody knows the main reason why some people accumulate cellulite and not others, but there are some factors that health experts are considering such as the structure of the fat cells or toxins that enter the body.
One of the main reasons why cellulite appears to be more abundant in women is because of the composition of the fat lobules which are larger and more rectangular than men's. As the fatty cells swell and get bigger, it creates a protruding appearance to the skin producing the familiar orange peel look. Also, estrogen and progesterone levels determine how much fat your body stores or releases, and it's quite common for women to store fat in cellulite prone areas during pregnancy or while taking oral contraceptives.
Even though not all those who develop cellulites are obese, being overweight can really trigger their development. This is because too much fat under the skin tends to push the connective tissue creating a strain on the skin and the cellulites form. However, this is still dependent on the structure of the cells. If an individual's cell structure does not inhibit the tendency to bulge or expand even if fat deposits accumulate, then there will be no cellulites.
So, the most important thing to remember here is to keep those connective tissues firm and strong and avoid accumulating excess fats which play such a huge role in the development of cellulite.
Losing weight alone will not help you get rid of cellulite. According to research, a large portion of the weight lost by dieting alone, especially rapid weight loss, is active tissue such as muscle and connective tissue, while a smaller fraction is excess fat. Exercise has the opposite effect. It increases the lean body mass and decreases the excess fat.
Transforming food into fat seems all too easy for most of us. Losing fat is far more difficult, and to accomplish this, we have only three alternatives: (1) decrease food intake and keep activity constant; (2) increase activity and keep food intake constant; or (3) combine both approaches: control food intake and increase activity.
Exercise is not for everyone who is overweight and severely overweight people should exercise only under medical supervision to prevent strain on the cardiovascular system and connective tissue. And no one should restrict food intake drastically without a medical consultation. Resorting to this kind of activity will only get the matter worse.
For people who are prone to cellulite, there are no magic cellulite treatment remedies for selective cellulite removal. It can only be reduced as part of an overall weight reduction program through adopting a healthy eating and living plan, together with increasing exercise, so that body fat is reduced rather than connective tissues.
In addition, increasing the intake of water will help cleanse the system and flush out damaging toxins. Stopping smoking or at least reducing it will also be beneficial as smoking impacts negatively on the capillaries in the skin and reducing stress will help lower the level of damaging toxins too.