Two weeks ago, your trusty cellulite analyst posted a Request for Information to my fellow cellulite investigators: In your experience, do thin women have less cellulite than fat women? Several CI readers responded (thank you!). Their answers cast doubt on the widely accepted belief that cellulite is simply fat and that overweight women have worse cellulite than thin women.
Given all the conflicting information, I asked the same question in a recent interview with Bronwyn Hewitt, author of The Ultimate Cellulite Treatment in a Book
When you are overweight, you have large fat cells, not more fat cells. Cellulite is a sticky substance that clings to those fat cells. Imagine that cellulite is a nice even layer of bubble wrap under your skin. When you lose weight, you don’t lose fat cells –the ones you have just reduce in size. As the fat cells become smaller, those bumps in the bubble wrap grow more apparent. Two women can have the same amount of cellulite and the thinner woman will look worse. But she’ll also be easier to treat.
I hear this same answer repeated over and over again from cellulite experts. Losing weight doesn’t mean you will lose cellulite. Several studies have found that losing weight often makes cellulite worse. Explains a lot, doesn’t it?!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Apologies in advance for the long question/comment/unloading!
I'm wondering whether using any kind of relatively coarse material will have the same effect as using a brush for dry brushing my skin. I've looked for a brush in a couple of places around town (Body Shop is next), but have had no luck. In the meantime, I've been using a piece of somewhat coarse cloth for about a week to dry brush my skin before my shower. It leaves my skin rosy in most places, so I think it's probably having the same effect as a brush. What do you think?
I've also been drinking the ACV/raw honey concoction every morning and sometimes in the evening, for about a week now. I know I can't expect results right away, but I have to say it's a little discouraging when I read about all the changes I should make in my life to get rid of cellulite–because I already do them! I exercise regularly (have for years), including resistance workouts; I eat really well (I get a CSA basket of fresh produce every week, year round); I eat almost no junk food; I clean my house and wash my body with only natural cleaning products that I either buy at the local environmental shop or make myself; I get plenty of fresh air and sunshine (year round–in Canada!); I drink lots of water; I don't drink to excess; and I'm a pretty happy and optimistic person! And yet! I'm 52 and I have cellulite on my thighs that I could just about stick a pencil in! And now, it's showing up on my upper arms too, and I could just about cry. It was always there a bit, and didn't really bother me all that much…until about 6 months after I turned 50 and my body just went haywire. I honestly cannot think of anything I've done or changed in terms of lifestyle that would account for this.
Is there hope for me??
No apologies necessary, latebloomer. Cellulite rants are ALWAYS welcome here! I feel your frustration, I really do. And yes, I do believe there is reason to hope! That is one of the main reasons I started this blog. So many people say there's nothing you can do about it; it's tempting to give up and believe them when you don't see results.
I think a coarse cloth would be similar to a brushing effect in that it should help with exfoliation and boosting circulation to the area. Traditional cultures used all kinds of coarse material for skin brushing. Native Americans used dried corn cobs. In Brazil they use sand. Bronwyn recommends brushes because she says the bristles are like acupuncture needles. I got my first brush from The Body Shop, a Christmas gift two years ago. Still use it on occasion.
It's sounds like you are in overall good health, so that gives you an advantage in treating your cellulite. Bron always says that the first step is to identify the cause. Any idea what caused your cellulite? Before I started focusing on my cellulite, I had no idea that my body was having such problems with fluoride (from what I've read, they fluoridate the water in Canada, too. Do you know if you are drinking lots of fluoridated water?).
Abstaining from junk food and subscribing to a CSA are both excellent moves. A lot of people who try really hard to eat healthy make the mistake of not eating saturated fat. I suspect this is a major factor in cellulite recovery because the body needs a lot of fat-soluble vitamins and essential fatty acids. I believe healthy sources of fat are butter, lard, beef tallow, coconut oil, etc.
Also, do you know how your endocrine system is doing? I never paid attention to my hormonal balance. I thought everyone's cycle was different and that was "normal." I didn't know my hormones were all out of whack. I learned a lot about hormonal balance from Katie Singer's book, Garden of Fertility. I need to get blogging about that.
Does any of that info resonate with you?
Your post has inspired me to step up my game here. Thanks so much!
Hey, thanks for the pep talk! I bought Bronwyn's book thinking…well, you know what I was thinking. Since my rant of this afternoon, I have secured the body brush from the Body Shop, so now I'll be able to reach my back better if nothing else. I'm also going to try the massage tips that I read about in Bronwyn's book–all stocked up on carrier and essential oils now too.
Re the fat thing, I've recently begun clearing all the vegetable oil crap out of the house and using lard, bacon fat (yum), coconut oil, palm oil, etc.–thanks to the Food Renegade actually. I've only been at that for a few weeks though, with no visible results except that everything tastes better! My family thinks I'm nuts, but as the chief cook and bottle washer, I get to run that show.
I had to laugh when I followed your link to the blurb about the Garden of Fertility. I did mention that I'm 52? ;o) Is there anything in that bag-o-tricks for a peri-menopausal woman like me?
Ha, you are right. I can see why that book wouldn't be exactly right for you. When I read it, I wasn't focusing on the fertility part. The most important thing I learned from that book is that a waking body temperature that is consistently below 97.5 could indicate a thyroid problem. (I'll write more about that in an upcoming blog post…). It's also an easy way to tell when ovulation occurs and from there, you can figure out when menstruation will start. I can't believe I didn't know this info about my own body before.
According to the experts at Women to Women, taking your waking temperature (Basal Body Temperature) is helpful in perimenopause, too. Women to Women is the clinic that Dr. Christiane Northrup used to work at. I haven't read her book, The Wisdom of Menopause, but I've heard good things about it. If you do read it, I'd love to know what you think. It's on my reading list for someday…
How wonderful that FoodRenegade got you eating healthy fats again! Her website is a treasure trove of Real Food and Real Health information. I also like Cheeseslave and KellytheKitchenKop. It might take longer than a few weeks of eating Real Food to see significant changes in your body, but they will come. Hopefully you (and your lucky family!) will enjoy the process.
Bron's book is great for learning self-massage techniques. That is her specialty. She has agreed to post that chapter for download on the Cellulite Investigation but we haven't figured out the technical aspects yet.
Enjoy your massage, bacon fat, and scented baths! Isn't cellulite treatment divine?!?
I've been trying hard to think what I might have changed in my life during that time about 18 months to 2 years ago when my cellulite went nuclear, and it suddenly hit me: I started drinking coffee again after a fabulous trip to Italy and France, where the coffee is so good it tastes like dessert. I had given it up for years, but learned how to make a really yummy coffee when I came back and have been drinking it regularly ever since. The trouble started about six months after that trip. Hmmm. (This morning I've had tea instead.)
Now in the last ten minutes, I've just done a google search on coffee + cellulite and found some interesting things that suggest drinking coffee can really contribute to cellulite–but, that if coffee grounds are applied externally, they can really help to suck that mess out. Whooda thought?
Feel like using your terrific analytical skills on this one? ;o)
I've been doing the real food thing for some time, actually and have been so happy to find Food Renegade, Cheeseslave, and KTKK just recently, one of which (I can't remember which one) led me to your site. Yea!
What an interesting hypothesis you have there! This is why I think investigating cellulite is so fascinating. Every woman is different. There's not one cause for cellulite or just one solution. It's such an individual issue. Each woman really has to look inside, at her own life and her own body, for the answer.
I just read that same info about coffee and cellulite in Cellulite Solutions. I found this article online by the authors. It's strange that coffee might contribute to cellulite when you drink it but help get rid of cellulite when you apply it externally. But their theory seems logical. They explain that since caffeine is a diuretic, it can lead to dehydration which in turn causes your body to retain fluids. I also received a tweet this afternoon about a study regarding caffeine and fat metabolism during exercise. The study didn't note anything dramatic, but it was too much of a coincidence for me not to mention it to you.
I am interested to know if you see any results after cutting back on coffee. (I've been drinking a lot of organic white tea lately because it is so high in antioxidants –see p.36 of Bron's book).
Crazy notion, and a great article, wasn't it?! Well, today was Day 1 without coffee, at least for a while, so we'll see. I'm hoping for great things, and, yes, I will definitely share any results or lack thereof.
And now I'm trying to picture myself standing on newspaper in my bathroom, slathering coffee grounds onto my thighs and wrapping myself in Saran Wrap!
I know, sounds so messy. I haven't tried the coffee wrap (yet!) but I've done a coffee scrub, just mixed used coffee grounds with some almond oil. Whole Foods gives used grounds away for free for your garden, in case you have trouble procuring them since you aren't drinking coffee
When I try the coffee wrap, I think it will be easier to lay an old sheet down in a dry tub. Standing over a bunch of newspapers sounds like it would be messy and dull. At least this way you could read a book or sip a cup of tea while waiting for the coffee grounds to work their magic and then shake out the sheet in the garden. So many cellulite solutions, so little time…