Our Cellulite Stories column is already proving to be a fruitful effort. When Heather Vegan Sunset sent me an exciting email about her recent cellulite success, I knew it would make a great Cellulite Story. But I had no idea it would touch on so many critical topics: exercise, body fat, veganism, digestive health, cellulite creams, Real Food… But the best part of the story? Well, let’s see if you can figure out why Vegan Sunset is Vegan Sunset.
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1. At what age did you first notice your cellulite? How would you describe it?
I first noticed cellulite when I was 13. My mom took pictures of all of her four daughters at the beach, and when we were reviewing the pictures later I noticed cellulite on my upper thighs and rear end. I’ve had it ever since. I would describe it as dimply and soft. The typical “cottage cheese” appearance.
2. How has your cellulite fluctuated over the years?
My cellulite has remained pretty much the same throughout the years. I am 32 years old now, 5′ 4″ and 116 lbs. I run 2-3 miles per day, and rotate that with The Firm workout series. I would say that I am in very good physical condition. In my 20′s, I ran marathons and was a serious athlete with less than 7% body fat. No matter what level of conditioning I obtained (via diet or exercise), I always had cellulite.
3. What do you suspect is your kryptonite?
I suspect my kryptonite to be Candida Albicans. I never would have thought so in a million years, but I recently started a Candida Cleansing Diet. I eliminated all sugars, refined carbs, gluten, mushrooms, alcohol, fermented foods, fruit and yeast. I am basically eating organic grass fed meat, small amounts of homemade raw milk yogurt, lots of organic vegetables and small amounts of soaked, sprouted whole grains.
I have been following this diet for a little over 2 weeks and am doing so to treat some severe symptoms such as extreme fatigue, chronic fungal infections, hormones completely out of whack, hair loss, sinus infections, coated tongue, allergies, anxiety and hives. I have noticed a huge improvement in all of these issues, and much to my surprise my cellulite is completely gone as well. I am in total shock, and didn’t expect this to happen.
4. What has been your experience with cellulite treatments?
I previously tried cellulite creams and lotions, dry skin brushing, aromatherapy, rebounding, removing all dairy from the diet, eating a completely vegan diet for 5 years, eating a raw, whole food diet, being extremely physically fit, and drinking 10 glasses of water a day. The only thing that made any difference at all was the cellulite cream. I still had the same amount of cellulite but my skin was firmer and tighter somewhat.
By far the worst time in my life regarding both health and cellulite was the vegan years. I felt miserable, depressed, malnourished, I looked pale and gray, and my eyesight degenerated. I was literally wasting away. I was extremely thin, but my skin was saggy and thin and I had cellulite worse than ever. During those years, the cellulite was not only on my upper thighs and rear end, but on my entire legs and upper arms. After I discontinued vegan eating, the cellulite on my lower legs and arms disappeared.
5. What cellulite treatments are you planning to try next?
I plan to continue the Anti-Candida diet for as long as necessary to completely clear it up. I plan to, at some point, reintroduce fruit and natural sugars in small amounts, and fermented foods. I have found eating this way to improve my overall health more than any other thing I have ever done. Having the cellulite disappear was the best added bonus ever!
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**To participate as a Source in the Cellulite Investigation, please email your responses to the above five questions to Analyst (at) CelluliteInvestigation (dot) com. Your Cellulite Story will be featured here at CI (let me know if you want me to link back to your blog or website in the post). If you don’t think your Cellulite Story is significant enough to add value to our investigation, please read this post and reconsider. The more real world cellulite experiences we can document, the better!
This post is part of Real Food Wednesday hosted at Cheeseslave and Works for Me Wednesday hosted at We Are THAT Family.
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#1 – 40 believe it or not! lol.
#5 I'm lettin it go. It's only on the high backs of my legs just a tad. Not bad. At 44 I'm thankful for that!
Good for you, Sheila! We're all ears if you have any cellulite secrets to share!
The most amazing health changes I've ever witnessed were on candida-cleansing diets – in myself and in others. But only one thing was shared amongst all candida diets, as many candida protocols differ – they all eliminated all sources of simple sugars/sweets. This includes fruit, honey, maple syrup, and of course the refined sugars. I don't think it has all that much to do with candida specifically, but stems from the removal of fructose and the reduction of fructokinase – an enzyme that becomes hyperactivated from excessive fructose consumption and can only be disengaged by complete fructose abstinence for several weeks.
http://180degreehealth.blogspot.com/2010/01/holy-grail-of-fructose-information.html
Thanks, Matt! Ladies, for those of you who don't know, Matt has an awesome site called 180 Degree health. It's a great resource if you're looking to lose weight (cellulite weight or otherwise). Plus, he looks a lot like that cute snowboarder guy who was on Dancing with the Stars last season.
I have been a vegan for about 6 months, before that i was vegetarian for 20 years. swiching from vegetarian to vegan made a huge difference. a vegan diet where i eat 1/2 raw, limited grains and no extracted oils (just avocados, olives and nuts in small amounts) has totally cured a fairly serious case of cellulite. I'm 5'6" 134lbs and in great shape. My weight hasn't changed. I absolutely do not feel weak or look pale. I am maintaining my weight. my ezema is also cured. I will never go back to any animal source food. I eat lots of beans/legumes (not just tofu and soybeans). Also being vegan is the greenest thing you can do and alot cheaper than a prius. Not to mention I love animals and know we should be guardians, not killers.
Very interesting, Raven! I'd love to know the specifics of what you cut out of your diet when you switched from being a vegetarian to a vegan. Can you give us more details? Thanks!
Hmm, interesting. Melissa referred me to your post after I posted here. I was a vegetarian for 15 years before slowly adding fish, meat, and poultry back into my diet. As a vegetarian, I ate a lot of pasta and cheese. And while I was on the lower average end of the weight spectrum for my height (140ish lbs, 5'10"), I had a high percentage of body fat (40%). My cellulite showed up in high school as well. I really think the dairy contributes to my cellulite. And I forgot to mention in the other post that the sugar is a real killer for me too. I need to get back to basics, cutting out dairy, gluten, soy, and sugar. I suspect corn may be an issue too but it's too much for me to give up. I do love anything made with cornmeal. Yummy!
Hey, Cindysue. When you mention dairy, are you referring to grocery store milk? I've found my body reacts a lot differently to fresh milk from a local farm. Even some people who are lactose intolerant can drink fresh milk because it still contains lactase (the enzyme needed to break down lactose). Fresh milk can be difficult to find though, depending on where you live.
I haven't investigated the possible cellulite correlation enough, but I definitely have digestive/bloating issues related to regular milk and hard cheeses. I've never tried fresh milk from a local farm, but I know it's available at my local farmer's market. I'll check it out next time I'm there….
Interesting that it's just the hard cheese. Any idea why that is?
For anyone who's interested, Realmilk.com has more info about fresh milk. It's kindof a strange idea to many of us in this day and age, but I think it makes a lot of sense.
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