The Ins and Outs of Cellulite

A staggering 95 per cent of women suffer from cellulite and, contrary to popular belief, it is a condition which affects women of all ages, shapes and sizes. Marie Narsoomamode, nurse and practitioner at The Private clinic of Harley Street, explores the causes and potential treatments for one of the biggest summer body hang-ups of women all over the world – cellulite.

So what causes cellulite?

There are a number of factors which contribute to the development of cellulite. These include:

• Weight gain
• Poor nutrition and crash diets
• Hormone changes throughout life, including pregnancy, the menopause or contraceptive pill
• Loss of tone and elasticity due to ageing
• Lack of exercise
• Smoking
• Stress
• Not drinking enough water
• Excessive salt intake in the diet

With that in mind, there are five simple ways to reduce cellulite and get the perfect legs for summer…

Step One: Allow for toning up
Regular exercise is important- walking or any form of cardio work is great will help with circulation and toning.

To help get the perfect pins….

Finding an exercise regime that works for you is an important first step on the road to the perfect pins. MMA fighter and trainer, Khalid Ismail, recommends always warming up with a walk on the treadmill first. Regular cardio work, including jogging and cross training is crucial and will reduce fat before toning can properly begin. Include reps of squats and lunges with light weights at the end of your workouts every other day, to tone the glutes and allow for the muscles to repair. If you can’t get to the gym, doing heel lifts on the stairs is a great alternative. Face the stairs and stand on the edge of a step with your heels hanging over the edge. Lower yourself up and down, alternating turning your feet outward and inward for maximum stretch.

Step Two: Think fresh
Eating a wide variety of brightly coloured fruit and vegetables could help to improve skin circulation, reducing the appearance of cellulite. Coloured fruit and vegetables contain the most antioxidants, helping our bodies to shed toxins. If we eat unhealthy, fatty foods however, skin elasticity is reduced and our circulation is slowed down. The best foods to include in our diets are raspberries, strawberries and blueberries. Mangoes and bananas also boost blood flow, which will again help to reduce the appearance of cellulite. Try to include lots of vitamin C in your diet, which boosts levels of collagen in the skin, while ensuring you eat oily fish and white lean meat will also help. Salt is an aggravating factor so avoid eating foods which are high in salt like crisps and haloumi cheese.

Step Three: Invest in the right underwear
Wearing looser fitting undergarments can help prevent cellulite which might form due to tight elastic. Tighter clothing restricts the circulation and can, over time, make cellulite worse. Tight underwear can hinder the body’s ability to move fat where it needs to go.

Step Four: the miracle mix
Combine regular body brushing with regular moisturising

Body brushing can help to remove dead skin and give the skin a healthier, more youthful appearance over time. Investing in a good, plumping moisturiser could also help to breathe life back into weakened skin cells and will make cellulite feel less ‘lumpy and bumpy’.

Step Five: Search for a better solution
If you feel you are maintaining a healthy diet, taking care of your legs and exercising regularly but you still can’t get rid of the dreaded cellulite, then it might be time to look into treatment for cellulite. Velashape, available at The Private Clinic, combines radio frequency, infra-red, vacuum and mechanical massage to tackle the appearance of cellulite. The treatment boosts circulation, targets the dimpled skin to firm problem areas, makes the skin feel smoother and reduce the circumference of the area treated.