Cellulite

Cellulite

It's Fat--And Nothing Else

At the beach, you wrap the biggest beach towel you can find around your hips and thighs.

In the gym, you wear dark, form-fitting Lycra tights under your gym shorts.

And for that formal party, you slip into a slinky gown with a side slit--one that stops at the knee.

What are you trying to hide? Your thighs, of course. And more specifically, the cellulite that first appeared on them sometime around your 30th birthday. Besides looking as though you have cottage cheese burbling under your skin, cellulite makes you feel old, ugly and fat--especially when you're standing next to a 19-year-old in a string bikini at the beach.

But relax. You're not alone.

"Ninety-nine percent of women develop at least some dimply fat after age 30," explains Donald Robertson, M.D., medical director of the Bariatric Nutrition Center in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Part of the problem is genetics. But much of it is simply due to aging. Sometime in a woman's thirties, a natural drop in estrogen levels, along with sun damage accumulated over the years, causes the skin to lose its elasticity, says Ted Lockwood, M.D., assistant clinical professor of plastic surgery at the University of Missouri­Kansas City School of Medicine. The skin sags a little here, bags a little there and generally doesn't have the firm resiliency of youth.

At the same time, the supporting network of fibers that anchors the skin to underlying muscles is also starting to stretch. That, combined with the extra pounds most of us put on as we approach midlife--and which hormones dictate will go directly to a woman's hips, thighs and buttocks--leads to cellulite, a fancy word for what is really just dimply fat and skin that has lost its elasticity.

It wouldn't be so bad if the men in our lives were sagging and bagging right along with us.

But they're not.

One reason is that men tend to gain weight around their midriffs rather than in their hips, thighs and butts. Another is that men's skin is thicker and more elastic, so it holds the fat beneath it more firmly than ours does. And still another reason is that the fibers that anchor skin to muscle are structured differently in men than in women: While the fibers that support women's skin run in only one direction, men have tight, crisscrossed fibers that form a net to keep their fat firmly in place.

Life is not always fair.

What to Do about It

While you may not be able to avoid getting cellulite, you don't have to keep it. Because cellulite is fat. And like other forms of fat, you can dump it. Here's how.

Work it off. Women who try to get rid of cellulite by doing exercises for only the thighs and buttocks fail miserably. "Spot reducing doesn't work," says Susan Olson, Ph.D., director of psychological services at the Southwest Bariatric Nutrition Center in Tempe, Arizona.

The best way to reduce cellulite--as with fat anywhere else on your body--is with aerobic activity that burns calories throughout the entire body. The best activity is one that gets your heart rate up and keeps it there for 20 continuous minutes at least three times a week.

Running, walking, bicycling, skating, dancing and swimming--all of which stoke up the metabolism for efficient fat burning--are perfect.

Just remember: If you've led a sedentary life, check with your doctor before embarking on any exercise program.

Pump some iron. A good aerobic workout will help tone muscles. But building them up through weight training may also help hide dimpled skin. "Bulking your muscles can make a slight improvement," says Dr. Lockwood. "Just don't expect miracles." Check with a trainer at your gym for a program that will help you.

Ditch the fat in your diet. Besides exercise, eating a low-fat diet is the best way to keep so-called cellulite to a minimum. "A lot of cellulite comes from eating high-fat foods," says Maria Simonson, Sc.D., Ph.D., professor emeritus and director of the Health, Weight and Stress Clinic at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore. "So the less fat you have in your diet, the less problem you'll have."

Try limiting your total fat intake to around 25 percent of your calories, adds Dr. Simonson. You can track fat intake by reading product labels and staying away from high-fat fare such as cakes, cheeses, fried foods and processed luncheon meats.

Knuckle under. "A deep massage using the knuckles may help break up the dimples," says Dr. Robertson. When combined with weight loss and smart eating, a twice-weekly massage helps whittle down the most resistant fat pockets.

Cream it. Rubbing any skin cream that contains alpha-hydroxy acids--essentially, acids made from fruits or milk--into your skin will give your body a smoother look. But remember: No cream or lotion will get rid of cellulite.

Camouflage it. Use a tanning cream to camouflage cellulite. The darker color will even out your skin tone and make the shadows cast by the lumps of fat beneath the skin less apparent.

Smear on the sunscreen. You can't undo the years of sun exposure that paved the way for cellulite by zapping your skin's elasticity. "But by limiting your sun exposure or using a good sunscreen when you're outdoors, you can keep your skin from degenerating further," says Dr. Lockwood. The sun's skin-damaging rays are most harmful between 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m., so it's essential to keep thighs and other vulnerable areas covered during those hours. And whenever you're in the sun, make sure to use a sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15.

Consider a nip and tuck. If all else fails and you feel that cottage cheese thighs are ruining your life, there is one surgical procedure that may be able to reduce your cellulite, says Dr. Lockwood. By performing nip and tuck surgery--which costs several thousand dollars and is generally not covered by health insurance--a plastic surgeon can stretch the skin of problem areas to hide the fatty deposits underneath. As with any surgery, consider your practitioner's experience and reputation. You may want to get a second opinion before proceeding.