7 Steps to Winning The Battle Against Cellulite!

Nearly all of us have it, and every single one of us hates it...cellulite. Those nasty looking dimples in your butt and thighs that manage to ruin your mood within seconds. Orange peel, cottage cheese...whatever you refer to cellulite as, it is persistent subcutaneous fat that causes dimpling of the skin and, although it's fat stores, you don't have to be overweight to suffer from it. It's actually very common in slender women. Although there's no easy way to banish it for life, there are many things you can do to reduce the appearance immediately, and to help to permanently extinguish the appearance of it over time: Try dry brushing When I first found cellulite on my thighs...yes, I have it too...I panicked and immediately looked for ways to get rid of it; I found dry brushing and assumed it was a stupid idea, but gave it a go anyway. Dry skin brushing is exactly what it sounds like; you brush your skin with a dry (specifically designed) brush. This not only makes your skin lovely and soft, because you are exfoliating it, but it also stimulates cell rejuvenation and helps to improve lymphatic flow. After just a few days of dry brushing before the shower every day I found a noticeable difference! Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying I got rid of my cellulite, or any ridiculous claim like that; but it definitely made it less obvious. I'm going to continue dry brushing and see if it helps to diminish the appearance even more over time. Try it...it only takes five minutes, and you will see the difference after a week or so (providing you don't expect miracles). Lift weights Have you ever noticed that female athletes don't have visible cellulite? That's because people with a lower body fat percentage typically have less cellulite. Dr Len Kravitz, one of the highest regarded and respected educators in the fitness field, says: "Those with better muscle definition will tend to have less visible cellulite." Look at the picture above of Jessica Ennis...can you see a single dimple on her thighs? Nope. Are you going to lift some weights right now? Yes! Clean up your diet Eating healthy food is essential in the fight against cellulite because, you can exercise all you want, but if you are eating the wrong things, then you're never going to lower your body fat percentage. Make sure your diet consists of lean proteins, fruits and vegetables, healthy fats and whole grains. Also try to cut down your sugar consumption and avoid saturated fat. Cleaning up your diet will help because your body stores toxins in your fat to help minimize how much toxicity your vital organs are exposed to, and it's those fat stores that create the appearance of cellulite. Use a coffee scrub Celebrity fitness coach, Jillian Michaels, suggests using a coffee scrub in the battle against cellulite. Jillian says: "As most any of us can verify, coffee is invigorating! It is also stimulating for your skin, as it can improve blood flow when rubbed in topically." Any body scrub works perfectly after dry brushing, but Jillian recommends this as your daily routine:

• When emptying the coffee pot, place the filter full of grounds into a cup or jar and set it near the shower for use the next day
• After dry brushing, step into the shower and massage legs and cellulite areas with the coffee grounds for a few minutes
• Shower normally and apply coconut oil when finished

Drinking coffee can increase the appearance of cellulite though, so stick to just using it as a scrub for your legs. Try massaging the affected area As Jillian points out, it's a good idea to finish off the body scrub with a massage. The best essential oils for treating cellulite are juniper and fennel; so take 1/4 cup of coconut oil, or olive oil, and add 4 drops of each essential oil (juniper and fennel), then mix well before massaging into the affected area. Dr Len Kravitz says: "Massage and body manipulation techniques are employed to enhance the removal of fluid in the dermis area. These techniques do not remove the cellulite, but may have a temporary effect in reducing the amount of ‘dimpling’ appearance." So give it a go...you get some time out to give yourself a massage AND you can reduce your cellulite! Cut down your alcohol (and cigarette) intake Alcohol is a toxin that can increase fat levels, slow down circulation and add unnecessary burden onto the waste removal organs. Cigarettes are also filled with toxins, and decrease the level of hyaluronic acid in your body, which helps to retain moisture in the skin. Reducing your intake of toxins will undoubtedly help to reduce the appearance of cellulite, as, if your system has less toxic waste to deal with, then it will reduce the risk of any of it remaining in your system after failing to be flushed out efficiently. Stay hydrated Drinking plenty of water will help to flush out any bad toxins from your system, which will reduce the appearance of cellulite because, by helping to flush any toxins out of your body, you are leaving less in your body to be stored as fat...therefore resulting in less fat stores to show as cellulite. For more articles like this, please follow my blog.   Picture credit for featured image: http://www.q8rashaqa.com/   Sources: http://spas.about.com/od/skincare/a/Cellulite.htm http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/beauty/guides/summer-beauty/get-rid-of-cellulite-fast/ http://www.fitsugar.com/How-Get-Rid-Cellulite-21471667#photo-21472169?utm_source=health.com&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=health_facebook http://www.webmd.com/beauty/cellulite/can-you-beat-cellulite?page=3 http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/149465.php http://www.jillianmichaels.org/how-to-get-rid-of-cellulite-quickly-and-naturally/ http://www.drlenkravitz.com/Articles/cellulite.html http://www.cellulite.co.uk/causes-of-cellulite http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/you/article-1281939/Clean-Lean-special-Give-cellulite-brushoff.html http://www.onlynature.co.uk/Cellulite.html http://beautytalk.hubpages.com/hub/Can-Smoking-Cause-Cellulite http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-5479/7-Tips-to-Naturally-Reduce-Cellulite.html http://www.crunchybetty.com/3-ways-to-naturally-dissolve-cellulite-without-breaking-a-sweat