5 Tips To Fight Cellulite!

I have cellulite, not as much as before that's for sure but unfortunately I do still have cellulite. This pains me as I've lost weight and work-out so what am I doing wrong? Well I started to do a little research. The truth is quite depressing because even the most beautiful frames still seem to suffer too. Britney Spears and Tulisa to name a very few have all been caught on camera with cellulite. This quite pathetically makes me feel better. Now if your reading this you most probably have cellulite too. Apparently 80 to 90% of women do. The truth is nearly all women have cellulite and there is still a lot of debate on what actually causes cellulite since underweight and overweight people get the dreaded orange peel skin. Cellulite is defined in the dictionary as dimply skin caused by uneven fat deposits beneath the surface. Many experts believe that as cellulite is found commonly in very skinny women as well as the curvaceous that the problem is toxins. Chemicals ingested from birth control,  food chain, water supply, and pollutants breathed in from the environment.  The theory is that the body stores toxins in cells near the skin’s surface where they can do the least damage. Others are sceptical about this theory. One thing they all seem to agree on though is a poor diet plays a huge role in the cause of cellulite. This for me is very true. If I'm to be very honest to you when I lost my weight over 2 years ago now I did it through yes improving my diet and through a lot of exercise but to be truthful my diet still wasn't great. I was still not eating anywhere near as healthy as I should of been. Which is one of the reasons I started this blog so I could start my journey battling this so when I tell people to eat healthy my conscience is clear.

 

In the last year and especially in the last 6 months I've became some what more serious about nutrition and in fact passionate to know more. I've became quite fascinated in the subject. The reason for this is whilst I lost my weight I never became truly satisfied with my results. The more research I did the more apparent it became that getting the diet right was key. I was in denial trying to outweigh bad food with plenty of exercise. The truth is it doesn't work. Yes exercise is amazing for getting results but on it's own you won't truly get where you want to be and vice versas. You need to do both so you tone, lose weight and actually start to feel better - less tired, more energy, stronger and fitter. If you do just one you may lose weight but your unlikely to become defined or get as fit as you'd like.

So the big question is 'How do we get rid of the cottage cheese look'?!

 

The truth is massages, body bushing and creams can help temporary but results won't last as they don't deal with the cause of the problem. So these are ideal methods if you want to improve the look of cellulite for an occasion or holiday but if you wish to tackle the issue permanently you need to work on the inside. I know this works as surprise surprise my cellulite didn't change when I lost weight but  in the last 6 months since leading a much healthier palette it's finally improved. Not gone (but to be honest I'm still battling with the healthy eating lifestyle), but what I can say as it's definitely improved so here's my personal advice.

 

 

 

 

My top tips:

 

1) Look at what chemicals you putting into your body?  Make sure you've done your research on any supplements your putting into your body too. Bare in mine your birth control maybe making the condition worse. I was quite depressed to find out my contraceptive pill could be aggravating the problem.

 

2) I really try and drink 6-8oz glasses of water a day as well as green tea as it's full of anti-oxidants.  These are said to help flush out any excess sodium that causes fluid retention.

 

3) I eat regularly but I've tried to give up the fatty, sweet and processed foods. Basically the junk food.  How you lose weight is key to minimising cellulite since mentioned earlier even the very slim can get cellulite. So the fad diets will only be making it worse even if they are successful with helping you drop some weight.  Crash dieting can actually make cellulite worse by reducing skin’s elasticity, making more of those little puckers noticeable.

 

4) I Enjoy foods with essential fatty acids. These can  help by strengthening the connective tissues around fat cells, thereby helping to reduce cellulite. Sources include olive oil, flax seed oil and fish oil. Onions can also help as they help release water build-up from skin cells.

 

5) Enjoy protein and aim to eat three small portions a day.   Protein can help as it contains albumin, which helps absorb excess fluid. Water retention can be part of the cellulite problem. So add small portions of fish, nuts, beans etc each day. Quinoa is something I've introduced into my diet too.

I hope you find my tips useful,

Love Miss Work it Baby x x x

Abs in Process!

So if you follow my blog you'll know all my goals. The big goal for me is I want some definition in my stomach. I've been aiming to eat clean 80% of the time to achieve this and susprisly loving it. I don't feel at all deprived. It really works for me. I finally feel like I'm cracking it with the healthy lifestyle instead of looking for quick fixes. I'm doing it all properly now and when I feel myself getting discouraged with the progress or my failures I remind myself of how far I've came with lifestyle changes. It's so easy to look in the mirror and feel disappointed but results do come, so it's best to focus on 'am I healthier than before?', and as long as the answer is yes you should be proud and those results will follow.  

So here is a photo of me from yesterday taken from a screen shot of a video I was recording (I have to do a video for an exam I'm doing in Cheerobics encase your wondering, plus another one of my goals is to evenually do home work-out videos so I'm trying to learn some confidence in front of the camera ;-) ). 

Now my goal wasn't just to get definition in my stomach but more inmportantly the lower part so still work to be done, but on the whole I'm really pleased as I feel I'm seeing a real difference. 

I'm also coming to the end of week 1 of no refined sugar and this seems to make a real difference for me, but unlike when I did it before I'm learning from my mistakes and being aware of the trap when the plan comes to an end. 

My current workouts are just a weekly 'Work it Baby' class and 'Cheerobics' practising at the moment. The class and home practising and healthy eating are getting me close to my goal so I'm so chuffed. 

I'm looking forward to hopefully sharing the end result real soon :D 

Love Miss Work it Baby x x x

The Challenge Trap!

If you follow my posts you'll know I set myself challenges including the month I went without refined sugars. I need to do this to keep myself achieving my goals. I'm an emotional eater and I personally believe everything in moderation but quite often I find the whole moderation thing difficult to do. So instead it works for me to set myself cold turkey challenges. This works much better for me as there is no room for 'well I can just have one more as long as I'm good the rest of the week', which then slowly slips out of control. Generally the more I have the more I want and to be quite frank when it comes to food I get quite addicted to the wrong stuff. I never get bored of eating bad food and that's where my problem lies. I eat rubbish for pleasure, boredom, comfort, celebrating as well as when I'm feeling sorry for myself or stressed. I also eat junk when I don't see the results I want quick enough and think what the heck it's not working so I might as well eat what I want anyway.......as if that's gonna help!!

So as you can see this is why a challenge for me is just much more beneficial. Challenges are bloody hard work or it wouldn't be a challenge, but I'd definitely recommend it if you know your not good at the whole moderation thing as there is no room for I'll just have a little as the plan doesn't aloud for this until you finish it. However be warned it's going to take a lot of grit to get through it.

Now for the most important thing before you start....THE TRAP! Are you aware of this when starting any diet or challenge? 

When I finished my last challenge I was so proud of myself that I'd actually achieved it  I felt I deserved a reward. So what did I reward myself with.....the obvious CAKE, CHOCOLATE, PIZZA, POPCORN AND CHEESE! Wait it doesn't stop there this wasn't just one evening but I kept doing it. On and off for about 2 weeks until I finally decided enough was enough and I'd just sabotaged a whole month of bloody hard work. 

You see a diet or challenge is great if your realistic and don't try to convince yourself you can have something naughty because you've just done so well. It's totally pointless and defeats what you'll done so well at. 

There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a treat but it should just be a treat. Not a treat evening or weekend or even a week of booze, takeaways and sweets. In just one evening you can undo all your hard work. Sometimes you can get away with it for quite a while but the truth is eventually it will catch up on you because junk food is addictive. The more you eat the more you want. Basically in the long run you are just making things harder for yourself. Even if your a healthy size you still need to think about what your putting into your body. Bad food will cause you health problems maybe not now but one day. 

Be kind to your body and don't fall into the trap of I know I'm going to a party next week so I'll start my healthy eating after that. Well it's perfectly fine to have the night of but why wait till after? Instead be good up till that occasion then enjoy the special occasion and then get straight back on it. 

Enjoy those times and don't feel guilty, but earn that special occasion if you want to succeed. Have a treat but make sure it's just the one. Thats' what will get you results and keeping them. 

I used to do a treat night and I don't now. I just have a treat when I need one and try to minimise this (it's a working progress to be honest) ,but I'm getting there and it's not about looking at what your still not getting right it's about comparing yourself to how you were. I'm not there completely with the healthy eating but if I compare myself to my food habits a year ago then my palette of food has been amazingly cleaned up. Much more variety, nutritional value and definitely less junk and yes my weight has stayed off even with the slip ups because I always get back onto it. I don't give up on myself. I have a family to think of so my health is important so fighting bad lifestyle demons is a priority. The whole you only live once is true, but I'd rather live a long happy disease free life if I'm fortunate enough to do so and so I'll do what I can to maximise my chances. 

Healthy living is not about perfection but consistency. It's not about feeling deprived but learning to control you addictions first and foremost, because without the addictions and cravings there is no feeling deprived. I gave up fizzy drinks and sugar in my tea a few years ago and it no longer bothers me. It did for a long time but now I couldn't care less, I don't feel I'm missing out in fact I cringe thinking about having either now.  

Watch for your trap and be good to yourself

xxx