Cried at my own reflection?

Heredity plays a big part with cellulite, and my family is rife with it. It sucks! But I've found it greatly reduces and is hardly noticeable when I lift heavy. Back in the spring, i could barely see any at all. Then I got lazy, stopped working out, and gained weight and it's back. Sigh...

Look . cellulite is definitely hereditary .. I'm 5'4 and spent most my life weighing 105-110lbs.. (I quit smoking so now I'm 115 lbs) ..

I was a U.S. Marine on active duty for 8 years.. I had a kid .. and easily bounced back to my pre-pregnancy weight.. and I've ALWAYS had that cottage cheese crap .. cellulite! UGH!! I'm by no means an overweight person .. never was! Not even now. I've always eaten healthy .. and yes .. I have my sugar and alcohol .. but that's not the only thing keeping that cellulite there.

Now .. to minimize the appearance .. and this does help .. is watching your weight and eating healthy. you can be very lean and it NOT show at all .. however .. the moment you get lazy .. and slack off .. it's back. Sorry .. that's the blatant ugly truth.

The only way to truly and ultimately be rid of those fat cells that cause it.. is to have them surgically removed (liposuction). I DO NOT recommend this ..

you CAN keep the fat cells from storing the extra energy (bloating up), etc.. with regular exercise and healthy eating. As you get older.. it gets harder to keep in check.

I'm 46 years old .. I can still look pretty good .. as long as I watch it. If I get lazy . well .. there's the cottage cheese that seems to show up pretty quick .. even if I don't technically gain weight.

Trust me .. I'm "skinny fat" .. c'mon .. 5'4 and I have belly fat to contend with at 115 lbs?? I don't look anything like Julian Michaels.... but I'm not fat nor do I ever qualify as looking overweight. ... but it's certainly not "ideal" for Shape or Fitness magazine .. LOL

I'm good with me .. I like me .. and I'm working hard to eliminate the "skinny fat" crap .. but not trying to look like a competition body builder ..

I take my one day a week off to eat and drink like I enjoy .. and I still don't eat and drink up all the calories I banked during the week by eating under my daily goal :drinker: :flowerforyou:

Please don't give yourself a hard time! I train extremely hard and run 30 miles plus a week! I only started gettin cellulite when I was pregnant but as soon as start training did reduce! Unfortunately I also drink wine, way too much, even though am healthy in every other way, but hey a breakdown will do that to you! Unless you are planning to wear hot pants on a daily basis I really wouldn't worry! Only after a year of using MFP I am starting to realise us females give ourselves way too much grief about how we look and men really don't notice these things! But unfortunately shops o use horrendous lighting! Lol! Keep up Hun, remember your beautiful!!!!!!!

So today I went to the store to get some pants. The last time I went shopping for pants I was 20 pounds lighter but it wasn't the bigger size that made me hate my reflection. I know that 145 at 5'3" is technically "overweight" but I'm alright with my size to a degree. I don't hate my reflection because of my size. What upset me and is bugging me right now is all the cellulite I saw!!! I've seen my reflection at home plenty of times but the light in my bathroom is a bit dim so it never looks half as bad as it did there! I'm 18 years old and my legs look horrible! I never had cellulite before and my Mom only recently got some after she gained some weight. So, maybe my weight gain caused it but I don't know if I'll lose it when I lose weight. I've always wanted to wear short shorts and I thought I could after I lost some weight, but I just can't see that happening now!! :sad:

I'm cutting out all junk food besides a small treat here and there (every 2 - 3 weeks if I'm craving something --- and keeping it small). I'm gonna start eating more fruits and vegetables and drinking more water.

For exercise, I already do weighted squats and lunges, of various types, too. I lift weights 30 minutes 3x a week and walk at a fast pace for 35 - 45 minutes 5x a week. I can't do anything too intense because of my asthma and a knee condition I have.

Is there ANYTHING I can do!? I don't want creams and silly products either. I can't buy that kind of stuff and I don't want anyone in my family knowing about this issue....They'd laugh. So please, anyone have any advice? Has anyone seen any results themselves?

Just keep eating at a calorie deficit and you will lose the fat. The problem for women is the shape of the fat cells are kind of blocky (men don't have the same shape cells) and some fat cells are half way filled so are halfway collapsed, so it causes the lumpy cottage cheese look. As you lose the fat you will lose this. I'm 5'1" and I weighed 171 lbs a few years ago. I lost 60 lbs at age 50 and I'm still maintaining at almost 52. I had a lot of this cellulite as well and it went away as the fat went away. I'm currently about 120 lbs, I was down to 109 in most of my profile pictures, but I've done a lot of recomposition in my body since I lift heavy weights and vary my routine a lot. You can't see the cellulite anymore but if I pinched some of the little fat that is left you would see it.

I would encourage you to start a beginner weight lifting routine. Just 3 days a week. Why?

It will make your body pretty for when the fat is gone.

Lifting weights is KEY. I recently had my DXA scan done and at 51.5 years of age I have the bone density of a super athletic 30 year old. That is a direct result of lifting for over 30 years. Now if that is not scientific proof that lifting weights keeps you younger I don't know what is! Also I believe it is why most people think I look much younger than I really am.

Girls, start lifting now, lift heavy and change it up often, find a lot of weight routines with free weights, make it fun, embrace it, make it part of your life. Only 3 days a week is all it would take. Crank up your tunes and learn to love it, because your body will love it and it will make your quality of life better in many ways, especially when you get older like me.

Because of this I don't have to worry about osteoporosis. If you wait until you are older and your bones start to deteriorate it's a bit too late, you can't get back what you lost, you can only start a resistance routine that will prevent further damage.

If you are a girl you don't have the hormones to get big naturally. I lift heavy and I'm still really tiny. My lean body mass is only 104 lbs and that is fairly heavy for a 5'1" female, and quite a bit of this is due to my having very dense bones from 30 years of lifting, not all muscle, and I'm still quite tiny.

My muscles really are not that big, but they show a lot of definition because I'm quite lean. If I gained some fat then I would have a softer more toned look (which is OKAY too!). Then if I gained more fat I would look bulking and hefty like I did most of my life until last year. YOU CAN HAVE WHATEVER YOU WANT. Lean and ripped, soft and toned, or hefty, it all depends on how much fat you leave on your body. Calories are the only thing that changes fat. Exercise is for changing or maintaining your lean body mass only. Lifting weights will give you the best bang for your buck for shaping your body. I finally changed my shape by putting lifting first and cardio 2nd. You cannot out exercise too many calories. I learned this the hard way ---> http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/740340-i-lost-60-lbs-at-age-51-anyone-can-any-workout