The more I work out the more cellulite I see?

Tywana
Tywana Posts: 135 Member
edited September 21 in Fitness and Exercise
I am working out almost everyday and my thighs look slimmer but at the same time I see more cellulite, I know that people say it never goes away but I am a LPN and I don't have the true answer. Why do I see more? And will it smooth out some due to me building more muscle? :frown: :sad:



http://tickers.myfitnesspal.com/ticker/show/18/6226/186226.png

Replies

  • KiriKiriKiri
    KiriKiriKiri Posts: 227 Member
    I don't have an answer for you! I too am a healthcare professional...and wish I had a clear answer. I have found it to be the opposite... though it took a long time for me, unfortunately. I had to really work at my legs to reduce the appearance and now I don't have any of the "c" word...or at least any that is visible. Keep up the good work!!!!
  • Tywana
    Tywana Posts: 135 Member
    Thank you. You know my weight has been fluctuating but I think it's because I've reached a Plato but my inches I can see. I have asked some doc's and a couple say to keep working at it and the other say it will never go away unless you have surgery. I do not want to have surgery. I am going to keep at it harder and harder and hopefully I will see the change I want. Thanks
  • lhain
    lhain Posts: 6
    I have always had cellulite even at 15 and not overweight. My trainer says it is heredity but that I should make lean proteins a huge part of my diet and it will help reduce the cellulite with the weight training. Don't really know who's right but I'm willing to try anything at this point.
  • LotusF1ower
    LotusF1ower Posts: 1,259 Member
    I have always had cellulite even at 15 and not overweight. My trainer says it is heredity but that I should make lean proteins a huge part of my diet and it will help reduce the cellulite with the weight training. Don't really know who's right but I'm willing to try anything at this point.

    Same here - well what I mean by that is that I was not overweight when I was younger :laugh: however, I have always had that bloody cellulite!

    Out of interest, did you also do a lot of sport from a young age? The reason I ask is because I was always very sporty and always on the go when I was a kid and through my teens. However, my sister was not half so sporty and never had much cellulite at all, if any actually, thinking about it.

    I was just curious to see if there was a connection between lots of sport when younger to having cellulite when older.
  • lhain
    lhain Posts: 6
    I was pretty active but only in swimming. My mom and sister both deal with the cellulite too. I'm 41 now and don't worry about it as much because I don't wear those skimpy little clothes. My thighs are always covered!
  • Tywana
    Tywana Posts: 135 Member
    I played hand ball all summer long as well as volley ball and soft ball. I am going to join my girlfriend soft ball team coming up in August, I guess you never know, it may be linked, But there are kids who never get much exercise and they have it to. I lean more to genetics. My mom has cursed me:sad: My mom is 325 and I am 174 and my body is just a smaller version. :sad:
  • creativ
    creativ Posts: 1
    I googled this and sure enough I found this thread. I have only been using my fitness pal for three weeks. But I find it wonderful this topic was up for discussion here :)

    The more I work out the more cellulite I am seeing...I have only in the last four years started to see cellulite on my body. But it does bother me that now that I work out more it appears to be worse. Ah well, guess nothing can be done.
  • rachpiper720
    rachpiper720 Posts: 204
    I don't have an exact answer for you, but I have noticed as I have built muscle the distinction between fat and muscle has become clearer and clearer. Before I thought I was pretty muscley, but it wasn't until I started doing hardcore muscle building exercises that I found what me and my friend call "squishy fat." My hypothesis is that maybe deeper fat layers are going away and that the reserves of fat left are the upper "squishy fat" layers and cellulite....just a hypothesis, though.
  • stephanielynn76
    stephanielynn76 Posts: 709 Member
    I'm thin and muscular and still have it on my butt/thighs. I honestly don't have any hope that will ever go away completely. I figure during the summer I'll get tan enough to hide it some lol
  • jifferdoodle
    jifferdoodle Posts: 6
    Funny, I'm going through this now! I notice while I'm working out (especially cardio) my legs look like they are bumpy. I grew up with smooth legs, no genetic predisposition to have cellulite, and it takes me being excessively overweight to have cellulite. I've been losing weight and I'm about 10-15 pounds from my target and am noticing a boost in leg cellulite this week. I don't have the answer but from past experience I know that it goes away once I'm around my target weight and I have good muscle mass. I just keep wondering why I have cellulite while working out? I'm hoping that after I lose all this remaining fat weight the cellulite will again go away.

    ps. plateau :) although Plato was a wonderful philosopher!
  • Rachelc1992
    Rachelc1992 Posts: 246 Member
    Me right now! :( and it's very depressing!! Feels like I'm working out to look worse! Did any of you guys see an increase once you hit target weight?? Any happy inspiring stories? :) or hard facts to help?
    Pleasee :)
  • nuttyfamily
    nuttyfamily Posts: 3,394 Member
    Some find that the appearance can diminish with weight loss and muscle building.

    I always thought the cellulite issues were associated with weight gain.

    When my DD was on the swim team in high school, there were a number of swimmers who also had the cottage cheese look and these were really thin or muscular girls and I've known them forever and they have never been heavy or had weight issues.

    It is genetic unfortunately and from what I have read up on, there isn't much one can do to get rid of it minus surgical procedures .
  • splixi
    splixi Posts: 86 Member
    Same has happened for me! - I don't have cellulite badly but it is there. When I was at my biggest I didn't notice it that much (I think because my skin was so stretched) and as I got smaller I started to notice it more- I think for me it was because my skin was looser. It has gotten less now that I have been small for a while though. Hope it settles for you too!
  • harphy
    harphy Posts: 290 Member
    The thin fat layer under your skin gets even thinner as you loose weight and on the other side bigger thigh muscles push cellulit out. Make sure you eat clean and drink a lot. That's all we can do.
  • pommesvertes
    pommesvertes Posts: 24 Member
    I can't be completely certain on this, but forever ago there was a discussion on here about looking a less desirable shape although they'd been losing weight and exercising more. Apparently their PT told them that it's common, because as you lose weight you break down the fat so it's physically not as solid, meaning that as you're losing weight you become more... jiggly? before you get slimmer, haha. Could be complete BS but also makes some sense, so I don't know. ^_^ Haha! But I could imagine that could effect cellulite if it's true.
  • judyamk
    judyamk Posts: 79 Member
    I am sorry the cellulite is not going away , but I had cellulite & with my work out it all went away. I walked, I did squats, I did leg lifts on the bench free weights etc etc nothing special. Find a gym where their person has a degree in the anatomy of the body the science of it. I would never again go to a gym where the person was from off the street and had no clue how the body works. We have several gyms in town , when I want to go talk to someone & have them give me a personal session to do at home I go to the neighboring town where we have 2 trainers in the gym they own. They are educated in the field of the body. Cost $ 38.00 for an hour session . He wants to know all what I have at home to work out with then he sets me up with a program to do at home. He has a lot of business people that travel & live in motels he gives them work outs to do., plus he has a degree in nutrition also.
    Take Care
    Judy
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    Mine looked worse at first, but now it looks like usual, maybe even a little better. I think it looked worse because my muscles were suddenly tight (relatively speaking on the 'suddenly'). So I think the connective tissue pulled differently due to the muscles changing so fast. I also lost about 2 inches quickly in my thighs, so maybe the skin was loose, too.

    It got better, in any case. It's still enough to bug me, but that's been more and more true the older I get! At least it's not worse any more from lifting and weight loss! That was an unexpected side effect, lol.
  • Rachelc1992
    Rachelc1992 Posts: 246 Member
    Thanks guys!! It's nice to hear good things! I will keep going and fingers crossed it will go down! Erk. Stupid body and genetics! x
  • AlysonG2
    AlysonG2 Posts: 713 Member
    Are you doing just cardio, or strength training too? I've always heard that the more muscle you have UNDER the fat, the less likely you are to see cellulite. Something about muscle being smoother and then the fat on top appears smoother. Not sure if there's any truth to this, but from personal experience, it seems real. The only time in my life I haven't had cellulite on the backs of my thighs was when I was doing over 100 squats per day (played catcher on my softball team in high school) and had super muscular legs.

    Edited to add: I DID have cellulite before I started doing all the squats. I wasn't just a naturally cellulite-free high-schooler :)
  • FrnkLft
    FrnkLft Posts: 1,821 Member
    Has ANYONE here even bothered reading an article about cellulite...
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    Has ANYONE here even bothered reading an article about cellulite...

    I've read lots of them, thanks. Why? I also can see my own thighs and *kitten* in the mirror, so I feel safe in explaining what I saw. Are we all just wrong that cellulite appears to get worse temporarily sometimes, or is there an explanation in an article I've missed?

    Pick apart my little theory (really!): I think it was the looser skin and the 'sudden' tightening of the muscle. Do you have cellulite? If so (or anyone else), squeeze your butt cheeks really tightly and see if it looks worse then.

    I love science and articles, really. But come on. 90 some percent of women have cellulite and we know what it looks like. Maybe there is something going on here (temporarily, I think). Or we're all crazy or liars I guess ;)

    Sorry, I get irked sometimes when men tell me about my period cramps or cellulite! And add childbirth if I'd ever had a kid, I'm sure. But theorizing is good, so please do go on :)
  • jennegan1
    jennegan1 Posts: 677 Member
    I thought that cellulite has to do with blood flow and not being skinny/ fat or non muscular/muscular thats why they say that when others are "skinny" they still can have cellulite
  • Twinmamamarion
    Twinmamamarion Posts: 33 Member
    Liposuction...lol. But seriously, walking hills.
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
    I thought that cellulite has to do with blood flow and not being skinny/ fat or non muscular/muscular thats why they say that when others are "skinny" they still can have cellulite

    There are conflicting opinions, but very many researchers do believe that blood flow (put simply) is 'the' primary cause. I think it is a contributing factor, myself.

    Here is the best review I've found:

    http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1467-2494.2006.00316.x/full

    I'd also add in genetic factors, and here is an interesting piece on that:

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20059631


    These aren't very laymen-friendly articles! But particularly in the first one, the bulleted lists give a good summary, imho.

    The jury is still out on who is more correct (or are they all right?). But MRI imaging is showing a lot of interesting results that go in all three directions (then add in the gene results). The long review has citations, and I have more if anyone (ahem!) needs them :)
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