The Hindu Business Line : Don't invite cellulite

Learn to... relax! Through the day, when your mind slows or stops, lie on the carpet with feet propped up on a sofa or wall. Stop thinking and stare at the ceiling for 10-15 minutes.

They come unannounced. Puckered-up bulges like an orange peel in places high and low — insides of upper arms, thighs, and the side of hips. They are called cellulite — fat globules, wastes and water trapped in muscle-connective tissue. Dr Paul Lazar, professor, clinical dermatology, Northwestern University of Medical School, Chicago, says strands of fibrous tissue "anchored to the skin pull the skin inward and plump the fat cells outwards," to form clumps.

What brings cellulite on? Poor circulation of blood and lymph. A condition we impose on our body when we are inactive and tense. If we don't move around much, our muscles become flaccid and cause poor blood-flow. This means, the blood cannot transport sufficient nutrients and oxygen to some cells in sedentary body-parts. These undernourished cells become vulnerable to fat accumulation since there's no oxygen to burn the fat. Simultaneously, if we are tense, the muscles go into small spasms. This not only further restricts blood-flow, but also hinders lymph-circulation.

The lymph is a watery, transparent body fluid that transports waste out of our cells. The unflushed waste settles in the fat-filled, soft cell-tissue, making the skin bulge. It's not known whether cellulite causes any major long-term health problem. Yet, it is unhealthy to have toxic-settlements in body cells. So, we must take steps to detoxify our body. Here's how:

Burn the blubber: Aerobically cycle, swim, row, run or walk off the fat. These exercises pump oxygen into our body cells, which burns cellulite fat. Tip: Lose weight gradually so that the slow-to-burn cellulite fat does not stand out disproportionately against the other quick-to-hollow-out areas. The cellulite clumps will reduce.

Tone the tissues: Do spot exercises to train and tone lax and lazy muscle tissue. Using weights or the weight of your body balances the pull-and-push of muscle tissue versus fat cells and smoothens the skin appearance. Small, smooth, rippling cuts, curves and contours will gradually replace the earlier unseemly bulges, dents and dimples. Given below are four spot-training exercises:

Chair dips for upper arms:

Support yourself with both hands on the seat of a chair with your arms behind you. Suspend your weight on both straight arms and stretch your legs in front of you, heels resting on floor, feet pointing upwards.

Now, bend your elbows and, keeping your back straight, lower your body until you feel a strain on your upper arms. Push back up until your arms are straight again. Do three dip-and-up repetitions. Over the weeks, increase by three more until you reach 15 repetitions.

Ballet kicks for bottom:

Stand with feet together, facing the back of the chair and resting both hands on it.

Turn left foot outward with hips still facing forward.

Now, kick left leg behind as high as possible without bending your knee or back. Raise and lower your left leg 15 times. Build up to 45 repetitions over time. Repeat with your right leg.

Thigh raises for inner thighs:

Lie on your right side, supporting your head on your right hand, right elbow on floor. Bend your left knee and cross your left leg over right knee and place left foot flat on floor.

Now, lift your lower right leg as high as possible, knee straight. Move it up and down without touching the floor. Do 12 repetitions. Build up to 60. Repeat on left side, raising and lowering left leg, with right leg crossed over.

Full side-stretch for hips:

Hold weights in both hands. Stand on your right leg and cross your left leg in front of your right leg (Krishna's posture).

Now lift your right arm and curve sideways over your head, bending your torso until you feel a stretch along the entire right side of your body. Hold for a count of 10. Relax. Repeat on other side.

Kiss constipation goodbye: "People who are constipated on a regular basis usually have cellulite," says Kim Ulen, supervisor, skin-care department, Cal-a-Vie Spa, Vista, California. Tips for boosting elimination:

Eat two guavas a day.

Eat fatless greens too: In a kadai, roast ladies-fingers sprinkled liberally with garlic. Add the green leaves of spring onion and coriander, salt, chilli powder, and garam masala powder. Mix. Cook for eight minutes on low fire with lid on.

Liberally garnish every dish with a combination of coriander leaves, sprouts, finely chopped onions, carrots, cabbage, capsicum and tomatoes mixed with salt, pepper powder and lemon juice.

Drink 10-12 glasses of water. Make sure it is at room temperature or warm, not chilled. "Ice constricts your oesophagus and stomach and hinders the flow of digestive enzymes into your stomach to cause constipation," explains Ulen.

Other tips:

Reduce salt intake. Excess salt attracts body water and causes water retention. This clusters in the cellulite-prone areas.

Reduce coffee intake. Coffee constricts blood vessels and makes the cellulite clumps more prominent.

Boost the benefits of exercise by dry-brushing cellulite spots to further improve blood and lymph circulation in these areas. Skin brushing can be done before a bath. And after a bath, direct a jet of water from the hand-shower on these spots.

Finally, learn to... relax! Through the day, when your mind slows or stops, take time off to lie on the carpet with feet propped up on a sofa or wall. Stop thinking and stare at the ceiling for 10-15 minutes. Aestheticians (skin-tissue specialists) call this the anti-cellulite posture. It relaxes the muscles and creates freeways for the cellulite to be whisked out of the cell tissues.

The writer is co-author of the book, `Fitness for Life'.

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