Ah, dimples and clumps. If only I were talking about the cute dimples on a face and the way I like my oatmeal. Alas, I am talking about the unsightly ones usually found on women's hind quarters. What exactly is cellulite? Is it just plain fat or an excess of fat that deposits itself in the areas of our body we are already self conscious about? I've heard many people say cellulite is trapped toxins and excess water underneath the skin. Some literature I've seen even calls it a "skin condition" like it's border-lining on a disease. My friend sent me this link to a gimmick called "hot pants" by Zaggora claiming that "their pants have  Celu-Lite technology that claims to smoothe thighs and other dimple-prone areas by galvanizing the skin's internal zamboni to promote a deep warming of body tissues and promote lymphatic drainage." They claim this process boosts sweating by up to 80% and aids in eliminating the toxins responsible for cellulite. Ladies, I can assure you this is not true. It's slick marketing. And there is no cell or structure in the body called a zamboni either and decreasing water content of the superficial fascia actually promotes cellulite. NIce try though. Let's just start making up anatomical terms to sound technical. In text terms, WTF?

I've got news here, fat is  NOT responsible for the lumpy, clumpy sightings of cellulite (most noticeably on the buttocks and thighs), giving the skin a cottage cheese textured appearance. Actually the adipose cells are more the victim of what's really causing that not-so-attractive look when wearing a bikini or tight pair of jeans. Some plastic surgeons even inject fat into areas to improve the appearance of cellulite not to mention taking it from your behind and plopping it into your face to take away the crease along your nose and mouth and decrease the look of sunken eyes occurring from aging.

So if it's not our fat or excess water causing the clumps, what is it? I'll tell you not only what it is but the primary thing that causes it. Connective tissue dehydration (specifically dehydration in your superficial fascial layers) resulting in a LACK of fluid motion under the skin is the catalyst of cellulite. The cause is the postural habit called "sitting in a chair most hours of a day." Now this is not a reason to go on strike or sue your employer for making you sit to do your job but it really is the biggest cause of cellulite. The second aspect of this isn't just the posture of sitting, it's the fact that we do it for HOURS in a day without getting up.

Let me explain. Your connective tissue acts like a sponge. If the sponge is hydrated, it stays supple and juicy. But sit on your butt all day and you dehydrate your sponge in a local region. Not only is this damaging the connective tissue cells decreasing their production of the vital fluid reservoir it upholds, the fibers within the connective tissue matrix trap adipose tissue or fat cells and distort them. In your legs, the type of fat that is there is different in that the cells tend to multiply when the fluid is absent in the connective tissue. In your belly, the fat cells simply get larger but they remain the same quantity. If the fat isn't used and the tissues are dehydrated, the trapped fat cell is able to get bigger and bigger and poke through the damaged superficial layer of connective tissue and you see it in your skin!

So what to do? I'd like to say, "get up off your ass and move about more" but for many of us, that's sort of impossible. But if you simply stood up every hour for 5 minutes you would be helping the matter.

What you should really do is MELT. I've found even in my own legs that I've managed to decrease the unattractive site of cellular damage caused by my repetitive sitting that has amassed over the past year from writing my book, manuals, blogging... need I say more? On that note, here's my suggestion:
Find a MELT Instructor and ask them to show you how to Glide, Shear, and Rinse the back of your thighs like I am in this picture. Do it everyday for 5 minutes a day for 2 weeks. Tell me if your thighs don't start shaping up. It's helped lots of people, you just have to be consistent about it.

So look, I'd like to say that there is a fast remedy to cellulite but there isn't. You have to make it a point to get up more frequently in a day and stimulate the cells of your connective tissue everyday to really make a dent or lose many dents in your legs.

Just keeping it real here folks...