The C word

[kitten]

I've been following the weight loss challenge thread, and have been inspired by your posts. Something that's interesting to me is the range of starting and ideal weights for women on our forum. Some of you ladies are tiny (in my book) and have starting weights so low that I could only dream of them! And you're still losing! I'm impressed! - Anyway, as summer approaches I would like to be able to wear shorts - haven't done it in years. Trying frantically to lose weight, and making a bit of progress, though slowly. I'm not terribly overweight (right at the high end of junior sizes in jeans, can usually wear a women's medium in a jacket or dress, and will occasionally find myself fitting into a 1x top because of the extra rack room provided, lol). Anyway, the worst thing about summer for me is cellulite. I never noticed I had much, until we moved into a place with a simply gigantic bathroom mirror and some rather cruelly enlightening overhead fixtures. Now I'm pretty much obsessed with it. The thigh stuff is the worst because it'll show in shorts. For any other woman on here trying to lose weight, do you have a specific weight under which your cellulite goes away? Or does some remain no matter how much you lose?

[redfox]

Cellulite is a made up word to describe what the skin looks like when fat cells store in a certain way. It's a word used to shame women, and I hate it. Who cares if your skin looks dimpled? Wear shorts, enjoy your life, spend your precious energy having fun instead of obsessing over some sexist body standard!

PS - the C word is generally taken to refer to cancer. As someone who just had major surgery for cancer, I have a renewed perspective on life. Let me tell you, wearing what you wish and enjoying the body you have instead of waiting for the body you wish you had is pretty damn important.

[Valley]

Cellulite is a made up word to describe what the skin looks like when fat cells store in a certain way. It's a word used to shame women, and I hate it. Who cares if your skin looks dimpled? Wear shorts, enjoy your life, spend your precious energy having fun instead of obsessing over some sexist body standard!

PS - the C word is generally taken to refer to cancer. As someone who just had major surgery for cancer, I have a renewed perspective on life. Let me tell you, wearing what you wish and enjoying the body you have instead of waiting for the body you wish you had is pretty damn important.

Thank you for saying what I was thinking as I read this post!

[iris lily]

I had to click on this thinking we were going to have a discussion about one of the worst words to call women. It did enter my head, secondarily, that you might mean Cancer.

I don't care about cellulite. I DO care about the fat but that's another deal.

Just wear burmuda shorts that go 2" above your knee and most of it will not be on view. Most women have it above the knee, some don't, whatever.

[ApatheticNoMore]

I thought cancer too. If you are talking back of the thigh, probably below 115 pounds or even less. But it's not always easy to be that skinny, so I'm not. I mean some other cellulite may come and go but back of the thigh is pretty much there regardless. Most of that only shows with short shorts anyway, which I'll wear around my apt. but not much elsewhere. I wear them outside around my apt. to get a bit of a tan and some vitamin D. Weight training with leg muscles will help some (it has when I've been motivated enough to do it).

[KayLR]

Somewhere I read or heard, "Tan fat looks better than white fat." I think it was in one of those quote books --things our moms used to say.

So get some spray-on self-tanner. That's what I do....and wear Bermuda shorts.

I do bike ride and that seems to help eliminate a bit of cellulite, but I'm afraid I've just decided to live with what's left. Beyond my skimpy shorts and bikini life stage, anyway.

[awakenedsoul]

I'm 5'8" and what most would call skinny. (116 lbs.) I never had cellulite until I had a hip injury from teaching ballet. Because I was letting it heal, even my legs started to lose the muscle tone and get dimply. It's like the skin was too big, and the muscles shrank. I ride my bike for an hour every day, and even with that, my legs aeren't what they used to be. I've started doing yoga again and some dance exercise. It really takes work as you get older to keep the legs toned. I never had to worry before, but I was teaching ballet several hours a week.
So, even if you lost weight, it's not a guarantee. Getting those muscles hard is what works for me.

[Dhiana]

I've run marathons and no matter what I am still the dreaded pear shape with thunder thighs of cellulite. In the end I realized that I don't care.
Wore a bikini that looks great on me this past week at the beach on vacation and I don't care how much cellulite showed.

Anyone who does care about my cellulite or yours and thinks there is something wrong with a real woman has something wrong with them.
There are bigger C words to worry about in life, like cancer :)

[redfox]

I've run marathons and no matter what I am still the dreaded pear shape with thunder thighs of cellulite. In the end I realized that I don't care.
Wore a bikini that looks great on me this past week at the beach on vacation and I don't care how much cellulite showed.

Anyone who does care about my cellulite or yours and thinks there is something wrong with a real woman has something wrong with them.
There are bigger C words to worry about in life, like cancer :)

I love curvy women who are pear shaped! I'm 5'8" and 198#, an apple shaped size 16-18, and I love my body, healing hysterectomy incision scars & pain & all. I love my big breasts, my soft belly, my long legs, long grey hair, laugh lines, crows feet, and the fact that I awake every day able to be in a world of love, joy, good food, good people, and connection.

Our bodies serve us, they age, get hurt, heal, age some more. We get fat, get thin, sag, get lines & wrinkles, and still we're alive to be in connection. We call our bodies names and still she carries us through our lives. How miraculous.

[Blackdog Lin]

Thank you redfox. You said it well.

[kitten]

Love these stories, guys!

[Spartana]

I'm 5'8" and what most would call skinny. (116 lbs.) I never had cellulite until I had a hip injury from teaching ballet. Because I was letting it heal, even my legs started to lose the muscle tone and get dimply. It's like the skin was too big, and the muscles shrank. I ride my bike for an hour every day, and even with that, my legs aeren't what they used to be. I've started doing yoga again and some dance exercise. It really takes work as you get older to keep the legs toned. I never had to worry before, but I was teaching ballet several hours a week.
So, even if you lost weight, it's not a guarantee. Getting those muscles hard is what works for me.Ah yes, the dreaded "alligator skin" effect. Even very thin women get it - especially if you are over 40. Not much you can do about that because it's caused by reduced amount or damaged collegen and sun damage to the skin (us skinny too tanned southern Calif girls over 40 know all about that!). As for cellulite, well I share Redfoxes belief that you should be proud and happy with your body no matter what size or shape and wear what you like without worry or concern. Work on health and fitness rather than size and beauty and embrace those dimply thighs :-)! OK maybe not embrace them but work on strenghtening the leg and thigh muscles rather than losing weight as losing weight doesn't really work to reduce the appearance of cellulite - you'll still have cellulite no matter how thin you get and may end up having that plus the dreaded alligator skin. Muscle toning is what would work best. No need to be a heavy weight lifter either, just some long walks to tone the legs works wonders!

[pony mom]

I see teenage girls with cellulite!

In massage school, I remember my anatomy teacher telling us that men don't get cellulite because of the way fat is sort of laid out under the skin. In one, it runs vertically; in the other, it runs horizontally, like a crosshatch pattern. Can't remember who got what, but we got the one that causes cellulite. I'm not describing it correctly and can't get to my notes, but there really isn't anything that women can do about it.

Slap on some fake tanner and stay away from mirrors. Everyone else is so wrapped up in their own little imperfections that yours won't be noticed.