Cellulite: Should it be taken more lightly?

[knightingale]

Okay, so according to statistics, 90% of women have cellulite. Some have it worse than others of course, but most of us have it nonetheless. Even tiny little women have it. As luck would have it, I am in that 90%. And sadly, there is no cure for it. You can only do what you can to make it less noticeable.

I'm not overweight. I'm actually at a perfect weight for my height (5'9, 143 lbs). I used to have more muscle mass--I was a dancer ranging from ballet to hip-hop for eight years--so my cellulite used to be less of a problem, but still a problem. As time has gone by, muscle has melted away due to neglect because of college--eating bad food, not enough sleep, not enough exercise and some alcohol. I honestly don't drink much at all, a couple of a drinks a week maybe, but a little bit can do more than we realize. I'm also pretty pasty white, not because I can't tan but because I opt not to. However, in that decision so I can look younger for longer and avoid skin cancer, lighter skin makes humps and bumps standout more so than not. I seesaw back and forth between eating really healthy for a while and not really at all. Right now I'm in my eating healthy stage (which is a strain on my paycheck) and I want to stay in this area. Health is important to me. I hate to exercise, to be quite honest, but I do walk and bicycle to class almost everyday. I try to take a 30 minute brisk walk every night and sometimes I do some little exercises on a yoga mat. I play soccer once a week. I massage my legs with lotion and drink as much water as I can. It's not going to go away over night, but I'm doing my best right now.

In all of this effort, however, I wonder how other people really feel about cellulite? Not on themselves, per se, but on others. Let's face it, we want people to like our bodies. Celebrities get picked apart if the they have cellulite (think Mischa Barton, Britney Spears, Reese Witherspoon, Evangeline Lilly etc.), and since they are supposed to be perfect it's just unacceptable that they struggle with the same body issues as us lowly non-celebs. In an airbrushed society, what we "should" look like is unattainable, since we don't have an airbrush to brush away the imperfections. Especially during swimsuit season (I've yet to get the courage to throw on a bathing suit this summer . . .).

My question in all of this (I have a point, I always do after my spiels ) is:

Paparazzi and tabloids aside, how does society REALLY feel about cellulite? Are we self-conscious to a ridiculous extreme, or is cellulite really THAT unsightly? How do men really feel about cellulite if they see an overall attractive woman at the pool or beach, but her thighs aren't smooth? Can that really make or break the attraction?

I will admit that I have a warped sense of self, due to being in ballet, but also because I was one of THOSE pageant girls. I had to look a certain way. Now that I don't have to, it's liberating but I'm still in this mindset of needing to look the part. This is something I have to work on personally. However, I do want your opinions just, well, because.

Thanks.

[Raiden]

I think that I really, really don't care about cellulite, if the girl is in shape and I otherwise find her attractive.

[BeStrongBeHappy]

First of all, don't waste your money on all those creams. It's a myth that cellulite is some kind of special tissue you can melt away or massage away. It is just fat under the skin in connective tissue, like the dimples on a mattress. The only way to get rid of cellulite is to reduce your body fat, and even then it may be hard (or unhealthy) to lower the body fat percentage enough to be rid totally of it.

So to reduce the cellulite, you have to get down into the lower weight ranges for your height.

It also seems ridiculous to waste time worrying about a 'problem' that 90% of the population have. It is the NORM, not an aberration. Our society is obsessed with being stick thin now, which of course means there won't be much cellulite in models because there is no body fat.

Please don't waste your time obsessing about cellulite. That is like spending time hating your ears because you don't like ears and wish your ears would go away. It's one of life's realities, and the answer is to learn to love yourself and recognize we all aren't (and shouldn't be stick thin).

And if you really hate it that much, you will unfortunately probably have to get down to the lower end of your weight range, like 129 lbs. instead of 143. But that may not be healthy for you, and certainly would involve a lot of constant caloric restriction. Better to recognize that cellulite is normal, and turn your thoughts to more important things.

[knightingale]

Nah. I like having some curves, that's why I'm happy with my weight. I even like having a little padding, I think it's more womanly. I would never want to be stick thin. 129 would make me underweight. The lowest I should weigh is 135, to be considered healthy anyway. And the fact is, even stick thin women have cellulite. It's not so much to do with how much fat you have but how it is stored. I know that right now I am just proving my point that it's an unavoidable battle, but I know I'm not the only one this board that struggles with being okay with that at times. That's part of the reason I made the post--to offer an outlet for others who are self-conscious about it and also allow them to see what people really think about it, instead of thinking that magazines speak on behalf of everyone.

I KNOW we shouldn't have to look a certain way, but it's easier than done with the images we're surrounded by on a daily basis. I know it's something I have work on.

Thank you both for your posts. It's answering my question that it's not as big of a deal as some make it appear to be.

[shes2smart]

It'd be my guess that the only people who make a Big Deal about cellulite are people who have something to gain ($$$) by making others think it's a Big Deal.

BTW, like many things we tend to find "wrong" with our bodies, there's a genetic component to this, too. You can't alter the genetic hand you were dealt. Oh, sure you can do things like dye your hair, but it's still going to be the same color your genes intended. You can do things like diet/exercise, but if you come from a gene pool where the women tended to have "child-bearing hips", you're gonna still have a little extra in that area.

I don't think it's a coincidence that any person or company or ad that tries to make you feel something is wrong with you happens to be selling something. No matter if it's a pill, cream, magazine, book, food, beverage, appliance, workout equipment, clothing, cosmetics....

I spent many years working in an advertising-related industry. Wrote ad copy for a while. I'm very cynical when it comes to things being sold to me. If we all accepted certain things about ourselves, a lot of companies would find themselves making a lot less money. And we can't have that, can we?

Point is, next time you get the message that cellulite is a Big Deal/Problem, take a critical look at the source that's telling you that. Wouldn't surprise me one bit to find that the "helpful" source has something to gain by you -- literally and figuratively -- buying into that message

[BeStrongBeHappy]

Well, the reason i'm not giving you any 'sympathy' on this subject is that feeling sorry for you because this upsets you would indicate i think it is too bad you have cellulite and there is something to feel sorry about.

Yes, our culture makes anyone who is not stick thin feel bad, but the solution to that is not playing their game, and deciding you don't want to be part of that silly club that values self worth by thinness.

So i say 'Bah!' to cellulite. So what. It doesn't stop you from doing anything you want to do in life, it doesn't cost you money, it doesn't make you sick. In other word, i think the solution is recognizing that you should say to yourself, 'enough of that, i've got more important things to do than ever think about cellulite ever again.'

[Pocket Rocket]

I honestly think that people should take the time they spend on reading magazines, looking at ads and obsessing about reaching a certain 'standard', and spend it on gaining some solid self esteem. With that in hand, most of us would really see that cellulite is no big deal. I fall into the trap too, but when I'm in my "I am not interested in anyone at the moment" phases, I don't give two bits about what someone else thinks of me. I honestly don't see what the big deal is with celebrities and beautiful people. I'm saving my regard for people who actually did and still do things that are worth celebrating, and I don't care how they come packaged. As long as you're healthy and happy, that's all that matters.

[itsallgrand]

Basically, yes, we should take it more lightly because like the people here are saying It's not a big deal!.

It's only a big deal if you, or someone else, makes it that way - because they have something to gain by pushing that, or because they have bought into it.

I found it super interesting how many media and ad type references you made.

As far as dancing goes, well yeah, sometimes that can warp a person's vision of their body especially when you've been as heavily involved in it as you and at such an early age - when your body was maturing, changing, and you were at a time when what others said about your body readily had access to your insides bc you were developing your own sense of body image.

When I was young, and so pysched to be a dancer - one single instructor was able to tear me down and have me weird with one single comment about my toes. Yes, it's true. "Those aren't dancers toes. You can't get far with those."
What. ?
Well then. I didn't stop dancing, but I did stop taking lessons in that form - because I was convinced I couldn't do it with my body.

Truth is, I can do it - even if some things limit me from doing it professionally. The emphasis on being THE BEST, it can blur what is really important - in any sport really, where it is competitive.
My point is : Dance instructors can be some of the toughest coaches on earth and I hear what you are saying if only by a degree as far as the pressures you may have had if you were very good and involved as a youngster.

But to dance - you know you can do that fabulously with or without cellulite! lol. It doesn't matter.

And it doesn't matter when it comes to attraction - not when it comes to sexual attraction! not when it comes to attraction to you as a person!

The idea that we all have to be totally taunt and young and not have a wrinkle and not have a bit of cellulite is another piece of garbage that simply isn't true overall - with most people - when it comes to attraction.

I've said it before here, yet see it again and again - I really truly believe that more women put unrealistic standards on their own bodies than men do on them as far as attraction goes. Guys like a lot! Guys aren't all that hard to please! Guys like curves, and women's natural bodies, in all different sizes and shapes - naturally and they don't have to work at it.

It's the rarities, the 'weird ones' that have this image burned in their brain that a woman must look like X Y Z so that they can get an erection. It's simple biology, and the simplicity is that men like women. lol.

P.S. When exactly did white skin become unfashionable? lol. I think pale skin can be beautiful - I don't like all these tans, not even in bodybuilding (even though it does do certainly things to trick the eyes).

Show me those real, white legs. I like them.

[knightingale]

Originally Posted by itsallgrand

Basically, yes, we should take it more lightly because like the people here are saying It's not a big deal!.

It's only a big deal if you, or someone else, makes it that way - because they have something to gain by pushing that, or because they have bought into it.

I found it super interesting how many media and ad type references you made.

As far as dancing goes, well yeah, sometimes that can warp a person's vision of their body especially when you've been as heavily involved in it as you and at such an early age - when your body was maturing, changing, and you were at a time when what others said about your body readily had access to your insides bc you were developing your own sense of body image.

When I was young, and so pysched to be a dancer - one single instructor was able to tear me down and have me weird with one single comment about my toes. Yes, it's true. "Those aren't dancers toes. You can't get far with those."
What. ?
Well then. I didn't stop dancing, but I did stop taking lessons in that form - because I was convinced I couldn't do it with my body.

Truth is, I can do it - even if some things limit me from doing it professionally. The emphasis on being THE BEST, it can blur what is really important - in any sport really, where it is competitive.
My point is : Dance instructors can be some of the toughest coaches on earth and I hear what you are saying if only by a degree as far as the pressures you may have had if you were very good and involved as a youngster.

But to dance - you know you can do that fabulously with or without cellulite! lol. It doesn't matter.

And it doesn't matter when it comes to attraction - not when it comes to sexual attraction! not when it comes to attraction to you as a person!

The idea that we all have to be totally taunt and young and not have a wrinkle and not have a bit of cellulite is another piece of garbage that simply isn't true overall - with most people - when it comes to attraction.

I've said it before here, yet see it again and again - I really truly believe that more women put unrealistic standards on their own bodies than men do on them as far as attraction goes. Guys like a lot! Guys aren't all that hard to please! Guys like curves, and women's natural bodies, in all different sizes and shapes - naturally and they don't have to work at it.

It's the rarities, the 'weird ones' that have this image burned in their brain that a woman must look like X Y Z so that they can get an erection. It's simple biology, and the simplicity is that men like women. lol.

P.S. When exactly did white skin become unfashionable? lol. I think pale skin can be beautiful - I don't like all these tans, not even in bodybuilding (even though it does do certainly things to trick the eyes).

Show me those real, white legs. I like them.

Thank you for this post. It really opened my eyes.

I only brought up the media because it's the main reason why people are so body conscious. I know that it's unrealistic and you can't actually look like that, but it does nag at the mind. Especially when these poor celebrities are picked apart right in front of our eyes for having a couple of dimples. It's just really sad.

Oddly enough, my dance teacher was really laid back. Not at all ridiculing of my body. I think it was more because of some of the other girls in my class who did have the ideal body to be dancers. And I never wanted to do it for a living, I just did it because I loved it. My ankles were too weak to stay with it for too long. I think the reason I dwell on it is because I was in such great shape then and now I'm not.

I have a boyfriend. A wonderful boyfriend who loves me and my body. Thing is, even though intimately he has seen my body, he's never seen me in a bathing suit in the sunlight where it highlights every imperfection. Strangely, the reason I'm so self-conscious to wear one in front of him is because he tells me my body is perfect and it's almost like he made me, haha. He's also a kinesiology major, so body fitness is a big deal to him, but he's never ever said anything degrading about my body. I mean he'll ogle famous athletes and a celebrity from time to time, but that's about it. He's never compared me. I guess I just don't want to change any perception he has of me. I put this pressure on myself. You said it: women put more thought into it than men do. But I guess something like cellulite shouldn't change the way he sees me, and deep down I know it won't. But genetics are working against me and it's just embarrassing at 23 years old to be having such a problem with it.

I'm all about pale skin! I think it's beautiful. But like you said, tan skin plays tricks on the eyes and makes you look smoother and leaner than you are. And since I'm anti-tanning, I can't depend on the tricks.

Anyway, those are reasons behind it all. In a nutshell.

Thanks again for the post. It calmed my mind a bit.

[Pocket Rocket]

Originally Posted by knightingale

I only brought up the media because it's the main reason why people are so body conscious. I know that it's unrealistic and you can't actually look like that, but it does nag at the mind. Especially when these poor celebrities are picked apart right in front of our eyes for having a couple of dimples. It's just really sad.

This makes me really sad sometimes. I have friends who buy these stupid (for lack of a better word) magazines and spend ages ripping celebrities apart, absolutely relishing in their 'disgrace' - all because they were caught with a zit on their face, or a couple of extra pounds, a dimple here and there, or the 'wrong' clothes. All because they fell and inch short of perfect. I know these girls were just feeling insecure and react to it by going for the kill, but one time I spoke up and the reply was "Well, they deserve it". I was stunned, how does anyone deserve to be humiliated like that? I personally don't believe celebrities deserve the paycheck they get, but honestly, no one deserves to be ripped to shreds like that.

What you say is right though, I can see young girls seeing their friends make fun of people who are picked apart in magazines and think "wow, what would they think if they saw my imperfections?" Sad, but I think the bubble will burst eventually and I hope the next idea of beauty is a little healthier than the one going around now.