10 Foods to Avoid If You Wish to Reduce Cellulite
Cellulite is a tricky skin concern, as to a
great extent, whether or not you’ll have it boils down to your
genetics. But even if you haven’t been blessed with cellulite-free genes
and you feel like the orange peel skin is an eyesore you’d like to
lessen as much as possible, there are several methods that can reduce
cellulite with varying levels of success.
There are cellulite creams packed with
exfoliating ingredients and caffeine that can help you smooth out the
skin surface, special massages, and exercises that address the issue, as
well as a number of natural remedies. Whatever route you choose to take
in your attempt to minimize the appearance of cellulite, combining it
with a healthy diet is a must, as the foods you eat have an impact on
all your body, including those pesky cellulite dimples.
Certain foods are known to amplify the appearance of cellulite and may
prevent you from getting good results, no matter what you do. We list 10
such foods below, for you to know what to avoid. Keep in mind that
we’re not saying that you must stop eating all of these foods
altogether, the occasional treat won’t cause any dire results, but it’s
important not to overindulge.
1. Cheese and Processed Meats
Just one serving of processed meat can
contain about a third of the daily recommended amount of salt, and many
cheese varieties, such as feta or parmesan can likewise have a lot of
salt. But why is this important? The problem is that eating too much
salt urges the body to hold on to fluids in fat cells, which can make
cellulite appear much worse than it really is.
As a result of water retention, the skin may have that characteristic
puckered and swollen look. Therefore, watching your sodium intake and
making sure it doesn't exceed the recommended value of 1,500 milligrams a
day as mandated by the American Heart Association will also help your
thighs.
What to eat instead: You don't have to reject high-sodium sandwich
meats, bacon, and cheese altogether if cellulite is your only concern -
choosing low-sodium varieties is usually enough. This means opting for
cheeses like ricotta, fresh mozzarella, and Swiss cheese instead of more
high-sodium varieties like parmesan, cheddar, and feta.
As for processed meats, you'll need to look at specific brands of ham,
bacon, sausage, and hot dogs, and search for "low-sodium" labels to
purchase the right kind. It will also be beneficial to accompany a
breakfast sandwich or any other salty food with plenty of hydrating
foods, such as veggies and fruit, as well as plenty of water to flush
all that salt out of your system. The extra hydration will plump up the
skin, which will make it appear tauter and smoother.
2. Barbecue Sauce and Other Condiments
The devil is in the details - this saying
can be easily applied in the kitchen, too, as sometimes, the things that
add flavor to your food, such as barbecue sauce, soy sauce, and even
ketchup are the real culprit behind those pesky skin dimples. Now only
are condiments super high in sodium, they're often packed with sugar as
well.
For example, just 2 tablespoons of barbecue sauce can contain as much as
15 grams of sugar, which is more than half of one's daily sugar
allowance. Most of the time, it's not the natural sugars either. Sugar
is a dangerous additive because it causes blood sugar to spike, which
kickstarts fat storage. This, in turn, makes the fat cells expand even
further and makes cellulite worse. Most condiments contain something
called "high fructose corn syrup", a type of sweetener that increases
one's appetite.
What to eat instead: Be wary of the amount
of ketchup, dressing, and sauce you add to your homemade meals, and try
to avoid restaurant foods that come with a heavy dose of condiments. You
can also replace condiments in some restaurant foods with better
alternatives. For example, if you order sushi, use low-sodium soy sauce
instead of the regular kind. Lastly, there are also low-sodium and
low-sugar condiments available in supermarkets today, so it's best to
opt for those.
3. Cottage Cheese 
Cottage cheese has a great reputation, and
many people who try to lose weight rely on it quite heavily, as it
contains very little fat and plenty of protein. However, if your goal is
to also get rid of cellulite along with losing weight, cottage cheese
isn't your friend. Although cottage cheese doesn't taste particularly
salty, just 1 cup of the stuff contains up to 800 milligrams of sodium,
which is more than half of your daily allowance. Seeing just how much
salt is included in our breakfast along, it becomes clear how most
Americans exceed their daily sodium intake and consume around 3.400 mg
of the mineral every day.
What to eat instead: If you're a fan of cottage cheese and not ready to
give it up, try to eat less of it and combine it with hydrating foods
and plenty of water. Naturally, it's also better to opt for the
low-sodium varieties of cottage cheese.
4. White Bread and Bagels
Refined grains are likewise harmful to our
overall health, as you probably already know, but what most people don't
realize is that it can also make your cellulite worse. This is because
these foods have a high glycemic index and often lead to sugar spikes
and food cravings. Apart from that, they also cause inflammation in the
body. All of these factors promote excessive weight gain and make
cellulite appear more severe.
Which foods are we talking about? Anything made of processed grains fits
the bill, so white rice, white bread, cakes, cookies, and even the
"healthy" rice cakes. Bagels deserve a separate mention here, as they
also contain a surprisingly high amount of salt - up to 600 milligrams
in just one bagel. It's safe to say at this point that a bagel sandwich
with some salami and cheddar should be off the table if you want to
reduce the appearance of cellulite.
What to eat instead: This one's easy - simply opt for whole grain
varieties of all the foods we've mentioned. This means switching out
white rice with brown and sticking to whole grain bread and desserts.
These foods will lower the inflammation in the body and they're more
filling, too!
5. Soda
This one's hardly surprising, but it may be
interesting for you to know that the sugary drinks you have do go
directly to your thighs in a way. And we don't just mean soda; fruit
juices, sweet tea, and even sweet coffee beverages are no much better in
terms of their sugar content, so you should really try to drink as
little of them as possible. Besides, sugary drinks aren't just bad
because they make you gain weight and increase inflammation.
It has also been found that sugary drinks reduce the amount of collagen
the body produces. Collagen is the substance that makes our skin bouncy,
strong, and taut, and it tends to become scarcer and scarcer with age
as is, so the last thing you want is to further hinder its production.
Apart from making your wrinkles more pronounced, a lack of collagen in
the skin can also accentuate the appearance of cellulite.
What to drink instead: Flavored seltzers, water flavored with fresh
fruit, mineral water, herbal teas, and unsweetened tea and coffee are
your best friends in fighting the cravings for sweet drinks. Teas and
coffee have an extra benefit: they are rich in antioxidants, which can
promote collagen production.
6. Addictive Snacks
Some snacks are definitely better than
others, and it's always the unhealthy ones that are the most addictive
ones for some reason. The problem with these snacks is that they are
often the cause of excess weight gain. We need to understand that
snacking is just as detrimental to our health and weight loss as the
main meals are, as these tiny bites of food are often filled with sugar,
processed grains, and fats even more than main meals are.
This is especially true with spicy and salty snacks like pretzels and
potato chips. You know, the ones we barely notice that we ate a whole
pack of while watching TV in the evening. Needless to say, it's best if
you give up these snacks altogether if you want the orange peel thighs
to improve and lose weight. But don't worry, we won't deprive you of a
whole food category without offering a replacement - click on the
highlighted title to read our article about 10 Easy Weight Loss Snacks
Everyone Will Enjoy.
7. Cereal
Breakfasts are really taking a heavy hit in
this article, and cereal, the ultimate breakfast food, is no exception.
But it's not only the rainbow-colored kids' cereals that you should be
wary of, even simple corn flakes often contain quite a lot of white
flour and even more sugar. But when it comes to cereal breakfasts, there
is another concern that dietitians point out could play a role in
making your cellulite worse - milk. Dairy milk and soy milk are full of
estrogen, a feminine hormone that may also contribute to cellulite
development.
What to eat instead: Opt for whole-grain cereals or low-sugar granola
instead of regular cereal and combine it with an estrogen-free milk
variety, such as almond or oat milk.
8. Sugar-free Candy
If it's low-sugar or even better,
sugar-free, it must be okay to eat, right? We're sorry to disappoint,
but it has been found that certain artificial sweeteners are capable of
increasing one's appetite and specifically sugar cravings. Therefore,
chewing sugar-free gum or eating sugar-free candy may not be much better
than the regular variety.
What to eat instead: If you're craving a sweet bite, we'd say opt for an
apple or any kind of fruit you enjoy instead. Like gum, the natural
acids present in fruits are good at cleaning the teeth, and the fiber in
them will help you fight food cravings instead of causing them.
9. Wine
Like soda and the like, wine isn't
technically a food, but we thought that it's still worth a mention
because like meals and snacks, the beverage you choose can either make
or break your desired goals. When it comes to wine, even the dry red
variety that's known for its antioxidant benefits can backfire.
While having 1 glass can be beneficial for the skin and circulatory
system because red wine is quite rich in antioxidants, overdoing it can
accomplish the opposite and make dimples become more noticeable and
affect the tightness of the skin. This is all due to the alcohol
content, which is extremely dehydrating and can destroy the collagen in
the skin. Unfortunately, we don't have any replacements for this one, so
try to limit your intake of red wine to just a few drinks a week if
giving up on the drink is out of the question.
10. Margarine and Pizza
This technically counts as two different
foods, but we decided to lump them together because the reason why
they're bad for the thighs is essentially the same, and that reason is
saturated and trans fats. The thing is that poor blood circulation is a
major cause of cellulite, and overindulging in foods that contain
excessive amounts of unhealthy fats can clog up your arteries and have a
whole host of negative effects, including cellulite.
Butter, margarine, cheese, and pizza are the biggest food sources of
these less healthy saturated fats, and margarine and baked good produced
using margarine, in particular, may also contain trans fats, which are
especially dangerous for the cardiovascular system and blood
circulation. While it would be impossible to ask anyone to exclude all
of these foods from their diet altogether, eating less of these foods is
definitely well-advised.