Cellulite: a horrible monster plaguing my and many other women’s bodies. Okay, so maybe it’s not that bad, but the sight of it in the mirror sure does make me wince.
Mistakenly thought to only occur on overweight individuals, cellulite can and does affect people (mostly women) of all sizes, as well as ages and races. There is no known effective treatment of it, although many products claim to reduce the appearance by astonishing amounts. Daily exercise and a healthy diet have been, however, proven to help eliminate some of the appearance of cellulite, and can definitely help to prevent more from forming in the future.
Me, being the “busy” (meaning lazy) person that I am, opted to try a product on the market before getting myself into yet another failing exercise schedule. After researching online, I chose to test out the cheapest (hey, I’m a college student) yet very highly recommended cellulite reducing product: Nivea’s “Good- Bye Cellulite” gel cream. I figured if it was featured on the Tyra Banks show, it was good enough for me.
The instructions said to apply the gel to “problem areas” (usually the thighs, buttocks and stomachs of women) once to twice daily, being sure to massage the product in completely. It claimed that, if used correctly and continuously, firmer skin would be noticeable in two weeks, and that a major reduction in the appearance of cellulite would be reduced in four.
I crossed my fingers and for four weeks applied this product twice a day to my thigh area. I tried to be patient, but I couldn’t help checking myself out in the mirror everyday, analyzing every crevice and bump hoping for a reduction.
At the end of four weeks I, with still an ounce of hope, took one last look the mirror. Nothing had changed. The cellulite had won, and I was out ten bucks that could have been better spent much more productively (on alcohol…or other college things).
After moping around over my defeat, I came to realize that this entire experience has, yet again, proven true something that we all know but hate to commit to: the best thing for your body is a healthy diet and a regular physical activity. These two things will always outshine the effects of commercial products (much to my dismay).
Cellulite is natural. I have it, it’s there, and it probably won’t completely go away. I think its time for us all to accept that. We’re all still beautiful.
Treadmill, here I come. Sigh.
