Banish Cellulite in 20 Minutes

May 16, 2008 -- Cottage cheese thighs. Seems that no matter how much you diet or how much money you spend on products and potions those ugly, orange-peel bumps are still there, stuck to your bottom half and impossible to conquer.

Well, get ready to win! We're going to show you how to shed cellulite without expensive wraps, creams or supplements.

The best part: It takes only 20 minutes, three days a week. "With the right exercise plan, you can reduce cellulite and make your lower body look smoother and firmer," says Prevention magazine adviser Wayne L. Westcott, who recently developed the Cellulite Solution Exercise Plan.

"When we put 16 women ages 26 to 66 on our program for eight weeks, all of them reported less cellulite in their lower body. And 70 percent of them reported a lot less."

It wasn't just wishful thinking. On average, the women lost just over 3 pounds of fat, added 2½ pounds of muscle and shed almost 1½ inches from their hips. What's more, ultrasound tests confirmed it.

Overall, the women shrank the lumpy fat layer on their thighs by 1.3 millimeters and increased smooth muscle tissue in the same area by 1.8 mm. It doesn't sound like much, but it definitely made their legs look smoother and firmer.

The best part of this program is that it puts to rest the mistaken notion that cellulite is some mysterious condition. Despite what you've heard about trapped toxins or poor circulation being to blame, cellulite is one thing -- fat.

It just looks different because of how it's arranged. Everyone has strands of connective tissue that separate fat cells into compartments and connect fat tissue to skin. In women, these fibers form a honeycomblike pattern, so any increase of fat in a given area tends to bulge. You don't see cellulite in men because their fibers run in a horizontal, criss-cross pattern that prevents bulging or dimpling.

So why does cellulite seem to appear out of nowhere and get worse as we get older?

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Follow this three-step, 20-minute program, three days a week, and watch those ripples disappear.

Step 1: Cardio -- Warm up with two minutes of moderate walking, cycling or stairclimbing. (You can use indoor stationary machines.) Increase intensity for eight minutes. Work vigorously enough to be breathing hard but still able to talk in short sentences. Lower the intensity, and cool down for two minutes.

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