Do Weight Loss & Cellulite Treatments Work?

Losing weight is probably one of the most effective, if not the only proven cure for cellulite. But weight loss can be a bit of a holy grail in itself, so what can you do if you feel that your pins need a spot of perfecting before you let them out in public?

Losing pounds and toning up your bottom, leg and thigh muscles can work wonders on the cellulite, and shift considerable amounts of it. The problem is that it won't go away altogether, even if you have every weight loss accolade that your slimming class can give!

New products are released every year that claim to cure cellulite. But there is pretty much no scientific evidence backing up any of these promises. If you find something that seems to work, it may well be tightening your skin superficially so that it appears smoother, but this state of affairs is unlikely to be a long term pleasure.

The most common ways to treat cellulite are:

Cellulite Creams

A crop of new anti-cellulite creams appears every spring on the high street - usually including ingredients you've never heard of, or things that you think might just work, like herbal extracts and antioxidants. They sell themselves as a long-awaited cure, but so far there have been no studies that have proved beyond doubt that cellulite creams really offer any improvement.

Liposuction

Liposuction isn't a cellulite cure as such, but does remove fat cells from under the skin, so can help with cellulite in a roundabout way. It does help with weight loss, but not if you have a great deal of weight to lose. There is a limit to the amount of fat that a surgeon can suck out at one time, and if he exceeds this limit, you could go into shock. Sadly, the maximum amount is around six to eight pounds, making it unlikely that anyone needing more than spot reduction would notice a great deal of difference.

After liposuction, the results should be permanent, unless you gain a lot of weight back. Fat cells don't grow back! In some cases, liposuction can actually make cellulite look worse.

Massage

Some cellulite treatments work on the basis that a forceful massage on the affected area will somehow increase blood flow, remove any built up toxins and reduce fluid retention. There are methods which use manual devices to knead skin between rollers. The treatment is likely to be uncomfortable, although not usually painful, but although there might be an improvement after the treatment, any positive results tend to be temporary.

Is There a Magic Weight Loss Bullet?

Simply put - No. There are several treatments that claim to help you shift unwanted pounds and inches, but when it comes down to it, the only permanent way is the boring way - through eating less and doing more exercise. Some methods, such as liposuction, are suitable for spot reducing stubborn areas of fat, but we're talking about people who just need a bit of help squeezing into size ten jeans, not anyone clinically obese. Surgical solutions are available for the very obese - gastric banding for example is known to be effective - but are an option best discussed at length with an expert.

What Could I Try?

• Weight Loss Drugs -Unless prescribed by a doctor, give weight loss supplements and drugs a miss. To put it bluntly, anything that you can legally buy over the counter is unlikely to have any ingredients in it that actually work - and anything that you buy illegally is likely to have dangerous side effects. Even some 'natural' weight loss pills can be dangerous - Ma Huang or Ephedra is illegal (but still available) in the UK and despite being a herbal remedy has been implicated in more than one death.
• Patches, Creams and Lotions -If it looks too good to be true, the chances are that it is. If rubbing a delicately scented cream onto your legs or sticking a patch on the bottoms of your feet was all it took to reduce their size, we'd all have skinny legs.
• Slimming Wraps - There are two kinds of body wrap: The first type of body wrap, squeezes the inches off through water loss. They are handy for weddings or special occasions, but the result is very temporary. The other type of body wrap is marketed as a weight loss wrap. They are designed to help longer term weight loss through stimulating lymphatic drainage to break down toxins and fatty acids which are then eliminated naturally. They are marketed as a permanent weight loss method but the caveat is, "in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise program."

So, it's probably much as you expected. There are no miracles, if you want to get rid of your excess weight or cellulite; it's all down to lifestyle...