But there is positive news, at 38, this is the best I’ve looked and felt in years.

My stats are the following, and I’ll do a from – to, based on the first time I took my measurements:

• Weight: from 128lbs** to 121lbs
• Waist: from 27″ to 26″”
• Hips: from 38″ to 36.5″
• Rt. Thigh: from 22″ to 21″
• Lt. Thigh: from 21.5″ to 20.75″

My starting weight was 135lbs, but I didn’t start recording my measurements until I lost a few. So, I’ve probably lost more inches than what I have recorded.

Thanks for reading!

After a week of overeating, over-drinking and not sleeping enough, I feel bloated and tired. I feel that I need a detox. My husband’s birthday was on Tuesday, 4/21, but we kicked off the celebration the weekend before with an overnight in NYC where we ate and drank ourselves through the city. On Tuesday, we had another little party where some friends came over and I ate and drank too much all over again.

I didn’t want to weigh and measure myself this morning, but I forced myself to do it. I’m pleasantly surprised, but I really don’t know how it happened. My stats are the following:

• Weight: 128lbs
• Waist: 27.5″
• Hips: 37.5″
• Rt.Thigh: 21.5″
• Lft. Thigh: 21.25″

The last stats that I posted on 4/11 were the following:

• Weight: 130lbs
• Waist: 28″
• Hip: 37.5″
• Right Thigh: 21.25″
• Left Thigh: 21.75″

Here’s the link to that post:

http://mycellulitewar.com/2009/04/11/cellulite_reduction_diet/weight-loss-and-cellulite-treatment-week-in-review-411/

Here’s the difference between the stats:

• Weight: -2lbs
• Waist: -.5″
• Hip: Unchanged
• Rt. Thigh: +.25″
• Lft. Thigh: -.25″

I don’t know what this all means. I have been exercising most of the week, so maybe that’s what saved me from disaterous stats this morning.

On a completely separate topic, I found a new blog that I’m going to add to my blogroll. Here’s the link:

http://www.selfgrowth.com/

I did a search on ‘cellulite’ and found this this post, which lists some cellulite treatments that I haven’t come across yet – Acoustic Wave Therapy, Radiofrequency and Thalassotherapy – none of which sound like I could do at home. In any case, it’s an informative post:

http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Learn_How_to_Get_Rid_of_Unwanted_Cellulite.html

I hope you enjoy this site. Looks like it has a lot of good stuff on it.

Until next time…

Thanks for reading!

In my recent readings, I’ve come across the importance of a well-functioning lymphatic system for cellulite reduction. At a high level, I know that it is a circulating cellular waste removal system, but other than that I don’t really know what the lymphatic system is or what it does, so I decided to do some research.

In Mme. Ronsards book, Beyond Cellulite: Nicole Ronsard’s Ultimate Strategy to Slim, Firm and Reshape Your Lower Body she stresses the importance of well-circulated clean lymph for cellulite reduction. The lymph is responsible for removing excess fluid from cellular tissue and the removal of as much excess fluid as possible promotes cellulite reduciton. She states that since the lymphatic system doesn’t have a pump, the lymph fluid circulates through movement, massage and deep breathing.

Bearing out her research are some articles that I found on the internet. Below are some excerpts from the first link, which I find corroborates Mme. Ronsard’s writings.

• [The lymphatic system provides] maintenance of fluid balance in the internal environment.
• Lymph–clear, watery fluid found in the lymphatic vessels.
• Interstitial fluid–fluid that fills the spaces around cells.
• Lymphatic vessels act as “drains” to collect excess fluid
• Although there is no muscular pumping organ connected with the lymphatic vessels to force lymph onward as the heart forces blood, still lymph moves slowly and steadily along its vessels.
• The movement is due to breathing movements and skeletal muscle contractions.
• The total volume of lymph that enters the central veins during a given time period depends on both the depth of inspiration and the overall breathing rate.
• Contracting skeletal muscles also exert pressure on the lymphatics to push the lymph forward.
• During exercise, lymph flow may increase as much as 10-15x.
• Another pressure generating factor is passive compression (massage) of the body soft tissues.

Links:

http://www.cayuga-cc.edu/people/web_pages/greer/biol204/lymphatic1/lymphatic1.html

http://www.lymphomation.org/lymphatic.htm

Another book that I found which focuses exclusively on the health of the lymphatic system for promoting weight loss and cellulite reduction is The Fat Flush Fitness Plan. As I do a search on ‘fat flush’ on Amazon.com, I see that there are many books written on the ‘Fat Flush’ system which I assume all have to do with promoting a healthy lymphatic system.

I should say that in other articles I’ve read, there are just as many experts who think that cellulite is just fat and is not the result of a sluggish lymphatic system and that stating such is just a way for quacks to make money.

From my perspective, doing the things that promote a healthy lymphatic system, seem to be things that are good for you anyway, so it doesn’t really matter if the ‘quacks’ are right or wrong, I’ll be in better health anyway if I take their advice to clean my lymph. So, here are the things that one must do to promote a well-circulating clean lymphatic system:

• Deep breathing. Meditation is a good way to accomplish this.
• Exercise to get the lymph moving.
• Dry brushing and massage to circulate the lymph.
• Eating sea vegetables to detoxify the lymph and the liver.

In any case, these will be added to my list of things to do. My list is growing rather long and I’ll need to figure out a way to fit it all in without creating massive upheaval.

Until next time…

Thanks for reading!

I’m posting off-cycle, but I’m so excited that I had to report this. I was just looking at my leg while sitting down and just happened to notice that a little spider vein on my right thigh has disappeared! Gone!

I started inspecting a little more closely, went into different rooms under different lighting, next to the window, etc. and I can’t find it anywhere!

It wasn’t big, but it was beginning to bother me and now it’s completely gone.

I can’t believe it. I must be doing something right.

I just looked at my left thigh and a little spider vein that is on my left thigh is still there, so I still need to see if I can get rid of that one, but the spider vein on my right thigh, which was the more noticeable one, is gone, vanished, ca-put – hooray!

Amazing!

Thanks for reading!

I did great this week with the eating (almost). I followed Mme. Ronsard’s advice in her book, Beyond Cellulite: Nicole Ronsard’s Ultimate Strategy to Slim, Firm and Reshape Your Lower Body, and I cut out most added salt from my diet and didn’t really eat any  packaged foods. I stayed within my Weight Watchers points and exercised 5 days this week. What’s even more miraculous is that I didn’t have any candy between my 2pm – 5pm witching hours during the workweek. The awareness created through journaling is working.

I say almost because last night, I dropped the ball. I ended up having three beers and handfuls and handfuls of goldfish. It would be easy to say I don’t know what happened, but I think I need to take this opportunity to figure out how to prevent that from happening again.

1. Because I was out and about, I didn’t eat all day except for breakfast. So, I must have been famished, except I was so busy I didn’t notice.
2. I’ve been under a lot of stress at work and at home, so this was a coping mechanism.

Now that I have that identified, that I guess I need to identify what to do differently.

1. I didn’t journal. This probably would have helped me to become more aware of what I was doing. I’ve been journaling at work to break the candy/sugar habit, but I haven’t been journaling at home.
2. I could have had some herbal tea to try to relax. I usually have some type of camomille tea in the house.

I found a good link on preventing overeating on About.com: http://weightloss.about.com/c/ht/03/02/How_Prevent_Overeating1044888248.htm

http://weightloss.about.com/od/easyweightlosstips/a/bltips5.htm

In any case, these are my stats as of yesterday, 127lbs and measures are all unchanged from last week. They are:

Thanks for reading and I would love to hear your feedback!

The first article that I found states that 90% of women have cellulite. Wow, that’s a big number. Also, that cellulite is not a result of  “toxic buildup” which is just a marketing ploy and that creams don’t work. The bottom line is that “cellulite is the product of anatomy, genes and hormones.” Later on in the article it says that some creams may work given that they have the right ingredients, but that nothing is conclusive. Also, there are office procedures that can be done, but I’m not willing to spend thousands of dollars if I can get the results on my own with sweat equity. Link to article: http://www.prevention.com/cda/article/the-cellulite-cure/3bfbd08f88803110VgnVCM20000012281eac____/health/healthy.living.centers/anti.aging/0/0/1

The second link I went to showed a video. The bottom line in this video is that diet and exercise are the only permanent ways to reduce cellulite and that one should take preventative measures to maintain the skin’s elasticity, like wearing sunscreen and not crash dieting. Creams may have a temporary effect. http://www.prevention.com/cda/categorypage.do?channel=news.voices&category=videos&videoID=0b4340b3ebc83110VgnVCM10000013281eac____

So, I guess what it boils down to, is that the woman I saw at the swimming pool has more elastic skin than I do because, I’m assuming, of her hormonal balance.

I guess what it boils down to is that I need to control what I can, which is diet and exercise. With that, I’m going down to the basement for my workout.

I found out last night that I’m not pregnant. After a 2nd trimester miscarriage in November 2007 and a little over a year of trying, my thinking is that if I can’t get pregnant, I might as well look good.

Down to the basement I go with camera in hand. Scale out, 135lbs at 5’2″. Calulating my BMI, I’m at 24.7 so I’m within the normal range (although at the high end).

Click, click, click. The camera tells a different story. Is this me? Did I really go out in a bathing suit this past summer with my butt and legs looking like this? Yes, it’s true. And I’ll do it again next summer too, if I don’t act quickly, because I won’t deny my little darling 4-year-old. She loves going to our neighborhood lake.

So it begins.

Below are some pictures that I took in Nov 2008:

cellulite on butt & rt thigh. Whoa, look at that belly.

cellulite on rt thigh. Goodbye!

cellulite on left thigh. Goodbye, goodbye!