The hard truth: Most women will develop cellulite, the dimpling of the skin that's usually found on the thighs and buttocks. But why does cellulite occur, and how can we diminish it?
The basic facts
The skin is connected to underlying muscle by vertical bands of fibrous tissue. Cellulite appears when fat cells bulge up against the top layers of skin while the fibrous bands pull down, much like buttons on a mattress; this creates the "cottage cheese" look. Our bodies' lymph system also plays a role; normally it drains fluid from tissues to rid the body of waste, but the trapped fat cells and fibrous tissue can block drainage. This trapped fluid can make the fat swell, adding to the dimpling effect.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Why you may develop cellulite:

Genetics If your mom has it, chances are you will too.
Aging Muscle mass weakens and the fibrous tissue loses strength as we get older.
Fat The amount you have between the skin and the muscle determines cellulite's severity.
Hormones Estrogen aids the storage of fat in the hips, thighs and buttocks in preparation for childbearing. It also makes fat cells sticky, so they bunch together, contributing to the dimpled effect.

SIMPLE SOLUTIONS
To lessen the look of cellulite, Beauty Rx:
1. Eat a good diet. Staying at a healthy weight reduces the chances of cellulite forming.
2. Exercise. Reduce fat with cardio workouts and increase your strength with weight training to help firm up muscles, which will give skin a tighter and smoother appearance.
3. Cellu-Smooth® with Coleus [Weight Loss, Circulatory] provides nutrients that combine to support circulation, mobilize fat and lymph stores for better distribution and protect against free radical damage to structural skin proteins. Coleus forskohlii root extract causes a shift from a more fatty body mass to a more lean body mass, which improves overall health. The effect can be measured by decreases in the waist–hip ratio and the body mass index.
Cellu-Smooth also contains bladderwrack, which nourishes the thyroid gland with important minerals, thereby supporting metabolism; milk thistle, which acts as an antioxidant, detoxifying the liver and aiding elimination; ginkgo leaves, known free radical scavengers; rhodiola root extract, which may improve strength and stamina; and rhododendron root, a powerful antioxidant that promotes microcirculation.
Take 1 capsule with a meal two or three times daily. Drink at least eight glasses of water a day. Not recommended for pregnant or nursing women or children under age 6.

4. Try deep-tissue massage; disperses the lumps of fat into a smoother layer.

Exercise Too Much and WHAT Happens?

You will get weaker instead of stronger. Do you know the most important part of exercising and strength training? It's not self-discipline. It's not endurance. It's not showering afterwards. It's resting. As any serious athlete knows, exercise makes you stronger. But if you don't spend enough time between workouts resting those muscles, exercise will actually make you weaker.

Exercise stresses the body. (It's supposed to do that.) During strength training, individual muscle fibers are actually torn down. But during rest, the body recovers. It repairs those muscle fibers, and it becomes stronger and better able to handle the next workout. But if you exercise improperly or too much and don't rest between workouts, all the exercising will actually make you weaker. This even has a name: Overtraining syndrome. The Dayton Daily News reports that overtraining is an easy mistake to make, especially for avid exercisers who reach a performance plateau--and want to go further.

"Once the association is made between overtraining and the value of taking time off, it's a matter of respecting and listening to your body. It will always let you know when it needs a break," says the Daily News. Rest is required to make a full recovery. If you don't rest, your body can't give you its all the next time you put it through the paces. Symptoms of overtraining include weakness, chronic soreness, fatigue, moodiness, irritability, depression, loss of appetite, and difficulty sleeping. The only treatment for overtraining is rest so your body can repair the damaged muscles and build them up again.