Newbie with questions

[Skinnychick]

Hello everyone!

I'm new to this forum, but I have spent the last 2 hours reading, and I think I'm hooked! A little about me: I'm not new to weightlifting--I've been lifting off and on for the past 7 years or so. I don't compete or anything, I just like the way I feel when I work out. I'm 29, 5'8", 122lbs, and a classic ectomorph (long limbs, short torso, long hands and feet, low body fat, the whole 9). I am generally happy with my body, but recently I have a new enemy--cellulite! I've never had any before, and I think that it arrived when I started taking the pill. It has planted itself firmly on my legs and refuses to leave. What can I do? I burn off fat pretty quickly, but this fat ain't going nowhere. When I'm being good about my workout I'm in the gym 4 times a week. My schedule:

Sunday--Chest/tris
Monday--Back/bis
Wednesday--Legs
Friday--Shoulders

I do 10 minutes of cario warm-up prior to lifting, and that's all the cardio I do. I think I'm doing the right thing by limiting my cario and lifting heavy because of my body shape. Am I correct? My diet is also pretty clean. It's not perfect, but I do try to stay away from the greasy fast food. I must admit that I have a weakness for sweets--this week it's pecan pie, although it is usually chocolate!

So is there anything I can do to eliminate the cellulite (besides going off the Pill, which is not an option)?

Thanks in advance!

Ooh, that is a toughie, and I don't have any experience with cellulite. Let me give you a brief description (from one website) and you will see what I mean by a toughie:

Cellulite is a description of the fat layer which causes a dimpled, cottage-cheese appearance of the overlying skin. It is not a disease, but a common condition appearing in over 90% of women after puberty, predominantly affecting areas of the hips, thighs, and buttocks. Cellulite is the body's emergency store of fat but it's not very pretty.

We see cellulite in men as well, but less often, and may occur in the areas of "love handles" and over the breast area, especially in obese men. The dimpled appearance of cellulite is caused by a honey-comb network of supportive fibers under the skin, where fat accumulates and causes bulging of these fat compartments. The bulging becomes so bad that normal, healthy blood supply to this cellulite area is reduced, creating a "fat trap" which is invisible to the needs of the body. When the body needs energy it looks for stores of fat and glycogen to burn, but these "FAT TRAP" areas of cellulite are unavailable due to poor circulation in the honey-comb fibers.
Cellulite is like a "pension fund" of fat.....you can put a lot into it....but you can't get it out unless you're in big trouble. Cellulite is survival fat. It is only available as an energy source in severe starvation. Cellulite was useful in primitive times of frequent famine, but today, cellulite is seldom needed and looks bad in shorts or swimwear, etc!

So anyway, it sounds like you have a good training plan. So the only other logical place to look would be your diet. Altho you may think you're eating healthy & clean, perhaps there is more to be learned there, you may not be as clean as you think especially if you usually lose fat easily, you probably did not have to be as strict with your diet. So how about posting a typical day for you diet wise, perhaps we can improve on it. The only way I know of to lose that cellulite would be heavy training and a good diet. Let's see what we can find out and go from there.

And welcome to Abc! Glad ya joined us! /forum/images/graemlins/smile.gif

[Himo_VZ]

Go and sit in one of those big rubber bands that shakes your bum and legs around, even if it doesn't help, it'd feel pretty cool IMHO.

[sicily1962]

Wow...Krypto..nothing like reading that [*%#*%*#] over breakfast!! lol! UGH! yuck!

anywho,
Skinnychik, what indication do you have that you are losing fat quickly? To lose weight and burn fat are two totally different things. One thing to remember, losing too quickly is a sure sign of losing muscle and that's one thing you surely don't want to do!

I'd have to say, i'm with Krypto on this one. Your diet is probably the culprit. One thing to remember, change is good. If we eat the same way, day in and day out and weight train the same way, day in and day out ~ to our bodies, it's like doing not much at all!!
You HAVE to give your body a reason to say "Hey, what's going on???" You have to make it work harder by keeping it guessing.
Like muscles have memory, so does the entire body and if you neglet variety in training and in diet you will hit a wall.
Believe me when i tell you, that it won't get easier as you get older, but you can make like better for now but learning to do things differently.
Change your diet: calories, nutrient levels
~ Be sure to get proper levels of protein (1-1.5gr per lb) and enough carbs to fuel your day.
Change your cardio: up your intensity and/or duration and / or switch the form of cardio you are doing.

Take a look at some of the training journal of the women like myself, Philia and Krypto...believe me, this is a lifestyle not a hobby for us. Perhaps it could help.

Good luck,
margie

[Krukker]

Wow Krypto I'm with Sicily...what a gross thing to read first thing in the morning /forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif Ha ha ha ha!

Welcome SkinnyChick - definitely post your diet and we can help from there!

[Elle]

...and I had some cottage cheese for breakfast!
I guess the "fat trap" thing is what those spas use as advertisements so women go and get those anti-cellulite massages. javascript:icon(' *BSFLAG')

[Elle]

Ack...my little icon didn't work!

[Skinnychick]

Thank you all for the warm welcome. Wonder Woman, you raised a good point. I guess I said that I burn fat pretty quickly because I have a high metabolism and used to be able to eat anything and not have it show up on my body. As I inch closer to 30, however, I realize that that is not so much the case anymore.

My diet . . . hmmm. Here's what I usually eat:

Breakfast--usually cereal (Kashki (sp?) Go Lean or Special K Red Berries) with 1% milk (I can't stand skim). Sometimes oatmeal with brown sugar. Sometimes I also add nonfat yogurt, although cereal or oatmeal usually fills me up.

Lunch--usually Subway (one of their 6 under 7 (grams of fat) subs). Occasionally I'll also have baked Lays chips and a Pepsi (regular or diet).

Dinner--lots of different things. Grilled chicken breasts, homemade soup with lots of veggies, lean cuts of steak, beans, brown rice, potatoes (white, I don't like sweet), salmon, catfish, shrimp, pasta, all kinds of veggies. I try to prepare my meats in a "clean" way--grilling, baking, broiling. My veggies I steam or boil.

Snacks--I don't snack too much. I do drink 2 protein shakes a day (Designer Whey). My midmorning drink is mixed with OJ, and my evening one is mixed with 1% milk (sometimes blended with banana and peanut butter). I do have a weakness for sweets sometimes. But I try to keep my consumption to a minimum. Some weeks I do better than others, but since I quit eating a lot of junk food, I find that if I try to eat the same amount that I used to I get sick.

I think that one of my problems is that I don't eat enough. I work a full time job, so it is hard to eat a bunch of small meals a day. And sometimes I get so busy that I forget to take a break and eat something, especially if I just ate about 3 hours ago. I guess I have to retool my brain about eating. I was raised in one of those "3 square meals a day no snacking inbetween" families, so I need to shift my thinking if I want to really see gains in my workouts.

Do you think that my diet is my main problem? I also have to say that I've been lifting for many years now, and really don't "look" like it. I feel healthy, but I certainly don't look like I spend 2 hours in the gym 4 times a week (and I lift pretty heavy). Sometimes I get frustrated that my body doesn't really look any different, and then I'll quit for a month until I start to feel like a gross sloth and go back again with a retooled workout (rinse and repeat cycle).

Any help or words of wisdom you can give me would be greatly appreciated. And I'll definitely be checking out your workout journals. Journals like that really inspire me!

[Amazonia]

wow! i could see alot of flaming red flags popping up as i read your post:

things to avoid:

special k, brown sugar, subway bread, baked chips, pepsi, pasta, designer whey (has mostly hydrolyzed protein which means gelatin, forget that brand because it's a waste of your money), orange juice, and definitely break through the 3 squares a day mentality.

other than that, kudos on steaming or broiling your meat and for eating fish and lots of veggies. replace juice with fruit, and i am sure there are going to be other people jumping in here to offer some good suggestions of their own so i am going to stop at this point.

[Skinnychick]

Wow! Thanks, Amazonia! I see that I'm really going to need to re-evaluate everything. The reason why I buy Designer Whey is because it comes in natural flavor. Does anyone know of any other brands that come in natural?

Oh, and about pasta--I thought that it was ok if eaten before late evening. I also heard that whole wheat pasta was good. Is that not true?

[slimsista]

This is a great thread! Universal Nutrition makes an Awesome natural protein. It's called PhytoSoy. I like it cause it's fat-free and has no flavorings, plus it has soy which my doctor said is good for women. You should try it.