How to Overcome your Insecurities

Following beauty standards in this day and age, when social media rules over our lives is impossible. Trends come and go, and they all seem to attack men and women for the way they look or don’t look. When you scroll through TikTok or Instagram, all you see is people that seem perfect. They look beautiful, have glass skin, “perfect” body, and a perfect life. But how do you know that what you’re seeing is real?  Almost every content creator or influencer that you see on social media can fool you into thinking that they’re the epitome of some beauty standard, by using filters, and video editing.

However, the truth of the matter is, that even those people have something to be insecure about. People that seem very confident can also struggle with self-image, they have just found a way to accept their imperfections. Having insecurities is normal, but not ideal for your self-image and confidence. So, how do you work on overcoming your insecurities? Let’s begin by understanding these feelings and their causes.

What is insecurity?

Insecurity involves an overall sense of uncertainty or anxiety about your worth, abilities, skills, and value as a person, conveying the message that you’re at risk or in danger of something or someone. That negative impacts of insecurity could be physical, mental, or emotional. Without security, you can’t accomplish full trust or function to your fullest potential.

 Why you’re insecure.

The reasons for insecurity can be different for every individual. Some reasons can be: a low self-worth, low confidence, childhood trauma (such as emotional abuse, bullying etc.), anxiety, or even perfectionism. Social media could also be making you insecure, and a cause for most of the things listed above, be careful of what kind of content you consume on the internet!

Here is how to start working on overcoming your insecurities with three basic steps:

1. 1. Understand that other people also struggle with their insecurities.

As we already mentioned above, everyone you know struggles with their body image and self-worth. Did you know that Henry Cavill, the actor that is famous amongst men and the gym community for his perfectly masculine features and body, was a chubby kid, constantly bullied for his looks during his childhood? Yes, even the most “perfect-looking” celebrities struggle with their body image, and even eating disorders. Just like you, they are under societal pressure to look a certain type of way, and have feelings of insecurity. Some celebrities and influencers choose to be open about their struggles, in order to help some people like us feel less alone.

1. 2. Do not compare yourself to other people

On the other hand, comparing yourself to people on the internet, might be your biggest mistake! Mindlessly scrolling through social media, looking at fit, skinny or curvy women, and questioning why you don’t look like them, is feeding your insecurities. However, everyone is guilty of this crime, we all compare ourselves to others. We already talked about this in our previous blog, but comparison is the thief of joy. Work on self-love and be realistic on what you can “improve”, if you really feel the need to that. For example, you are insecure about your small glutes and stumpy legs. You cannot elongate your legs, but you can gain lean muscle and shape your legs to look less stumpy. You can also grow your glutes with increased protein intake and shape them with certain exercises. Another thing to consider is that you might be somebody’s body goals!

So stop beating yourself up for the way you look, you are perfect the way you are to somebody else, and you should be enough for yourself too.

1. 3. Work on being the best version of yourself

The most important step you can follow to beat your insecurities! If you really struggle with your body image, and the way you look, the key is to accept things you can’t change, and work on the things you can change. The FitSof team believes in positive change and self-improvement. There is no need to starve yourself, or overexercise to look your best: your fitness journey is not linear, and it will take time to reach your goals. Your physical and mental health should be your first priority! If you do prioritize these things, you will gain your confidence back, your insecurities will be invisible, and you will be unstoppable.

Lastly, remember this quote the next time you compare yourself to someone you see on social media:

All that glitters is not gold

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How to Fall in Love with Exercising

Keeping up with any kind of routine may be difficult at times. You might feel too exhausted ,lazy, or unmotivated to keep up and keep going. But the thing that is mostly messing with your ability to keep a routine up, is your motivation to do so. This reason is also why you can’t create, or keep up with any fitness routine. So, we figured out the first step you need to take to find that motivation, that drive to keep you going, let’s start with an example.

In the past, our coach Sofiia was always insecure about her arms. She used to get comments about how they were different from the rest of her body. She had nice and strong legs, shoulders and torso, but her arms were flabby. Since she got insecure about her arms, she decided to work on them and tone them. However, upper body exercises were just not her thing, and she loathed doing them, but decided to continue working on those muscle groups anyway. After a while, people noticed how toned and strong her arms looked. They complimented her and asked about her routine, they wanted to look like her. This is the moment Sofiia found her reason, her motivation and drive to keep going. Now she looks forward to training her upper body, as she has also noticed her growth.

How your mindset plays a part in this

Exercise has many benefits that might give you motivation to continue your fitness journey. But those might not be enough for you to keep up with every small part of your routine, especially when forming new habits. “Getting stronger” might not be enough of a reason to make you not skip leg day. Associating so-called leg day (the day you train legs on) with exhaustion and muscle cramps, won’t get you far: this is where your mindset comes in.

You always need a positive mindset to keep you going. If being strong, and healthy are not enough to keep you motivated, you need other reasons to do that. Those reasons might be very personal, and different for everyone. What usually drives people, is their insecurities. If you can’t overcome your insecurities, sometimes its best to try to battle them and change them. The good news is that, any form of exercise, such as resistance training and a good diet, can quite literally change your body. You can’t grow taller, but you can shape your stumpy legs, and your flabby arms!

How to stay motivated

There are two types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. 

• Extrinsic motivation is the pursuit of a goal for the purpose of an external reward. In our case, it would be praise and compliments from other people, on how fit or strong we look.
• Intrinsic motivation involves the pursuit of goals that have personal significance, without an external reward. In our case, it would be doing cardio because its fun and energizing, not for losing weight and being noticed by someone.

It is usually recommended that you find an Intrinsic motivation instead of the latter. Because extrinsic motivation relies on other people and external rewards, it might be putting too much pressure on you to achieve things, and ironically, not be enough to motivate you in the long run. However, even that extrinsic motivation comes from your wants and needs, and it might be good enough for you.

Our tip is to find a reason to fall in love with exercise! no matter if that reason is lead by extrinsic, or intrinsic motivation. That extrinsic motivation might lead you to your intrinsic motivation,, and it doesn’t even matter, as long as it helps. In the end, the benefits of exercising, or training that specific muscle group, will most probably outweigh your doubts and insecurities. Find your reason, the why you do the things you do, and you can do anything you commit yourself to.

Why you should try volume eating for weight loss

Losing weight is a difficult road to take upon. You may have tried everything already, and still haven’t lost a pound. You have tried meal replacements, smoothies, salads, increased protein intake, calculating macros and calories, and you still feel hungry, there’s still no progress. Well, let us introduce you to a simple concept that you might have not tried yet. It will save you from cravings, and looking at half-empty plates, your new holy grail – volume eating.

What is volume eating?

Volume eating is a concept, strategy, or method of eating that allows for large consumption of food while minimizing calorie intake. Given that, gram per gram, different macronutrients provide a different number of calories, volume eating allows you to prioritize high-volume foods to help increase satiety and fullness without increasing calorie intake.

High volume foods are foods that are usually high in micronutrients such as fat and protein. These specific macronutrients have more volume, and usually have a higher fiber and water content, which will keep you fuller for longer. The most prime example of high volume foods are leafy greens, and vegetables. But don’t worry, those are not the only ones. Fruits such as berries, watermelon, and some good protein sources such as eggs, fish and oats are also on the list of high volume foods!

How does volume eating aid your weight loss?

Now that we went through the basics of this concept, lets explain how it can help you lose weight. Volume eating doesn’t just contain enough protein and volume to keep you full, but can also help you if you’re in a calorie deficit and trying to hit your MACROS, because they are also lower in calories! If eating more small meals during the day isn’t your thing, with volume eating, you’ll be able to eat big meals, be satisfied and even possibly avoid snacking. Incorporating high-volume food will increase the volume of food you consume, but not the calories!

Recommendations and tips

The best high-volume food to keep you satisfied and full

• •  Fat free cottage cheese

Cottage cheese is high in protein, and low in calories. Not to mention that it’s also super creamy and goes along with anything you have in your fridge. You can make savory and sweet combinations, such as cottage cheese and eggs, or cottage cheese with fruit and protein powder, to make it even more nutritious.

• • Canned tuna or salmon

Canned fish can be your go to! It’s easily accessible, and very easy to add in meals and upgrade them. They are an excellent source of vitamins, fat and protein and should always be on your grocery list.

• • Green saladsLeafy greens and mixed salads are big on volume and big on nutrients! They can be easily upgraded with protein and fat sources, and also with low volume foods to keep you satisfied for longer.

Bonus for those with a sweet tooth

• • Sugar free jello
    
    Jello is a perfect dessert for people with insulin resistance or people who are trying to watch their sugar intake. It has a lot of volume, and taste enough to keep your sugar cravings at bay.

• • Protein ice cream
    
    Protein ice cream is the perfect dessert to experiment with. If the store-bought ones are out of your reach, you can easily make it at home. Use your favorite protein powder, sugar free pudding and your choice of milk to make your own! You can experiment with different tastes, it will satisfy your cravings and keep you full.For more information and tips on nutrition and weight loss, check out our other blogs from the same category: Are Abs Made in the Kitchen? and 5 Tips for Eating Out When on a Diet.

Summer is approaching. Everyone is working on their goals, and elevating their fitness game. “Strong girl summer” is becoming a thing, and everyone is working on building muscle. If looking toned and tan this summer is a part of your goals, let us help you achieve them, here is what you need to know.

How do muscles grow?

Muscle size increases when a person continually challenges the muscles to deal with higher levels of resistance or weight. This process is known as muscle hypertrophy.

Muscle hypertrophy occurs when the fibers of the muscles sustain damage or injury. The body repairs damaged fibers by fusing them, which increases the mass and size of the muscles.

Now that you know the basics, it’s time to dig deeper. A lot of factors impact your muscle growth, some you might know of, but if you don’t, now is the time you learn! We will start with one of the most important ones:

How your biological sex, and age influence your muscle growth

You may have already heard that it’s harder for women to gain muscle, and that they do so much slower than men, and that is true. Unfortunately, testosterone is key to building muscle and burning fat, a hormone that men have more of. However, there are some good news. According to a study, in the long run, despite the physiological and hormonal differences between sexes, women demonstrated the same relative strength gains compared to men.  Just because women gain muscle slowly, it doesn’t mean that we can’t gain it at all, or gain less than men!

Age is also a big factor when it comes to muscle building and muscle growth. As we age, so do our bodies, experiencing sarcopenia. Sarcopenia is the involuntary loss of muscle mass, strength, and function. Muscle mass decreases approximately 3–8% per decade after the age of 30 and this rate of decline is even higher after the age of 60. But this shouldn’t discourage you: leading a healthy lifestyle and daily exercise has many benefits which can help you age gracefully.

There are many other factors that may influence and affect your muscle gain and growth. However, we decided to highlight what we think are the most helpful ones, which will lead the way to achieving your fitness goals:

3 Important Factors for Muscle Building

Lift heavier

Using the same weights constantly, and not increasing the weight will get you nowhere. The only way to muscle growth is muscle hypertrophy, and for this, we recommend progressive overload! 
Progressive overload is a way of training that involves challenging your body, and slowly increasing the intensity of your training, in our case that would be increasing the weight of the equipment you are using. There is no need to rush, take this slowly, find what you are comfortable with and grow slowly but surely!

Give your muscles some rest

Rest is key in order to prevent muscle fatigue and injuries, but also essential for muscle growth. Exercising and lifting weight “tears” your muscle tissue, but when you rest, your cells repair those tears and help your tissue grow. It’s also important to note that working the same muscle groups every day is putting too much stress on them, it won’t help them grow! Make a plan, organize your trainings, and make sure to have rest days in order to achieve the best results possible.

Fuel properly

Eating well and eating enough food is the key for muscle growth. A restrictive diet, or a calorie deficit may impact your growth badly, if you aren’t eating enough protein. If your goal is muscle and mass growth, you should try a calorie surplus instead. Beware of not fueling your body properly if you train daily. Intense daily training and exercise, can actually have the opposite effect and you can lose muscle tissue, if you aren’t eating enough protein. If you struggle with counting your macros and protein intake, use an online protein calculator, or a calorie counting app to your advantage!

Make sure to read more of our blogs on related themes such as physical health and nutrition, for more tips and advice for your fitness journey!

Most women and men start their fitness journey with one goal in mind – weight loss. The food we eat nowadays is highly processed, unhealthy and bad for us. Not everyone can afford fresh, organic and food better in quality. Most people settle for what they can get their hands on, and what their budget allows. Furthermore, This leads to people making the wrong choices for their health, while obesity is a growing factor in our society. It’s no wonder that we get obsessed with losing weight, nowadays, it can be such a difficult thing to do. Even food that is marketed “healthy” and “diet” friendly, is processed and full of sugar, and the scale keeps going up, so what do we do?

Undoubtedly, its important to set realistic goals in order to take care of our mental health and promote healthy weight loss. Measuring your weight every day, and counting calories of every bite you eat, will not help you. Your goals should be measured in healthy ways that will motivate and help you push forward to be the healthiest version of yourself. Here are 3 reasons why you shouldn’t measure your goals on the scale:

1. Being skinny doesn’t always equal being healthy.

Excessively dieting and over exercising can lead to many issues such as malnutrition, weakened immunity system and heart problems. Your pursuit of the “perfect body” can lead you on the wrong path, being underweight can be as bad as being overweight!

2.  Your body changes as you age.

Your body goes through a lot of change during your lifetime, this counts for both men and women. The biggest changes happen during your teenage years when growing into your adolescent body, and after the age of 40. You can’t expect to have the same weight at 18, 28 and 38. It’s normal for your body to grow and go through change, so you have to accept the change and work with it!

3. Your goals might change with time.

Goals change along with your fitness journey. Firstly, you might start exercising and eating healthier in order to lose weight and be as thin as possible, but then you change your perspective. You notice how you start feeling better and stronger, and wish to look more like you feel, so you end up wanting to gain more muscle! Consequently, this change will affect the number on your scale, but there is no need to panic. Gaining weight isn’t always a bad thing, and it might be a sign of you achieving your goals, but your mindset about it is what matters the most. What’s important is that you feel and look better, stronger and healthier, do not let the number on the scale mislead you.

You may have trouble accepting your weight and your body, especially if you let how much you weigh bother you, so, here’s how to measure your goals instead:

1. You look better

One of the first things you notice after a few months of exercise, is the way you look. You slowly notice your “beginner gains”, meaning that you gain some muscle, lose some fat and your body is starting to look more toned. During these few months, you’ll probably lose some weight. In the next few months, you’ll notice that the scale is going up again. Now you wonder, “why do I look better, but the scale is going up?” the answer is that your body is replacing fat with muscle, and that’s good news! This is the first reason why you should probably ignore the scale, and trust yourself instead.

2. You can find clothes that fit you.

Picking clothes that fit well can be a nightmare. Not everyone enjoys shopping, especially if it reminds them of their insecurities. Overweight and underweight people can struggle with their confidence and buying clothes for themselves. No matter if your goal was to lose or gain weight, when you start achieving it and building confidence in your looks, shopping gets easier. You can finally find fashionable pieces that make you feel and look good, and that’s a good reason to motivate you to keep going. However, extrinsic motivation may not be enough , so your best bet is to focus on your how you’re feeling inward.

3. Finally, Its most important that – You feel better

The most rewarding thing about practicing any form of fitness or exercise, are the countless benefits! Not only will you look better, but you will feel better, in every way. Your mental health will have significant improvements: you’ll get more dopamine and serotonin, making you happier, feeling more energized and getting better sleep. You’ll have more strength and endurance, energy and willpower to live your life, and that is the ultimate goal!

Fitness Then and Now: 5 Positive Developments

Fitness has developed and modernized through the years, but different forms of physical exercise have been around forever. We’ve went from only stretching to Hula Hoops and weird fitness devices in the 50’s and 60’s, to Jazzercise, Aerobics and Bodybuilding in the 70’s and 80’s. Also, we slowly made a shift of our exercise environment from working out in groups and outdoors, to homely, individual workouts.

However, we have also progressed with our understanding of nutrition. It was a slow, but much needed progress from the restrictive diets in the 20th century, but also the toxic diet culture from the 90’s and 2000’s. The toxic dieting and diet culture as a whole, made people battle with their body image, confidence and societal beauty standards. Unfortunately, this lead to a lot of unhappy people and development of a lot of eating disorders. But, times have changed and so have we, we have learned from our mistakes and now we know better. Let’s look throughout some positive changes that Fitness world has gone through.

The Fitness Mindset has changed

Along with the body positivity movement, came along inclusion, and acceptance of each body type, but also a desire for change and improvement. People started attacking the toxic diet culture and ignoring society’s beauty standards, by trying to be healthier and happier. The mindset “nothing taste as good as skinny feels”, low calorie diets, and ignoring whole food groups is no longer a thing in the 2020’s. A new generation of women and men are focusing on balanced nutrition, aiming for stronger bodies, healthy habits and watching out for their mental health.

More women in certain Fitness fields.

In the past, women were mostly included in sports and fitness practices that were considered more “feminine”. Sports like gymnastics, forms of exercise such as Aerobics, Pilates, and dancing-influenced exercise such as Jazzercise and Zumba. Bodybuilding is something that women rarely did in the 20th century, because they were discouraged from it. Nowadays, more and more women participate in strength training, weightlifting and bodybuilding, with it becoming trendy amongst teenagers and young women on social media. Women are now certain that weightlifting won’t make them look masculine, and the positive impact it can have on their health, so, it’s no wonder that most women spend their time in the gym now.

 Variety

Nowadays, there is something for everyone! People can enjoy a variety of physical exercises, training and movement. Pilates is growing in popularity again, strength training and weightlifting at the gym are at an all time high, and yoga is still highly popular, but those are not the only options anymore. HIIT, Hot Yoga, Water Aerobics, Circuit Training, Cardio Fusion, and Barre are only a small percent of what the fitness world offers now. You are able to explore, find the most enjoyable way to move your body and thrive!

Growing knowledge and understanding

As we already mentioned, the progress of Fitness has been undeniable, and we are continuing to learn and improve. There are more ways to move your body and exercise, but we have also invented new exercises and movements. You can see varieties of the same exercise, targeting the exact muscles you need it to, and with internet connection its accessible to anyone! Information is flooding on social media, and you can see fitness tips on ways to train and to improve, basically anywhere. You can also find online research articles, and fact-check everything if you want to!

 Equipment

Lastly, there are all sorts of equipment you can use, according to what type of fitness you practice and what your needs are. There are many types of mats, weights, activewear for any type of home workouts if you enjoy Pilates, Yoga or Aerobics. There are also affordable options to invest in a home gym, and get equipment such as a treadmill, a barbell, a smart bike and similar things you can find at the gym. Again, there is something for everyone.

We hope that these five developments in Fitness helped you see the positive side of the Fitness world!
There are a lot of improvements and progress to be made, but let’s focus and cherish what we have achieved so far.

5 Benefits of Practicing Yoga Daily

Yoga is a Northern Indian practice, which has been around for more than 5,000 years.  In the past decade, it’s popularity rose with it being practiced by fitness and social media influencers. Meanwhile, YouTube is still flooded with yoga tutorials, but why are people obsessed with it?  Because Yoga is not what it appears to be at first glance: it’s not just stretching, taking deep breaths and improving flexibility. Yoga is as spiritual as it is physical, and for some, its a way of life.

Yoga is an ancient practice of which there are many styles of, even some modern ones such as Hot Yoga, Yin Yoga and Vinyasa Yoga. You can try out any style and enjoy the benefits, but what are they? Believe it or not, Yoga has a countless number of benefits on your body in mind, which explains why it has been practiced for more than a thousand years!

We can’t possibly number all of the benefits that Yoga has to offer, but here are our top 5 Benefits of Practicing Yoga, that will convince you to incorporate it into your daily life:

1. Physical benefits

Yoga is very beneficial for your whole body, your organs and fitness performance. It increases your muscle strength, flexibility, balance, joint and bone health, while also preventing injuries. The many types of breathing techniques that the practice uses, can improve your blood flow to the lungs, heart, and blood vessels, improving your respiration altogether.

2. Brain health benefits

Yoga strengthens parts of the brain that play a key role in memory, attention, awareness, thought, and language. Studies using MRI scans and other brain imaging technology have shown that people who regularly did yoga had a thicker cerebral cortex and hippocampus compared with nonpractitioners. Because your brain releases dopamine and serotonin when you practice yoga, it can also help you with anxiety, depression and especially stress! The many poses that you perform release the tension from your body and brain, and the breathing helps you relax, which leads to destressing.

3. Heart health benefits

As we previously mentioned, yoga has benefits for your organs, especially for the most important ones, such as the heart. Every yoga pose has a particular effect on the respiratory system and therefore, affects the heart. The benefits include:

• • Lower blood pressure.
  • Increased lung capacity.
  • Lower bad cholesterol levels.
  • Improved heart rate
  • Boost blood circulation.

4.  Improved Body image and relationship with food

As yoga can help with physical and mental health, it can also positively influence the relationship you have with your body. As you move your body daily, you learn to appreciate it and what it can do for you, instead of focusing on how it looks. You can gain a better mind to body connection, grow more confident, and be satisfied with your body image. Along with this, you may gain better control of hunger cues, hunger and create a positive relationship with food. Some dedicated yoga practitioners also follow the Yogic Diet, which promotes non-violence, sattvic foods, purity and cleanliness, for the ultimate health benefits.

5.  Better sleep

A bedtime yoga routine is the perfect formula for good sleep. Not only can yoga improve your sleep time and quality, but it can also help treat insomnia. The relaxation, mindfulness and the calm that comes with practicing yoga, will help you fall asleep faster, and stay asleep for longer. Some popular poses such as the child’s pose are the perfect way to unwind after a long and stressful day, so give it a try!

We hope that you found this list of benefits useful, and that it gave you a reason to incorporate yoga into your daily routine!

Sleep is important and it affects you and your body immensely. Not getting enough sleep, or sleeping badly influences your whole day. You wake up feeling groggy, you don’t have energy to start the day, you feel tired during the whole day and can’t be productive. Sleeping well is easier said than done. You might have a busy lifestyle, work a lot of hours, or have children to take care of, and we understand. However, we have some good news. Regular exercise and an active lifestyle can help you sleep better, and for longer, among other things! Let’s go through all the ways that exercise can improve your sleep:

Reduce sleep onset

Daily exercise and movement can extend your sleep time. Even moderate exercise, and light to moderate daily movement, can help. Not every day needs to be a gym day, all you need is light movement, and exercise that will help release the good chemicals, called endorphins. Exercise can increase sleep quality for adults by reducing sleep onset – or the time it takes to fall asleep – and decrease the amount of time they lie awake in bed during the night.

 Improved quality of sleep

Exercise can also improve the overall quality of sleep. A research on Exercise Training affecting sleep quality, found that HIIT improved all accelerometer parameters, with higher total sleep time and sleep efficiency, and lower wake after sleep onset. This means that not only aerobics, yoga and similar lower intensity exercises, but also higher intensity exercises such as HIIT, which takes more of your energy, will also help you sleep better.

Helps reduce daytime sleepiness

Feeling fatigued and tired during the day is common among adults. But, there is also a medical condition concerning this problem, and its called hypersomnia. Hypersomnia can cause you to fall asleep in inappropriate times, even if you take multiple naps a day, and still make you feel like you lack sleep. Even so, research has shown that exercise reduces daytime sleepiness indeed, and that it can help manage hypersomnia.

Helps with relieving symptoms of sleep disorders

Sleep disorders are difficult to manage, and physical exercise alone is not enough to relieve you from them, but it does help with the symptoms. Research has shown that both acute bouts of physical activity and regular physical activity improve a variety of sleep outcomes in healthy adults, with the effects typically small to moderate in magnitude.  The same research concluded that physical exercise may relieve some symptoms of sleep disorders such as insomnia and sleep apnea.

Improve your sleep-wake cycle

Your body has several internal clocks, called circadian clocks. These typically follow a 24-hour repeating rhythm, called the circadian rhythm. During these 24 hours, the body changes its internal temperature, which affects your sleep-wake cycle. When you exercise, your bodily temperature rises, which signals your body to stay awake. This is why it’s usually recommended that you don’t exercise at night. Some doctors may even recommend that you exercise 8 hours prior to sleeping, especially if you have a sleeping disorder. A review by Nature, suggests timing your exercise to maximize its benefits. They state that exercise can reset the molecular circadian clock, thereby effectively ameliorating the negative effects of disrupted sleep patterns.

SUMMARY

Regular physical exercise, no matter if its low intensity or high intensity, can help with almost every aspect of sleep. Research has shown that regular exercise can help improve the duration and quality of sleep. It can also help to reduce sleep onset, reduce daytime sleepiness, improve the sleep-wake cycle, and help with reducing symptoms of sleep disorders such as sleep apnea, insomnia, and hypersomnia.

Cellulite is a problem all women face. It’s a concern, and a reason for insecurity for a lot of women. But have you wondered – can skinny women have it? how about men? what is it? and the most frequently asked question – can I make it disappear? Well, we have good and bad news – you can’t make it disappear, but you can reduce it!

What is cellulite

Cellulite is structural changes in the subcutaneous layer, leading to impaired microcirculation and lymphatic outflow. Put simply, these are pits and irregularities that spoil the aesthetic appearance of the skin. The fact of the matter is, 90% of women have cellulite, no matter if they’re overweight, fit, or skinny, everyone can have it. However, some women have thicker skin, and cellulite is not as visible on their skin. On the other hand, when it comes to men, only about 10% of them have cellulite.

It’s a common misconception that losing weight can help you get rid of cellulite, but sadly, that isn’t true, here are three things that can actually help you reduce or improve the appearance of cellulite:

 Nutrition and hydration

Hydration and proper nutrition can help minimize and fight cellulite cellulite. Drink plenty of water, exercise daily, or be active daily in any way you enjoy.  Try to avoid sugary drinks, fast food, and smoking. In fact, both skipping meals, and overeating, won’t help you with cellulite, so, try improving your relationship with food!
Some of the best foods to eat for fighting cellulite are: watermelon, flaxseeds, nuts and bell peppers  Try practicing a healthy lifestyle, and eating balanced meals for the best results.

Exercise and active life

Exercise is sadly not a miraculous solution for getting rid of cellulite. Training and exercise alone, will not help your cellulite disappear, but staying active and exercising, in combination of proper nutrition, is the key to minimize it! Building and Firming the muscle underneath the cellulite will help smooth the skin’s appearance, and make your cellulite less visible. Losing a bit of fat might help too, but this affects every person and each body differently. When it comes to exercise,  what you need to do is focus on strength training and exercises that target the hamstrings, quads, buttocks and hips. Try to train your lower body multiple times a week, and use progressive overload to challenge your muscles! Don’t forget to stay as active as possible, take long walks, run, or do anything else that will keep you outside!

Targeted massage

Cellulite massage involves deep tissue massage, lymphatic drainage, and myofascial release techniques to help break up the fat deposits and smooth out the skin. The massage therapist uses firm pressure and long strokes to manipulate the skin and underlying tissues. Simply put, they stretch the skin tissues, redistribute fat cells, improve circulation and lymphatic drainage as well, which reduce the appearance of cellulite. A few massages will not get rid of your cellulite permanently. Repeated treatments and massages are necessary to reduce cellulite. You can use foam rollers, handheld massagers, and try Endermologie massage at home, or you can visit a massage therapist.

Cellulite is a manageable problem, but even if you can’t reduce it, slowly learn to accept it! Cellulite is normal and every woman has it, it doesn’t make you ugly, unwanted or less attractive.

One of the first things we learn in biology class is that the human body is consisted of mostly water. Even with knowing this, we still question the importance of water, whether we should drink more of it or not. Water is vital to our health, and plays a key role in the way our body functions. This means that water intake is something we should take seriously, so we can give our body what it needs to function properly.

Here are some of the key factors of why water intake is important:

It aids digestion

Water helps break down the food you eat, allowing its nutrients to be absorbed by your body. After you drink, both your small and large intestines absorb water, which moves into your bloodstream and is also used to break down nutrients.

It regulates body temperature

Water helps regulate your body temperature by distributing heat, and cooling the body through respiration. It helps by moving it to the vital organs and preventing it from extremities when it is needed to maintain heat. When your body temperature is heightened, water regulates this by exiting your body through the form of sweat.

It aids in cognitive function

Because the brain has more water mass than the body, we should prioritize water intake for the health of our brain and cognitive function. Water maintains the fluid levels in your brain,  maintains neurogenic (creation of new neurons), and flushes out metabolic waste. It also maintains proper blood and oxygen circulation in your brain.

It prevents dehydration

Dehydration is a condition in which you lose more body fluid (water) than you intake. Some symptoms of dehydration are fatigue, dizziness, headaches, chills, constipation, dark colored urine and loss of appetite. If you experience any of these symptoms, especially on the daily, its time to start hydration seriously.

It helps your skin and body

The skin is the largest organ in your body. Water hydrates your body and skin, balances your pH levels, it promotes elasticity, prevents the skin from sagging or dehydrating, and forming wrinkles. By flushing out toxins, water also prevents the creation of acne and pimples, especially hormonal acne. If you hydrate properly, water can also help you with weight loss and cellulite If you drink water before and during meals, it can help you feel fuller and satisfied with your meal, which can make you crave less food.

Here are some tips to follow and stay hydrated:

• • Drink a glass of warm water with lemon as soon as you wake up

  • Keep a water bottle next to you at all times, and refill it during the day.

  • Prioritize water over any other drinks

  • Have a glass of water with every meal

  • Find healthy substitutes for water if you don’t like the taste of it, such as tea.