A friend of mine reached 40 and he was 25 pounds overweight. By following a strict diet and a lot of will power, he managed to get rid of the surplus weight. In the process, he lost more than just weight; he also lost his energy and vitality. He was always tired, and his friends, seeing his gaunt, drawn face, had concerns about his health. By the time he volunteered for a particular fitness program two years later, he had put those 25 extra pounds back on. After his first visit to the locker-room he resolved to lose it again. After 6 months of exercise and some willpower at the dinner table, Mike had shed the excess weight again. This time he felt better than he ever had, brimming with energy and glowing with good health.

What was the reason for his different energies?

The first time Mike lost weight; the second time he lost fat.

The distinction is important. Research has shown, a major part of the weight lost by dieting alone is active tissue, such as muscle and connective tissue, while a lesser portion is excess fat. Exercise has the opposite effect to dieting. The exercising raised his lean body mass and decreased his surplus fat.

The same thing is true for cellulite. Most people tend to think that cellulites are only present to people who are obese. That is why they sometimes associate cellulite with fats and obesity.

In actual fact, even if cellulite refers to the chain of wrinkled 'fat cells' and 'subcutaneous connective tissues' beneath the layer of the skin, it should never be associated with people who are fat or obese. There are many people who suffer from cellulite but who are not fat at all.

In reality, science has yet to come up with the main reason why some people accumulate cellulite. However, there are some theories that health experts are considering such as the structure of the fat cells or the poisons that enter the body. Some experts say it may be caused by some hormonal changes in the body. But there is still no agreement as to the cause of cellulites.

However, it is known that the reason why most of the cellulite cases are abundant in women is that the connective tissues of women are more rigid and firm than men. Hence, whenever a woman gets fat, the fatty cells tend to swell and get bigger. It creates a rippled appearance to the skin producing the infamous 'orange peel' look.

This is the reason women are more prone to cellulite than men. That is why it is important for women to be more careful on their body as they have higher chances of accumulating cellulite.

Fats and Cellulite

With many of the cases where obese people have cellulites in their body, most of them believed that their cellulite is caused by being too fat.

Even though not everyone who is obese will develop cellulites, there is a correlation between obesity and the development of cellulites. This is because too much fat under the skin will tend to force against the connective tissue, so creating a strain on the skin. The result is that cellulites form.

However, this is still dependent on the nature of the cells. If an individual's cell structure does not allow the cell to bulge or expand as fat deposits accumulate, then there will be no cellulites.

So, the most important factor in the fight against cellulite is to keep the connective tissues firm and strong and so that they avoid accumulating the excess fats that develop into cellulite.

How can you do this? Start an exercise routine program.

Making food into fat is all too easy for most of us. Losing fat is far more difficult. To accomplish this, there are only three options: (1) decrease food intake and keep exercise constant; (2) raise exercise and keep food intake constant; or (3) combine both approaches: diet and exercise.

Physical exercise can help reverse the effects of inactivity. An hour of vigorous exercise burns up 300 to 600 calories. If it is possible to also remove 300 to 500 calories from your daily diet, you can reduce your weight at the rate of one to two pounds a week.Without exercise, you would have to eat 500 to 1,000 fewer calories a day to lose the same number of pounds in a week.

Exercise is not for everyone who is over-weight, particularly if you are severely overweight. If you are a severely overweight person then you should exercise only under medical supervision to prevent placing too much strain on the cardiovascular system and connective tissue. Anyone who is very overweight should never drastically reduce their food intake without consulting doctor. Both exercise and diet should be treated with respect and carefully planned.

Rushing into physical activity may only make the matter worse. Remember what happened to Mike? He thought that when he started dieting, he would eventually lose all the excess fats that he had accumulated. The problem is that he lost those connective tissues rather than excess fat.

For people who are prone to cellulite, this will be a greater issue. Removing connective tissues instead of fat by rigorous dieting may only make the aggrevate the situation as the fat cells are still present. That means that the problem is not solved and the cellulite is likely to remain.

So, if you want to remove that cellulite, it would be sensible to loose the fat first. The idea here is to burn the fat by increasing your metabolism by somewhere from 7.5% to 28% more than your normal rate.

This is the reason why exercising is such an important part of losing cellulite. So for a more cellulite free body, you must maintain a regular exercise routine.