Cellulite fighting Salad (or juice!) and other ways to fend it off!

The "C" word that makes EVERY girl cringe...Cellulite! Eeekkk! We've got to stop it! Prevent it! and it find ways to firm up existing dimples...

Why Do We Get Cellulite?

By now you've probably figured out that you could be a size 2 and still have cellulite. That's because it's not about how much you weigh, it's about what you're putting in your body to begin with. "Cellulite is simply excess fat and toxins that are stored in fat directly beneath the surface of the skin," says Cynthia Pasquella, CCN and co-founder of SoCal Cleanse. "When our bodies are overburdened with chemicals, preservatives, and toxins from our environment, it stores them in body fat so they won't damage vital organs. It might not look pretty but this is your body's natural defense mechanism."  Eeekk ads!

Where Do We Get Cellulite?
"The areas most prone to cellulite are your butt, inner thighs, lower stomach, and even your arms," says Jennifer Kandemir, owner of Advanced Derma Laser Tech, Inc. While extremely hard to totally prevent, steering clear from toxins such as smoking, alcohol, caffeine, processed foods, and salt can help keep your dimples in check.

How to Prevent Cellulite

From a nutrition standpoint, Pasquella says the best way to prevent future cellulite is to eat foods lower in fat and calories that don't contain chemical preservatives. "Foods high in lecithin including tomatoes, cauliflower, oranges, spinach, apples, and iceberg lettuce are great for your dermal cells and reducing the appearance of cellulite," she says. If you're in a pinch, grab some cucumbers! Instead of eating them, slice them up and rub them directly on your cellulite. "This causes the collagen in your skin to tighten so your bumps aren't as visible," advises Pasquella. And don't forget to stay hydrated — water flushes toxic waste from the body to help prevent cellulite from occurring in the first place.

Cellulite-Busting Detox Salad

Try this recipe from Pasquella to help ward off cellulite and tighten up existing issues.

The Perks:
Tomatoes and spinach are rich in lecithin to strengthen dermal cells, raw apple cider vinegar promotes healthy bacteria growth, kale is rich in cleansing chlorophyll and fiber, red pepper is packed with antioxidants, apples help detoxify and are rich in the soluble fiber pectin, parsley and lemon work to cleanse the liver and eliminate toxins, and ginger is a great detoxifier.

What You'll Need:
• 1 cup organic kale
• 1 cup organic spinach
• ½ cup organic iceberg lettuce
• 1 small organic Granny Smith apple
• 1 medium organic tomato
• ½ organic red pepper
• 1 bunch organic parsley

Dressing Ingredients
• 4 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• ½ organic lemon juiced
• 1 tsp. grated organic root ginger
• 1 tsp. organic, raw honey

Directions:
Chop, slice and dice all salad ingredients and place in a bowl. Combine dressing ingredients in a separate bowl and then pour over salad. Toss and serve

I ditched the dressing and made mine into a juice! I just added 2 apples for sweetness! Note to self: use wayyyy less ginger next time lol

Exercises to Help Cellulite Though there is no cure to cellulite, there are ways to reduce the amount of all over body fat and reduce the appearance of cellulite," says Lisa Wheeler, creative group fitness manager at Equinox in New York City. Try this fat-blasting move below to strengthen, tone, and burn calories all at the same time.                       The Move: 4 Ways Strong Take these four power exercises that hit the glutes and thighs in every direction. Do four reps alternating with four jumping jacks. Repeat for four sets. This should take two minutes. Rest for 30 seconds and repeat three more times. This quickie ten-minute workout tones and tightens the glutes and thighs while upping your cardio to burn all over body fat. If you're a beginner, modify with low impact variations of the moves. Example: • Power Lunges – switching 4X • Jumping Jacks 4X • Power Squat 4X • Jumping Jacks 4X • Lateral Ski 4X • Jumping Jacks 4X • Turning Jumping Squat 4X • Jumping Jacks 4X One of my absolute favorite workouts that helped firm up my thighs and butt...Brazil Butt Lift  Not only did I see a reduction in cellulite (umm hello sign me up!) it's just a lot of FUN! My 30 day challenge group starts next monday so I can't wait to see everyone get bootylicious!