Today we tackle the mystery of “cellulite during pregnancy”…
Countless women claim that they never had problems with cellulite – until their first pregnancy (sometimes the second or third). And that want to know why pregnancy causes cellulite.
Others will admit they had some dimpling before they got pregnant – but afterward, it became so much more prominent that they became ashamed to wear shorts, a swimsuit – or even to be seen naked.
Either way – many women find that their cellulite becomes greatly exaggerated during and after their pregnancy, so I want to take some time to explain why that is and what can be done about it.
First, the bad news: your body during pregnancy is doing everything in its power to create the circumstances that show the appearance of cellulite. It’s not doing this out of spite – it just so happens that everything that’s great for your baby is also great for cellulite.
The good news? Like almost everything else post-pregnancy, the damage is reversible. You can absolutely go back to a cellulite-free appearance.
But first, let’s take a look at why pregnancy causes this onslaught of cellulite in the first place.
Your Baby Needs Fat
I want to be very clear about this: your body needs to put on fat during pregnancy. During the last trimester, your body thinks that you’re going to need more calories to grow the baby than you can reasonably consume in a day.
It prepares for this eventuality by putting on lots of fat over the course of the first two trimesters. Putting on about a pound a week is completely normal – and good – for your pregnancy. This is not something you want to try avoiding.
One more time: fat gain during pregnancy is good. Got that? Okay.
CRITICAL POINT (pay attention to this):
While cellulite and fat are two different things, your fat gain is going to contribute to the appearance of cellulite during pregnancy, but that doesn’t mean you should avoid it. You’ll lose the fat again after your pregnancy – but for many women, the cellulite dimples, ripples and shadows remain even after the fat has melted away.
So what’s happening there?
Your Pregnancy Hormones Are In Charge
As I’ve said in multiple articles, cellulite isn’t about fat. Fat may sometimes push against the surface of your skin, which can make cellulite more prominent – but it’s not the cause of the problem.
The cause of the problem is a combo of several factors.
The first one being the heightened state of hormonal activity. The creation of a new human being – inside the woman’s body, triggers a continuous cascade of hormonal activity (progesterone, relaxin, estrogen, etc…).
Shifts in hormones, often set the stage for the appearance of cellulite.
This can also happen to women (regardless of age) when they begin prescription birth control. And it can also happen when a woman begins taking certain medications that impact the thyroid and/or hormones.
During pregnancy, this naturally heightened level of hormone activity is necessary in order to carry out the miracle of fetal development and birth. And as you may have already experienced – they also trigger a series of “signs and symptoms” ranging from skin discoloration on the face to increased foot size… And many others in between.
The other key factor contributing to the appearance of cellulite is the state of muscle density.
Muscles of the female body become more relaxed and “softer” through the stages of pregnancy. In this state of atrophy the muscles lose the “tone” and firmness they had before pregnancy – and the skin that sits on top of all those muscles has less support under them.
With less support under the skin – the skin puckers and sags – causing the superficial appearance of dimples, shadows and ripples.
It’s important to keep in mind – this happens regardless of the amount of body-fat a new mommy may have on her body. So, it’s quite common to see a new mom who is at a perfect weight, who looks amazing in clothes – but in shorts or a bikini – there is a full supply of cellulite dimples, shadows and ripples.
Knowing the root cause of cellulite actually lies in the muscle layers – allows us to also know where the solution and the fix for cellulite is held. You guessed it: It’s in the muscle layers.
How does this happen?
By reversing the muscle atrophy caused by hormonal activity throughout the pregnancy – a woman is able to smooth, tighten and lift the skin – to dramatically reduce the appearance of cellulite – and often times even reverse the situation completely.
We’ll get to the specific “how” shortly – but first we need to look at what other factors might be coming into play during pregnancy.
Your Body Uses Muscle Mass For Spare Energy
During pregnancy, your entire body is given over to the task of growing the baby inside you. When your body needs extra energy to carry out the work of your pregnancy, it won’t tap into your fat storage, because that fat is essential for the last trimester (as we covered above).
Your muscles? Not as important, as far as your body is concerned.
It expects you to be pretty sedentary during your pregnancy, so muscle is the first source of energy it taps – particularly if it’s not getting the energy and nutrients it needs from the foods you’re eating.
This can go two ways.
Some women simply don’t eat enough overall in their pregnancy, forcing the body to tap into the muscle tissue for energy instead. On the other hand, many women eat a great deal during their pregnancy – but if they’re not eating foods with the types of nutrients the body needs, it keeps sending the signal that it’s hungry, hoping you’ll find the kind of food it needs you to consume soon.
You should definitely talk to your OBGYN about what you should be eating (and how much you should be eating) throughout your pregnancy, but here’s the bottom line in regards to cellulite: the more your body feels deprived during your pregnancy, the more muscle mass you’ll lose.
Generally speaking, the better your diet, the better your muscle mass retention.
That being said though – there are plenty of studies that show a decrease in muscle volume during pregnancy. Some studies indicate the relation being directly tied to the amount of bed rest required during a pregnancy – while others indicate the possibility of hormonal changes being a cause of muscle/body-composition changes during the 9 months.
Pregnancy Kills Your Enthusiasm for Exercise
For many women, pregnancy is a pretty miserable time. You might have severe morning sickness, be tired all the time, have aches and pains, heartburn, or be over-stressed because you’re still working through the initial months of your pregnancy – and thinking about everything that is still to come.
All of this, plus the changes in your physical frame, means that many moms-to-be don’t get exercise suitable to their pregnancy. If you’re usually a runner, you might not feel up to running, or your growing belly may make it uncomfortable to run. Because running doesn’t work for you, and that’s your normal exercise, you may just stop exercising altogether, telling yourself you’ll pick it up again after the birth.
Coupled with your body’s tendency to tap the muscles for energy, lack of exercise contributes to reduced muscle mass. If you’re not using the muscle, your body assumes you don’t really need it – which means it’s likely to stop fueling it in favor of using that energy to grow your baby.
If you use the muscle and eat enough calories, your body has enough energy to fuel both your pregnancy and your muscles – a much better situation overall. An extra bonus to staying in shape through your pregnancy – multiple studies have shown that the fitter you are, the easier the process of giving birth will be.
Let’s Recap
When the muscle layers in your thighs, legs, hip and buttocks shrink (atrophy), the needed layer of support to the underside of your skin becomes “deflated”, causing the appearance of cellulite.
The fact that the root cause of “cellulite” is in the muscle layers, below the skin – is one of the key reasons why no cellulite products or procedures have been proven to work. They simply can’t…
From creams, to vacuum cups, to lasers, to wraps, to injections, to surgery… NONE of those can reverse the actual cause of the dimples, shadows and ripples – and that is why none of them can fix the problem.
Just knowing that fact takes you one important critical step closer to knowing what does erase cellulite developed during pregnancy.
For a successful birth – you need to gain some amount of body-fat for your pregnancy, and you can’t do anything about the changes that your pregnancy hormones will enact on your body.
You can, however, do something about your muscle ‘tone’.
1 – First things first: talk to your doctor and make sure you’re getting the right nutrients and a good number of calories throughout your pregnancy.
2 – Second: consider some gentle, body-weight exercises you can do during pregnancy that will keep the muscles in your thighs, legs, hips and glutes strong and toned throughout your pregnancy. (Be sure to check with your OBGYN when considering any exercises during pregnancy).
3 – Third: If the thought of any exercise during pregnancy is just not on your “to-do” list that’s understandable. But, with that being said, after you’ve given birth and have been cleared for exercise, you should aim to make fitness a daily habit, not just for yourself – but also to set a priceless example for your new baby. And, so that you can be the healthiest & fittest mom you can be.
This transcends the notion of just getting rid of pregnancy triggered cellulite – it actually creates a foundation for optimal wellness and a fit, happy life.
Already had your kids years ago? It’s not too late to reverse the cause of cellulite.
You can naturally re-build that flaccid muscle layers no matter what stage of life you’re in – and you can get rid of the appearance of pregnancy related cellulite – even years after your kids are grown.
Here are some examples of moms defeating cellulite:
Melissa Beats Cellulite
Kathleen Beats Cellulite
—————————————————————————————————————-
If you’re new here – and you want to ignite your own personal, post-pregnancy cellulite removal success story – then you have 2 choices to start now:
1 – You can watch the Truth About Cellulite/Naked Beauty Presentation – that video gives you a clear understanding of the problem and how my method does the job of fixing it.
-OR-
2 – You can “skip the line” and get your copy of the Naked Beauty/ SYMULAST Method (place your order from ANY COUNTRY), and get started unleashing the New You ASAP 🙂
LAST NOTE – if you know of any other places you can share this article – so that other frustrated and upset mommies can read it and find a bonafide solution to their cellulite issues – then please do spread the word by using the buttons below – and any other way you want to get it out there. You never know who you might help.
Your Info Is Protected and NEVER Shared, EVER.