QuestionHi Chris,
I'm a 21 year old female who's lost over 40 pounds over the years.
The problem is I'm stuck with some flabby skin and cellulite despite being at a healthy weight and working out twice a week (and going through
a busy college life).
I've thought of purchasing a G5 massager (not the handheld kind, but the kind they use at spas and salons). I read that it helps to improve
the look of cellulite by promoting better circulation and lymphatic drainage.
From what I read, I also know that this machine is also great for aching muscles
so my mother is looking forward to benefit from the G5 machine as well.
Would I need some kind of special training to be able to use this machine or for a family member of mine to use it on me? (I'm quite willing to do some courses to learn how to use this machine if it's required, as long as it won't take
more than a few months).
Could you please give us some advice/recommendations? Thanks in advance.
AnswerGreetings Fifi, and congradualtions on loosing the weight. Massage does not, unfortunately, do a great deal for cellulite - if it did, I'd be writing you from the office of my huge house on Lake Shore Drive here in Chicago, because I could charge $300 an hour and would never be slow. It might very temporarily reduce the appearance of the "cottage cheese" of cellulite because the lymphatic fluid kind of fills in the dips. This effect is totally temporary, though, and is not cumulative. And increasing circulation is not going to help with cellulite; the blood flow is not going to come in and remove the fat from the adipose tissue. It does do this when your body needs to use the energy stored in the fat. It really steams me when companies prey upon people's fears and insecurities of their appearance to sell a product that will not do what they say.
As a brief aside, I once wrote to a company to caomplain about their advertisement. It is a company called Set-N-Me-Free, and they sell an aloe vera based body wrap that is supposed to melt the fat away. I had to point out that it is impossible for a water based product to enter the skin like they said, that nothing would ever penetrate to the adipose tissue even if it could penetrate, and that nothing would cause the fat in the adipose cells to melt away.
Not suprisingly, I did not recieve a response.
What you are doing is the right thing; maintaining your weight and working out regularly will help your skin to shrink naturally over time. It may not go back totally and perfectly, but I am sure that it is preferable to having the excess weight. You have done the hard part (loosing the weight), it sounds like you are on the right track to keeping it off, and it sounds like you are otherwise healthy; aren't there worse things to worry about than cellulite?
Now, that is not to say that the machine won't feel good on stressed and tired muscles. There really aren't any classes you could take. There are just a few basic things to keep in mind when using it: Don't use it on any injuries or wounds, use a pressure that is comfortable for the person, and don't massage over any bony landmarks - places where there are bones close to the surface of the skin. Keep it toward the center of the muscle "belly", and remember that your intent when massaging counts for a lot.
I hope this is of some help, Fifi. Please feel free to write again if you have any other questions. Also please feel free to rate me on AllExperts as both positive and constructive feedback helps me learn to help others better.
Sincerely,
Christopher Hall
