15% body fat and cellulite

[BucksFizz]

Currently 6’2, 82kg, with 15% body fat but riddled with abdominal cellulite, from the bottom of my pectoral muscles, all over my stomach, to round the side of my ribs.

Google suggests there is no easy cure, but I’ve started resistance training again, and I’m going to try and get to 10% body fat. I’m hoping the additional muscle and reduced fat will help stretch the surface of the skin and make the cellulite appear less visible.

Has anyone had experience with this? From reading online, it typically only affects women and as such, there's not much advice for men.

[frisbee]

Unfortunately genetics and age are going to have a fair influence.

Lots of water and cutting out processed sugars, white bread etc. will help a lot.

[So]

BucksFizz said:

Currently 6’2, 82kg, with 15% body fat but riddled with abdominal cellulite, from the bottom of my pectoral muscles, all over my stomach, to round the side of my ribs.

Google suggests there is no easy cure, but I’ve started resistance training again, and I’m going to try and get to 10% body fat. I’m hoping the additional muscle and reduced fat will help stretch the surface of the skin and make the cellulite appear less visible.

Has anyone had experience with this? From reading online, it typically only affects women and as such, there's not much advice for men.

If you're in calorific deficit, as you lose weight fat tends to look wobbly for a while before disappearing.

Poor gut health can cause that particular issue though. You can be pretty lean but still have a wobbly middle. An unhappy gut causes the body to accumulate inflammation around the midriff.

How have you measured the 15% by the way? 15% is pretty lean, when compared to the average. 10% is very lean and not necessarily an easy or worthy goal to achieve.

[BucksFizz]

Thanks for the input, I don’t think it’s genetics, so here’s a bit of background.

I was very skinny for most of my adult life, at around 61kg. I then went on a ‘dirty bulk’ and hit the gym relentlessly, and after nine months I got up to about 90kg. Yes, a lot of it was fat, but it was much needed, and I had developed a lot more muscle.

Then for a few reasons I stopped going to the gym and stopped eating, my weight came down to 74kg and again I looked very unhealthy. I suspect it was this rapid change that has caused my cellulite.

I’m now stable at 82kg and have been for a few years, I’m relatively happy with my weight/size, but I’m self-conscious with my cellulite.

I like to think I have a pretty clean diet, predominately vegan, no fizzy drinks, no chocolate; I don’t smoke, I drink only socially, and I’m conscious how I cook food (e.g. avoid oil).

I bought a set of electronic scales which are currently showing 15% body fat; I was sceptical about this as looking on Google images I had placed myself around 20%. So I went out and bought a manual calliper measuring tool, and that too came out at 15%.

This is from this morning:



I know these things are an estimate, but I find it funny muscle mass is showing high, as I'm not athletically talented and I get plenty of skinny comments. It's nice to see my metabolic age is 5 years younger than what it should be though...

[So]

BucksFizz said:

Thanks for the input, I don’t think it’s genetics, so here’s a bit of background.

I was very skinny for most of my adult life, at around 61kg. I then went on a ‘dirty bulk’ and hit the gym relentlessly, and after nine months I got up to about 90kg. Yes, a lot of it was fat, but it was much needed, and I had developed a lot more muscle.

Then for a few reasons I stopped going to the gym and stopped eating, my weight came down to 74kg and again I looked very unhealthy. I suspect it was this rapid change that has caused my cellulite.

I’m now stable at 82kg and have been for a few years, I’m relatively happy with my weight/size, but I’m self-conscious with my cellulite.

I like to think I have a pretty clean diet, predominately vegan, no fizzy drinks, no chocolate; I don’t smoke, I drink only socially, and I’m conscious how I cook food (e.g. avoid oil).

I bought a set of electronic scales which are currently showing 15% body fat; I was sceptical about this as looking on Google images I had placed myself around 20%. So I went out and bought a manual calliper measuring tool, and that too came out at 15%.

This is from this morning:



I know these things are an estimate, but I find it funny muscle mass is showing high, as I'm not athletically talented and I get plenty of skinny comments. It's nice to see my metabolic age is 5 years younger than what it should be though...

Cellulite is fat. It's just that women don't like the F word.

If you look like the 20% image you're probably nearer 20 than 15. On most blokes, 15% is pretty trim. No obvious areas of fat, but no six pack either,

How is your gut? I.e. do you get bowel problems?

[BucksFizz]

Well, I think my gut/bowel is fine, but as you mentioned up above I do have an inch to pinch around my waist.

I'm not sure if that's significant, which is why I want to lose it to see if it helps reduce the appearance of cellulite.

[So]

BucksFizz said:

Well, I think my gut/bowel is fine, but as you mentioned up above I do have an inch to pinch around my waist.

I'm not sure if that's significant, which is why I want to lose it to see if it helps reduce the appearance of cellulite.

If budget allows, seek out a personal trainer who also offers nutrition support. You’ll get an expert opinion from someone who can see you.