[bjeweled]

hey gals,

this may be a really stupid question but,

i have really huge thighs and a pretty large butt too, i have had stretch marks since i hit puberty and acquired them both even though i was still fairly small.
do the stretch marks and the cellulite get better as you lose and tighten. i am doing a cardio and strength regimen. or am i cursed to have lightning and dimples at a size 8 *sighs*

the stretch marks i dont mind as much as all the dimples and cellulite.

does anyone else have varicose veins??? do they get better after significant loss including exercise?

[chunkydunkin]

Hey there, Bejeweled...
I don't have answers for you, but if you had said anything about all that and hair on your chinny, chin, chin...I could have written your post. I got 'em all! I hope someone will reply soon and enlighten us!

[vixjean]

Don't know from personal experience, but I do believe that weight training will help.

[sh3l5]

i have just started to see my stretch marks....
i assume they have been there for ages i just never noticed them when i was heavy....
they look rather unattractive, but i dont know whether i mind this too much....
i mean they show how much my skin has stretched and how big i used to be....
besides only my boyfriend is ever going to see them!....

[scorpio88]

From experience, they will fade (at least the stretch marks) within time. I'm not quite sure about the cellulite, etc., I can only hope that goes, but I'm VERY pear shaped and very large so I doubt it.

[Bellagirl]

i got quite bad stretch marks on my boobs and upper legs/butt area about 6 or more years ago when i hit puberty and they have pretty much gone except a little whiter than my normal skin. I dont worry about them nearly as much as i did. In fact i forget i have them!

i have just started seeing veins on my legs. My skin is generaly pretty veiny however they have definatly gotten worse since last summer. THey are in my genes, but i believe they have gotten significantly worse lately as i am heavier than i have ever been before.

What does help is fake tan! Slap a coat or two on and it makes you feel sooo much better.

In terms of cellulite i believe even "skinny" people get cellulite so i think it really depends on the person. I have cellulite on my legs but if you put fake tan on you cant see it as much! I believe it will get better with a cardio/weight combination plan but it may not go altogether, once again it depends on your genes.

[QueenBee3]

I have stretch marks on my stomach from my pregnancies. They have gotten lighter, but they are definitely still there and visible, they're just the same color as my skin. I agree with the self-tanner, they are way less noticeable when I'm tan.

As far as cellulite goes, anyone can get it and there's really no true way (that I know of) to get it to go away. I also know it's genetic, if your mom has it, you prob will too. But, that's all I got for ya.

[junebug41]

Stretch marks may fade over time, but they won't disappear. In fact, in my experience, I noticed them more and they appeared longer- I had shrunk, but the stretch marks stayed the same length.

With cellulite, I never really notcied my cellulite when I was overweight, but when my skin shrunk- you guessed it- cellulite.

Now, this is only my personal experience and a few dimples were a small price to pay to lose weight. I also don't have any qualms about walking around in a two piece. Just because I notice them doesn't mean everyone else does. In fact, I have been with DF for almost 4 years and the other night I pointed out how I notcied stretch marks on my lower back- lots of them- and I never knew I had them until recently. He was just as surprised as I was as he had never seen them either.

It's all about perspective.

[pamatga]

You can get reduce all of that by lots of exercising. I did. I say reduce not remove. Most of us have most of this in our gene pool so the severity of it will also depend on what you inherited from your family members. Look around and check out Aunt Sue or Grandma Gert. Although don't go lifting any skirts or Grandma might belt you one!

I have also heard that reducing the amount of salt (to a point) reduces the size and swelling of varicose veins. I wear compressed stockings in the winter (you just can't in Georgia's summers!) and that also increases blood flow so it keeps the varicose veins from getting any worse. I have been doing both of these for a few years and I believe that is one reason why mine aren't that bad. Just my opinion though!

I used to walk about 15 miles per week for about 8 years and although I was no mini-me I did not have any cellulite at all!! I still attribute it to all of the walking I was doing then. I didn't begin to get cellulite back until I had to stop walking due to a foot injury, etc. Again, it is a lot about blood flow in your extremities.

As for stretch marks, I have found the creams used for scar reduction to be useful. You do have to be faithful in applying them but they do reduce (not remove) the overall appearance of them.

I agree that tanning in the summer does cover all of the above quite nicely.

PS Yes, thinner women do have it all too. I have been going to the local swimming pool this past month and they got 'em too!

[carolineintx]

I can't comment on varicose veins, but I have stretch marks and cellulite so I'll give you my experience with both. I still have all my stretch marks, but they're really hard to see, unless I am looking for them, they've faded to very faint marks over time. I have noticed my cellulite is a lot better since I've been working out a lot, not sure if theres a correlation there, but at least to me I barely notice it anymore, it used to be worse. I still have some pounds to lose, but so far everything seems to be improving as I get healthier.

[bjeweled]

thanks you guys! a lot of helpful information!

self tanner - if you look at my profile picture you will see tht they dont make self tanner for me LOL but if I find some I will try it.


I def planned on getting some cocoa butter cream and soap to try to combat these marks. maybe it will help a bit

my mom was a dancer and has virtually no cellulite at 57 and now she is technically overweight. we are the same size. so i think being active does have a lot to do with it.

well i will be working out and strength training as much as possible to see if i can get a dimple or two to leave.

[bananapancakes]

Hi there,

I have stretch marks, I dislike them but, I will have to live with them since they will always be there however, like the others said- they will fade. I some of mine to be less noticeable when I have a nice tan. A few seem more noticeable since I've tanned. I guess it's just a daily reminder never to let myself get out of shape again, ya know?

My cellulite is pretty much all gone since I lost 60 pounds, I do have a teeny bit on the back of my thighs and butt but, I'm hoping it will be gone by my goal.

As for varicose veins, I hear certain yoga poses are good for those. I don't know too much but, it's something to do with the blood flow. Maybe look around the net for some more info or ask a yoga instructor.

Other than that I think you can have laser treatment that will probably remove all three but, I'm thinking thats probably really costly. I'd see if you have all three at your goal and go from there.

Hope this helps a little.

[Iconised Ghost]

over here we have a product called Bio Oil which is very good on scars in my experience, and is supposed to be good for stretch marks too. You can get it in the US for about $20 a large bottle i think. its very nice and gentle, and it smells good too

[bananapancakes]

You could also put pure vitamin E oil or coco butter on your stretch marks to help diminish them.

[bjeweled]

thanks you guys!!! all of that was very helpful!