...is an effective cellulite treatment that can provide all the benefits of the more expensive hi-tech or intrusive treatments but at a fraction of the cost and in a natural manner, explains Cellulite Guru Georgios Tzenichristos.
Cellulite is a condition that affects about 90% of the adult female population today, due to unhealthy eating practices, sedentary lifestyles, alcohol and cigarette consumption and the widespread use of the contraceptive pill. For this reason cellulite treatments comprise a large part of women’s beauty routine, with literally hundreds of them available today worldwide. Some of these treatments are effective but most are not; a few are natural, yet many are intrusive and uncomfortable; and some treatments are moderately priced whilst many are extortionately expensive, with the unreasonable cost justified by exaggerated promises of radical, one-off “lunchtime” solutions and advertising hype.
In fact, the last few years, the years characterized by an unprecedented worldwide economic boom, the trend was towards more and more expensive and hi-tech or intrusive approaches, that became very fashionable regardless of effectiveness and due to the increasing popularity of the “plastic surgery mentality” and lots of easily available credit. More and more women have been brainwashed to believe that all that was needed to remove the unsightly lumps and bumps was a lot of money and a radical, lunchtime solution that involves surgery, injections or gimmicks such as lasers and similar devices. However, much to the disappointment of many women who believed that they can firm, slim and smoothen up their legs just by throwing money at a Harley Street clinic, this kind of solution does not yet exist today.
Unfortunately, cellulite is not one of those things that can be surgically removed, injected to death or eliminated in one go with a fancy piece of machinery - at least not with today’s knowledge and technology. This is because cellulite is an integral part of the skin structure and as such can not be surgically or otherwise removed from the body, as the skin itself cannot obviously be removed. Neither cellulite can be reduced in one session, as this would permanently damage the skin. Instead, for visible, long-term results several treatments are needed, spread over a period of time.
The fact of the matter is that, unbeknownst to most women, all of the unreasonably expensive solutions mentioned above require at least 12 sessions to provide the results they promise - and only if they are combined with diet and exercise. Some treatment providers are aware of these facts and do suggest a course of 12 or more treatments, but many unwittingly promise that only 1-2 sessions is all that is needed for celulite removal, which of course is physiologically impossible. At a cost of £200 to £450 per session, such a course of treatments can cost anything between £2,000 to £5,000 (including volume discounts), which in today’s economic climate becomes prohibitively expensive for most women, even the most affluent ones.
So the problem with all these cellulite treatments is not that they don’t reduce cellulite, most of them do (except liposuction and smart lipo, which have nothing to do with cellulite). The problem is that they are too expensive for what they offer, i.e. they are not cost-effective. Simply put, no cellulite treatment today is worth £400 per session. In fact, no cellulite treatment is worth anything more than £120/hour, no matter how advanced it is presented to be. This of course has always been the case - it’s just that the credit crunch made this realization all the more clearer.
While considering all the technological solutions to the problem of cellulite it is easy to forget that a cost-effective cellulite reduction method existed all along and has been used for decades in several countries (Italy, Spain, France, Russia and the Arab world, among others) with considerable success by thousands of women: manual cellulite massage. True, massage depends a lot on the skills of the person that provides it and cannot be standardized in the same way as machine-based treatments can, but in the right hands manual cellulite-specific massage can provide fantastic results, at a relatively low cost and in a natural way.
Despite all the evidence to the contrary, both the general public and therapists alike have dismissed massage as ineffective, basing this assumption on the perceived fact that massage has no other physiological benefits than an increase in circulation. However, this assumption was only based on 20th century science, which regarded fat cells as inert fat depots - as opposed to the highly plastic, metabolically-active fat cells that we know today. We now know that mechanical stimulation has a direct effect on the behavior and viability of fat cells and therefore intense mechanical stimulation provided by a well-thought out, cellulite-specific, manual massage can actually affect not just the blood vessels and connective tissue, but also the fat cells themselves, thereby fighting all aspects of cellulite simultaneously in a beautifully simple fashion. And in contrast to the intrusive injections or the technological wonders mentioned above, cellulite-specific massage does all this in a natural, safe and, most importantly, economical way.
The only problem with traditional cellulite massage is that it has never been performed in a structured way and was never deliberately designed with cellulite physiology in mind. Cellulite massage has been traditionally performed by self-taught massage therapists. Some of them got it intuitively right and some got it wrong - yet still managed to provide some results to their clients. Taking into account the low to moderate cost and the pleasantness of the procedure, satisfaction has always been relatively high, regardless of the success rate.
Thankfully, with today’s knowledge of the anatomy of the adipose tissue, and cellulite tissue in general, we can now perform a highly effective anti-cellulite massage, which is natural, safe and side-effect free. With the addition of a good, cellulite-fighting massage medium (cellulite cream or gel) we can also increase the effectiveness of the cellulite massage, as the ingredients from the cream penetrate the skin and affect the fat tissue at the same time as it is affected by the mechanical stimulation provided by the massage.
It may all sound too good to be true but this is not just a theory - the results actually speak for themselves. Clients do feel that “this massage is really doing something” from the very first minutes of the treatment. Results are felt immediately and last for several hours or days after treatment. And with a course of treatments these results become cumulative and semi-permanent. If women follow a good diet and exercise regime the results are better. If they don’t, they still experience results but not as pronounced. In particular, skin firmness/elasticity, an important aspect of cellulite, improves regardless of lifestyle changes and depends solely on the treatment: the more treatments the client receives the more her skin becomes firmer - it is as simple as that! Poor circulation and inflammation, two other aspects of cellulite, also improve in the same fashion. The only reason the client’s input is necessary in the form of diet and exercise is that fat released by the procedure has to be “burned” by the body, otherwise it will inevitably return to the fat cells. However, this applies to literally any fat and cellulite reduction method, including all those mentioned above.
All in all, a manual cellulite-specific massage provided with the aid of a good anti-cellulite cream is at least as effective as the hi-tech or intrusive solutions - possibly more. Given the fact that such a treatment can typically cost £60-£80 per hour, or around £700 for a course of 12 sessions, cellulite-specific massage is 3-5 times more cost efficient, allowing women to either have 3-5 times more sessions for even better results, or to simply have regular prevention / maintenance sessions which can be used to prevent cellulite in the first place - or to maintain the results for years after the course of treatments. If you do have £5,000 to spare imagine what you can achieve with 80 vigorous anti-cellulite massage sessions - definitely much more than with 12 laser or injection sessions - and without the pain and the bruises!
As a conclusion, it would not be an exaggeration to say that given the current economic climate and the need for efficiency and value for money, it would be madness to throw money on extravagant treatments as there is no more rising home equity to cover the credit card bill for such treatments. Today, cellulite-specific massage represents the best solution for cellulite reduction, and due to it’s relatively low cost it allows for the first time the concept of cellulite prevention with regular massages to become a reality.
Georgios is a specialist therapist that has devoted the last decade in the research and treatment of cellulite reduction. Georgios has tried and tested almost every available cellulite reduction technique over the years, and concluded that, pound for pound, manual cellulite therapy provides the best value for money among all other existing treatments available today (December 2008).
Over the years Georgios has developed and perfected the Lipo Active Cellulite Massage, which utilizes the therapeutic properties of the Lipo Actives (a unique cellulite cream that contains 20x vitamins, aminoacids, herbal extracts and essential oils) with those of his cellulite-specific massage technique.
Georgios can guarantee improvements in skin firming, circulation, inflammation and lymph drainage (all important aspects of cellulite), and if the client follows his diet and exercise regime, Georgios also guarantees fat reduction too (the most important aspect of cellulite). At £60/hour for a course of 12 sessions his treatment offers excellent value for money and quality that can be enjoyed by a large percentage of the female population that suffers from cellulite - not only by the super-rich.
Georgios practises from London clinic in South Kensington and can be contacted on 0800 0758142 or at lipotherapeia@gmail.com. His website, www.LipoTherapeia.com, offers a wealth of information on cellulite, weight loss, skin firming and healthy living in general.
]]>Most women start thinking about losing weight, reducing cellulite and generally taking care of their bodies, just a few weeks before a holiday or an important event. However, as every woman who attempted quick fixes for these problems knows, quick fixes either only lead to temporary results or they don’t work at all. In both cases (cellulite reduction and weight loss) the minimal results achieved are based on a temporary water loss, with little fat being eliminated. As soon as the water is regained by the body, the weight is put back on and the cellulite becomes more apparent again.
In fact, sometimes the weight ultimately increases, as the body loses muscle and skin protein whilst on a crash diet, and then it regains fat as soon as normal eating resumes again - thereby slowly replacing muscle with fat and skin with cellulite. Muscle can be rebuilt again with weights (resistance exercise), but skin can't, staying permanently looser unless special skin firming treatments are taken. To put it more blandly, crash dieting in December in order to fit into that dress by Christmas, will usually not make a woman permanently slimmer, but will certainly make her skin permanently flabbier and bumpier.
The same applies to cellulite, which is much more difficult to remove and requires a long-term and well thought-out approach. Starting a cellulite treatment in December, or even November will not have the same results as a treatment starting in September, because cellulite fat is much more difficult to shift and cellulite connective tissue more difficult to repair.
Specifically for women who suffer from loose skin, starting early is absolutely essential, as the body needs time to repair and rebuilt skin tissue. Unfortunately, there is no overnight success with skin firming, as the collagen and elastin fibres that keep our skin firm and elastic can only be produced by skin cells very slowly, and only with the vigorous stimulation by a good skin firming treatment. Without treatments, skin may simply never regain it’s elasticity and firmness lost by ageing, poor lifestyle and crash dieting. Needless to say that proper nourishment, both through diet and via a nutrient-rich skin firming cream is absolutely essential.
Women who suffer from excess weight, cellulite and sagging skin are probably well motivated in early autumn, right after the summer beach holidays. So if they seriously want to improve their body in time for Christmas, they should start a good cellulite reduction, skin firming and fat loss regime right now. Starting in December, or even November, may simply be too late, especially taking into account the obstruction and temptations of the party season which is in full swing during those two months...
LipoTherapeia is an integrated cellulite reduction, skin firming and slimming service available in London (Knightsbridge/South Kensington). Treatment is individualised with personal attention provided by a fully qualified nutritionist and body therapist with 9 years of experience in cellulite reduction. This exclusive, boutique approach allows for better results and offers that personal care that cannot be offered by large chains of beauty salons. An even more exclusive home treatment option (VIP Lipo) is available at selected London locations.
All treatments are natural, safe and science-based, in contrast to many approaches available today. All treatments are effective and do produce results. Skin firming in particular, is absolutely guaranteed - regardless of diet and exercise. For best results with cellulite reduction and weight loss, however, the client should ideally follow the prescribed, diet and exercise program, which will also boost her overall health and energy levels.
Special anti-cellulite creams are used for the treatment, rich in natural, active ingredients and free of nasty chemicals. Multiple botanical active ingredients in high concentrations, not found in conventional cellulite creams, tackle all components of cellulite: fat accumulation, skin looseness, water retention, inflammation and toxin build up, via many different natural biochemical pathways.
For cellulite and slack skin, weekly treatments are recommended. For weight loss, monthly consultations are sufficient.
Post-cosmetic surgery recovery treatments are also available (for liposuction, smart lipo, face lifting, breast reduction/augmentation, chin tuck, tummy tuck, thigh lift etc.). Treatments can start from the fifth day after surgery, and can be taken once to three times a week.
Lymphatic drainage treatments for chronic water retention are available too - weekly or fortnightly treatments are recommended.
For more information and appointments click here or visit www.lipotherapeia.com.
The Lipo Actives creams (Classic and Plus), are ideal not just for cellulite but also for skin firming, fluid retention and post-liposuction recovery. They cost £125 for a generous, 500ml, three-month supply and are available worldwide from www.lipotherapeia.com.
]]>"…What are the worst foods for cellulite? What exercise will help me the most to reduce cellulite? Is this fat on my legs or fluid retention? Does my IBS affect my cellulite? What can I do for loose skin on my stomach after pregnancy?” The Lipo Consultation, a new service provided in London by cellulite expert Georgios Tzenichristos aims to accurately answer these and hundreds of other questions and offer practical and effective solutions to the problem of cellulite that are accessible to every woman – not just the ones with an unlimited budget.
The above questions are just some of the hundreds of queries about cellulite that women “bombard” their beauty therapists, nutritionists, exercise instructors and the press with. Most of these questions are not answered correctly because they are not answered by experts. A nutritionist may know how to help with weight loss but because they are not specialised in cellulite reduction they cannot specifically help with cellulite. A beauty therapist may know how to apply an anti-cellulite treatment but they usually lack the nutrition and physiology knowledge to explain exactly what they are doing or answer any nutrition-related or other technical questions. A personal trainer will insist that exercise is all that’s needed, which as all women know is not true: exercise helps but does not remove cellulite on it’s own. And information found in the press is too general and conflicting to be of any use to an individual.
Unfortunately there are too few true cellulite experts and most of them concentrate on providing treatments rather than enlightening clients with information and advice, which leaves women who cannot afford regular treatments with very few options.
However, London-based cellulite specialist Georgios Tzenichristos, now offers exactly what is missing: the first cellulite-specific nutritional, exercise and lifestyle consultancy, to help every woman understand the causes of cellulite in her specific case and what she needs to do to reduce it - either at home (with the right exercise, diet, self-treatment and the appropriate creams), or at a specialised clinic.
“Professional cellulite treatments are not enough and will never reduce cellulite if they are not accompanied by the right exercise, diet and lifestyle regime“, Georgios asserts. “Although I do provide such treatments, I make it clear to my clients from the beginning that the treatment is only part of the solution, as cellulite fat removed by a treatment must be “burned” by the client - otherwise it will inevitably return back to the client’s thighs. The body never throws fat away - if it doesn’t burn it, it safely stores it in your bum and thighs again”. Who said that cellulite therapists are not honest?
Having treated more than 1,000 clients in the last ten years, Georgios, a qualified nutritionist, body therapist, exercise instructor, aromatherapist and cellulite cream formulator, learned to value the impact the right nutrition, exercise and lifestyle plan can have on any cellulite reduction treatment, and that’s why he now offers the Lipo Consultancy. Clients get a full assessment (cellulite type and grade assessment, body fat measurement, skin firmness/elasticity measurement,) and after a full analysis of their lifestyle, diet and exercise patterns, they receive a personalised cellulite reduction plan that can either be used as a standalone solution, in combination with creams and the self-massage Georgios teaches during the consultation, or in combination with treatments that they may have with him or at other clinics.
To further assist his clients that cannot afford regular treatments, Georgios has developed his own natural, comprehensive and concentrated anti-cellulite creams. “Most women can have treatment once or twice a week, and sometimes even less often, which leaves them without assistance in their fight against cellulite for the rest of the week”, Georgios points out. “A good cellulite cream, applied twice a day, offers action against cellulite 24/7, something that can not be achieved with a treatment, and provides excellent value for money, considering that for the price of one or two treatments you have a cream that helps you for 2-3 months. On the other hand, treatments, even in the form of self-massage help in ways that no cellulite cream can”.
The moral of the story is that for cellulite reduction an integrated approach is needed – treatments only, creams only, diet only and exercise only are not enough. Georgios has provided all of these to his well-heeled Kensington clientele for years, but now he is setting his sight to helping every London woman with the Lipo Consultation.
...please contact Georgios here or visit www.lipotherapeia.com.
]]>“Popular detox fasts and extreme diets can actually leave you worse off, with looser skin, lower metabolism, poorer circulation and more toxins”, says Kensington-based nutritionist and cellulite guru Georgios Tzenichristos “to detoxify and lose weight you need to eat more of detoxification-supporting foods, instead of undermining your system with diet fad”.
The time of the year when people try to absolve their sinful diet practices and make a new beginning has arrived again - complete with New Year’s resolutions about exercise, giving up chocolate and detoxifying after the excesses of the festive season. In are cabbage soup diets, lemon detox fasts, detox foot baths, and body brushing, and out are coffee, cigarettes, red meat and wine - for a couple of weeks at least. Unfortunately, few people understand that detoxification is a nutrient-intensive process, not a starvation-dependent one, with most embarking on harmful, ineffective or unnecessarily punishing regimes.
Detoxification doesn’t just involve the liver and the kidney, but also the gut, the skin and the lymphatic system. All these systems depend on nutrients to perform their “detox magic", and what we do not understand is that by depriving our body of nutrients with prolonged fasting (more than two days), we decrease our detoxification capacity. Nutrient depletion that follows extreme diets and fasts not only has a negative effect on the liver, the lymphatic system and the gut, but also increases skin looseness and decreases muscle tone, leaving us flabbier in the process. Specifically:
Clearly, a slower, balanced, comprehensive approach that will last for life is better than jerky, desperate reactions that can only last for a week or two. In fact, Georgios recommends a natural, healthy detox diet, based on eating more, of wholesome detoxifying foods, that is. An increased intake of high nutrient-to-calorie foods, rich in fibre, antioxidants and essential fatty acids will do wonders for your body, helping it detoxify, fight fluid drainage, lose fat and reduce it’s cellulite, especially if combined with exercise, lymphatic stimulation massage and key supplementation.
Supplements that boost your detox capacity include, among others:
The above recommendations are some of the elements of Georgios’ tailor-made to suit each patient’s individual needs. Georgios’ clients can also have liver function tests, dysbiosis tests and gut permeability tests performed, followed by suitable supplementation and diet prescribed according to the test results. Tests are non-intrusive and are performed by one of the biggest laboratories in the world.
In addition, Georgios’ Lipo Active Cellulite Massage treatment helps stimulate the lymphatic system and boost sluggish circulation, thereby aiding in the removal of toxins from the tissues and cellulite reduction. Finally, the detoxifying Lipo Active Cellulite Wrap (a unique combination of pressotherapy lymphatic drainage and a nutritious body wrap rich in vitamins, herbal extracts and fruit extracts) provides a much more effective passive lymph drainage than manual lymphatic massage: just imagine the equivalent of 26 pairs of hands working on your body at the same time and you get the idea...
For more information on detoxification and cellulite reduction visit www.lipotherapeia.com.
The time of the year when people try to absolve their sinful diet practices and make a new beginning has arrived again - complete with New Year’s resolutions about exercise and detox. In are cabbage soup diets, lemon detox diets, fasting, juicing, green tea, detox foot baths and MBTs, and out are coffee, cigarettes, fries and wine - for a couple of weeks at least...
However, few people understand what detox is and what we try to achieve with it. Detoxification is the elimination of unwanted, health-disrupting substances from our body (oxidised fats, cigarette smoke and pollution breakdown particles, artificial estrogen-like substances that disrupt our hormonal system, alcohol breakdown products etc.). That involves the liver, the kidney, the gut, the skin, the lymphatic system and the adipose tissue (fat tissue). Most toxins are fat soluble and this means that adipose tissue (fat) tends to accumulate quite a lot of them. Some toxins are also stored in the liver and other fatty organs, with the remainder being deposited in the inter-cellular tissue, i.e. the space between cells.
Toxin accumulation happens either because of excess input (from smoking, drinking, environmental pollution, foods chemicals and skin products) or poor detoxification capacity. This usually has to do with liver or gut dysfunction. The liver depends a lot on vitamins, minerals and other supporting plant substances to do it’s job. If those substances are not provided by our diet and if we undermine it with excess alcohol and fatty foods, then detoxification suffers, and with it our energy levels and mood. Even when the liver manages to help us rid of toxins and flushes them to the gut (for removal by the faeces) and to the kidney for removal by the urine, it’s hard work can be undermined by what is called “leaky gut syndrome”, which leads to toxins being reabsorbed by the body. A dysfunctional gut can also be a source of toxins for the body, due to poor food breakdown or yeast and bacterial toxin production inside it. Finaly, having the wrong kind of bacteria and yeast in your gut (dysbiosis) can lead to the "undoing" of the detoxification efforts of the liver and re-releasing toxins back to the circulation.
LipoTherapeia clients can have liver function tests, dysbiosis tests and gut permeability tests performed and suitable supplementation and diet can be prescribed according to the results of the tests. Tests are performed by Genova, one of the biggest laboratories in the world.
Detoxification depends on the gut as much as it depends on the liver and both of them depend on antioxidants, fibre, proteins, vitamins, essential fatty acids and minerals to do their job. This is why lemon detox fasts and similar fads are not good ideas as detox methods. When we fast we fail to provide our liver with the very substances it uses to do it’s job. And fasting is a dreadful idea for weight loss as it usually leads to as much muscle and skin protein breakdown as fat loss. Juicing is a healthier detox method, but still fails to provide us with proteins and fibre. A more balanced approach includes the elimination of specific foods (typically starches, sweets, dairy, red meat) and an increased intake of others (vegetables, herbs, fruits, herbal teas, oily fish, flax seeds and spices). This results in better detoxification while maintaining muscle mass, skin firmness and energy levels and provides nutrients that the liver and gut needs to help you detoxify - you wouldn't like to lose weight at the cost of skin firmness, would you?
Specific supplements (dandelion root and leave extract, artichoke extract, milk thistle extract, probiotics, chlorella, butyrate and lecithin among many others) can assist with liver, gut and kidney function. The Lipo Diet is a healthy diet that can assist you in losing fat, increasing your energy levels/mental focus and detoxifying - all at the same time - unlike dubious fasts which drain you of energy and lead to skin looseness. In addition, it can be modified to focus either on fat loss, detox, or energy/mental focus. Nutritional supplementation can also be tailor-made to suit your individual needs.
Since a large portion of toxins in the body can be found in the inter-cellular spaces or inside cells, throughout the body, removing those substances and transferring them to the heart - and from there to the liver and kidney for elimination - is very important.
Some of those substances are removed by the veins while other, usually larger molecules, are removed from the tissues by the lymphatic vessels. These systems of transportation complement each other and are both greatly assisted in their function by exercise (the most important factor), nutrients (such as vitamins, minerals, bioflavonoids, proteins and omega-3 fatty acids) and specific types of massage. In contrast, poor nutrient status, lack of exercise and chronic, low-grade, local inflammation (as in the case of cellulite) have a negative effect on lymphatic drainage (= the drainage of excess water and waste products to the heart through he lymphatic vessels) and venous return (= the return of blood and waste products to the heart through the veins).
Simple lymphatic massage (as well as swedish massage, sports massage and aromatherapy) is inadequate in eliminating inflammation, and does absolutely nothing to stimulate and rebuild weak blood and lymphatic vessels: as the name suggests, lymph drainage treatments just passively drain the lymph, that's all. In contrast, LipoTherapeia's Lipo Active Cellulite Massage actively provides tone to the lymph/blood vessels in the same way as exercise does; they help stimulate their repair of lymph/blood vessels; and they help reduce inflammation, in addition to draining the lymph and veins. Moreover, the Lipo Actives provide essential blood/lymphatic vessel supportive nutrients from the outside, while the Lipo Diet and Lipo Supplements provide those and other nutrients from the inside as well. Finally, the Lipo Active Cellulite Wrap (a unique combination of pressotherapy lymphatic drainage, and a nutritious body wrap rich in vitamins, herbal extracts and fruit extracts) provides a much more effective passive lymph drainage than manual lymphatic massage: just imagine the equivalent of 26 pairs of hands working on your body at the same time and you get the idea...
One last note on dieting, juicing and fasting: sudden fat loss will lead to a sudden flushing of fat-soluble toxins from the adipose tissue which can overload the system, while at the same time depriving the body of the substances it needs to detoxify. This is clearly a disaster scenario, yet it happens in millions of people’s bodies every January, due to ignorance, fad fasts propagated in the media and a “lose weight fast at all costs” mentality.
Clearly, a slower, balanced, comprehensive approach that will last for life is better than a sudden jerky reaction that can only last for a week or two. Detoxification is a daily process and we should support it for life, not just after Christmas.
If you would like to receive a personalised detox plan, that will also help you lose weight and decrease cellulite, you may contact the author of this article here or by visiting www.lipotherapeia.com.
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