Monday, October 31, 2016

'Cellulite Saturday' Is Our Favorite New Instagram Initiative

A little cellulite never hurt nobody,” supermodel Ashley Graham once wrote. And she's not alone in that sentiment.



Meet Kenzie Brenna, a 26-year-old Canadian body positive activist, actress and writer who created the hashtag #CelluliteSaturday in an effort to normalize the dimples many women are too embarrassed to show. 



“If you try to sell me your cellulite treatment, I don't want it,” Brenna wrote in a post on Instagram, in which she captures her lower body from various angles. “Cellulite is normal. And the beauty industry capitalizes on saying we need it removed.”





IF YOU TRY TO SELL ME YOUR CELLULITE TREATMENT, I DON'T WANT IT. Now thats out of the way... This girl goes to the gym 4-5x a week. She weightlifts, includes cardio and plyometrics, she eats a personal well balanced diet and has for the last year. For those of you who comment and tell me "if you only lost ten pounds your cellulite would go away," without having researched my page to see I have lost over 50 pounds and yes my cellulite appear has reduced but it has not "gone away." Here are the stats again: 93% of women have cellulite. AND- You have a 90% chance of developing cellulite if you're a woman. If those stats don't make you feel at home and normal in your body I don't know what will We have made it a "COSMETIC issue" not an indication of health. This is straight from the doc's mouth, not mine. It has to do with a combination of genetics and hormones. Which you can really only fuck with to a certain extent. THE ONLY WAY TO REMOVE CELLULITE IS TO REMOVE FAT. Can you remove fat through a topical cream? By massaging it? By drinking green tea? By rubbing coconut oil on yourself? That's not how it works. Stop this misinformation right now. Cellulite is normal. And the beauty industry capitalizes on saying we need it removed. Again, I'm not going to shame a woman for trying to work to get rid of hers I completely understand and respect the decision to do so. This message isn't for her. This message is for women who crave acceptance, self love and want appreciation for their bodies as they exist right now. Also sorry for the dbl watermark, I saw some people using my photos and cropped out my name from them how nice! #cellulitesaturday #mermaidthighs #effyourbeautystandards #bodypositivity #nobodyshame #lovetheskinyourein #thisiswhatfitlookslike

A photo posted by Kenzie B (@omgkenzieee) on







Brenna uses her Instagram account to discuss her journey to a healthier relationship with her body, even posting side-by-side photos of her 50-pound weight loss. She says she experienced body dysmorphia, a condition in which people can think about their real and perceived flaws for hours on end. She tried every supposed remedy for cellulite, she told The Huffington Post, from Epsom salt baths, to creams, to using a dry brush before a shower, foam rolling her cellulite before and after workouts, and even wrapping her body in coconut oil and coffee grinds. 



Just thinking about all those attempts to fix cellulite was exhausting.



“It's just really tedious to think about it all of the time, and comes to point where you're just like, 'What am I doing?'” Brenna said. “I would try on leggings at different athletic stores and go in the mirror and move in all these different ways to see if my cellulite was showing in the leggings.”







Now, Brenna accepts her body the way it is and is inspiring others to do the same – the hashtag is slowly starting to gain traction as more women post photos of their bodies.



Cellulite is present in women of every body type, from the tall and lanky to the short and petite, athletic, plus-size and in between. One review study suggests an estimated 90 percent of women have it. Its presence is genetic to a degree, and can also be caused by estrogen level and low circulation. This is why many of the beauty products that promise to banish cellulite are deceptive: At best, most of those creams just temporarily increase circulation and might temporarily reduce the appearance of cellulite.  





It's been a while since I've done a before and after. Partially because I have been trying to accept and recognize that there is not necessarily a better body, but rather just a different one. For women who have a similar body type to MY before you are SO BEAUTIFUL and to women who have a similar body type to me now YOU BEAUTIFUL TOO. ✨ I haven't tracked in about a month, I've somehow managed to still lose weight. I don't really know why and if anyone can come out and let me know that'd be great lol. I just recently bought a pant size down and have considered buying ANOTHER size down because these are too loose on me. Maybe it's because... I'm less stressed? The first few weeks of intuitive eating sucked. I had a lot of shitty undereating then overeating then back to undereating moments. I think because I physically felt SO GOOD with macros (mentally I felt a little trapped by the end) that I come to the conclusion now if I track once in a while to make sure I'm getting the macros and micros I need, that's okay if it's coming from a place of nourishment. I personally believe that counting macros was a really important thing for me to do, as someone who was overweight I NEEDED A REFERENCE POINT. I needed to know what was an acceptable amount of food for my body, while weight training. I can't just "intuitively eat" if I don't know what or why my body is craving the things it's craving. Sometimes I feel ashamed in the bopo world for wanting to track loosely again, but I'm going to stop that shame and just do what makes me feel happy. While thinking CRITICALLY OF COURSE Thanks again for reading my novel My trainers are tagged for anyone who asks. #wednesdaywisdom #weightlossjourney #mermaidthighs #thisiswhatfitlookslike #bopofitness

A photo posted by Kenzie B (@omgkenzieee) on







Brenna's post underscores one key idea: Even if you want your body to change for healthy reasons, you don't have to hate it in the meantime. You can eat healthy and move in a way that feels good, but refrain from knocking yourself out with critical thoughts.



“This message is for women who crave acceptance, self-love and want appreciation for their bodies as they exist right now,” Brenna wrote on Instagram. 



Agreed, girlfriend. Agreed. 



H/T Self

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