Lose your cellulite – in just 8 weeks!

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OUR appRoach to cellulite has become ‘much too narrow and negative’, says Kate Shapland, a woman who should know because she boasts she has been ‘fascinated by legs for 25 years’.

I confess that, having been afflicted with these unsightly dimples on my thighs since my 20s, I tend to take rather a gloomy view of them myself. Desperate to get rid of them, I’ve starved myself on the cabbage Soup Diet — which did nothing but leave me swearing I’d never touch the nasty stuff again — and slathered on more expensive creams than I care to remember. and I am not alone: according to research half of British women hate their legs and one in nine won’t show them to their partner, which must make sex fairly complicated.

So I’m curious about what Kate, the

56-year-old British founder of renowned leg- care brand legology, promises is her new, less ‘ negative’ way to reduce cellulite dramatically. and in just eight weeks.

She talks a lot about ‘ leg energy’, making it sound more like therapy than a beauty routine. ‘It is possible to have a life when you are addressing cellulite! In fact, it’s essential!’ she rhapsodises. ‘ My plan doesn’t dictate — it offers a way of thinking about nutrition, activity and product application together in an inclusive way that doesn’t overwhelm, become boring or take over.’

She also shows off before and after pictures from the plan’s volunteer testers around the world. almost all noticed a significant reduction in puffiness around smaller thighs.

Cellulite is an oddly emotive subject among my friends. Just recently Jane, a successful businesswoman with three children under seven and — usually — no lack of confidence, admitted she was planning to wear a wetsuit on the beach during the heatwave to avoid putting her cellulite on show.

as for myself, at 5ft 6in, I’m not tall, but I’ve always dreamed of having long, lithe limbs. I’m now 45 but was still a teenager when I noticed dimples on my legs; I remember dancing around behind a towel on a Cornwall beach trying to hide orange peel upper thighs.

Kate is sympathetic. ‘ I’m familiar with the uncomfortable heaviness associated with fluid retention,’ she says, recalling how long-haul flights, dancing and warm weather used to leave her with visibly puffy legs during her days as a beauty journalist.

She doesn’t like me comparing my thighs to ‘orange peel’, though: ‘Cellulite never, ever looks as even as orange peel!’ she says. ‘ Whoever came up with that analogy just did not know what cellulite is.’

The good news from my perspective is that cellulite is not, as people tend to think, about being overweight. ‘ The actual condition is a build-up of fluid around fat cells, not fat itself,’ Kate explains. ‘ This happens because the lymph, the body’s waste disposal network, has not metabolised that waste efficiently. It’s a whole body issue. you need to address it in a whole lifestyle way.’

The lymph system is also impacted by hormones, particularly progesterone and oestrogen, which is why cellulite can become more obvious in women during puberty, menopause and pregnancy.

So, what does a ‘ whole lifestyle’ attack on cellulite look like? This is where I start to get nervous. Kate’s description of what she has christened the Cellu-lite Challenge sounds somewhat intimidating.

She explains the main reason for a sluggish lymph system is a sedentary lifestyle, so I’ll be embarking on an exercise regime, for starters. I’ll need to hit 10,000 steps a day as well as exercise at least two to three times a week.

Kate goes on: ‘What you eat is absolutely key. Processed food, starch and sugar gives cellulite a passport to develop, because these foods are hydrophilic — they encourage the body to hold on to fluid. Advice: Kate Shapland

Protein, meanwhile, encourages the body to expel fluid. a diet high in protein, with carbohydrates from vegetables and plenty of water, is a killer combination.’

She insists these are ‘tweaks’ rather than a diet — but it means no starchy carbs, almost no alcohol and feels to me like a total overhaul.

Then there’s daily body brushing and deep massage, with a range of her own creams (formulated for her by a French chemist) and gadgets (including a stiff-bristled brush and a bizarre suction cup device).

How on earth, I wonder, am I going to fit it all in around working from home and keeping five children entertained all through the summer holidays? Some mornings, I only just manage to brush my teeth.

Help is at hand, because when I subscribe to the plan, as well as being sent the various lotions and potions I’ll need, I’m given access to a community of other women doing the same thing. Some of them, I soon learn, are really, really into it.

you pay £99.60 a month for access to the plan, plus a monthly delivery of the airlite cream and Cellu-lite oil. adding in the legology body brush and suction cup Kate recommends I use, an eightweek legology subscription will set you back £224.40.

after eight weeks, if you want to keep going, legology recommends switching to a cheaper maintenance option: £52.91 a month for the plan and topups of the products.

It’s a steep commitment. But I’ll give anything a go . . .

WEEK 1 Weight: 10 st 13 lb Upper-thigh measurement: 29 in

I KICK off with daily body brushing using Kat e ’ s special, stiff-bristled round wooden brush to stimulate the lymph, followed by massaging my calves and thighs in hard, circular motions with a product called air-lite: Daily lift For legs. This thick cream contains caffeine — a common ingredient in anti- cellulite products, thought to dilate blood vessels and improve the look of dimples. There’s also centella asiatica leaf extract, ruscus aculeatus root and lemon peel extract, which, in theory, tone and tighten the skin. ‘It smells exactly like orange ice cream in here,’ says my daughter evangeline, seven, as I lean against the bath massaging my legs. My legs look pink and a little shocked after I’ve given them, my underarms, bum and tummy a brisk brushing. But the massage that comes next is soothing as I press deeply, working upwards from my knees to thighs, then circling my ankles, as if I’m pushing water through a tube. ‘The cream combined with massage will enhance lymph flow,’ Kate says. It’s the most attention my legs have got from me in a long time. But if the massage is quite pleasurable, the weekly food shop makes my mind boggle. My family’s favourite macaroni cheese is off the list and replaced