Those unsightly little dimples that appear on the back of your thighs and on your butt as you grow older or gain weight are commonly known as cellulite. Women are most likely to get cellulite in their 30's. The exact cause of cellulite is not known and there is no magic cure for it, which makes losing cellulite a full time battle for many. But there are steps you can take to reduce the appearance of cellulite.

The first step to take is to lose excess weight. Cellulite is made up of fat cells, so the more fat cells you have the more cellulite you can develop. On the average, women lose 5 pounds of muscle and develop 15 pounds of fat each decade. In addition, the skin gets thinner with age so fat cells will be more prominent. Eat a healthy well balanced diet and try to get to your ideal body weight. Drink plenty of water each day to flush your body of toxins and to hydrate your skin.

The next best step to take to lose cellulite is to exercise. You need to replace the fat cells with muscle and the best way to do this is through daily exercise. A combination of cardio, strength training and flexibility should do the trick.

The cardio portion of the exercise program should consist of 2 minutes of moderate walking, cycling or stair climbing. You should increase the intensity for 8 minutes and get to the point of breathing hard but still able to talk in short sentences. After cardio, it's important to cool down for about 2 minutes. It is okay to use indoor exercise equipment.

Follow the cardio with 15 minutes of strength training exercises, targeting the problem areas. For example, if your problem area is your thighs you should do exercises specifically designed for increasing muscle in your thighs such as leg lifts. Adding ankle weight as you progress will help also. For cellulite on the buttocks, do lunges or squats with ankle weights and holding light weights at your side.

The most important part of the exercises is to stretch after each part of the strength training exercise. This will help to increase the length and flexibility of the muscle and also decrease your risk for injury. It will also help to increase your strength so you can increase your workouts over time and build more muscle. Some women prefer the Pilates workout that combines strength and flexibility exercises.

Creams that claim they can reduce cellulite have not been proven to be effective. The use of spray on tans may reduce the appearance of cellulite. If you have money to burn, you can always try the more expensive alternative such as laser treatments or liposuction. But be aware these are not the cure all and the cellulite can come back.

Losing cellulite isn't easy, but with the right diet and exercise, those cottage cheese thighs can be just a memory. There are some very good resources that go into far greater detail on getting rid of cellulite that you can find on the Internet.