Is There a Way to De-lump My Butt?

How can I get rid of cellulite on my rear? I want to look hot in my bathing suit on my honeymoon.

Creams and other topical treatments just shine the skin, which can camouflage dimples, and may slightly alter the topography of the skin over time (6-8 weeks), but they won't get rid of the fat.

Funky machine treatments (Endermologie), available at skin care spas, lift up the skin and push out fluids from the fat cells to even out the skin's surface. Treated areas will look better, but the process is expensive (about 55 a session) and high-maintenance (you must initially go for 19 or so visits, two to three times a week, then come back once or twice a month to keep it up-or else your skin will go back to the way it was).

Liposuction is an expensive alternative-it costs around 2,000-6,000. Ideally, a surgeon will successfully use a little blade to cut fibrous adhesions (which cause puckering and dimpling with the surrounding fat deposits) from skin to muscle. Then the fat deposits are removed.

"Liposuction releases those adhesions, but they will form again," says Howard Sobel, clinical attending doctor in Dermatologic Surgery atBench Hill Hospital in London. So you need to go to a surgeon for maintenance many times over many years.

Considering all these options, you might be best off with old-fashioned discipline and exercise. You can flush out your lymphatic tissue with a gallon of water a day. You should also eat less fat, and exercise dimpled areas to build muscle (this means doing 30-45 minutes of cardio at least three times a week, plus strength-training your glutes and legs), which will help hide some of the cellulite. And just before your honeymoon, have a seaweed wrap at a local day spa to help to drain the lymphatic fluid-that'll have you looking lithe for up to three days.

The good news is that even if you still look like a piece of citrus fruit from behind, your new hubby will think you look delicious.