DALLAS - Her weight normal and her body fit, Shanan Brown was satisfied with how she looked in her first three decades.

Then she had two children and cellulite moved in.

"All of a sudden it was `Oh my God, this is a big difference,'" said Brown, a pharmaceutical saleswoman who lives in Plano, Texas. "How the heck am I going to get rid of this?"

She worked out and tried to eat right, but her thighs refused to shed the overstuffed, dimpled look that bedevils most women at some time in their lives.

"I'd always felt confident wearing shorts and swimsuits," said Brown, who's 34. "Suddenly I was covering myself up all I could. It was just a whole new self, and I didn't like it."

Those feelings propel millions of women into an expensive and frustrating war against cellulite, despite one overriding fact:

"First and foremost, there's no cure for cellulite," said Dr. Jeffrey Kenkel, a plastic surgeon who is an associate professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. "There are a million treatments, but none are effective long-term."

That doesn't mean there's nothing to be done. There are lots of options, lots of pitfalls and lots of things to consider - and high season is approaching.

The most effective strategy - diet and exercise - involves sustained effort and lifestyle changes.

First let's define the problem. Dr. Stephen Barrett, who publishes Quackwatch and other newsletters that track bogus health claims, said the term "cellulite" dates from the early '70s, when European salons gave an old fat a new name.

"People have been getting ripped off ever since," he said.

Cellulite refers to fat that bulges under the skin. When skin and the fibers connecting the skin to layers of fat underneath weaken, fat cells can rise to the surface. That creates a lumpy look often indelicately compared to cottage cheese.

Dr. Jim Gilmore, a Dallas plastic surgeon who is president-elect of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgeons, said the causes probably include genetics and hormones as well as excess weight.

Most women, but very few men, have at least some cellulite.

"Testosterone causes more thickening of the skin," Gilmore said. "Estrogen makes the skin smooth but thin" - and more prone to dimpling.

Paula Begoun, author of "Don't Go to the Cosmetics Counter Without Me," who also writes newsletters critiquing cosmetic company claims, is dubious of any compound that claims to treat cellulite.

"They're not regulated by anybody," she said. "They're just tossing things in that they think sound good to the consumer, and it's not backed up by any research."

Can technology provide the answer? Endermologie, a process that combines suction with rollers aimed at breaking up fat and stimulating blood flow, has been popular for a decade. It's embraced by some as a temporary aid, but derided by others as an expensive massage.

Newer techniques are using lasers and sound waves with the same goal.

Leah Blevins, an aesthetician at the Plano, Texas, Aesthetics Center,

said some of her clients are benefiting from a new device called VelaSmooth, which uses radio frequencies, infrared light and suction.

Dr. Howard Murad, a Los Angeles dermatologist, believes diet holds the key. His new book, "The Cellulite Solution" advocates foods that he said will keep cells hydrated and skin smooth.

Brown said she was skeptical of creams and other remedies until her doctor offered to put her in a group testing the VelaSmooth method.

"It was amazing," she said. "It significantly reduced my cellulite. And I dropped two pants sizes."

Five months later, she's still happy with the results. She drinks a lot of water, which she believes helps by flushing out toxins, and plans to get more treatments soon for maintenance.

But part of the remedy, she acknowledges, lies in a different part of the body - the brain.

"You have to do whatever you can to improve yourself," she said. "But I think I'm coming to the realization my body won't be what it was. "