Waist trainers. Oh dear, where do I start with these things? I hate them, honestly. A waist trainer has claimed to improve posture, and mold ones waist into a smaller one when worn consistently since the 19th Century. Basically, they force the floating ribs upwards (the last couple of ribs that don’t attach to the sternum) and compress the soft tissue around the waist.
I will start out by saying that PERMANENT weight loss and body recomposition do not happen through quick fixes, unless surgery is involved. You will not achieve your goal figure with anything but a balanced diet and exercise routine – and even then if your body type is different than your fave celeb… you won’t ever look like them unless you consult with a plastic surgeon. Waist trainers are not safe, nor are they an effective way of changing your body. Here’s why:
Water Weight
So you throw your waist trainer on, you workout or go about your day doing whatever. You take your waist trainer off and its dripping with sweat, you weigh less than you did before you put it on, and you appear to have lost size throughout your waist.
You know what that is? Water weight. Das it. The moment you re-hydrate yourself and get some food into your body, your weight will return to normal and your waist will regain it’s size.
Breathing
Like I mentioned above, the waist trainer shifts your ribs in closer to your midline – you know what is contained in your ribs? YOUR LUNGS. You know what your lungs are used for? BREATHING!
Do you think breathing is important? I’d say it’s pretty dang important. So, I’d also go as far to say maybe squashing your ribs and lungs in with a waist trainer is not the best idea…
I’ve heard so many reports of girls saying that they feel short of breath while using these things – especially while working out. This puts you at risk for injury, and will be detrimental to your workout – as in, you won’t be able to work as hard, which is what you ACTUALLY need to do in order to lose size and pounds. Why would you compromise your workout for a gimmicky piece of fabric.
Squashed Organs
You know those things that are kept all nice and safe in your abdomen? Those things known as ORGANS? Can you imagine the kind of stress and pressure you’re putting on your organs by squashing them into a corset for hours on end??? The lack of blood supply to your organs can become very dangerous – even life-threatening if the waist trainer is used for too long or is worn too tightly. There are studies dating back to even the 20th century that state that wearing a corset can permanently shift your precious organs out of place, which could cause some serious issues.
At the end of the day, throwing on a tight piece of fabric around your waist isn’t going to make that part of you slimmer, just like wearing a skinny pair of jeans doesn’t make your thighs smaller. DIET AND EXERCISE are literally the ONLY WAYS (outside of surgery) TO RESHAPE YOUR BODY AND LOSE WEIGHT. Das it. No magic pill. No magic waist strap. Just dedication and hard work.
Weight loss happens when you start to lose body fat overall (or muscle… if you’re going about it incorrectly) – and like I mentioned before in my “Fitness Myths You Need To Know” blog post, you cannot spot reduce weight. As in, you can’t pick where you lose weight from, just like you can’t pick where you gain it.
Here is a list of the informative blog posts I’ve made regarding health, fitness, and weight loss:
Staying On Track With Your “Diet”
Fitness Myths You Need To Know
Easing Yourself Into A Healthy Lifestyle
Importance Of Eating Good Quality Calories
Until next time
xx