Can Wearing Shapewear Help You Lose Weight?

I often get asked the question "can wearing shapewear help you lose weight" or "can waist cinchers shrink your waist?"

The answer is yes and no - not terribly helpful, I know.

Let me explain what I mean:

The act of putting on shapewear and wearing it for a decent period of time WON'T do anything to your figure permanently. There is no way a piece of fabric can change the make up of your body - it won't remove fat or add muscle, which are the only ways of changing your shape permanently.

What shapewear WILL DO is hopefully give you a bit of body confidence. This is the bit that can't be underestimated.

Don't Underestimate Good Self-Esteem

Think about a time when you were feeling good in what you were wearing. You looked good, you felt happier, it was a nice boost to your self esteem.

Whenever we are feeling good about ourselves, the likelyhood of doing our usual self-destructive actions lessen.

So you are less likely to over-eat, binge or any of the other many bad eating cycles lots of us fall into. You are more likely to go out and do something, which is far better for us physically than sitting in front of the telly eating crisps.

Fitting into nice clothes also helps us psychologically. It encourages us to want to fit into MORE nice clothes, it boosts our will power to lose weight, get fit, get active and get healthy.

Over-eating Is Impossible!

I ummed and arred about writing this bit, but I've decided to add it in as it is true. Wearing shapewear that presses on your stomach, stops you from eating too much. It is the opposite of putting on a big pair of pyjama pants to pig out on pizza. For me, having something pressing on my stomach whilst I am eating just makes me more aware of when I am feeling full. And I would say eating too big portions is my main problem when it comes to my diet.

So What About The Grand Claims About Waist Cinchers Making You Thinner

Waist cinchers are a funny one. We don't put any claims on our website about waist cinchers making you thinner (without one on). But the manufacturers do claim that this can happen.

A Few Thing I Do Know Are True About Waist Cinchers

They do help with post partum (having a baby) recovery, where your body has been pushed out of shape. When we have babies weird things happen to our bodies. Our rib cages widen, our organs get pushed around into different places. Everything EXPANDS. Having something to help push things back into their original place does help. I personally used a waist cincher after the birth of both of my children. I felt it really helped put my body back in the right place.

(If you do decide to wear a waist cincher after giving birth, please do chat to your doctor or midwife first, especially if you had any complications or surgery).

Exercising With A Waist Cincher On

Exercising with a waist cincher on CAN be beneficial. There is a lot of talk about micro-compression and sweating, but the main benefit from wearing a waist cincher when you work out is that it gives you tons of support. It helps you to work out for longer, especially if your core strength isn't that good.

A Temporary Change

Wearing a waist cincher for 10 hours a day for 2 weeks WILL give you a smaller waist TEMPORARILY. Anything that is squeezed and compressed for that long period of time is bound to change. But, as soon as you stop wearing it, your flesh and muscles will start to move back to their natual positions.

So, to summarize my thoughts, shapewear on it's own won't help you to lose weight. The positive effects that wearing shapewear brings CAN help to boost your self esteem and therefore help you make better lifestyle choices.

The Shapewear I Wear All The Time

I wear a pair of Spanx Higher Power probably 70% of the time. I find them really comfy, make my clothes fit nicely (especially around my waist) and they make me feel much better about myself on down days.

The Waist Cincher I Wore After Giving Birth

I wore an Esbelt Waist Cincher for weeks after giving birth to my kids. I felt like my body had almost collapsed from the inside out, and it gave me core strength, support and LOADS of lower back support.

The Waist Cincher My Friend Wears To Do Cross Fit

I don't do much exercise, apart from walking, swimming and running around after the kids. However, my friend is a super-human who does cross fit, including competitions. She wears an Esbelt Workout Waist Cincher when she is training - she is so Kim Kardashian in disguise!