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I'd never heard of waist training until recently. The likes of Kim Kardashian with her tiny waspie waist has made waist training incredibly popular. So what is it, how do I do it. And is it safe to do? What Is Waist Training? Waist training is a process by which you reduce your natural waist measurement over a period of time by using waist trainers, or waist cinchers. The waist reduction is achieved through compression, rather than actual weight loss. Waist Trainer Or Waist Cincher? If you are confused between waist trainers or a waist cinchers don't be - these are exactly the same things. Different brands call them different things. In Brazil they are actually called FAJAS! The Strong Stuff! In order for it to give super strong compression, your waist cincher needs to be SUPER STRONG! The strongest waist cinchers are BONED and are made from LATEX or RUBBER. This might sound a little scary (images of rubber clad ladies with whips always seems to string to mind!) but please don't worry. These are not instruments of torture, they are quite reasonable looking things. Most waist trainers are lined with cotton, the boning is completely hidden inside the structure of the waist trainer, and the outer layer looks fine. Hooks & Eyes Look for waist cinchers that fasten down the front with hooks and eyes. These are the ones to use to waist train. You often get double columns of hooks and eyes (and sometimes triple). The idea behind this is that you start off on the widest setting. Once you have worn your waist trainer like this for several days you can graduate to the next, tighter level. This will really help to train your waist gradually. You can get step in style waist cincher and waist cinchers with zips. We don't recommend you use these for waist training as they don't give you enough compression. Do I Need Angled Boning? Most waist cinchers have vertical boning. This gives the strongest waist training effect as it goes against your natural shape, helping to pull everything in and compress you. Workout waist trainers have ANGLED boning. The idea behind having angled boning is to give you greater flexibility of movement. People do like to wear waist trainers whilst they work out. They are supposed to increase the efficiency of your workout and help you to lose weight, as well as train your waist. Regular waist cinchers would get in the way with your workout, so the angled boning works much better. I can't give you a definitive answer on how well workout waist trainers work - as I am a wee bit lazy and haven't been to the gym for years! However, just take a look on instagram at the workout waist training pictures. They are pretty inspirational and the ladies on there are definitely getting results! What Size Waist Trainer Do I Go For? All of the waist trainers and waist cincher we sell have good size charts. Please do follow them, or ask me for advice. The main thing to make sure you get right is that your waist trainer should fit VERY TIGHTLY. If it doesn't then it won't give you any waist training results - it will give you a nice, slimmer waist, but this will only be whilst you are wearing it. I do have lots of customers who buy their waist trainers in a VERY SMALL size. They wear them SUPER TIGHT and really get great results. Please do be aware though, if you go for a waist trainer in a smaller size something will have to give - bones break (not yours, the waist trainers) and hooks and eyes can pull. I do have a lovely lady who seems to buy a waist trainer almost once a month. She must really put it through its paces! How Long Should I Wear A Waist Trainer For? In order to achieve amazing results, you should wear your waist trainer for 8 - 10 hours a day, daily for a good week to a fortnight. How quickly you get results really depends on your body. The quickest results we hear about come from women who have had a baby. We think this is because your body has naturally expanded from being pregnant and so there is more space to push everything back in. Post-Partum Recovery The Esbelt Waist Cincher was in fact originally developed to help with Post-Partum (just after you have had a baby) recovery and Post-Surgery recovery. The idea of putting everything back in place after you have expanded during pregnancy goes back centuries - various cultures used to bind their waists after pregnancy in order to return back to your original pre-pregnancy size. If you decide to use a waist trainer for post-partum recovery, please do always run it past your doctor or midwife, especially if you have had a c-section or complications. How Long Will The Effects Last? The results from waist training are semi-permanent. If you try waist training as a one off thing for a few weeks, your waist will gradually return back to its natural size. However, if you waist train regularly you will get more long-term results. It does take patience and persistence though! The results from post-partum recovery tend to be more permanent as it is more of a moving things back to their original place, type of thing. Waist Trainer Top Tip #1 Because your waist trainer has a high latex/rubber content, it will smell of rubber when you get it out of the packet. I suggest that you leave it out in the open air for a while. If it is still quite strong smelling, give it a little sponge down with some nice smelling water! Waist Trainer Top Tip #2 If you have chosen a waist trainer in a VERY SMALL size in order to really go for it with waist training, put it on lying down on the bed. Start with the top hook and eye and slowly work your way down. For some reason, lying down helps loads! Waist Trainer Top Tip #3 Always always hand wash your waist trainer. Please do not put it in the washing machine or tumble drier. This will cause bones to break and latex/rubber to disintegrate. Also, dry away from direct heat - don't put it on a radiator. Dry it flat like you would with a jumper. Waist Trainer Top Tip #4 Tuck the bottom of your waist trainer into your knickers. This helps to give you a much smoother line under your clothes. It also helps it to stay in place and not roll up. Waist Trainer Top Tip #5 If you find yourself bulging out over the top of your waist cincher, try a waist cincher vest instead. This comes up much higher over the back and helps to create a very smooth line. Esbelt make a really good waist cincher vest. This is as effective as their (super best selling) original waist cincher, but it has shoulder straps and a high back to cover any overhang. Waist Trainer Top Tip #6 If you find your waist trainer shows through your top, put a tight fitting vest on over the top. This will help to smooth out any lines, giving you a better silhouette under your clothes. Waist Trainer Top Tip #7 If you are using your waist cincher as a waist trainer, please do bear in mind that it may not last forever. If you are putting it under lots of strain by wearing it on a super tight setting, it will eventually break. Once the bones have snapped you will need to purchase a new one. Waist Trainer Top Tip #8 Don't wear your waist trainer if you are going out for a big meal. You may find your appetite is quite reduced when wearing your waist trainer. If you think about what a waist trainers does, it compresses everything it covers. This does include your stomach. Some ladies love this - me included, as any reduction in my enormous appetite is always welcome! However, it might not be practical if you are going out for a special meal. Waist Trainer Top Tip #9 Waist trainers are really helpful when it comes to your posture. The firmness of them makes you stand up much straighter and taller. And just standing up straighter automatically makes you look slimmer and more lovely. Plus it makes your boobs look more uplifted and bigger!! Waist Trainer Top Tip #10 Another side effect of wearing a waist trainer is that it really helps with lower back ache. When I feel my back "go" I immediately stick on my waist trainer. It gives it tons of support and I'm sure it has saved me from some expensive trips to the osteopath!

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!

Today I had a really sweet email from a lady asking me "what is the best shapewear for tummy control?" This is actually a bit of a tricky one to answer, as it really depends on the size and shape of your tummy. Our tummy sizes and shapes vary wildly, but most of us have one thing in common, we really do not like our tummies. The Different Types Of Tummy Shapes The Little Sticky Out Pooch Tummy If you are generally fairly slim, but have a little tummy bulge that just never goes away not matter how many sit ups you do, this bit is for you. This is my older sister. She is so lovely and slim, but her tiny belly drives her mad. I swear in her head it is some michelin man style tyre round her waist. When actually it really isn't noticable and looks quite nice! However, you still want it to be slimmer, especially in scary dresses like bodycons. So the sort of shapewear you need to be looking at is SMALL shapewear. Don't go for anything too full on. Just focus on the tummy area. You can easily get away with an itsy bitsy control thong or a cute little pair of slimming pants. These will give you a nice bit of tummy control, in that your pooch will be flattened and smoothed out. 3 Shapewear Solutions For You To Try    The Spare Tyre Tummy The spare tyre tummy type is the most common one of them all (sorry to call lots of you common, but you are amongst friends). This type of tummy is often caused by not having a strong core body strength. If you don't exercise a great deal and sit down in front of a computer all day, the chances are you have a spare tyre tummy. The spare tyre tummy is easily disguised with shapewear. You don't need to go for anything too strong - firm control is best for this. It is easy to get on, comfy to wear all day, and it will instantly hide your spare tyre tummy. It is best to go for a high waisted style so that you don't spill over the top of your shapewear. 3 Shapewear Solutions For You To Try    The Kangaroo Pouch Or Apron Tummy - Also Called A Mummy Tummy This one is ME! I'm a woman of a certain age (no I'm not going to tell you, it's getting THAT big) and I have had 2 children. So many lovely ladies that I know tell me they have this type of tummy too. It is a sort of wobbly flap that hangs down and makes me very sad. Mine isn't quite there yet, but I swear in a few years I'm going to have to actually tuck it into my knickers. I've seen it happen, well on really mean greetings cards! The only way to hide a tummy like mine is with EXTRA FIRM control and BIG shapewear. Things have to be enveloped and contained as there is simply too much for anything small. 3 Shapewear Solutions For You To Try    The Wine Tummy The wine tummy is the female version of a beer belly. Many things can cause it, beer and wine being just 2 of them.  The wine tummy is the sort of tummy that is just permanently round and sticky out. In some ways it is preferable to the apron tummy, as it is less lumpy and bumpy. But it is still something that lots of us want to make less of. The best way to hide a beer belly tummy is by giving it more definition. And for that you have to go with a waist cincher. Full on maximum control with boning. This will pull you in and flatten you out, making you look less round and much more curvy. 3 Shapewear Solutions For You To Try