The Pros and Cons of Using Waist Trainers
Losing belly fat is one of the major goals for most workout sessions. The conception is that a flatter stomach and a tinier waist equals beauty. This is why the phenomenon of narrowing of the waist with the waistline has become quite widespread.
Several companies have taken the liberty to produce solutions that help lose this belly fat…but without having to do so much work. Some companies claim that this product helps you lose fat, reduce waist, release toxins, and make your body more beautiful. Some even claim that while you use this product, workout becomes unnecessary.
But, the real question is, are these claims scientifically proven? Are there any negative health effects if you use them? Do waist trainers really work? You are probably here to know if you should make that purchase on that waist trainer, or maybe you have one of them already and you just felt the need to know more about this acclaimed miracle-working product. If you fall under any of these categories, then you are in the right place. In this article, we will be discussing the pros and cons of using waist trainers.
What is a Waist Trainer?
Before we go into the deep down dive, do you even know what a waist trainer is?
A waist trainer is basically a shapewear. It is made of thick fabric and hard metal boning designed to be worn around your waist or midsection. Its main purpose is to give its wearer a slimmer and tighter waist.
This product is similar to the16th century corset that covers the waist, hip, and back. In theory, if a person wears a waist size regularly for any length of time, the body will ideally be formed. It can also reduce body fat, especially the fat around the waist, thereby reducing its size.
Now that we understand what waist trainers are, let’s talk about its pros and cons.
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Pros of Using Waist Trainers
It is hard to tell if the waist trainer is as effective as companies advertise, but here are a few pros of using the product.
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Helps With Posture
By wearing a waist trainer, you are forcing your back to be erect and that will help improve your posture. While working at your desk, cooking, or just walking, wearing a waist trainer will ensure that you keep your back straight and not slouch. This is made possible with the hard metal boning built into the corset. Over time, you’ll get used to it and you will find yourself maintaining that posture even without the corset on.
2. Improves Confidence
Using a waist trainer creates an image of a tinier waist and it helps your clothes look better fitted to your body. This image makes the wearer feel more beautiful, which will, in turn, make them feel confident. As the saying goes, whatever makes you feel good about yourself, don’t hesitate to do it!
3. Controls Weight Gain
Those who use this tool feel excessive sweat being produced. This is often associated with fat loss which is ultimately linked to weight loss. But in real fact, the sweat you spend is not the same as the fat. You only lose body fluids due to bloating, you do not lose body fat. It has not been scientifically proven that waist trainers burn fat.
In fact, there are a lot of misconceptions about this but what waist trainers actually do is to redistribute the fat around your midsection into other parts of your body, and not remove it. Regarding your weight gain, it helps control the amount of food you take in. If you are the type to wear your waist trainers all day, you would notice that at some point, it becomes difficult to consume certain amounts of food. If you think you would lose weight by using a waist trainer, it is best you have a rethink.
4. Postpartum Waist Training
Right after childbirth, a woman’s priority after taking care of the child is to lose all the baby fat. Especially those at her midsection. While it might not be feasible to get right into rigorous workout sessions immediately after childbirth (except for some celebrities, obviously), waist trainers could help new mothers do the heavy lifting. It helps to strengthen and tighten the waist postpartum by supporting the healing process of the abdominal muscles. It helps these women feel better about themselves as they come to terms with the changes their bodies have undergone.
5. Helps Achieve an Hourglass Figure
This is the major objective of waist training. What the waist trainer does is to clinch in the waist and accentuate the wearer’s curves. It also offers great support for the bustline and hips. If you wear the corset consistently, the hourglass figure can even be visible when you are not wearing it. But some other women prefer to wear it under their dresses when they are going to special events or during workout sessions. Regardless, the promise of an hourglass figure is too tempting an offer to ignore.
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Cons of Using Waist Trainers
Asides from its obvious benefits, there are also negative effects of using a waist trainer. Discussed below are some of the cons of using a waist trainer.
1. Skin Irritation
One of the most common effects of using a waistband is skin irritation. Leaving a foreign object so close to the skin for a long time will cause friction on the skin. This will in turn cause pain and discomfort. Finding rashes on your skin after taking your waist trainer off will become commonplace. Remember, don’t think this is trivial because continuous skin irritation can cause an infection.
2. It Increases Pain in People with Stomach Acid
People who suffer from gastric acid reflux or GERD and use a waist trainer are likely to feel more pain than usual. First, it is not advisable to use this product when you have a pre-existing medical condition because it just makes matters worse when it squishes all your organs together. By pressing the center of the abdomen, people with gastric acid reflux not only feel a more intense kind of pain, but they also become vulnerable to long-term damage because it can suppress the esophagus wall. In addition, this product can also increase the risk of heartburn and other digestive disorders.
3. Difficulty in Breathing
Using something that can compress the stomach will have an effect on the internal organs that will be forced to adjust to the product. One of the organs affected is the diaphragm. By limiting the diaphragm, you are reducing the oxygen supply you should be receiving. This condition can make you feel short of breath, slightly dizzy, or even make you faint. This is usually the case when you put it on for a long time. As the saying goes, moderation is key.
4. Could Cause Bruises
Unlike traditional corsets which are more flexible, waist trainers tend to be more rigid because of the effects they are designed to have on the human body. Traditional corsets were simply worn for aesthetic purposes. Because of the inbuilt hard metal boning structure, waist trainers will leave bruises on some parts of the body (like the back) if used for a long time.
Bruising is caused not only on the surface of the skin but also on the bones. Bone bruises will be harder to overcome and more painful than normal bruises. When younger people like teenagers use this product, the effect is worse because it is believed that their bones are yet to form perfectly, and so the risk of injury becomes greater.
5. Inhibits Blood Flow
Not only can the oxygen supply be reduced, but the waist trainers can also reduce the blood flow in the blood vessels. If this product is left on continuously, it will cause blood clots and put excessive pressure on the heart to pump blood. Additionally, obstructed blood flow can also cause numbness. If your nerves are suffering from a lack of regular blood flow, you will feel numbness in some parts of the body.
6. Causes Permanent Damage to the Spine
Waist trainers can also cause permanent organ damage. Certain spine surgeons have posited that this product has a severe effect on the spinal muscles and other parts such as bones, ligaments, and nerves. Because of the bony structure, it causes the back and abdominal muscles to weaken because you are no longer using them for support and posture.
7. Affects Mental Health
While it could help you feel better, it could also make you feel worse by having a warped sense of what beauty really is. By using a waist trainer, you will feel much thinner than usual. However, when you release it, you will feel sadness and dissatisfaction with your fitness again. This product only works at giving false hopes and temporary relief. If you are obsessed and have high hopes for this product and the results are not exactly visible, you feel disappointed and begin to blame yourself.
A survey by British Military Fitness (BMF) found that 1 in 9 people said they use waist trainers and 1 in 5 others confessed that they wanted to try it later. The Head of Operations and Training at BMF, Garry Kerr, said wearing a waistband gives the illusion of a slim body only when worn. However, if you take it off in the evening, the fat will return to its original position and your body shape will return to normal. Therefore, advertising and emerging trends cannot be easily trusted.
Find out as much as you can before deciding to try the trend, especially if it has something to do with your health. However, if you want to use the waist trainer occasionally to support the look, that’s fine. Provided you don’t use it for a long time if you don’t want the negative effects.
All other pictures are from pixabay and no attribution is required.
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