Why Waist Trainers are a Waste of Money and Don’t Work

Weight Loss 1 min Read

Written by

Keith Hansen

Your favorite Instagram model swears by them (stop following this corporate sellout).

Your personal trainer insists you wear it daily (get a new personal trainer).

It feels like it’s working.

But it isn’t.

Waist trainers are bullshit.

Here is why:

Sweat Actually Isn’t Fat Crying

Sweat is your body’s way of cooling you off.

Keeping you in homeostasis.

98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.

If your stomach sweats when wearing a waist trainer it’s because it isn’t letting your stomach cool off.

Not because it has magical fat-melting, spot reducing properties.

Science

Take a second and think about what science would make a waist trainer work.

I can’t think of any either.

Fat is your body’s method of storing energy.

You can only get rid of fat by using it as energy.

Elastic, not Plastic

Fat is elastic. Not plastic.

What does that mean?

Think about your leggings. They are elastic. They will stretch and mold to your body, but when you take them off they go back to the original shape.

Now think about an empty water bottle. If you step on the bottle its shape changes permanently. This is plastic.

A waist trainer can compress your fat while on, but it will go right back to normal when that waist trainer comes off.

Organ Remodeling

Corsets worn tight enough will permanently change the size of your waist.

But not by reducing the fat you have.

When you compress your waist enough your organs will shift to accommodate this. With enough compression over long enough time you can cause permanent shifting.

But waist trainers don’t cause enough pressure, and do you really want to shift your organs?

No. You want to lose fat.

What’s better than a WAist Trainer

Fixing your nutrition.

Lifting weights.

Making permanent lifestyle change.

The Serious Guide to Nutrition

Keith Hansen

Keith was an All-State wrestler in high school and in 2007 hung up his singlet to attend Florida State University to pursue a B.S. in business management. He wasn't sure what industry he wanted to be involved in at the time, but soon realized after graduating in 2011 that fitness was the ever-constant activity in his life. Keith began studying to become a personal trainer and in 2013 earned the National Strength and Conditioning Association's Personal Trainer certification. After a short stint as a big box gym trainer he realized he wanted to bring something different to Tallahassee. Keith competes in Powerlifting, Olympic Weightlifting, and Crossfit.