Girdle, belly binding

Tutab

Just wondering if any of you used a girdle or some form of belly binding while losin weight, has it helped with the belly pouch when you reached goal? Did it make a difference?
I had 3 c-sections, i used it after the first two while going back to my pre pregnancy weight and I helped a lot no belly bouch whatsoever people thought I had a tummy tuck, but after hashimoto's and going up to 200 lbs then losin weight unintentionally while pregnant to 179 then gaining back to 228 I gave up, but now I started a new healthy regime and losing weight (thank God for that) I was wondering if belly binding would help with the stomach while it shrinks?
I walk about an hour or more daily not just stroll in the park, power walk, I also put in 10 min on the eliptical still building my endurance, I finished a two week ttapp boot camp on Friday and today starting 30ds so I can strengthen my belly muscles.

cheripugh1

well... I have no idea but I don't see how it could hurt and if it worked after C-sections there is a good chance it will at the very least help now especially with exercise.

wapan

Jessica Alba says that she wore a corset after her second child to help with the weight loss post-pregnancy but I always take what celebrities say with a grain of salt. I've been curious about this as well as I'm currently pregnant.

Tutab

>>>>>Cheri
I used it before from day one after c sections, this time my baby is 21 months old so so its a bit late that's why I am asking to see if helped while losing weight, not just getting uterus into shap, sorry I wasn't clear before ( I gained about 20 lbs with each my first two pregnancies and lost the weight quick, but now its a different story.

Tutab

>>>> wapan
I never believe celebrities, 90% of the time they lie because they are paid by some company! I remember long time ago one actress not sure who but she came advising us to do a diet saying it worked for her, what she didnt't tell us was that she has a personal trainer and works out 4 hours a day.
As for Jessica alba, she does various types of workouts and she has more muscle mass than a lot of people, for one of her shows dark angel i think she trained for 6 hours a day, so whatever she say about a corset helping her lose weight is total bull****.

I do believe the belly binding helps the uterus get back into shape after birth bcs you can't do any stomach workout for the first 6 weeks, I mean who has energy to??? But ya if you eat right and get moving as soon as you can you will definitely lose the belly.


I am hoping that the same goes with eight loss as the body shrinks maybe a binder will help it remember where to go rather than just hang (ya i mean the belly flap that we all have lol) i also would like some feedback from you guys if any product on the market helped with skin elasticity I thought of olive oil bio oil, that will be an experiment I will update on when I reach goal, and would love to hear anyone experience in this.

**** feeling optimistic today***

SyntonicGarden

Not to sound totally ignorant, but how does one go about doing this exactly? O.o

HeidiCooksSupper

The only way a girdle would help you lose weight is if it caused you to eat less. I was fat back in the day when women wore girdles to hold their hose up. It never kept me away from the chuck wagon.

Tutab

The only way a girdle would help you lose weight is if it caused you to eat less. I was fat back in the day when women wore girdles to hold their hose up. It never kept me away from the chuck wagon.

Yep, a girdle doesn't make anyone lose weight, I am only wondering if it helped with the body shape while losing the healthy way.

Tutab

Not to sound totally ignorant, but how does one go about doing this exactly? O.o

You mean wearing the girdle/ body wrap?
I have the hospital grade one from my c-section but there are the ones that look like an under garment. I started using mine this morning, and am just wondering if its worth it, it does help with my posture so that's a plus, I lay on the bed to get my belly to its flattest position and then warp it shut and I get up, I am not doing it too tight bcs it's not comfortable, so work with your body and hopefully someone comes and tells us if they did it and if it was worth it or not.

Screwedntattooed

You can corset train

Tutab

You can corset train

That sounds really harsh but its exactly what i mean except not on the waist but the lower belly. Thank you for giving me the term to search i got nowhere using belly binding!

Heirgreat

my friend is doing it, not post baby or anything, she doesn't want to watch calories, took her two days to get into it, liiterally, she watched utube videos to see how to hook it, she is wearing it to bed and basically all day long, said she is standing up more "straight", she can't eat much because it is so tight, she likes that she "looks like I lost 10 lbs instantly", but it is very restrictive....hmm.... told her about MFP, we'll see, this is my friend, she does all fad diets, and eventually fails, so "waist training", probably a scam as well.

rpenfoldmurray

I'm having a similar issue--some weight is coming off, but due to two c-sections and a massive abdominal diastasis recti (I am sure I spelled that wrong) my belly hangs out. I get asked if I'm pregnant a lot--especially since I've started to lose weight and parts of me are getting smaller and the belly is still big.

The girdle can help (I've heard) with some hunger issues and also helps with posture, back pain and belly support/comfort. Modern girdles are not the impossible, constricting torture devices of the Victorian era. I've heard really good things about The Squeem and the Hourglass Angel Slimvest. They're a little spendy--$60-100 each. But they work better than shapewear for constriction, and they're less punishing than a traditional corset.

If you haven't been diagnosed with abdominal diastasis recti (again, butchering spelling) you may want to ask your OB/GYN or PCP about it. The weakened/split stomach muscles (common after c-sections or pregnancies of multiples...I had both, thus the terrible belly flab) sort of let everything around your abdomen just "hang out" and traditional sit-ups do not improve the core--you have to do physical therapy and Pilates- and yoga-like strengthening to improve it.

So if your main goal is to minimize the belly weight while you're losing it, then I hope my comments were helpful!

annassong

I also have a abdominal diastasis recti. I've had a baby. A very BIG 9 pound baby in my 5 foot 3 petite frame so as you can imagine my lower floating ribs were widened giving me a bigger waist than what I had prior to baby as well as a huge gap where the abdominal muscles have split.

No matter how much strength training or safe core workouts I did I never got that natural curve back. But since waist training with a proper fitted steel boned corset I am slowly pushing my floating rib cage back in and shifting fat back to where it should be.

Combined waist training with a healthy balanced diet and exercise will work however corsets alone don't make you lose weight...but if done correctly you will get a smaller waist over time because it is repositioning your fat. Now...if you have a low body fat percentage corset training will take a lot longer for you because there is not much fat to move but it will still push your floating ribs in giving you the appearance of a smaller waist.

Corsets if done correctly also don't make you breathless and don't cause damage to organs. (Unless you're a serious tight lacer) If it does you're doing it wrong.
I had to mention that because Corsets have this ridiculous stigma against them which simply is not true.

Once I figure out how to post photos I will show you my results.

LeonCX

I wear a corset on those special nights. My wife loves it.

SonicDeathMonkey80

Worked for Lady Gaga

leggup

Nothing can improve skin elasticity. It's affected by a combination of how long the skin was stretched, age, and genetics. You can fight pooch by further decreasing body fat percentage and lifting weights.

labretagne2014

I wear a corset as well hidden underwear. I'm almost 50 and, back in the day, used to have the classic 36-22-36 figure. What with one thing and another those figures have all exploded of course. I find the corset does make me think about what I want to eat as I do wear mine rather tightly and it does mean that I do not have the same appetite, nor can I eat as much as I might otherwise. It does feel wonderful when I see that lovely hourglass in the mirror. I match that with non traditional, supervised, workouts of no more than 1 hour three times a week in the gym. Rather than lifting weights and hitting the machines as I used to do - and got nowhere!!! - I'm doing what I think is called a transversal routine. This focusses on the core - all around the belly and the back - while using the three planes of movement for each exercise. It doesn't feel like much when I'm doing it but I really feel it the next day. One of the problems I had with the corset was that, with my capacity for food constrained, I started craving high calorie value foods and, of course, made the mistake of eating very little during the day and then eating voraciously at night as soon as I took my corset off. I've adjusted that now so that I eat a healthy variety of more foods during the day in small meals and keep my corset on until I feel satisfied after dinner. If you want to try this, make sure you focus on the core exercises. The corset extends the spine and, unless you engage your core muscles all the time, you can end up with atrophy in that area - hardly what any of us is looking for.

mitch16

I always look at how skinny my ring finger is under my wedding ring and think how wonderful it would be to have something like that around my waist... If only it were that easy.

My mother grew up in the 40's and 50's and a girdle was part of her everyday attire. Although I'm sure it made her look stunning while she was wearing it, she contends that relying on the girdle actually made her abdominal muscles very weak, and when girdles went out of style she had a hard time building them back up. Just something to think about...

Tutab

I am not concerned with my waist because I know deep inside I have a beautiful waist line, this is what concerns me ending up like this after I lose weight

http://thesweatybetties.com/how-can-i-get-rid-of-loose-skin-on-my-belly/
(Not my picture)

I do have a pouch over my incision and am worried it will end up like the picture, I know I do not have diastasis so that's not a problem I can do upper ab crunches and lower ones and even though its section and numb i do feel the muscles when I work them, also when I lay on my back my belly disappears inwards towards my spine as if non existent. That is why I am hoping a binder will help push it in and keep it in place, I am not planning in sleepin with it on, but wear at 4-6 hours a day I will also remove it when working out to have my muscles contract freely. Hopefully a year from now I will come and tell you guys I had success.

(For those of you with diastasis I know you shouldn't do regular sit-ups because they will hurt you, my sister has it.

3dogsrunning

I would think if the issue is muscles in your abdomen that something like a tight corset would provide support which would not encourage your muscles to activate. Stronger core muscles will help pull in and hold in the abdomen.
I would think a corset would be the opposite of what you want.

I recently had a c-section. I am focusing on strengthening my core and pelvic floor muscles. Not just crunches, I mean all over core strengthening.

ninerbuff

Loose skin is only remedied a few ways:

Increase mass (whether through muscle or fat) where the loose skin is to make it tauter.

Accept that it's going to be there.

Have surgery to remove it.

There are no exercises, pills, liniments, corsets, girdles, etc. that will rid the body of it if it doesn't retract on it's own.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Tutab

I always look at how skinny my ring finger is under my wedding ring and think how wonderful it would be to have something like that around my waist... If only it were that easy.

My mother grew up in the 40's and 50's and a girdle was part of her everyday attire. Although I'm sure it made her look stunning while she was wearing it, she contends that relying on the girdle actually made her abdominal muscles very weak, and when girdles went out of style she had a hard time building them back up. Just something to think about...

I am well aware of the dangers of wearing a girdle all the time, it's not a pretty sight two close people to me are like that and I always advice them against it when they remove it you see their belly area is like butter no strength whatsoever. I personally wear the under garment one during my TOM as it helps with the pain.

georgiaTRIs

You need to do core work to strength the muscles. Don't make them dependent on a girdle. Once and a while there is nothing wrong with it but do not wear it all the time. I have never see proof that it helps you lose weight.

Tutab

Loose skin is only remedied a few ways:

Increase mass (whether through muscle or fat) where the loose skin is to make it tauter.

Accept that it's going to be there.

Have surgery to remove it.

There are no exercises, pills, liniments, corsets, girdles, etc. that will rid the body of it if it doesn't retract on it's own.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer


IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

**Gasp**
While I know what you are saying is true for people who have been overweight for a long period of time, their skin lost elasticity it forgot how to shrink, got way too stretched, yes I understand that the flab lose skin will always be there, I had convinced myself that it's not the case with me I want to give it a try and see if it makes a difference, LIKE I SAID BEFORE AND WILL SAY IT AGAIN, I am not planing on wearing a corset but rather a binder that will not stress my waist, i am not using it as a means of suppressing my appetite or losing weight, but rather something to hold my flab in place that maybe just maybe the skin will shrink inwards rather than be pulled by gravity.

3dogsrunning

Loose skin is only remedied a few ways:

Increase mass (whether through muscle or fat) where the loose skin is to make it tauter.

Accept that it's going to be there.

Have surgery to remove it.

There are no exercises, pills, liniments, corsets, girdles, etc. that will rid the body of it if it doesn't retract on it's own.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I don't think this is necessarily a case of loose skin. OP was looking for ways to help the skin while losing weight.

In my own case, I'm pretty confident it's weak muscles, and possibly a little extra fat not loose skin.

Tutab

You need to do core work to strength the muscles. Don't make them dependent on a girdle. Once and a while there is nothing wrong with it but do not wear it all the time. I have never see proof that it helps you lose weight.

Thank you all for the responses and valuable advice you are giving me. I still don't feel anyone answered my question though if using something to hold the flab where it's supposed to belong would it help minimize or abolish it like I did after my first two c sections.

3dogsrunning

You need to do core work to strength the muscles. Don't make them dependent on a girdle. Once and a while there is nothing wrong with it but do not wear it all the time. I have never see proof that it helps you lose weight.

Thank you all for the responses and valuable advice you are giving me. I still don't feel anyone answered my question though if using something to hold the flab where it's supposed to belong would it help minimize or abolish it like I did after my first two c sections.

Sorry, I guess my answer wasn't clear.

No. I don't think it will. The skin itself won't learn to stay there, it is the muscles that hold it there which is why I mention focusing on strengthening the muscles.

Eta
Or it's loose skin and what Niner said applies.

Tutab

I would think if the issue is muscles in your abdomen that something like a tight corset would provide support which would not encourage your muscles to activate. Stronger core muscles will help pull in and hold in the abdomen.
I would think a corset would be the opposite of what you want.

I recently had a c-section. I am focusing on strengthening my core and pelvic floor muscles. Not just crunches, I mean all over core strengthening.

Congratulations on your baby. I had succeeded during my first two c sections using a workout designed by Teresa tapp, I am not sure if anyone if familiar with her, I saw an article in a magazine about her and a sample work out, I did it for a week and I lost 1.5 inches from my waist in just one week I was sold and I bought her full workout including the hit the floor VHS (yep long before DVDs were invented) The both times I did it I got washboard abs i kid you not (and no I do not work for her it just worked for me).
I couldn't do the whole thing this time as its a lengthy one its 2 hrs plus the 30 min focus on middle core and you're supposed to do 60 min cardio every other day or every day (the full workout is an everyday thing) so I just did a two week boot camp using the hit the floor and lost already 3 inches of my waist, I can't upload pictures for religious reasons, but you can check it out on her website or even youtube, you should notice a difference in your clothes within 1 week.
I want now to focus on loosing weight because I just adapted a new lifestyle and I don't want to hinder the weight loss with muscle building I am just happy that I am losing, maybe after another 20lb loss I will start with it again, for right now I am doing 30DS and walking plus some elliptical if I was able to squeeze it in.
Good luck.

leggup

something to hold my flab in place that maybe just maybe the skin will shrink inwards rather than be pulled by gravity.

That is not how skin works. Gravity does not cause skin to sag off of the body. If that were the case, we would all have excess skin hanging off of our feet. If skin weren't attached to anything, we could just slide around in our skin, like a hand in a glove. The simplest way of explaining this is that skin is held in place by muscle. If there is too much skin (caused by stretching through weight gain, pregnancy, height growth, etc) to attach to the muscle, or if the muscle is nonexistent, then the skin will sag. Older people lose skin elasticity (wrinkles), bone and muscle density, making it harder to fight the sag.

A skin binder will temporarily hold your skin in a place. It will probably do more harm than good.

Tutab

You need to do core work to strength the muscles. Don't make them dependent on a girdle. Once and a while there is nothing wrong with it but do not wear it all the time. I have never see proof that it helps you lose weight.

Thank you all for the responses and valuable advice you are giving me. I still don't feel anyone answered my question though if using something to hold the flab where it's supposed to belong would it help minimize or abolish it like I did after my first two c sections.

Sorry, I guess my answer wasn't clear.

No. I don't think it will. The skin itself won't learn to stay there, it is the muscles that hold it there which is why I mention focusing on strengthening the muscles.

Eta
Or it's loose skin and what Niner said applies.

I see your point, I do feel my muscles contract when I work them, but I don't feel them when I am standing its a bit hard to explain how i feel them and not feel them, I feel silly just saying it, what I mean is when I am standing up and I suck my tummy in i feel the upper abs but don't feel the lower ones so I don't know if they are or not contracting. I guess the only way to tell is by experience and I will update with my results within a year I hope,