Does Body Shapers Really Help Lose Weight?

This is a question many women ask themselves; it is a great belief that wearing a body shaper helps women in their goal of losing weight. Could this be true?
There are several studies trying to answer this concern, and they reached the conclusion that these garments are a little bit helpful when it comes to losing a few pounds, but this does not mean they will help you lose a lot of weight (major pounds).

Body Shapers Really Help Lose Weight

What happens is that, the compression these garments produce while wearing them helps to lose a little weight by massaging the body and causing it to sweat. This increases the circulation and that generates weight loss. However, this does not mean that wearing a body shaper is the solution to your weight problem; it won’t magically melt the fat off your body. The real solution, the safe and effective way for losing weight, is exercising and eating healthy. Body shapers can give extra help, but that is all.

If you are looking to lose weight, you should always consult a nutritionist, to make sure you are eating the right amount of minerals, vitamins and proteins. Professional help is always recommended.

Extreme compression is not healthy

Because of the belief that shapewear helps lose weight, there are other techniques being used by women. Such techniques can be harmful to health and we don’t recommend them.
We are referring to what is commonly known as “corset diet”; this involves using a high-compression body shaper, such as waist trainers, to constrain the abdomen enough so that you won’t be able to eat big meals. The digestive tract is heavily compressed and that makes you extremely uncomfortable to ingest the amount of food you are used to eating. This method is expected to help lose weight, but it doesn’t consider the side effects that are really dangerous to your health. Let us develop; wearing an extremely tight piece of shapewear can generate breathing difficulties or produce digestive problems such as acid reflux. Many women purchase a smaller size of shapewear than the one they should be really wearing, just to gain compression to achieve this “corset diet” effect and that can cause severe problems, like shortness of breath, which makes your oxygen decrease generating dizziness. Moreover, the excessive pressure slows down the gastrointestinal system motion trapping the gas inside your abdomen generating bloating and gassiness.
In addition, high-compression to the waist and hip area averts blood from circulating to the lower legs, if you already suffer from poor circulation your condition could be aggravated making your legs swell. It can also clutch nerves producing numbness.
Now, wait a minute, we are not saying you should never wear shapewear, or that they are harmful to health always. It is important to clarify we are referring to wearing a high-compressed waist trainer in order to avoid eating too much. In fact, any type of shapewear too tight is harmful. You should always wear the correct size for you, and not for a large amount of hours. The shapewear should never leave marks on your skin, if that happens it means they are too tight. You can wear shapewear every day if you are prudent enough; use your common sense, you need to feel comfortable while wearing them, not squeezed. Check the size chart, try them on, and get the right one for you.

Wearing shapewear while exercising

The right shapewear while doing your exercise can contribute to losing weight because of the reasons we mentioned at the beginning of this note (soft compression makes you sweat and increases circulation generating weight loss). Compression activewear will allow you to feel comfortable and move freely while working out, enabling best results. Some of them can even boost the intensity of your exercise helping you get the most out of your workout time.
There is a variety of compression activewear, for the top and bottom of your body. They are made of breathable fabrics so you can stay cool during your exercise and help reduce muscle soreness and fatigue. They can also provide the right support to stabilize your body parts while training.
For all these reasons and more, they are ideal to wear while working out. Remember you should always get the correct size with the right amount of compression.