As you may imagine, the verdict on the real results waist trainers can offer are mixed. While there are A-listers who swear by them—Jessica Alba, as already mentioned, says she wore hers for three months after giving birth to help regain muscle memory in her mid-section, and she swears by the results—plus companies around the globe thriving on word of mouth recommendations, there are also experts who doubt that waist trainers themselves actually have anything to do with the improvements people see.
“I put waist trainers in the category of the ‘fake quick fix’ that adds to the misconception that people can lose weight without changing their with dietary and exercise habits,” one personal trainer told SELF magazine. While others agree that if you do lose inches after wearing a waist trainer, it’s likely to be water loss rather than fat loss, due to all the increased sweating.
Our verdict? If you’re working out and eating well, which most waist training companies advise you do while using their goods, you’re likely to feel better, experience less bloating and possibly lose a few inches anyway. If a waist trainer can help you along with a little increased sweating, motivation and posture guidance, that's great. But we’d advise approaching it with caution, and not pinning all your hourglass dreams on the waist trainer alone.