When you’re serious about losing weight, you start looking into all the tools and resources that will help you succeed. You research diet, fitness, hydration, and perhaps even schedules and coaching programs.

But what about waist training? Do waist trainers really help you lose weight?

There’s not a catchall answer to that question, because there are so many factors that go into a successful weight-loss plan. But when practiced as directed, waist training can certainly be part of a healthy lifestyle, especially when used as a supplement to other weight-loss activities. Here’s how.

Waist Training as Part of Your Fitness Plan

If you’re new to waist training, an easy way to get started is by incorporating it into your workouts. Workout bands can be used with various types of workouts including walking, running, biking, aerobics, weight lifting, HIIT and cardio machines.

With firm compression around your core during your workouts, you’ll be producing more heat around your midsection, causing you to sweat more. This helps you increase the overall intensity of your workout, without actually working harder. So even if all you can fit in is a quick walk, you’ll be getting in a very productive walk if you’re wearing a waist trainer while you do it.

You may find that wearing a waist trainer also inspires and motivates you to be consistent with your workout plan. Workout bands are brightly colored and can help you look slim and fit while you wear them—even if you wear a tank or tee over the top. If you put your waist trainer somewhere you’ll notice it when it’s time to work out, it might just give you enough inspiration to stick with your goals.

In these ways, you can see how wearing a workout band can contribute to an ongoing fitness routine in many ways, which in turn could help you lose weight. In fact, you might be so excited about the results you get when you wear a workout band, that you want to wear a waist trainer beyond just the gym. Wearing an everyday waist trainer daily for 8–12 hours is often the logical next step. But again, the key is to pair your waist training efforts with a consistent exercise routine.

Waist Training and Healthy Eating

When it comes to weight loss, the amount and quantity of the food you eat is going to be a major contributing factor to your results. Even if you’re doing everything else right—like exercising multiple times a week, managing stress, waist training and getting adequate sleep—you’re going to sabotage your results if you aren’t disciplined with your diet.

We don’t recommend fad diets, but rather lifestyle changes that you can stick with for the long term. The exceptions are short-term cleanses that can jumpstart your healthy eating habits. But once you’re done with your cleanse, get a realistic clean eating and portion control plan that you can maintain for years.

Since waist training is a daily discipline, it goes hand in hand with a healthy diet. It takes time to build a habit, but once you’ve established it, it’s much easier for your brain to stick to it automatically. This holds true for waist training, working out, and also meal planning, meal prep and meal scheduling.

When you’re wearing your waist trainer, you’re likely going to be more conscious about the food you’re consuming because the compression will make large meals feel uncomfortable. This type of awareness can help you with portion control as well as being mindful about the types of foods you’re consuming. Eating 5–6 small meals a day rather than large meals can contribute to weight loss (as long as you’re not compulsively snacking, of course).

This is one reason why we recommend wearing your waist trainer daily for at least eight hours. You’ll be reminded to be more sensible about your food choices and portions.

Waist Training, Confidence and Motivation

You might be surprised in just how quickly a waist trainer can contribute to the way you see yourself, even before you lose any weight.

When you put on a waist trainer, you’ll experience the immediate results of dropping several inches from your waistline, along with eliminating any pooch belly, muffin top and love handles. You’ll instantly find that your clothes fit better. A waist trainer will also support your back, contributing to a more confident posture.

These effects can benefit you in some surprising ways. When your clothes fit well and you’re sitting or standing with good posture, you will naturally feel more confident, as well as inspired and motivated to follow through with your healthy lifestyle habits.

For this reason, we highly recommend taking photos and recording your waist measurements when you start your weight-loss journey. When you’re doing some major lifestyle changes that contribute to weight loss, the victories you achieve will spur you on to keep up the hard work.

What’s more, when you see yourself in a waist trainer, you can get a vision for what your figure will look like when you do drop the weight. This can be very empowering, unlike pictures of models you might look at instead, which don’t represent a realistic image of what you can look like.

A waist trainer can also help you set real goals besides numbers on a scale. You may find that sizing down your waist trainer to a tighter setting is worth celebrating just as much or more as dropping a few pounds.

Get Started with Waist Training

There are a lot of ways waist training can play a role in your weight loss strategy, but the only way to find out what works for you is to actually try it! You can start out with a workout band, or start a daily waist training regimen.

Check out our Ultimate Waist Training Guide, customer reviews and other testimonials on our blog, or chat with one of our expert stylists for tips on how to start and what waist trainers are going to best suit your needs.