Interview: Stay-at-Home Mom Reveals Her Postpartum Waist Training Secrets
Posted by by hourglass angel on Jul 9th 2016
Every once in a while, we stumble across a waist training journey that's simply too good not to share! This time, it's Lillie Hall – a stay-at-home mom and soon-to-be bride who decided to try waist training to get her pre-baby body back after childbirth. She captured her journey beautifully on Instagram as she start wearing the Ann Chery Workout Trainer and eventually worked up to wearing it 8-12 hours a day. If Lillie looks familiar, you may recognize her from MTV's "Made," in which she received help from a UFC fighter to make her into beauty pageant queen. We recently reached out to Lillie to learn more about her postpartum waist training experience and see what advice she had for other women.
- Tell us a little about yourself
I am a stay at home mommy to a precious one-year-old boy. I'm engaged to the love of my life and we've been together since October 31, 2012. Our wedding date is set to be our original anniversary, so we will be married on Halloween of this year and I couldn't be happier. I love reading, playing video games, baking, photography, music, tattoos and piercings, online shopping, and cuddling up with my boys to watch TV/movies.
- Why did you decide to try waist training?
I had decided to try waist training after seeing the Hourglass Angel Instagram account. I went to the main web page to do some more research; read reviews, viewed pictures and videos posted by users. I had my son in April 2015 and could not tighten my stomach back up no matter how hard I tried. I was thin before having him, but afterwards, I had gained an extra 20 pounds that I needed to work off. After trying so hard for months, I became discouraged at the fact that I remained at the same weight, not losing or even gaining. When I found out that the waist trainers helped after postpartum to not only lose the stubborn pounds, but also to lose inches as well as tighten and tone, I was sold immediately, desperate to try anything.
- What garment did you use, and why?
I used the Ann Chery Workout waist trainer because it had almost all perfect reviews. There were so many people reviewing it and giving it 5 stars, and the other reviewers who rated it less seemed to only have personal issues with it that weren't common. Plus I loved the pretty color choices.
- What were your first impressions?
The first time I put the waist trainer on, it was a bit of a challenge to get it hooked closed, but after I finally got into it, I saw an immediate difference. I was standing in front of my mirror so that I could see the difference after getting it on. I instantly saw my waist shrink and was so thrilled! I ran to find a cute fitted shirt to put on over it and was so happy to see how amazing my body looked wearing the waist trainer. I knew at that moment that, once I got used to it, I would want to wear it all the time.
- What was your waist training routine?
My waist training routine was wearing the trainer every single day, working my way up from 8 hours to 12 hours a day, adding more time each week. I wore it whether I was working out, cleaning around the house, running errands, or just sitting around relaxing.
- Did the waist trainer meet your expectations? How so?
The waist trainer absolutely met my expectations and then some! I honestly had a curvy hourglass shape naturally and didn't think it was going to make a huge difference in that area. Turns out that there was a wonderful difference made that I am beyond excited about! I am not only tiny all around, having almost completely lost my belly pooch, back fat, and side fat, but I'm also so much curvier than I ever thought I could be!
- What were your diet & fitness habits during your waist training journey?
During my waist training journey, I stayed active, working out 5 days a week to exercise videos that I found online. I would change up my routine every Sunday by finding a new video to use for the week so I could keep it fresh and keep my body challenged. I drank a nutrition shake for breakfast and ate one full meal a day at dinner, the diet I had been on before I started using the waist trainer. I call it the "mom diet" due to the fact it started by me not having time for anything but a shake in the morning and a few bites of something here and there through the day until dinner time.
- In the past, have you faced any challenges with weight-loss or fitness?
I was severely bullied in school starting at a very young age during elementary school. I tried to diet when I was 10 years old because I was so humiliated. As I got older, I started growing more into my weight but still stayed on the bigger side. When I was 15, I was chosen to be involved in the hit TV show MADE on MTV. I wanted to be "made" into a beauty pageant queen, was given a coach with the experience to teach me how to meet my goal, and I was given a UFC fighter to train me to help me lose the weight in time for my pageant. After the show, I kept up with working towards losing more weight using the new methods I was taught and ended up losing 40 pounds and dropping 7 pant sizes. I had a lot of problem areas, especially a pooch that I've had since before I was ever pregnant. The waist trainer finally helped me handle the one area I could never conquer and gave me the body shape I always dreamed of having.
- When did you start seeing results?
Wearing the waist trainer alone gives you an instant 1-2 inches off your waist, but to start seeing a change in my body that started staying more permanent, it took me about 2-3 weeks. My current results are after two months of wearing it. I wore the first set of hooks the first month, then the second set of hooks the second month.
- Has anyone else noticed your results?
Every single person who has ever known me has commented on my results, begging me for my secrets, and now wanting to go invest in waist trainers too! They think I look amazing and I've been told that it doesn't look like I've ever had a baby.
- What would you say to others who are thinking about trying waist training?
If someone is thinking about trying waist training, I would tell them to absolutely go for it! If I can achieve the results I did, then I believe everyone can. I am so much more confident now and for the first time in my life, I love my body. Everyone deserves to feel that way, and if waist training helped me find that in myself, then I recommend others try it as well. My posture is improved, my clothes fit and look better, I walk with my head held higher, and when I get married I get to feel so beautiful in my wedding dress! So I say go for it and stick with it. It's hard at first since getting it on is a chore until you wear it for about a week, then it gets easier. The moment you see yourself in it, you will be glad you bought it. Be sure to go slow, wear it in moderation, easing into wearing it the max amount of time (12 hours) and let your body adjust to it. Even if you only wear it during workouts, it helps make your workout WORK, helping you to sweat more in your midsection to burn calories and fat more than what you would without it on.