Corsets and Weight Loss: How Waist Training Helped Me Lose Weight
I’m sure you’ve heard of corset training and/or waist training; the bad, maybe the good, definitely the ugly. I’ve been waist training since 2013, and over the years, corsets have become one of the tools I’ve used throughout my weight loss journey. Some other tools I’ve used, or have considered using, include the following:
Diet Change: A healthy diet change, including a high-protein and fiber-rich diet; eating in a calorie deficit and/or calorie counting
Hormone Regulation: Getting checked out regularly by a doctor to make sure there aren’t any underlying issues that may affect my weight (e.g., thyroid), and getting blood work done when necessary
Activity: Having an overall active lifestyle; walking 10k or more steps daily, running, HIIT, or any other form of cardio; resistance training, weight training, Pilates, yoga, or any other form of muscle training
Supplements: Using weight loss supplements, including fat burners and meal replacements
Medications: Using weight loss medications, including GLP-1 medications
Surgery: Getting weight loss surgery, such as gastric bypass or gastric sleeve
Waist Training: A tool I’ve used for weight loss! Corsets have played a major role in my weight loss journey. Though they are not for the faint of heart, nor are they a magical tool, I’m still responsible for what I eat and how much I eat.
Nevertheless, here are some of the ways I believe corsets and waist training have helped me with my current and past weight loss journeys. Grab your protein shake and fill up your water bottle now, because this is going to be a long one!
Corsets are Cheaper
When I look at corsets and weight loss from a purely financial perspective, the cost difference can be significant. Weight loss medications can run anywhere from a few hundred bucks to a couple thousand dollars per month. And if your insurance does not cover it, bariatric surgery could be over $10,000 out of pocket. Corsets are around $80–$150 and can last for years, depending on how often they’re worn and whether they need to be replaced.
The initial cost of a corset doesn’t necessarily mean you’re constantly buying new ones. Of course, bodies change, corsets can wear out, and some people may want different styles or sizes over time. But compared to paying hundreds of dollars every month for a weight loss medication, or thousands of dollars for a surgical procedure, a corset is a relatively small investment.
Corsets Helped Me Prevent Binge Eating or Overeating
This is one of the ways corsets and weight loss have intersected in my own experience. I’ve struggled with binge eating and overeating all my life, for many reasons, including having parents who bought me any food I wanted, being accustomed to big portions as part of culture and tradition, a lack of awareness about what’s unhealthy, not leaving the table until all my food was gone, etc. I’m sure you (or someone you know) can relate to some or all of these examples that can lead to binge eating or overeating. And I’m not necessarily blaming one excuse over the other.
But it’s important to recognize it for what it is, because binge eating and overeating can make so much noise inside our heads. Food noise: that little voice in your head that nags you about what to eat, then what to eat after that, and then what sweet treat can you then eat.
Now I know from experience that food noise can sound pretty loud until you have quieted it down with chewing. And even then, once the meal is over, the food noise is back with “What else can I eat?” or “When’s my next meal?” I don’t need to spend all day searching for food or thinking about what I’m going to eat next. I have better things to do than worry about food all the time, like blog, pet my furry babies, get some fresh air, etc.
Wearing a corset makes me eat in a way that reminds me of what I’ve heard from people who have had bariatric surgery or taken weight loss medications. Wearing a corset only offers my stomach so much room for food, so I tend to eat less and choose smaller portions.
Corsets Help Block Out My Food Noise
Another example of how corsets and weight loss have been connected for me is that I sometimes ‘forget’ to eat. Or I simply don’t think about food constantly (aka food noise). Now I’m not saying wearing a corset always lowers or prevents my food noise, but what I am saying is that when I wear my corset, the food noise isn’t so loud and overwhelming, meaning it comes and goes and is not constant all day long.
Don’t quote me on this because it’s just my theory, but I think it could be from the tightness of the corset. Perhaps the tension on the abdomen sends some kind of signal to the brain that says something like, “It seems we are already at full capacity, do not send any hunger signals or thoughts of food, or create any food noise.” Maybe it has something to do with the stomach being the “second brain.” Or perhaps it’s simply the physical sensation of wearing a tight corset keeping me more aware of my body and my weight loss goals, rather than constantly thinking about what goodies are in the fridge or pantry. I don’t know exactly why corsets keep the food noise at bay for me, but they do.
Of course, there are times when I’ve put on my corset, haven’t had any food noise for a few hours, and then all of a sudden, all I can think about are those delicious Costco chocolate chip cookies (300 calories each) taunting me inside my cupboard (don’t ask me why I bought them in the first place, I couldn’t tell you). And of course I’ve been in a situation where I was wearing my corset tight, eating a cookie, and then another, and slowly feeling my belly expand inside the corset.
For me, sugar and carbs do that to my body. But I can’t always feel it right away, so I can keep eating until I feel either full or pain, especially when something tastes really good. But when wearing a corset, that feeling of fullness comes a lot quicker for me, so after one cookie, the tummy expansion will start.
So I have two options: put down the cookies, or remove my corset and continue the harmful ritual. It takes less work to put down a cookie (even if it’s already half-eaten) than it does to remove my corset, especially when I realize why I’m removing my corset.
To be so for real, the awareness that I’m uncontrollably eating flour and sugar makes me feel pathetic, like I should be in control of the cookies, not the other way around. But I’ve also learned that beating myself up about it doesn’t help. Suffice it to say, wearing a corset has really affected how much I eat. I’ve taught myself to look at serving sizes on food labels and to stick with that, rather than feel the wrath of a bloating tummy inside a tight corset or the upsetting feeling of realizing why I’m taking off my corset.
Corsets Force Me to Eat Less
For me, this is one of the biggest ways corsets and weight loss have been connected. Let me give you an example of how corsets have helped me to eat less. But first, here’s some context. I love Indian food. Lamb Tikka Masala is my go-to, with garlic naan and vegetable samosas. Put that in front of me any day, every day, and I can clean my plate. Wait, scratch that –I would have cleaned my plate. Past tense.
I used to get Indian food almost every weekend from this amazing restaurant near my home. And you better believe I was taking off my corset (if I even had it on that day), putting on a big, already stained, T-shirt, stretchy pants, and devouring that delicious food. But I’d like to think that I’ve grown out of that “big back” behavior.
I now choose to keep my corset on, even while eating my beloved Indian food. A few pieces of lamb, just one samosa, half of a garlic naan, and I’m full. And if you’re looking at it from a health-conscious perspective, those portions are pretty close to what a “normal” serving size is. Compared to that, the portions I used to eat (and finish!) were pure gluttony. Which is a deadly sin. Literally. And chronic overeating can have serious consequences for your health.
Corsets and Carbonation
I may even think twice about drinking soda or eating fast food because I don’t want to feel bloated from the carbonation, or even nauseous from fast food grease and high-calorie junk. If you, or someone you know, has ever been on weight loss medication or had weight loss surgery, you may be familiar with the idea that certain foods can feel very different afterward. For me, it’s similar when I’m wearing a corset.
For example, having a few sips of soda doesn’t sound too bad, right? Moderation is key… or so we’re told. But you know that bloated feeling you can get from the carbonation (air in a liquid) after chugging a can of Coke, or Poppi, or even sparkling water? Yeah, that feeling can hit after the first one to two sips when I’m wearing a corset.
It’s extremely uncomfortable, and even after I burp to let some of that air/carbonation out, I’m sat there wondering why I did this to myself and praying to whoever’s listening that if they take away this pain, I’ll never do it again…
Corsets and Restaurant Meals
Another example would be going out to eat. Everyone is excited that it’s the weekend and they’re ready for their cheat meals. Imagine you’re on a weight loss medication that’s been working great for you, and you’ve chosen to stay on it. So just because it’s the weekend doesn’t mean your medication stops or that you no longer feel the effects. You’re happy it’s the weekend and ready to go out, but you’re just not that hungry and every restaurant that gets brought up doesn’t excite you like it has in the past.
Nevertheless, you end up going to the restaurant of the group’s choice (it’s one you’ve always loved). And you order what you usually get because they always make it perfect. Normally, you end up eating the whole thing because 1) you don’t like to waste food, or 2) if you take it home, ‘it’s just not the same.’
But this time you’re on your weight loss medication, and after tasting everything on your plate, you push your food away because you’re done. Everyone’s shocked, including you.
People are trying to convince you to take a few more bites, saying that you hardly touched your plate, which is a true statement. But you feel like you physically cannot take one more bite. You know from previous experience that forcing yourself to eat more while on your medication can make you feel sick.
That example was something I experienced in real life, except I was wearing a corset rather than taking weight loss medication. It’s similar for me when wearing a corset: once I feel full, I don’t want to keep eating, which helps me avoid overeating and consuming more calories than I intended.
Don’t get me wrong, the thought “just take the corset off so you can eat more to shut everyone up” crosses my mind from time to time. But please trust me when I say this: the action of removing my corset to overeat and please others makes me feel pretty bad, like I’m insulting myself by purposefully and knowingly overeating and hurting my body in order to avoid conflict.
Long story short: meds and surgery? Not in this economy!
Corsets? A much more affordable tool to keep overeating in check!
Corsets Mold and Sculpt My Body
Another part of my experience with corsets and weight loss has been how my body looks as my weight has fluctuated. In my experience, corsets have helped me maintain a more contoured waist and flatter-looking tummy as my weight has fluctuated. Consistent corset training can influence how my waist looks even when I’m not wearing one. It’s pretty incredible how corsets work, and I’m going to demonstrate how they do through an example: my life.
How Corsets Changed My Life
Here is the story of the world’s best worst on-again off-again relationship ever told (from what I can recall).
2012: After being overweight my whole life, around 2012 is when I changed my lifestyle and started eating healthy and working out.
2013: I was at the lowest weight I had ever been, and had a 30″ waist. I wasn’t corset training at the time, nor was I even aware that corsets existed. I simply made the commitment to myself to finally lose weight through diet and exercise. My weight went from around 150 lbs down to 115-120 lbs, but yet I still wanted more. More gains, more fat loss, more loss of inches.
It’s okay to want more. Complacency is the devil and I implore you to always strive for more, no matter what anyone says.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s important to be happy with your achievements and the fact that you’ve reached your goals. But feeling too satisfied with your situation or the goals you’ve reached, and telling yourself you no longer need to try any harder or create more goals for yourself, simply will not do. So I did my research, and stumbled upon corset training.
When I started waist training in March of 2013, I started with a 30″ waist and a 24″ corset. At first, I was very consistent. I wore my corset to bed and all day after I got home from the gym. After I closed that corset, I, of course, wanted more.
2014: I went down to a 22″ corset. Unfortunately life and family got in the way and I stopped my consistent waist training. My waist maintained a decent contour and my tummy no longer had a bulge. Yes, it still had fat. But to me, it looked flatter, which I attributed to the molding effect of the corset.
2015-2016: I was only wearing my corset a few times a week. I ended up gaining weight to around 145 lbs. Still, I wasn’t gaining much around my waist—or if I was, it stayed slightly contoured. I’d like to think the years of on-and-off waist training had something to do with it.
2017: I started my weight loss and wellness journey again. Back to the gym I went, and I was wearing my corset consistently once again.
2018: In December, I quit my 9-5 job to become a full-time content creator. I was wearing corsets intermittently, with no real goals, just mainly for content. Basically, I was complacent because I maintained my weight of around 135 lbs. I thought I looked decent from corset training, but I only wore it when it was convenient for me. Or when I was creating content.
2019: I went back to the gym and got back in my corset.
2020: The pandemic happened. And I started gaining weight again, not wearing my corsets, overindulging and over consuming because the world was going to end.
2021: I snapped out of it, and went back to occasionally wearing my corset.
2022: I was back to consistent waist training and losing weight. I dropped back down to 120 lbs and achieved a 28″ natural waist through weight loss. I wore a corset to maintain my loss of inches. If you need a reminder, in 2013 when I was around 115-120 lbs, I had a 30″ waist. So yeah, consistent waist training for the win!
2023: I started gaining weight again, though I was still consistently wearing my corset. The scale was slowly creeping up, but I just did not care. I gained a lot of weight! In June, instead of continuing to stuff myself into my 24″ corset, I took the plunge and bought a 26″ corset.
2024: I was at my heaviest of almost 170 lbs. Although the scale was going up, and my body was getting bigger overall, my waist stayed around 30″ – 31″. Again I give credit where credit is due: my on-again off-again corset training. The corset helped keep my tummy looking flatter and my waist more contoured. There were weeks at a time when I wasn’t waist training. I started to see my stomach expand and my waistline go from Coke bottle to water bottle. That was my sign to put my corset back on, even just for a few hours a day. And then, in February, I’d had it up to here with my detrimental eating habits and made the biggest commitment ever to myself to drop the weight once and for all.
2025: In January, I added weight loss medication to help me keep that commitment. To learn more about how I started my weight loss lifestyle change, read here.
I’m currently around 142 lbs, but my goal is to get to 130 lbs by May. My ultimate goal is to get back down to 120ish lbs. I want to take it slow this time, no more yo-yo dieting! Also, I am currently waist training with a 22″ corset and will soon be purchasing a 20″ corset. I have started eating a lot healthier, joined a gym, and do my best to get my 10k steps in daily.
My natural waist is now down to 28″. Today I measured in at 27.5″ and I’m going to keep going. My current goal is a 26″ waist, but ultimately I want a 24″ natural waist; always have since March 2013! It’s always been my goal, but this time I will 100% reach it.
2026 Update (October): Today I’m 122 lbs with a natural 25.5″ waist. I’ve continued waist training and working toward my goal of a 24″ natural waist.
Corsets Are a Tool, Not a Magic Fix
Looking back at all these years, corsets and weight loss have been intertwined throughout much of my journey. They’ve helped me eat smaller portions, quiet my food noise, and keep my waist contoured through all my ups and downs. But a corset isn’t magic, and it doesn’t do the work for me. At this point, molding and sculpting my body has become an art form, and wearing a corset takes discipline and dedication. If you’re not sure you’re ready for that kind of torture, I mean consistency, you need to ask yourself how badly you want it—whatever your “it” is.
Obviously I didn’t want “it” that badly for years, and although I’m a little salty about my on-and-off journey, I’m happy it happened because I get to tell you about it and hopefully it helps you in any way that it can. It’s never too late. Start sculpting your body today!
♡, S