If you are trying to use a belt to get a smaller waist then I’ve got the deets for you today on this.

Belts can be a great addition to up your fashion outfit and it would be great if they can just do double duty and waist train…that would be great…mmm kayy!

A normal belt at its core does not make your waist smaller.  When you have a belt on it may compress your waist temporarily giving you a slimmer-looking waist.  Depending on the level of the compression of the belt and how much you cinch it people can compress it quite a lot.

However, that area of flesh that was compressed temporarily by the back will typically go back to normal.

Do belts make your waist smaller?

My mom claims that wearing a belt around her waist in college did make it smaller.  However, let’s pause on that for a moment and discuss in general what belts are supposed to do.

Belts help to define your waist but depending on how much you are trying to compress in that area you would need a wide enough belt to compress that area depending on how fleshy you are in that region. The belt while worn can help accentuate your curves and provide a temporary smaller looking waist.

However, I would like to throw something in the mix that may be different from other things you might have heard in this article and online in general.

 I have some anecdotal evidence to discuss with you regarding belts making your waist smaller.

My mom grew up in the time of high-waisted pants the original kind with the thick fabric and she always wore a belt.  My mom swears that shaped her “21” waist and kept it small while she was younger. 

This is one of the many “old” school advice I hear from older women about shapewear and I don’t discount the advice of elders because before the internet existed these women were trying hacks and figuring out things as they went.

So if you are wondering if it is it okay to use a belt as a waist trainer here is my advice. Know that this is not what an expert person who is knowledgeable about waist training would advise you because it will not work in beast mode like a real waist trainer. It doesn’t have the steel boning that is a key essential part of waist training to gradually cinch in your waist and make it smaller. However, if you have no interest in waist training and you are planning to wear a belt anyway, then I say try it and log the results and keep me posted! I would love to hear your results. 

 

Can you use a belt as a waist trainer?

A normal belt is not a waist trainer.  It is not built with the necessary elements such as the key element in a good waist trainer–steel bones to give you the same effects as a waist trainer.  Even the belts that some corset makers make are typically are for fashion purposes. 

For example, this one from Orchard Corset is sold as fashion belt and they actually recommend you wear your corset underneath the belt. 

 Why?

Because a true waist trainer is still needed behind the scenes.  If you want to see real results and have the snatched waist you are looking for you have to put in the work with a real waist training corset.

Does a belt help you lose belly fat?

There are several belts on the market that are touting tummy size reduction.  What is usually happening is that the belt does have waist slimming capabilities and also could be redistributing the fat. 

Additionally, due to sweating in that area, you might lose some water weight but I don’t count water weight as REAL.  There is no real belly fat that you can say “Bye Felicia” to.  That belly fat that was just water weight anyway will return just like “Felicia” always did in the movie–Friday. 

If you think about it…it makes sense right?

Think about what is possible a trillion-dollar industry–the fitness/weight loss genre.

If the belt could really really truly help you to lose belly fat. Something that tremendous would be flying off the shelves.

The best way to reduce belly fat is with a proper diet and exercise. 

In conclusion, if I was looking to slim my waist I would use a waist training corset vs a belt. If you want to try to use a belt to make your waist smaller.  A belt may work temporarily to give a more cinched look however, for most people it will not transform your body.  Of course, there are those unicorns like my mom who says that a belt helped to keep her waist smaller back in the day.  However, she is n anomaly anyway because even at her age she got a shape to Instagram models pay to have–small waist, coke bottled shape, and a derriere that looks like she had a BBL done although she has’nt.