I think you will agree with me that all online talk about body and shapewear stuff can get confusing, so if you are you wondering if shapewear is like a waist trainer and how you can make these garments work for you, today I will break it down for you.
The short answer is–shapewear is kind of sort of like a waist trainer but not really.
When it comes to shapewear vs waist trainers there are some very distinct differences between the two. However, shapewear and waist training do have some similarities. Due to the fact that shapewear garments encompass many different brands and types such as: Spanx, Shapermint, Skims, fajas, generic Amazon brands or other retail brands, etc the level of compression can vary widely with shapewear. Due to the fluidity of shapewear and incongruities among them plus the difference of the feel and purpose of the waist trainer–this can lead to vastly different results. However, a proper waist trainer vs. the varying degrees of shapewear would have a more standardized compression fit comparatively than some of the shapewear which can be a little all over the place with regard to compression levels. In summary, there are some aspects of shapewear that are just like a waist trainer such as the ability to help compress your belly region for a more snatched waist. However, there are things such as comfort level, body coverage, and longevity of results that might you want to go with a waist trainer vs shapewear or vice versa.
Is shapewear the same as a waist trainer?
Shapewear is not the same a waist trainer. I repeat shapewear is not a true waist trainer. However, shapewear can perform in a manner temporarily as a waist trainer would. Shapewear is defined as a women’s tight wearing undergarment meant to control and shape the figure. As such, the focus of shapewear is that it goes under your clothes to help conceal the aspects of your body you might want to hide like: FUPA, hip dips, back fat, etc.
Waist trainers can be worn under clothes and there are people who can successfully svelte to hid their waist trainers. However, let’s say you want to wear a body con dress or something tight-fitting there is just no real way to duplicate the seamless results you will get with shapewear–as at its core shapewear is made to fit under your clothes.
To be honest a lot of times in the short run, shapewear can do a better job at hiding problem areas overall than a waist trainer.
Why?
A waist trainer is micro focused on one section of your body–your mid section just think about the total area that the waist training covers it’s not that much.
Now think about a faja and how much area that covers–which is your whole body. The total body coverage of shapewear there just is no comparing that especially when you want to immediately get immediate results.
However, in the long run a waist trainer can give you semi-permanent results as a proper steel boned waist training corset can actually mold your body over time and help you slim down your waist to achieve the “snatched” waist.
Can you ever use shapewear as a waist trainer?
In the short run, you can use shapewear in the same manner like you would a waist trainer in that a shapewear garment with the right compression level can immediately give the appearance of a slim waist just like a waist trainer does.
However, it’s important to talk about expectations here.
First, all shapewear garments are not created equal, there’s companies like Shapermint, which if you have watched any beauty videos, you have come crossed their viral advertisements showing women getting amazing results and compression huge amounts of belly fat within minutes.
Shapermint was so popular that they started to become a “meme” with regard to how drastic the results were.
People with extreme FUPA were literally able to flatten the whole area in a Kim Kardashian like fashion,
Let’s say you are going out tonight and your goal is to look as fly as possible.
You want everything snatched up, cinched up, and you want to be red carpet ready. If your goal is to hide various areas of your body (i.e. cellulite, FUPA, etc) a strong shapewear undergarment like a faja might be a better option because a shapewear garment like a faja can also slim your waist temporarily and take off a few inches, thereby in this regard you can use shapewear as a waist trainer.
The added bonus is that shapewear will not have all that bulging that a waist trainer would have under your clothes. In fact, shapewear can help conceal more things beyond just tummy bulge, which waist trainers are limited because they are focused on the midsection. Whereas shapewear can help with thighs, cellulite coverage, FUPA, etc. In short, shapewear can temporarily transform your body immediately slimming it up and providing curves and contour.
Yet still, shapewear does not have the same long term functionality of a waist trainer, in the case of a waist trainer is not about just temporarily giving the appearance of a slim waist but actually training the waist over time to be smaller. This is done by following a proper waist training corset routine and using a steel boned corset that is built to reshape your waistline and figure.
So when deciding if you should proceed with shapewear vs a waist trainer it’s important to determine your goals.
Do you need something for that event you know your ex will be at and you want to make them super jelly with your body hugging fit???
Then I say shapewear, if you want to keep everything neat and tidy and seamless with no bulges or hiccups to your wardrobe.
If you can incorporate a waist training corset in your outfit and maybe can even do a little tightlacing for the night and you are only wanting a slim waist and not worried about hiding other areas.
Then waist training maybe the way to go, plus tightlacing can give you an extreme tiny waist for the night, that is in the same spirit of Kim Kardashian 2019 Met Gala where she was tighlightlaced down within a inch of her life it seemed. Don’t go to drastic with this, rare tightlacing for special events maybe fine, but for real results take your time with proper seasoning for ease of use.
Just remember when it comes to waist training and shapewear both have the ability to instantly slim your waist, however, you just have to make sure when it comes to shapewear you pick a brand that has mad compression skills to achieve the look you are going for!
Does shapewear make your waist smaller?
Shapewear can make your waist smaller temporarily as long as you have on your shapewear, however, once you remove the shapewear whatever you were covering will revert back to its original shape. Shapewear does not change your body and provide any lasting effects. You will receive the benefits of the compression and concealment around your waist area and then depending on how good the shapewear is about compression you may see a reduction size on your waist but if you want longer lasting effects you will have to use diet and exercise regimen to slim your waist down or try waist training with a proper corset.
Can wearing shapewear help you lose belly fat?
Some people report being able to lose belly fat when they wear certain shapewear like fajas as the idea is that when you sweat in that area so in essence you will have a loss of fluids during preparation and then you could potentially lose some water weight but that is not real belly fat loss. This type of flimsy weight loss from temporarily wearing shapewear can easily return. The best way is proper calorie reduction and I would opt for a waist trainer to give more semi-permanent results for molding your belly and waist region into shape!
