First of all, if you’re taking fitness tips from the Kardashians, please take them with a grain of salt.

When I first saw the idea of “waist training,” I saw this on one of the Kardashian’s Instagram pages. (insert eye roll) My initial thought was “how does this relate at all to losing weight?” Well, it doesn’t. Did you hear me? These DO NOT help you lose weight. That can only be done through proper nutrition and exercise.

So let’s address what exactly waist training IS.

Unfortunately, for the Kardashian’s, they did not start this new trend (shucks). Corsets have been around since the 1500s when the wife of King Henry II, Catherine de’Medici, enforced a BAN on thick waists at court. Geez. Thanks Cat. Guess this is where body shaming started too? (insert another eye roll)

Corsets were used in fashion trends around the world (steampunk to name one), and in lingerie they became HUGELY popular. Waist training became popular recently where you see celebrities and your average joes wearing them in hopes to achieve their ideal waist.

When you say “waist training” there are a lot of different views to them and what it can be used for. The most common use for them is to create that perfect hourglass shape. I’ve seen some that claim to burn fat while wearing them when you work out, or others that help you get your body back after baby by sucking in all the fat and pooch in your stomach area.

Now before you can say “Caitlin, don’t knock it until you try it,” let me tell you — I HAVE. Now it wasn’t a typical lace-up corset, or even one with hooks to help cinch your waist in. I used one to help support my diastasis recti post-pregnancy. I used one that had straps and velcroed together. It had a stiff boning in the back to help my posture. I was told to wear this throughout the day to help my “pooch” get smaller and help close my abdominals.

Maybe I did it wrong. Maybe this wasn’t for me. But after wearing this thing for even an hour at a time, when I took it off, I felt light-headed. It was almost as if I could just feel my organs go back to their normal places after I removed it. Some may think for this reason alone, I would label these as dangerous (they are known to redistribute your internal organs…eek), but pregnancy does that. Growing a child will redistribute all your organs…us moms know that, especially when you have a 7 pound baby pressing down on your bladder and making his home in your rib cage while simultaneously kicking the air out of your lungs. (Pregnancy is glorious.)

I don’t like waist training for another reason. And this is important for you all to see this in writing, so pop in your contacts or get on your reading glasses.

ONLY PROPER NUTRITION AND EXERCISE WILL HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT AND GET YOU THE BODY YOU WANT

^Please repeat that statement over and over to yourself to let that sink in. I’ll wait.

You know that saying that “abs are built in the kitchen,” or “abs are 80% diet, 20% exercise.” THOSE are true statements. Proper nutrition and a healthy, well-balanced diet IN ADDITION TO exercise will help you get the body you want. THAT is a proven fact. As soon as I stopped wearing my waist trainer/support, my pooch returned. Why? Because wearing it only redistributes your extra fat/skin, and as soon as you remove it, it’ll just go back to wear it’s more comfortable. For me, right around my belly button.

Waist trainers may help support you if you have diastasis, but it will not help your core get stronger and it will not help you lose weight or the extra skin that comes with pregnancy. You have to exercise the right way to help close your gap if you have diastasis, and if you have weight to lose, eating healthy will help you reach your goals. If you’re wearing a waist trainer while working out and eating healthy, you can attribute your new abs to your amazing diet and workout plan, NOT the waist trainer itself. Sorry.

You are BEAUTIFUL just the way you are, ladies. You don’t need some new trend (that will probably fade away soon anyway) to make you feel gorgeous. Do right by you and fuel yourself with proper nutrition and challenge yourself with some tough workouts. And don’t be in a rush! Beautiful things take time to grow. After all, a caterpillar doesn’t change into a butterfly overnight 😉