[ThicknPretty]

I was discussing my weight loss with my mom this weekend and she suggested that I start wearing tight or Spanx like undergarments to help tighten things up as I’m losing weight?

I don’t have a lot of excess skin at this point. I’ve noticed that my stomach is wobblier/flabbier now (but smaller, so yay!), but it isn’t excess skin as far as I can tell. I would love for it to be a little firmer or tighter and maybe not so jiggly, but I’m terrible about remembering to use products every day (like the skin firming lotions).

It almost doesn’t seem like a bad idea. My mom is a pretty smart woman. What do you guys think? I know that there is no miracle cure for loose skin or flabby parts…but has anyone tried this or even heard of it before? Does it seem crazy or maybe worth a try? I bought my first pair of spanx about a month ago and I could probably stand to wear them more often…….

Opinions…go!

[duckyyellowfeet]

I can't imagine how this could prevent lose skin from forming. Sure, it would keep things tight while you're wearing them, but its not going to prevent the skin from loosing in general. The loose skin happens because there is no fat to firm it up, and if you keep losing weight, the skin will just be loose under your spanx

[AnnieDrews]

Your Mom makes an interesting point. Back in the '40s and '50s, most women did not get dressed without putting on a girdle first. I think that practice/habit somehow formed their waistlines into a smaller shape. (Have you ever looked closely at vintage clothing? Tiny waists!) I don't know if it would help permanently, but it sure couldn't hurt to wear some foundation garments of some sort.

Personally, I HATE the feel of anything tight on my body. Also, whenever I have worn slimming panties/pantyhose, I seem to get a big bulge around the middle....the fat or loose skin just gets pushed up. I have wished that it was possible to try on those garments before purchase so we could be sure to buy the proper size.

[duckyyellowfeet]

Originally Posted by AnnieDrews

Back in the '40s and '50s, most women did not get dressed without putting on a girdle first. I think that practice/habit somehow formed their waistlines into a smaller shape. (Have you ever looked closely at vintage clothing? Tiny waists!)

I know a true corset (with proper boning and correct lacing) can cause your ribs to elongate and squish up your internal organs to cause that smaller waist-line. If you google "tight lacing", you can see the more modern movement to make it happen. It can take years to lose even just two inches on your waist without the corset being on, and this is with steel-boned corsets.

But I don't think it would help loose skin, besides just smushing everything in under the corset. Girdles help in the same way Spax do; they hold you in, so the waistline on the dress fits with the girdle on.

[MissKelly]

I wish! If this worked...I'd have a killer tummy by now! lol....Holding in the skin in a garment will not tighten the skin or bring back its elasticity. It'll contain the jiggle while working out though & make you look slimmer while you're doing it.

[SCraver]

It couldn't hurt... but I doubt it will help. According to your profile, you are 24 - so your skin will most likely bounce back well. I have read that no creams help, either.

I DID read one thing that did make sense to me... that if you lose enough weight and build up muscle, loose skin will adhear to the muscle... which makes sense to me, but I wonder if you would have to be a hard core weight lifter with minimal body fat. (which I had no intentions of becoming)

[Gold32]

Someone had a post going around not that long ago about Spanx and wearing them daily. My opinion has not changed. I will never consider them. Somehow, in my mind, I see it as being kin to extreme measures, or being a sign of obsession with vanity. That it shows a lack of personal self-esteem and confidence. Like people who stuff their bra to go up two cup sizes. It's fake, it's not you. Believe it or not, I'm tormented that I can better explain why, but the idea really bothers me. I know those who use them daily (and there are quite a few) feel differently, and I mean no offense to those who prefer the comfort and confidence it gives them.

Our society has already created so many things that we now see as necessary, that aren't. And we've created many, many more things that take our time, money, and even our comfort in the name of fashion and looking good. Why must our society continually come up with ways to prey on our insecurities?

Anyway, it's a call you'll have to make. Is it worth the discomfort/awkwardness/whatever of wearing them? Would you actually feel better, or would you just feel silly? I'd ask if it was worth the money, but you already have some. We all make decisions every day about where our lines are in terms of beauty and looks. (How much time/money/comfort to spend on nails, hair, clothes, shoes...) This will have to be another one of them.

[BreathingSpace]

I read something in a fiction book which took place in Sri Lanka where they wore a band around their belly after having a baby to tighten up the skin again. I wondered if that was true, and after reading your post I took a very quick Google search and found "the belly band". So...the theory seems the same. I don't have time to look into it more, but it may be worth doing a little research?

~BreathingSpace~

[NiteNicole]

Breathing Space, there's a book called Losing the Mummy Tummy that talks about belly bands. That's really more about pulling the abs back together and less about tightening skin. For a lot of us (MOST of us) who have had children, in addition to loose skin, there's often some ab separation. It does not fix itself, it's something you have to actively work on.

As for Spanx under clothes, I don't know how that's fake or being obsessed. It makes you look smoother and less wobbly under clothes. Spanx makes a really great tank top/cami thing that's great if you just want to look a little smoother under your clothes. I'm not sure how that's a bad thing. It doesn't give me comfort or confidence, it just makes me look less lumpy under my tee shirt. It's about as fake as wearing a bra.

But no, wearing spandex won't tighten your skin, but you'll APPEAR tighter while you're wearing them under your clothes.

[saef]

Pardon me, but I feel like I've wandered into a thread that passed through a time warp & went back into the 19th century.

Hang onto a bedpost, ThicknPretty, while I lace up your corset really tight for you.

[joannie]

Originally Posted by Gold32

Someone had a post going around not that long ago about Spanx and wearing them daily. My opinion has not changed. I will never consider them. Somehow, in my mind, I see it as being kin to extreme measures, or being a sign of obsession with vanity. That it shows a lack of personal self-esteem and confidence. Like people who stuff their bra to go up two cup sizes. It's fake, it's not you. Believe it or not, I'm tormented that I can better explain why, but the idea really bothers me. I know those who use them daily (and there are quite a few) feel differently, and I mean no offense to those who prefer the comfort and confidence it gives them.

I wear such things, not because I want to, for a confidence-boost, or out of vanity, believe me! After losing 245 lbs and continuing to lose, the loose skin is a HUGE issue. Yeah, it doesn't look good, in clothes or not, but I accept that. If I don't wear these types of undergarments, then the loose skin gets even more pinched by the clothing (at crotch, waist band, around bras) than it already does with them on, even resulting in skin tears, etc. It is painful to feel every movement, have skin even torn open by getting pinched in clothing. It is not to look better or feel more confident that I wear these garments.

[ThicknPretty]

Originally Posted by saef

Pardon me, but I feel like I've wandered into a thread that passed through a time warp & went back into the 19th century.

Hang onto a bedpost, ThicknPretty, while I lace up your corset really tight for you.

That was funny...

[MaddiesMom]

I think it will hold you in so it looks smoother under your clothes, but I dont' think that it will work to help tighten the skin - that just takes time. I'm still waiting for some of my to tighten, but I don't think corsets, etc. will help in the long run.

[sarahyu]

I wear spandex shorts and such to cut down on the chub rub. Keeps the chafing down when I'm wearing shorts and dresses. Doesn't do anything for lose skin though.

sarah