Perhaps I didn't lose weight, but my waist size did go down...that's all I'm saying.

Well there maybe some truth to it. It was recommended on the show the Doctors for after pregnancy and lipo to get your waist back. Here's more info http://hubpages.com/hub/How-To-Get-Y...ly-Wrap-Secret If it helps attach loose skin, I think this is huge for those of us with a large amount of weight to lose.

Fit4Lyfe- would you mind sharing exactly which one you used. thanx

I went looking for body shapers after reading the article you posted, fitin2008. I found something called "Shatobu"; it's a bodyshaper that has built in resistance bands that supposedly make you burn more calories during your day. If the holding it all in works too, like the article says, that's anothing bonus. Sure is expensive for undies though :D The website is shatobu.com

I really like kymaro body shaper and I also wear Flexies. I bought the kymaro bodyshaper at Bed Bath and Beyond. I buy the Flexies camis at Macy's or Elder-Beerman. I am a big girl, and they shape my body very well. Smooths out the humps and bumps. LOL!

just and FYI Mac3, both walmart and target sell the flexees stuff under their house names for about 1/2 the price.

I love the kymaro and the Dr. Rey's all in one. I find that I wear my kymaro's much more often because going to the bathroom in the Dr. Rey's isn't all that easy when I am at work! ;)

I've never found a body shaper for the top part of me that didn't smash my boobs into a long, misshapen sausage roll of a uni-boob. I would love to find something that would let me keep the shape my bra gives me on top but still smooths out the back fat and keeps the tummy looking trimmer.

I have to admit.. I have not bought the body shaper yet, but I have tried on a Flexees that was just the top, and it goes around the boobs so you can wear ur own bra.. Let me tell ya, it flattened my stomach wearing it, it was awesome.. I may even buy it and find the bottom part so it can be all sucked in and not rolled upward, lol

I'm tryin to do alot of crunches and stuff to flatten and burn some of the fat off on my stomach. It's not easy and takes forever. I'm not sure I'll ever get there, although haven't done the JM 30 day shred in a while, hmm..

This is based on the idea that the body will heal an injury. If you've had lipo, abdominoplasty with undermining/seperation or any other natural or surgical intervention that has recentlyseparated your skin from underlying tissue then a compression garment will help the body to heal the layers together again in the correct position. If you are losing weight then it does not leave what the body perceives to be a "raw edge" that it seeks to "heal" back together again. This only works on the principle that if you aggravate two parts of the body then press them together your body will close the gap, and would work as much if you sandpapered your arm and your cheek and bandaged them together the arm would heal onto your face.

As a result of organ transit the waist can go down with long-term wearing of a firmly laced corset, but in compensation the hips and bust measurement increase. If what you want is to change from a straight shape to an hourglass then it's effective (though usually takes months of dedication) but you will not be smaller overall. Many women lose weight while they are undertaking this process because they feel full faster with a compression garment on, but that's a whole other issue, and you can do exactly the same by tying a piece of string around your waist. In fact, about 20 years ago in the UK you could buy a special piece of weight loss string for £24.95 :o This is unlikely to happen with a more modern type of spandex compression garment because they expand to allow your stomach to fill, only a traditional corset will (potentially) reduce your appetite, but a corset takes as much dedication as a diet plan, so it's not a quick fix by any means.

The real question is whether something that compresses can change where fat accumulates.

For instance, my ring finger is slimmest under my wedding ring.

At one point, I wondered if the elastic on my panties was slimming the area where it rubbed making my saddlebags look worse just below them. (I've bought something different, since then.) Has anyone else ever noticed anything like this?

The only shaper I have tried is Spanx. I don't know if it's just me but I don't like the way it looks. I prefer the way I look in clothes without it as opposed to with it. When I wear it it pushes my stomach down making it look like I have a huge flap or something. Not flattering for me.

The only way I could see this helping is to help me be more aware of my posture and to be more aware of my body. When I had abdominal surgery (burst appedix, no tiny incision for me :o( ) , I had to wear a compression wrap around my abdomen until it healed. It didn't cover my entire abdomen, and I feel that it pushed my fat up from my lower abdomen where the incisions were and made my top fat roll bigger. It re-distributed my fat.

It did help me to sit up straighter, and I though about getting a more supportive (not tighter!) garment that covers more area to help encourage and support my weight loss, not to cause it. Just as a tool to help me feel better about my appearance and make me more aware of my body.

I got the wear your own bra flexees slimmer tank thingy, and let me tell ya, when you wear what sucks you in, you feel bloated, LOL. I just happen to have flexees underwear too, so i put the tank on, then i put the underwear on over that so it don't roll up cause of my hip flab, ehh.. anyway it don't show muffin top or flabby stomach when I have it on so I'm happy..

Yes, this is exactly how the human body (and most animal and plant bodies) will work. If you put compression around one part of you constantly and consistently then your shape will change to compensate, the same as you can teach a plant to grow around in circles by rotating a light source. The key is that it generally takes around 23 hours a day of compression, so a wedding ring is a great example as most people sleep in them so it's there all the time and your body will grow around that obstacle. If you wear a corset day and night your body will become corset-shaped. If you put a large lip plate in or add rings to your neck like many cultures do then you will have a massive lip/giraffe neck.

But most of these things only really last as long as you continue the compression, if you removed your ring it would take only 24 hours for the finger to become a little larger, and within 6 months you'd likely never know you'd had one. The more dramatic the change the longer it will stick, and like with saggy post-weight loss skin some of these changes are permanent. If you removed a large lip plate then you would probably never get the full size of plate back in again, but you'd never get your original lip back either.

So yes, it does work this way, but it has to be a non-stretch garment worn 20+ hours per day for a number of months on end before you'd notice.

So can anyone tell me what the best brands are? I wear pantyhose (great shapes) under my work pants everyday and they make me feel like the fat isn't jiggling around on my butt and thighs, but it really cuts into my waist and tends to slip down my waist. Also, unfortunately for me the nylon fabric causes me to have frequent yeast infections (ugh, gross, I know)
I'm looking into the Kymora (sp) ones but I'd like to know if there are better ones out there. any suggestions??