Wearing a waist trimmer might give you the confidence to slip into a tight dress for a night out on the town, but it won't help you burn calories during a workout. A waist trimmer can quickly give the illusion of a tight midsection when you wear it under your clothing, but don't bother putting it on before getting changed into your gym clothes.
Overview
Waist trimmers are made of stretchy, rubbery materials such as Neoprene and work in a similar way to elastic slimming garments that you can wear under your clothing to hide your love handles. The major difference between waist trimmers and slimming garments is that the latter is designed solely to hide your excess pounds, while the former's advertisements and infomercials often make it sound like an effective weight-loss product.
Claims
Waist trimmer advertisements typically claim that these devices help you burn calories and lose weight because the rubber causes your body to heat up and sweat more profusely. Your body temperature and the amount you sweat aren't related to the calories you burn, which means that even if the waist trimmer helps you sweat more profusely than normal during a workout, you're not actually burning more calories.
Water Weight
People who use devices such as waist trimmers and rubber sauna suits to help them sweat excessively during workouts are losing water weight, but not burning more calories to lose fat. As you sweat, your body loses a slight amount of weight due to the water it loses, but this type of weight loss is neither long-term nor effective. As soon as you consume water or another beverage after your workout, any weight you've happened to lose through sweat is quickly restored.
Burning Calories
If you want to burn calories to help you lose fat successfully, the only healthy way to do so is through a combination of exercise and healthy eating. To lose a pound of fat, you must burn 3,500 calories beyond what you consume. Aerobic exercises, such as riding a stationary bicycle or running on a treadmill, are more effective calorie burners than such exercises as lifting weights.
References
Writer Bio
Toronto-based journalist William McCoy has been writing since 1997, specializing in topics such as sports, nutrition and health. He serves as the Studio's sports and recreation section expert. McCoy is a journalism graduate of Ryerson University.