The Waist Trainers – Beyond Beauty

A couple of days ago I was stepping out in the morning and my Sister said to me I looked very nice. I was feeling cool with myself so you can imagine how I easily gave in to her idea of wearing a waist trainer! Well, I have always heard about “waist trainers” but was never privilege to see one live till that day so after a little hesitation I struggled to squeeze in my entire abdominal trunk into the waist trainer and left for work. I reckoned there was no harm in trying…since she already said I looked nice, perhaps this would make me look nicer, I fantasized! I didn’t realize what I had gotten myself into. I had a 9am meeting and it was about 10 minutes drive from home. By the time I got there, even getting down from the car was an event. Watching me, you would think I was acting out a movie scene in slow motion. The office I was heading to was on the 2nd floor. I almost couldn’t make it up there. Why? Your guess is as good as mine!

The person I was to meet did not come in at 9:05am so I left. That was the longest I could wait…5 minutes! I must have appeared to the office staff like one Miss Prim and Proper, Million Value for Time Princess kind of lady. Heavens knew better! I dashed down to my office and quickly got someone to rescue me from the strangling pangs of a waist trainer! It took some wholesome minutes to achieve that feat. Thank you Kemi for saving my life that memorable day. Frankly speaking, I did not train any waist that morning…at least nothing more significant than the training it has already received from my four bouncing baby boys. If anything was trained at all that day, it was my pain threshold…to exact itself to its maximum potential! I can picture some of my peeps screaming “Bush Calabar Girl”! Take a chill pill…it goes beyond what you think!

With the daredevil pain I suffered, I didn’t need to be a Medical Practitioner to get a manual reset of my medulla oblongata in realizing there would be dire consequences of this latest Hollywood “must-have” accessory, the modern day corset. Yes a flat tummy may be tempting…so is forming a shape where there seem to be no shape! But what price do I have to pay for this magical transformation? What are the consequences? I sought and I found!

Threat to Internal Organs: These body shapers can squeezes your lungs, compress the ribs and reduce oxygen intake. This is almost unavoidable because they aren’t usually designed to fit your body size but usually very tight. Records have it that women who wore corsets in times past experienced fainting, rib crushing and persistent pain. Organ rearrangement was the most dangerous side effects of the corset and sometimes led to serious illness and death. Women suffered from tuberculosis, cancer, scoliosis and spine curvature as a result of wearing corsets, making it a painful sacrifice for beauty. The results may not be too different today.

Causes Acid Reflux: As a result of the stomach being pushed up while having a waist trainer on, heartburn is inevitable. Shapers can aggravate reflux in those people who already suffer from GERD (a condition caused by a loosened lower esophageal sphincter, production of too much stomach acid, hiatal hernia, abdominal obesity, etc.).So, if you know that you experience GERD, if you have a hernia or any other health condition, kindly consult your Doctor before trying a waist trainer. Lung Infection: Nicole Florence, MD, Co-Director of Memorial Weight Loss and Wellness Center at Memorial Medical Center, expands on the extremities of the new diet fad.“Some people who want a quick fix fall…Corset training can restrict any type of movement in your midsection…it can restrict your lungs, which can cause lung infections and other lung problems, as well as restrict your bowels, which can cause constipation. It can also cause bruising and rib pain.” Need I say more???

Interruption of Digestive Processes: Because pelvic and abdominal organs are slippery, they can shift during waist trainer use and this can inadvertentlydisrupt digestive processes. Whentight body shapers restrict the intestines, they are unable to properly digest food and there are higher chances of regurgitation because food cannot pass through the digestive system. Whatcould be more disgusting than puking on yourself at a dinner you have worn a waist trainer to in an attempt to make a fashion statement?

Dr. Nicole Florence listed other health concerns linked with Waist Trainers; they include Pneumonia, Fainting Spells, High Blood Pressure, Dehydration, Low Blood Sugar and Exhaustion.

Knowing the history behind corsets and the consequences women have faced wearing them, isn’t it quite absurd that the so-called “waist-training” has been revived??? While some ladies can swear by the waist trainers, others like us are faint hearted and are too scared to pick the bits and pieces of shattered rib bones. Bras and High heels are enough burdensome garments, why add to the list?

you however feel pressured to conform to society’s beauty standards, then you need to do so with care. Whatever our choices are, we need to be cautious, weight the consequences and do everything in moderation. Wisdom, the Good Book says is profitable to direct. It’s cool to be beautiful but its much better to be wise!

Mercy Makinde is a speaker, writer, coach and entrepreneurship advocate. She owns an online radio Station, Iaspire Radio, Nigeria’s first motivational radio Station; www.iaspireradio.com and a motivational and inspirational blog; www.iaspireblog.com.