Does Spanx really work? Help to hide stomach bulges, etc??

[renaissancewoman101]

I just turned 40 this year and realized that I've gained a lot of weight. Went up about 2 sizes Someone told me that Spanx really works to slim down my tummy. Anybody try it and does it really work?? Is it uncomfortable??

[pinkelephant]

ya, a little. i find that cutting down on bread and working out a little here and there helps much more though haha.

[Moontiger]

Spanx smooth everything out and suck things in a little. They can be uncomfortable.

[Kendahke]

it smooths out the bumps and minimizes the jiggles.

 

I love 'em. Wear them just about every day.

[mhowe]

It makes you look slimmer. It doesn't make you slimmer. It is a body girdle...

[metrogirl]

I would need one from my neck to my ankles.

[gardnergirl2]

Lol metro girl. I did wear one to a funeral awhile back where I knew the ex would be. I don't wear them everyday, but like to church and stuff sometimes. Lol

[mhowe]

I do the same --- for a day when you are standing most of the time --- funeral or other function.

 

And don't try and take them off gracefully in front of SO ---- impossible!!!!

[Lorem Ipsum]

ya, a little. i find that cutting down on bread and working out a little here and there helps much more though haha.

What she said. Also, if you've gone up a couple of sizes, as you get older, it gets harder to take those sizes off. Spanx might smooth out some panty lines and bumps right now, but if you aren't careful, you could wind up getting to a size beyond Spanx. Look at your eating and workout habits, make the changes you feel you need to. You'll feel better about yourself if you eat better and lose the weight than if you struggle to fit into your Spanx every morning.

[annie24]

i do wear spanx, but mainly to help smooth things out, especially if i am wearing a formal dress somewhere. they aren't going to make you 'lose a dress size' but they will help you fit into a dress with less random lumps and bumps. i'm in weight watchers too, i think that will be more helpful.

[Mb1212]

I wear them under dresses or skirts which is usually when I'm out drinking and what not so I just wear them so i don't end up accidently flashing anyone anything lol. I was a cheerleader in highschool so I don't think their too uncomfortable probably because I'm used to them but they are mostly comfortable when standing up. Also I think they smooth lines out and make your figure more flattering underneath right dresses especially but I'm not sure if it makes you look all that much smaller mostly just smooths things out.

[metrogirl]

I rather not try to squeeze my lumps into something like that. I'm just gonna let it all hang out naturally. LOL

[charity]

they totally work. the suck it all in and make you nice and streamlined. they also stop you eating too much as they are so damned tight!

[renaissancewoman101]

I kinda want them so I can wear some of my capris and nice pants without it feeling too tight.

 

i am trying to lose weight but its not as easy in your late 30s early 40s.

[annie24]

Have you tried weight watchers or nutrisystem or something?

[renaissancewoman101]

I do exercise by walking most days during lunch. My cholesterol is in the high range (had a recent blood test done), so I have been cutting back on the salt intake. I'm not a big fan of fatty and fried foods, although I do have a bad sweet tooth.

 

I did go and try a pair on today at the department store. It does make my fat tummy bulge less. I also realize with Spanx, I can fit into one of my dress pants that previously was too tight for me (because of my fat tummy).

 

It isn't cheap though.

[Kendahke]

I kinda want them so I can wear some of my capris and nice pants without it feeling too tight.

 

i am trying to lose weight but its not as easy in your late 30s early 40s.

 

they're good for that... they keep you from looking like the Michelan Man in your clothing.

[Kendahke]

I do exercise by walking most days during lunch. My cholesterol is in the high range (had a recent blood test done), so I have been cutting back on the salt intake. I'm not a big fan of fatty and fried foods, although I do have a bad sweet tooth.

 

I did go and try a pair on today at the department store. It does make my fat tummy bulge less. I also realize with Spanx, I can fit into one of my dress pants that previously was too tight for me (because of my fat tummy).

 

It isn't cheap though.

 

40 minutes or more of walking will get your body to the point where it is burning fat instead of the sugar reserves.

[Cheetarah]

I love spanx when I'm wearing a dress that has the kind of material to highlight jiggles. It smooths things out. I can't fit into a pair of pants I previously didn't with them on, but it might reduce the muffin top.

 

I actually don't find them uncomfortable whatsoever. They are not your grandmother's girdles. You know, institutional.

 

They're definitely not the epitome of sensual. I remember wearing one out with my ex, and it was a scene out of Bridget Jones' Diary.

[lavenderdove]

Spanx are nothing more than bringing back the girdle... which is an torture device as far as I'm concerned. Women were imprisoned for centuries in corsets and girdles and thankfully the woman's liberation movement of the 60s-70s freed most women from having to wear a girdle every day as part of their normal lingerie.

 

The current obsession with anorexia among movie stars and models have brought those infernal things back again because 'normal' women are encouraged to hate looking like normal women or to be so ashamed they'll cut off their circulation to look like they weigh 5-10 lbs less.

 

My suggestion is that you should go for health, as in get yourself to a healthy weight, then let the jiggly bits be free... most men love a little jiggle, it is what separates men from women in terms of look!

[annie24]

no, they're not cheap. i recently bought some non-spanx ones as Ross and Marshall's. They had spanx there too, but not in my size. I'd recommend trying one of those. i have chub rub so i find that wearing some spanx (or other brand) shorts underneath my dresses and skirts helps. Also, it's useful for when it's a windy day! just flash people bike shorts, lol.

[Lorem Ipsum]

I do have a bad sweet tooth.

So did I. I messed up my body really bad because I don't know how to cook (and it's not something that interests me) and eating too many stupid things. I have had to cut out a lot of the things that I used to enjoy eating, especially refined sugars. It takes a while to break it, but when you do, you'll be amazed. I wasn't a big pop drinker, but now if I have one, I'm shocked by how sweet it is. I used to eat chocolate every day, now I can't do it, it's too sweet. I used to hate drinking water, but now I don't mind.

 

I think that if you take a look at what you eat and start substituting (ie. water instead of pop) you'll take off some of that weight you've put on. I've lost 20lbs this year, at a plateau right now, just by being careful not to eat too many carbs, refined sugars, processed foods and getting some light exercise every day. Still have 20 to go though to get into the "right" BMI.

[browneyedgirl36]

Spanx are nothing more than bringing back the girdle... which is an torture device as far as I'm concerned. Women were imprisoned for centuries in corsets and girdles and thankfully the woman's liberation movement of the 60s-70s freed most women from having to wear a girdle every day as part of their normal lingerie.

 

The current obsession with anorexia among movie stars and models have brought those infernal things back again because 'normal' women are encouraged to hate looking like normal women or to be so ashamed they'll cut off their circulation to look like they weigh 5-10 lbs less.

 

My suggestion is that you should go for health, as in get yourself to a healthy weight, then let the jiggly bits be free... most men love a little jiggle, it is what separates men from women in terms of look!

 

I've never tried the Spanx brand, but I've tried a sort of brief-shaper kind of thing a couple of times, and frankly, I find them terribly uncomfortable. For my 10-year high school reunion, years ago, I bought one, and I never even ended up wearing it because all it did was push the roll of fat from my lower abdomen up toward my waist, giving me a "muffin top"! (though we didn't have that name for it back then -- we just called it a "bulge" or a "roll" -- LOL!) My friend wore hers to the reunion and said it was so uncomfortable that, afterward, when we all went out for a late-night after-party dinner at an all-night diner, she took it off and threw it in the trash in the bathroom.

 

I do have a couple pairs of boyshort-type underwear that I wear under more clingy fabrics, just to avoid lines that regular underwear often create under those fabrics, but I'm not sold on the whole suck-in undergarment industry. Yes, those things are vastly less constricting than the girldles my mom and grandma wore, but I hate the feeling of being sucked in like a sausage in a casing. Plus, while I don't object to dressing to enhance my best features (i.e. I have a little tummy, and I tend to wear skirts because I have nice legs and it distracts people from looking at my stomach ) I worry that if I wear too many enhancement-type things, a guy I might be interested in might get a false sense of what my body actually looks like, and I don't want there to be any big surprises if, down the road, he sees me without them. (I feel the same way about push-up/heavily padded bras -- eventually, they have to come off!)

 

Anyway...not trying to discourage you, Ren, but definitely step up the exercise a bit and move toward a much healthier diet, and some weight will come off. In addition to walking, a bit of weight training is helpful for building muscle that helps to burn fat. And, since you say your cholesterol is high, avoiding milk chocolate, cheeses, a lot of red meat -- or cutting back significantly on these -- will help a lot.

 

I know how hard it is to lose weight when you're over 40. I struggle just to maintain mine, and I exercise vigorously 5 times a week -- weight training and running.

[greta96]

Tried it once, didn't work because it made fat I didn't know I had bulge up at the top and it looked like I had a tire under my boobs! Not sexy :S

 

I used to be very much into enhancements, and always wore a bra that made my boobs look 2 cup sizes larger. Then the guy I had a huge crush on, who'd always seen me wearing it, decided to ask me out, things progressed and soon enough we had a romantic night planned at a hotel... Which is when it hit me that I'd have to take off my bra!! Panic and paranoia ensued, and yeah...I wouldn't do it again, lol!

[affinder]

There are different cuts of Spanx if you find them to be uncomfortable. If you try on the ones that have an open bust and straps, they definitely give you structure rather than trying to suck you in. If you are needing two people to put one on, then it is definitely the wrong size. All women wear them from a size 0 and up..... just make sure you are comfortable and confident. In my opinion a smile will always make you look slimmer!