Waist not, want not

[Ralph]

OK, I need guidance from folks who have tried corset/waist cincher/whatever to reduce waist size.

First, let me explain: THIS IS NOT A COSMETIC ISSUE. I don't care that I look like a caveman in a dress. But my weight is getting out of hand, and simple diet/exercise isn't helping. A few years ago I managed to lose a good chunk of weight, nearly a hundred pounds, with nothing more than diet and exercise... it makes sense, eat less than you burn and the pounds should drop away. But gradually half of that came back, and no matter how carefully I watch what I eat and how faithfully I walk/bike/whatever, it won't go away again.

Like most men, all my weight is concentrated around the middle. Even when I was at my lowest point, with my face and arms looking almost skeletal, I had to order plus-sized clothes because what little weight I did carry was STILL around my belly.

So my goal here is threefold:

• Keep my belly constricted so I don't eat so much out of habit
• Keep pressure on my abdominal muscles and diaphragm so they get leaner
• Fit into smaller waist size clothes so when I do lose the weight, I can take off the cincher and still wear the same size

I have read up on the physical dangers of corset training, and that's absolutely not what I want. No hourglass figure for me, especially at the cost of potential kidney and liver damage from rearranging the contents of my innards.

Right now my waist is nearly 50 inches if I completely relax my diaphragm and let it all hang out. I normally wear 46" pants with enough muffin top to feed the 5,000, and if I really squeeze I can bring it in to 44".

Which (finally) brings me to my questions:

1. What size should I order, my actual waist size or my target?
2. How much difference between actual and worn size is safe for long-term wearing?
3. Have any of you used a waist cincher/girdle/corset to help with weight loss, and was it effective long-term?
4. What specific type of support garment would be best for this purpose? I'm not real clear on the difference between cincher, girdle, corset, shaper, etc.

[Big and Bashful]

I've thought about it, for exactly the same reason, plus I wondered if the added support would reduce my back ache. Then I thought that if I wore one for a while, then stopped, the back might weaken while I wore the thing, leading to an even worse back ache when I tried to stop wearing one. So I haven't tried and still know no more about the effects of one.
Oh, also I wear skirts because they are very loose, so strapping up my torso seems to be an odd choice for me.

They are my thoughts, sorry not to be more helpful.

[pelmut]

For professional advice you could try contacting Fran Blanche or watching some of her explanatory videos at:

http://www.contourcorsets.com/

[Jack Williams]

Interesting subject.
Dresses and skirts look best if one has an actual waist.
Believe me that doesn't equal the barrels seen by me on the street each day.
So I eat sensibly.
Period.

[Jack Williams]

Have to say that's not the most recent photo, but here's one taken this morning.