The aches, and pain...

Last night my corset got to 26.5" - I went to bed as usual, only to wake up around 12:30am because my body was aching. 

Mind you, this happens daily, but usually only in the morning just about when I'm about to get up. So there is tossing and turning. 

However, this morning it was bad. Took my corset off then and there... 

It's expected, but I surely wasn't doing it for 8 more hours lol. We shall try again tonight. 

Tighten in the morning!

This morning I woke up and tightened my corset to 25.5"! 

June 13 and 14

Here are photos from yesterday, and today. 

Tonight I can lace to about 26.25" - the smallest yet. :) 

That half inch!

It seems I'm in a half inch! Put this baby on tonight and measured at 26.5". 

Today I felt a little sore... Moreso than normal, though I am going to chalk that up as it's working. Nothing more than obnoxious and nothing that I would say 'hurt.' Remember, I'm moving my ribs, that has to feel like something. 

Haven't done my belly exercises since Sunday. Which is bad. You truly need to do both, and eat somewhat healthy. 

Now that I'm at this tightness I notice I for even try to breathe through my lower torso anymore, it's all chest, without even thinking. Another positive. Yawns are still a bit tricky, because I can't take a deep breath with this thing on. But manageable.

Photo update. 

Found the tape!

I have found measuring tape! This is for June 9, evening of, before sleeping in the corset. I measured at 27" with the corset on. 

I must say, that threw me off because the space in the back before I'm able to close is at a maximum of 4"... And this is a 22" corset. Ah well, a goal is a goal.

I'll follow with often updates and photos. For those few of you who care. 

Progress!

Believe it or not, about five days in... maybe six... I see progress!  I think... I take a photo every night when I put my corset on... remember, I'm wearing this during the night when I sleep ONLY. It's not so bad... It's a little harder to roll over, and it doesn't wake me up any more than I would wake up regularly to reposition. 
The past two days I haven't done my tummy exercises... but I plan to start back up tomorrow. After a long day I just don't want to... so I need the motivation.

Anywho... I can't find my measuring tape anywhere, so I'm not able to measure it - which is why I've been taking the nightly photos and comparing them as I lay in bed lol.

I've noticed some soreness... which is normal, no real pain, but I can tell that the steel boning is doing what it's suppose to for my ribs to pretty much curl in more to appear smaller. No bruising, just some great corset indents when I take it off in the morning lol. I tend to tighten my corset in the morning when I get out of bed, and keep it on for another 15 minutes or so, I do not know if it loosens during the night, or if I am able to make it smaller than it was the evening before. When I go to bed, I tighten it as much as my arms can pull the threads.

However... Below are photos. And I'm getting excited people! THIS is my motivation to put it on every night.

The before photo, is when I started on day one back in April... (please keep in mind I did it for three days then stopped... so my body went back to it's natural form) the after is from I believe yesterday morning before I took it off.  Pardon the holding what boobs I have, I wasn't wearing a bra - and didn't want to shine you with my headlights. 

Starting Over

Hello the few who have found their way to my blog! :) The past month or so I've taken a break from attempting waist training, and have begun again - from scratch! 

I've chosen this time to wear my corset at night, as I can get much more hours of wear in at night when I don't even notice I'm wearing it. However, I do also plan to wear it throughout the day, with a few hours break here and there to do things such as shower, exercise, or other things that really don't work out well when wearing a corset. 

When I woke up this morning, I tightened my corset a bit more, which I couldn't get it any tighter 8 hours earlier when I laid down for bed. I took it off after eating breakfast, and will put it back on in about a hour, for a few hours, then off again, and on again. 

I did some reading this morning about corseting, which stating fairly plainly that some people could take up to years (yes that's multiple) for their waist to be trained and ribs to stay at a certain place. And of course, I'll never know if I will fall into that 'some people' category. 

However, before taking off the corset, I felt how much space I had before being able to close it, and it felt somewhere around maybe 3 or 4 inches. This is a 22" corset. So I do feel like there's progress, but I do also know it's going to be a long, and uncomfortable road ahead lol. 

I would post photos - but they look no different than the ones I previously have. 

I will get back to updating this daily, or every other day. :) Welcome back, self. 

Oh Day 4

Today I left the corset on for 5 hours. I was able to lace it a bit tighter than I had been previously, and could feel a difference - no pain, just a bit of uncomfortable feeling while sitting down. I did also take a 45 minute nap in this one - no unable to breathe dreams. :) 

Measured at 27" after taking it off. I really don't see any difference. These are the time when I start to worry if it just won't work 'for me.' If something is going to happen, or not work - it's going to happen, or not work, to me lol.

Day 3

Are a ton of chicken Parmesan before slipping into the corset. Figured if this thing is going to suppress my appetite I'll eat before I put it on lol.

I'm not looking to lose weight, remember, I actually want to gain, but my ribs are too wide for my liking so I'm solely don't this to help them curl in more. :) I still want to eat, boy do I. 

Just put it on, 6:30pm, and decided to lay down for a nap - must say, not very comfortable in this sense, but I'll give it a go. 

I managed to sleep for about two hours - maybe one and a half, wasn't too bad. I did, however, keep dreaming I couldn't breathe lol. Wasn't waking up out of breath, or with trouble, I would wake up to find that all was fine. My brain is playing tricks on me. Proceeded to take a walk with the dogs. Oh yeah, I have these monsters:

I think I'm going to leave this on for a few more hours honestly. I'll update whatever I end up doing. :)

10:30pm, still wearing it. Will be taking it off shortly so that I can actually relax on the sofa. I did find, that if my jeans waist will stretch enough, pulling it up on and over the bottom of the corset is much easier to A. go to the rest room and B. pull my pants up should they wiggle down with some walking around... 

Still sitting at 26.5" when taking it off. Starting to wonder if maybe it's not tight enough - but again, must keep reminding myself that this is a slow process. I know not to lace it so tight that it hurts - but I'll try to lace it tighter tomorrow, as it's never hurt no matter how tight I've been able to get it. 

And to Day 2!

Day 2 was, interesting, to say the least. I put on my corset around 11:30am, and immediately jumped into the car to run an errand, trying to do what I normally would and not just sit around for hours while wearing it. This is what I am willing to bet is the most awkward of activities while wearing the corset. Unable to sit back, I find myself sitting directly straight up and down in the seat - with a good 4-5 inches from the back of the seat.  Argh... 

I left the corset on for almost 3 hours, 2 hours and 40 minutes to be exact. Today, I did yard work in my corset... consisting of raking leaves, and putting them into bags to dump... this caused me to be a bit out of breath, being that my body was constricted as is, but nothing serious, nothing painful - just needed a few extra breaks. 

Upon releasing the corset, I felt like, what I would assume women with large breasts feel like, when they release their bra clasps. Free. Again, no pain, no discomfort - but you most certainly notice the release of tension around your torso.

I measured before getting into the corset, at 27.5 inches.

And I measured after, at 26.5 inches.

And here is a full view, from Day 2! 

Day 1

Today is Day one of waist training for me. I didn't measure my waist like I had planned to... oops. But I'm sure after just 3 hours of day one there won't be much difference so I shall tomorrow.

I put Corsie (my corset, duh) on at 1:15pm, and took her off at 3:15pm. I've read and seen on YouTube through Soulja Girl that you should wear it two hours a day for the first week, well... I'm an over achiever and am going for three.

Here's what I noticed in those three hours.

• It's incredibly easy to breathe from the chest, which you must while wearing this.
• It's a bit odd to use the restroom... the sitting down wasn't hard - but the bending over to wipe? Meh, might take some getting use to... and TMI alert, if you're taking a BM, you may want to consider taking the corset off, it's a bit difficult to push while in it - but doable. 
• I wasn't uncomfortable at all, I did notice every now and then I wanted to take a deep breath, my body definitely knows that it's being held in this position - but I was not bothered by it at all.
• About two hours in I did start to feel very very dull rib aches on the right side... though that is apparently normal.

I sat down and watched some YouTube videos to determine how long people are wearing them, and what their experiences were - and I don't see anything out of the usual from what others have said.

When I first put it on I felt like I hadn't put it on tight enough, because it felt so 'normal' - though I didn't tighten it, I realize this is a slow process.

I measured at 27.5" with the corset on. I hadn't realized my waist had grown that much - holy cow, definitely glad I chose this route. 

When I took the corset off, I measured at 

26.5" - now I know that shape will slowly go back to what it was this morning over the day and throughout tonight... 

I definitely noticed my tummy felt flat, and my waist did look a little slimmer. Of course, I will continue. 

Corset on:

After removing corset:

My Corset Has Arrived!

After a few weeks of research, Google, and YouTube tutorials, I've decided to give a go at waist training with a corset. Being that in my attempts to find logged experiences, etc. yielded very little results - with the exception of a few YouTube vlogs - I have decided to document my experience.

Months ago, I located this web site - and it, by far, has been the most helpful in understanding what waist training is, and how it works:

Tightlacing 101: 4 Myths About Waist Training with a Corset

I also came across a woman on YouTube, who documented her journey through video. She wore her corset for four months, and did quite a few check-ins so that you could see her progress. She has also been featured on Dr. Oz. Her account is here:

SouljaGurlSha YouTube

From everything that I've found, it is safe to lower your waist size by 5-6" over time - this is not an over night process, you will not wake up tomorrow with a waist that is half a dozen inches smaller than it was the night before. Women do this for months, up to a year or more - and others live a corset lifestyle, they wear it for years - to infinity and beyond. This is not a permanent change. Your body will slowly begin to return to it's natural shape if you no longer waist train. I am fully aware, as you should be too, that upon my achieving the shape that I want - I will need to do 'maintenance' waist training, to continue to keep that shape.

I ordered my corset from Orchard Corset last week (try code COKEBOTTLE for a discount), it arrived yesterday. I chose an underbust, cotton corset in black. Their web site suggests that you purchase a corset 4" less than what your natural waist measures. I decided that I was not going to purchase multiple corsets as my waist gets smaller, that being said, I purchased a 22" corset - which expands a great deal - and will simply stop training when I get to my goal, which may, or may not be 22". 

Anyhoo... I plan to start wearing my corset tomorrow, 2 April 2014. I will wear it for at least 4 hours a day to begin, and I will be exercising daily out of the corset, I will also be sleeping without it. I tried it on last night, and wore it for just a few minutes - it is not uncomfortable at all, and very easy to tie. When I took it off... I realized how much I liked having it on. It keeps everything very tight, and 'in place.' 

I have what many would consider,  a curvy shape. I, however, am not utilizing this method to lose weight... if you're looking to lose weight, please opt for diet, and exercise. I have noticed that women with a larger belly - their corset will force their belly fat down, below the corset - where it will get use to being, and stay even after you take it off after some time. 
I have a very, very short torso. My bottom ribs, are about one inch from my hips, I do not have the ability to simply 'lose fat' in that area. I am utilizing this method to reform my lower (floating) ribs to curl in more, and give me a bit more shape.

Here is me, and my corset: