Waist Trainer, also called waist cinchers or body shapers, are compression devices worn tight around the midsection and fastened with Velcro or a phalanx of hooks. They’re popular among fitness evangelists who post videos of themselves wearing them during workouts and demonstrating their day-to-day progress. The claim is that regular wear shrinks the stomach, sculpts the abs into an hourglass shape and, when used in conjunction with a healthy diet and exercise, creates long-term results.

The Journey to an Hourglass Figure: Strategies and Success Stories

But medical experts say they aren’t good for you. The squeezing effect of waist trainers increases intra-abdominal pressure and can be difficult to breathe, says Richard Romanelli, MD, a gynecologist at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. It can also cause fluid retention and encourage the storage of fat in the abdominal area. Romanelli says there are no medical publications that evaluate the safety of waist trainers, and he doesn’t recommend them.

Waist trainers can also lead to back pain and weaken core muscles, says Beth Clem, a physical therapist at Duke University. While she says waist training might be helpful for women who’ve had a cesarean section to retrain their core muscles, she adds that there are better ways to do so, such as working with a physical therapist on posture and breathing.

The best way to slim the stomach is to avoid sugary and processed foods, set realistic exercise goals, and practice a range of exercises that tone different muscle groups, like crunches for the abdominals, lunges for the hips, and planks for the butt. But if you must try a waist trainer, it’s important to get the right fit. Using a waist trainer that’s too small can crush internal organs, causing pain, gas and fatigue. And a waist trainer that’s too large can put you at risk of developing hernias or an intestinal prolapse (a condition in which the bladder, uterus, or rectum drops inside the abdominal cavity).

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How Does Domain Reputation Work? is the overall “health” of your branded domain as interpreted by mailbox providers. It plays an important role in whether or not your messages end up in the inbox or spam folder.

Just like a credit score, email reputation isn’t static and is determined by various factors that can vary based on the individual receiver’s scoring process. Mailbox providers consider your sending domain, your IP address and the content of your messages. A high domain reputation score means fewer emails get rejected or sent to spam, while a low domain reputation score can lead to more rejections and spam folder placements.

Decoding Domain Reputation: Insights into Its Functionality

Unlike your IP address, your domain reputation is attached to your sending domain and remains the same even when you switch email service providers. You can check your domain reputation with a variety of online tools that offer a general overview of your reputation across multiple receivers. For example, Gmail’s Postmaster tool provides a comprehensive look at your domain reputation as assessed by their servers. There are also third-party services that specialize in domain reputation, such as Talos Intelligence from Cisco.

If you notice your domain reputation scores dropping, keep in mind that it takes time to build up a new domain reputation. Be patient and focus on nurturing a good reputation with relevant, valuable messaging that your audience wants to receive. Be sure to follow best practices for email deliverability, such as not spamming recipients or sending too many emails at once.

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