Do vibration plates and waist trainers actually help you lose fat?

Nikkiey tried these gadgets herself, and she explains why they feel like they're working when they aren't. A vibration plate creates involuntary micro-contractions, so your legs tingle and feel shaky when you step off. But as she puts it, your muscles aren't being challenged, they're being jiggled. The force is nowhere near enough mechanical tension to make muscle grow. She does say there is some evidence that vibration plates may help bone density in post-menopausal women, balance in older adults and lymphatic drainage. If you already own one, she suggests using it for two minutes as a warm-up, then picking up your dumbbells.

The waist trainer frustrates her most because it can work against you. It compresses your midsection so you sweat more there, and you'll weigh less afterward, until you drink a glass of water. Nikkiey explains that fat is not lost through sweat. It's metabolized through the liver and breathed out through the lungs, and a waist trainer has no part in that. Worn during exercise, she says it can restrict your breathing, lower your performance, weaken your core over time and raise blood pressure.

The same goes for ab stimulator belts. She wore one for two weeks and nothing changed, because the contractions are too shallow to trigger growth and you can't spot reduce fat anyway. In her view, a menopause belly isn't there because your abs are weak. She points to hormonal shifts, visceral fat storage and often under-eating, none of which a gadget can touch. If hormones are part of your picture, that's a conversation to have with your doctor.