Have you tried breathing to lose weight? Didn’t mean to cause you to skip a breath but we mean breathing exercises! Relax and take a deep one!
May 14, 2026
Table of Contents
Chances are you’ve caught yourself in a mirror lately and wondered when the tummy showed up.
While a smaller waist and a flat stomach are considered by many to be the Holy Grail of fitness and photo ops, achieving them on your own can be difficult.
Quick Fix: Shapewear & Waist Trainers
There’s shapewear and waist trainers, for starters – this new take on the corset or girdle was a supposed waist trainer that some of us believed would whip us into shape.
But let’s unpack some home truths. Shapewear was great for that cocktail dress you were dying to plaster on, but it doesn’t let you breathe, and the experience can be punishing.
In fact, long-term use of waist trainers and corsets can cause organ and bone damage and weaken core muscles. The Kardashians’ waists are a lie!
A day after the event, the secret to the reality star’s impossibly small waist was revealed — an extremely uncomfortable corset that resulted in her not being able to sit properly during the night.
Though some would say that she, along with her siblings, are no strangers to corsets and waist trainers as they’ve been seen wearing them for years, it still brought up a lot of health concerns.
So if you’re tempted to run out to buy some of these undergarments to shape your body, you might want to rethink this plan.
First, medical professionals say that waist trainers such as corsets, girdles and shapewears are only a temporary solution.
Second, and a more worrying cause for concern, wearing waist trainers long-term can have detrimental health effects like breathing difficulties, organ and bone damage, and even weakening of your core muscles.
In short, waist training is not a realistic answer to getting that shapely figure you’ve been dreaming of.
Read more about other weight loss blogs
Fad: Home fat-burning tights or fat-burning machines
Others have fallen for home fat-burning tights or fat-burning machines, or we’ve googled “how to get a flat tummy” and found fat freezing and gone down many other rabbit holes.
Yes, the fat-burning tights you see on TikTok make you sweat. However, they won’t help you lose inches or squeeze out a fat tummy.
Fat-burning machines haven’t shown any scientifically proven results, and can eat up a lot of dollars over multiple sessions.
Non-surgical fat removal: fat freezing or cryolipolysis
Some people who have tried non-surgical fat removal, such as fat freezing or cryolipolysis, may see some fat reduction results.
However, it can also have the opposite effect, leading to paradoxical adipose hyperplasia (PAH) – or the stick-of-butter effect.
PAH is a condition in which the area that has undergone fat freezing does not shrink; instead, the treated area hardens into a lump that continues to swell and enlarge, causing pain and soreness.
Once PAH develops, the effect is permanent, and it will require corrective surgery to remove it.
Doctor-led weight loss strategy, according to science
Stress can lead to weight gain.
Having been posted to the Institute of Mental Health Singapore (IMH) as part of his training, he has had first-hand experience dealing with patients affected by stress and empathises with how everyday stress impacts us mentally and physically.
“Emotional and stress eating is a real condition. This most often leads to weight gain, which in turn can lead to even more severe health conditions, shares Dr Puah, who has successfully helped patients reach their ideal BMI and improve their quality of life.
This is why, during each patient consultation for Amaris B.’s Weight Loss & Management programme, Dr Puah will always ask in detail:
- What is your everyday routine like?
- What is your comfort food?
- How much do you snack?
- How do you cope with stress?
- How would you describe your sleep quality?
Dr Puah would also discuss the next steps on:
- fitness regime
- type of workout suitable for the patient’s lifestyle and mobility range
- Sustainable daily meal plan
If necessary, he would also prescribe GLP-1 medications to aid with weight loss.
A scientific & permanent way to get rid of stubborn belly fat & tighten loose skin
Vaser Liposuction is a scientific and proven method for effectively eliminating belly fat. It is advanced ultrasonic-assisted liposuction and is less invasive than traditional liposuction.
“Many mums are extremely concerned with the excess abdominal fat and love handles, loose skin and caesarean scars. In such cases, I will assess the degree of skin laxity, the amount of fat present, and the scar condition. I will then propose a tailored body contouring approach for them,” said Dr Puah, an accredited liposuction doctor and Chairman of the Lipo Peer Review Committee Singapore, with over 20 years of liposuction experience, has encountered many new mummies who struggle to lose postpartum fat from the tummy and waist.
To effectively treat the abdomen and waist, Dr Puah will perform a comprehensive 360-degree fat removal and sculpting of these trouble zones with his proprietary MDC-Lipo Sculpt technique.
He first utilises ultrasound wave energy to break down stubborn fat tissue and perform “fat-melting.”
Next, he uses his customised body-contouring cannulas and the MDC-Sculpt® Lipo technique to remove liquefied fat, followed by targeted sculpting to create a natural, shapely contour while tightening loose skin and correcting pre-existing caesarean scarring.
Post-surgery, Dr Puah and his team will closely monitor your progress.
