How to Get a Smaller Waist Safely – 8 Things You Need to Know

Trying to get a smaller waist has been a goal of women going back generations. From praising women with hourglass figures to the advent of body ideals fuelled by celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Marilyn Monroe, a small waist has long been coveted.

The issue with this is that people are different and where they store fat can also be different. You might be predisposed to carrying more weight around your thighs and bum or, conversely, around your stomach. Attempting to emulate a certain body ideal can lead to issues with body image, as well as pushing your body past where it likes to be at its healthiest. Don’t love that.

If you’re already at a healthy weight for your height and are still trying to get a smaller waist, it might be time to reach out for external help. We want you to be your healthiest self possible and, often, that’s not something to be gleaned from outward appearance.

However, if you are concerned about getting a smaller waist because you’re carrying excess fat and weight, that’s a valid reason. The NHS recommends women with waist sizes of 80cm (31.5 inches) to try and reduce their waist size through weight loss. If your waist is 88cm (34.5 inches) or more, it is recommended to speak to a GP.

If you, or anyone you know, is struggling with an eating disorder, contact Beat, the UK-based charity who hope to end the pain and suffering caused by eating disorders.
T: 0808 801 0677
E: [email protected], under-18s: [email protected]

Associated risks of carrying excess fat around your waist

Being aware is always best and that goes double for your health. Whilst everyone is different, there are some important things to know if you’re concerned about carrying excess body fat around your waist.

‘Research suggests that carrying visceral fat around the abdomen increases the risk of a number of serious health complaints including heart disease, diabetes, strokes and high blood pressure,’ says Dr Shirin Lakhani of Harley Street’s, The Cranley Clinic. ‘Some studies also suggest a link between excess fat around the middle and cancer.’

But this isn’t a moment to be alarmed and bury your head in the sand. We’re here to help you with actionable tips to help you lose waist fat (or get a smaller waist) and achieve a healthy waist size.

8 things you need to know if you’re trying to get a smaller waist

We asked the experts to share the safest ways to slim your waist – spoilers, that doesn’t include any unsustainable ‘quick fix’ methods – and the healthy habits you need to be doing.

1. Trying to get a smaller waist fast might not be in your best interest

Searching for a way to lose weight fast is a common experience and we’re not here to shame you for it. What we want you to know is that fast weight loss is often unsafe weight loss – especially if you’re working with restrictive diets and excessive exercise regimes.

Losing weight at too rapid a pace is one of the surest ways to guarantee you put the weight back on and often a little more on top. Not what you were looking for, hey?

Instead, working to a safe rate of weight loss (1 to 2 lbs per week, maximum) will set you up for success and help you cement the healthy habits to keep you there. Going too hard, too fast, can stimulate “short-term mentality” and mean you abandon the lifestyle tweaks you’ve already made.

Focus on your overall goal but also break it down into chunks. Instead of “I need to lose ‘x’ pounds/stone to reach a healthy weight for my height”, scale it back to, “this week I will eat protein at every meal.” More tangible touch-points will keep you in the right mindset for longer.

2. Crash diets are not your friend

They go hand in hand with trying to lose weight fast, but crash diets really aren’t the Hail Mary they claim to be.

In a 2016 review of restrictive and very-low-calorie diets, UK researchers reported that fatigue, dizziness, cold intolerance and hair loss as key side effects, as well as an inflated risk of developing more serious issues such as gallstones. Yikes.

Plus, thanks to a function called ‘adaptive thermogenesis’, restrictive diets and subsequent weight loss causes your metabolic rate to decrease and your body to burn fewer calories as time goes on. ‘Research suggests that the more severely you restrict your calories, the harder adaptive thermogenesis kicks in, thus making crash diets counterproductive,’ says registered dietician Laura Tilt.

Not sure how to spot a crash diet? Any protocol that asks you to cut out an entire food group (also known as a macronutrient), drastically reduce how many calories you eat below what is healthy for your height and activity levels, or exercise excessively are all good ways to spy a crash diet. Read on for what you need to be on the hunt for, instead.

3. Take stock of your diet and make healthy tweaks

‘Nutrition is paramount when it comes to losing weight around your waist. Results come from 20% exercise and 80% nutrition,’ explains personal trainer and nutrition coach, Sarah Campus of LDN Mums Fitness, sharing her four tips for success when it comes to getting your healthy diet in check.

1. Prioritise protein

‘We need to have a balanced diet, but protein has to be one of the most important macronutrients [main food groups] for weight loss and also help avoid regaining weight. In simple terms, protein keeps you fuller for longer and helps repair the muscles and other cells in your body.’

‘Increasing your intake of high protein foods such as whole eggs, fish, legumes, nuts, meat, and dairy products will help you do this – these are great protein sources.’

2. Choose your carbs carefully, don’t cut them out

‘Reach for unrefined carbs such as whole grains, brown rice, brown bread, oats – these all provide and release energy slowly, which will avoid energy spikes that can lead you reaching for a quick fix.’

3. Focus on fibre

‘Eating fibre rich foods – soluble fibre foods such as whole grains will reduce your appetite and keep you feeling fuller for longer as they absorb water and nutrients in your gut.’

4. Track your nutrition

‘Tracking your nutrition can really help you track your portions, ensure you have the right balance of all food groups and remain in a calorie deficit.’ Prioritising the right ratios of macronutrients is a way to lose body fat as efficiently as possible.

Keeping track of what you’re eating doesn’t have to be a daunting task, though. Counting your macros (another way to say ‘tracking your intake’) can be made easier with apps such as .

If you’re very green to calorie counting, we asked the experts to fill us in. Peep the pic below for exactly how to count yours.

4. Sack off ab-exercises

We’ve all fallen foul of the “hundred crunches before bed” nonsense. And it’s natural to think that exercising the part of your body you’re trying to change will have the most effect. However, our bodies don’t work like that.

‘No matter how much we want it to be true, abdominal exercises won’t give you a smaller waist,’ says PT Campus. ‘You get this through a combination of nutrition, metabolic conditioning, and whole-body exercises – not by doing countless ab exercises. Regular, whole-body exercises (balance of strength, cardio, resistance and stretch) will speed up your metabolism and burn calories and fat.’

Think squats, burpees, deadlifts planks and press-ups for that full-body workout.

5. Double down on resistance training

Now you know we’re kicking purely abdominal exercises to the curb, let’s get around what you should be doing instead.

‘The type of training we do determines where weight is lost from,’ explains Servante. ‘Resistance training signals the body to retain lean body mass. Cardio, on the other hand, is just another way of increasing our calorie burn (and overall deficit). So, if you want to lose fat, without losing muscle, too, you always want to prioritise resistance training.’

Resistance training includes anything that works to increase your muscular strength and endurance. Whether you like to do bodyweight strength training, circuit training, weightlifting, or low-impact resistance training like Barre and Pilates, strengthening your muscles is always a good shout.

For newbies, this 28-day fitness challenge by Alice Liveing will get you comfortable with the basics of strength training through three kit-free workouts a week.

6. Focus on moving more throughout the day

For those of you us with desk-bound jobs, getting enough movement day-to-day can feel like a mission in itself. Even if you’re one of the lucky ones with a standing desk, getting those steps in is difficult.

However, there are some major benefits to getting some non-exercise based activity every day. From mental health relief to being less likely to cause a ravenous hunger spike afterwards, it’s worth trying to fit it in.

‘If you walk consistently throughout the day – 10,000 steps or more – you could burn up to 500 calories per day, which is roughly what we need to do to create our calorie deficit to lose that 1lb of fat per week,’ says Servante. However, if 10k steps are really unrealistic for you, don’t stress. There are other methods of creating a calorie deficit.

‘NEAT, which stands for non-exercise activity thermogenesis, (i.e. all calorie-burning activities that aren’t exercising, eating or sleeping), is probably the easiest and most effective way to increase your energy output, especially if you are sedentary.’ Examples of NEAT include walking up stairs, doing household chores or playing with your children.

‘It also has some benefits (compared to formal cardio) in that it is less likely to spike your appetite.’

7. Stress will slow your progress down

It’s easy for us to say stress less and life will be rosier, right? But when you’re in the midst of a hectic workload, responsibilities at home and other inherently stressful life events, reducing the amount of cortisol careering around your body is easier said than done.

But, if you’re trying to lose body fat and, by proxy, get a smaller waist, managing your stress levels is important.

‘Stress causes the production of cortisol which is the body’s stress hormone,’ explains Emily Servante, personal trainer at Ultimate Performance Kensington.

‘Cortisol has an inverse relationship with insulin, so if you have high cortisol levels it can impair your body’s insulin response which can result in high blood sugar levels.’ Prolonged periods of high blood sugar levels can lead to insulin resistance and result in higher levels of stored body fat.

Another stress factor you might not be aware of is your workout routine. Exercise places stress onto your body and demanding workout schedules or doing HIIT workouts too frequently can lead to higher levels of stress, too. Keep your fitness regime balanced between strength, cardio and stretch. Your nervous system will thank you!

Find a way to mitigate stress in your life, meditation works for some people, cutting out caffeine and prioritising sleep for others, and mindfulness for another handful. The key is finding what works for you.

8. Waist trainers should be avoided if you’re trying to get a smaller waist

Thanks to certain celebrities, waist trainers have become a hot ticket for people who want to get a smaller waist. The things you need to know though? That they’re not actually very good for you.

‘A waist trainer pushes down on the stomach and liver – a very important organ for metabolism and toxic clearance,’ says Dr Ali Ghanem, an aesthetic plastic surgeon at The Cranley Clinic in Harley Street, London. ‘Health professionals are concerned about the long-term impact of this. Plus, there haven’t been any studies to check the safety of waist trainers. There’s no regulation because it’s essentially a piece of clothing.’

Our advice is to steer clear. Instead, focus on achieving a healthy body composition for you and cementing safe, sustainable habits. We want you to hit your goals and feel good doing so.

Got all that? Ready to go for it? We believe in you!

Cut through the noise and get practical, expert advice, home workouts, easy nutrition and more direct to your inbox. Sign up to the WOMEN’S HEALTH NEWSLETTER