Back on the Wagon

Today makes one week of "Take Two". I stopped shortly after my last post due to frustration and lack of support from my husband. I am now single and corseted again. What else has changed... I am more successful with running. I'm now up to 7 miles. My waist is a natural 26.5" and I've been lacing to 26. I haven't lost any weight, but I know my composition has shifted toward more muscle. This time around I am getting rid of expectation. I wear it as loose as I please and am happy to have it on. I am enjoying the experience. I got a cotton off-the-shelf Mescantes that is buskless. Aside from the string being a mile long, I do prefer this one. It is easier to wear under jeans, even tight ones. I don't worry about ruining the cotton. My biggest problem now is the need to take it off at the end of the day because of the itchies. My skin gets so impressed and wrinkled it seems like a bad idea to keep it on 24. Maybe tonight I will loosen it only.

Week 11

I have been wearing it on average 9 hours each day. I am down to 25.5", which is only one inch less than where I started almost 3 months ago. I am glad though. I haven't had any bad days for a while. I think being a yoga instructor has really slowed the progress. I work the abdominal muscles pretty well so they resist molding to the corset. I did buy a new one. Haven't gotten it yet. I got a cotton buskless to sleep in. I will post pics when I get it.

ENOUGH!

I've decided to get a new corset. Everyone I talk to says that it should not hurt, and the plain truth is- mine still does. I am still wearing for about 8 hours a day, but I can do no more than that. Last week I slept in it, but by the third night I took it off halfway through. There is one small spot on my back that only hurts when I wear it. It doesn't seem to matter if it is tight or loose. Because I have no intention of giving up, I will fork out the bucks for a better quality corset and get myself measured by a seamstress this time instead of doing it myself. I really wish we had a local corsetier!

12/29/09 -Week 7

Nothing to report. I am still not sleeping in it. Therefore I am still not making any progress. I wear it about 8 hours a day comfortably. Starting tonight I am going to sleep in it!!!

12/12/09- Week 5

It has been difficult to transition my eating habits to grazing. There has been a lot of indigestion. I am being more careful now.

There really hasn't been much progress. I am back to wearing it at 26.5", which was pretty much where I started. I wear it about 8 hours a day, and by the end if the day my back really hurts if I wear it any smaller. In the morning I am optimistic and tighten it down; yesterday I was wearing pants that I had altered, and couldn't loosen my corset unless I wanted to walk around work with my pants unbuttoned. I guess I need to wait a couple of weeks before wearing them again.

12/10/09 -day 26

The itchies are starting...

12/6/09 -day 22

The last week has been discouraging. The ugly back fat spillover is really causing me to not like wearing it. It is really causing my clothing to look freakish on me. I have been wearing it rather tight. I think I ordered it with poor measurements. I like to wear the bottom closed. It looks like "\/" in the back. Also, I like the feeling of it tight, but it keeps me from wearing it for more than 5 hours. So, as a result of all of this, today I kept it at 26.5" again and the back laces straight. It doesn't feel like it is doing me any good this loose, but it seems to be the only way to sustain it and keep the spillover to a minimum.

Another issue I am having is the metal bleeding through onto the silk. My corset was not terribly expensive, but I am still worried that I will wear it out. I wasn't expecting that. Maybe it is the copper from my jeans rather than the busk?

I had to sit through two meetings yesterday. People must find me to be really snooty sitting so upright on chairs clearly not designed for such. The driver's seat in my car is set to "L".

Well other than that, so far so good. I am not losing any weight though. I probably won't. Last time I lost a lot of weight, it involved copious amounts of alcohol and lots of dancing. When I was single, I did not eat after 5pm. Now I cook dinner every night for my family. It is difficult to overcome that temptation. I would like to lose 10lbs.

On this tangent, I noticed for the first time today that the wrinkle between my breasts is now permanent. It used to go away about 30 minutes after I woke up. ...not leaving anymore. I have also noticed the impressions on my wrists deepening. Every time I notice something about myself concerned with aging, it seems to be an overnight change. When I was little, and got pubic hair, I don't remember it coming in; I remember waking up one morning and it was there. Ah but an exception to that is my eyesight. That has deteriorated steadily. At least it is all still pretty superficial stuff.

11/30/09 -day 16

Great Thanksgiving. Not too gluttonous. I am making this dress for a Christmas party. It is the full length one out of a red shantung. I have another butterick 1952 vintage pattern that looks fabulous with the corset. I will post pics.

It didn't wear it at all on Thanksgiving or on Friday. Oops. But the rest of the weekend, I wore it at about 26". For several hours on sunday I wore it at 25". It doesn't hurt like it did. 26.5" is way too loose now.

I am a little confused. When my corset is laid out flat, each half measures 11.5". So it should measure 23" when completely closed. Strangely though, when I have it on and there is only a 1" gap, it measures 25". That would seem that it would be 24" when closed. I don't get the discrepancy.

Somebody help me with the back fat issue. Yuk!! A tiny waist is really offset by the nasty spillover effect. It is difficult to be discreet about wearing a corset when it looks like I am wearing a way-too-small bra.
I went jogging yesterday and made myself sick again. This is stupid. I have really scaled back. I jog a 1/2mile then walk a 1/2 mile, totalling three. One would think my body could handle this!!! Buncha crap. It can't go on forever.

11/25/09 -day 12

Got it down to 1" to close for a fitting. I probably could have closed it with help. Just had it that way for 10 minutes or so to get a dress and a pair of pants altered. I am having a major wardrobe crisis. Prior to my corset wearing, most of my clothing hung on my hips. I try to put the corset under these items, but it pulls them up so high I get camel toes. If I put the corset over them then it pushes into my skin and hurts by the end of the day. I don't even want to start about the armpit spillover issue. My waist looks great, but the back fat has got to go.

11/23/09 -day 10

Great weekend. One 12 hour day. I did get it laced to 25.75" last night with no pain. Wore it that way for several hours. Today at work, I have it at 26.25 and I am very comfortable. Thank heaven for progress. I have 2.75" left until it is closed. It was the full 4" when I started on day 1 and 2.
I did sleep in it for half of one night. 26.5". I'm not sure at what time decided a good night's sleep was more important. I want a cotton one for christmas- a buskless.

Mmmmm.... peanut butter cookies and coffee. God's consolation prize for enduring mornings.


6pm.

8 hours today. Will wear it to sleep tonight. Came home and ran a couple of miles with the dog. He ate a bunch of my peanut butter cookies while I was at work. My kids will be upset. We will have to make the dog some peanut butter bone-a-fidos.

11/20/09 -day 7

Last night I laced down to 25.5" for the event. It was both as small as I could get it on my own, and as much as I could physically handle. I have 38" hips, so although 25" isn't small, it was a dramatic reduction even clothed. My husband ditched me, so I had to drive myself to the place a good 20 minutes away. This was hellacious. After I got there, it wasn't easy. I lasted another 45 minutes. Good thing it was only a "make an appearance" type of function. The big killer was my back. It felt as though all of the discomfort I had in my ribs before migrated around behind. It is all on my left side only. I undressed the second I got back in my car. The pain hit when I took the thing off, but only for about 30 seconds or so. Whoa! The bottom line is, I did it. I didn't do it all night or set myself back, but I did endure it for a while.

This morning I thought I would take the day off from being bound, but I felt frumpy, so I am wearing it again. Strangely enough, my back doesn't hurt today. Go figure.

11/19/19 -day 6

My back hurts. I loosened it again. Maybe it will buy me some more time. Sitting all day is the devil.


1pm. I took the thing off again. I hate feeling defeated. 4.5 hrs today. I will be wearing it this evening. Maybe sleeping in it would be better than trying to sit at work all day.

11/18/09 -day 5

I did end up loosening the laces yesterday. It was a good thing I did, as I made it 7 hours total. I took a 3 mile walk with my dog in lieu of jogging. All in all, it is getting easier. I taught yoga last night and a student commented that she thought I had lost weight. I haven't lost any wieght overall, but I may have lost some fat. The corset is helping with appetite, or maybe that is just my being pumped over the whole thing.
Tomorrow I have a business party I am going to. It is my wish to be able to lace down to 24" so that I can wear a tight-waisted wrap-around dress. I hope it is something that I can do for two hours without setting back my progress by bruising my ribs.


2pm.
I took that damn thing off. 5 hours is enough for now. Maybe later.

day 4. 11/17/09

I made it 9 hours yesterday. I even drove home. I expected it to hurt like a mf when I took it off, but the sensation was not nearly as pronounced as the day before.
I don't have my tape with me at work, so I really don't know how tight I have cinched it today. Already my back hurts. I will give it another hour and see if the lace (ribbon) redistributes. I may have to go loosen it. But damn it looks good!

I should also mention that I am a yoga instructor. I am not exactally sure how relevant it is, but I do not have much curvature of the spine. With that in mind, I would expect to have an easier time than some slouchers. On the other hand, there are several hours each day that are not available for me to be bound. I also wonder how having developed core muscles will go with corsetting? Will it be a setback, or a good counter-balance? Ugh, I shouldn't have eaten that sausage-egg-cheese buscuit for breakfast. Oh, that reminds me. I failed to eat after breakfast yesterday. Maybe having a squished belly is a good appetite supressant. I plum forgot to eat! Unheard of for me.

First time at work 11/16/09

This is my life-saver.




I can sit upright without shoving the stays up into my ribs. Only 1 hour down. I need to get to work and quit blogging about my new corset. I'm excited! Oh BTW. I brought it to work with me and put it on in the bathroom I knew the 20min drive would keep me from being able to wear it at all today. I will take it off when I leave; that should be 7 hours in on the 3rd day.

11/15/09

I went jogging this morning. 2 miles only. I have been over-training and making myself ill. I hate not being able to run to my full ability. After the jog, I showered and laced my corset and wore it to breakfast. Driving is NOOOOO good!! OUCH!! my ribs hurt. I couldn't get home fast enough.

I left it off for most of the day, but realized it is only bad when I am sitting. I need to break it in while I am active. I put it back on and laced it to 26.5" and walked the dog for 2 more miles. It was great. I took it back off when I knew I would just be sitting around the house.

It arrives in the mail 11/14/09

Gorgeous. Even without lacing it, it definately contours my bod. I love it.

Here's my background. 33 yr old mother of 2. Never tightlaced before. I currently weigh 140lbs with a 27" waist. 2yrs ago (not ancient history) I weighted 130 with a 25" waist. So I am trying to disregard any progress with regard to losing that 2 inches as natural weight loss.

It laces up with ease to 26.5 inches. I can do this by myself without much effort. I am guessing the corset itself adds an inch. I need to ask the manufacturer (www.isabellacorsetry.com out of sacramento)