No, we aren’t suggesting a new diet fad, the latest weight loss pill or potion, but we have found an answer to getting a great figure in seconds.

It is the latest in fashion underwear called shapewear. There are quite a few brands out there at the moment offering shapewear or figure enhancing underwear. These range from specialist brands such as Esbelt, Plie and Spanx to the department stores offering their own brands of slimming lingerie like UK retailer Marks and Spencers.

Shapewear products come in all different styles and have been around for hundreds of years. One of the originals is the corset. Slimming corsets first became popular in the 16th century and the word Corset appears to have entered the English language in 1785 and are commonly associated with the Victorian era. Corsets were originally worn to enhance the shape of women’s bodies by slimming the waist and enhancing the bosom. Traditional corsets are still popular in various circles and are often worn as sexy underwear, popularly worn by brides on their wedding day.

In period films, scenes of the leading lady dressing in a slimming corset are common, with lots of pulling of strings by assistants to achieve the desired figure. Nowadays technology has moved on considerably meaning that figure enhancing and slimming corsets can be worn much more easily.

The Brazilian brand Esbelt have a range of slimming waist cinchers, vests, corsets and girdles, that do wonders to enhance and shape women’s figures, whilst being easy to wear. Slimming waist cinchers are one of the most popular type of shapewear. Esbelt even claim that their slimming waist cinchers and corsets can help accelerate weight loss though high compression, perspiration and micro massage. They claim that wearing Esbelt waist cincher offers the possibility of losing 1-4 inches within 30 days. This means that not only do you get the immediate benefit of improving your figure, you can also achieve longer term benefits at the same time.

In addition to the slimming and figure enhancing benefits of shapewear, some products can also help with common back problems. By improving posture, whilst both standing and seated, the additional support that corsets, girdles and slimming vests give the lower back, can make a real difference with lower back pain. However, if you are looking for support with back pain, you must always consult a doctor before wearing any slimming underwear.

The popular UK shows presented by Gok Wan and Trinny & Suzanna have made shapewear lingerie much more common in the UK’s underwear drawers. They also have done wonders in raising the profile of brands such as Esbelt, as well as allowing these presenters to launch their own shapewear brands.

As well as the common upper body slimming products, there are also a number of slimming panties to enhance the shape of your bum. These range from cycling short type pants, which do wonders for your bum but are certainly not the sexiest, when not covered up, to much sexier style pants that do a good job whilst still looking reasonably sexy when you show them to the man of your dreams.

Shapewear is not just restricted to women. There are quite a few products out there for men too, from girdles and corsets, to pants that enhance their manhood.

There is no better solution to improving your figure than keeping fit, but for many of us we need that added bit of help. With the amazing slimming underwear available, is now no excuse not to have that fabulous figure you’ve always dreamed of.