I’m not a big lady. Yes, I have had a child. Yes, I have the mom belly now. Yes, I work out 5 to 6 days a week. So no; I’m not all muscle and I’m not all wabbly bits, I would say I am “average”. Measuring at a whopping 5’1” (& ¾, you can’t leave that part out) tall and weighing in at 140 lbs, I am what some might call petite (although I call it fun sized).
You can imagine my joy, when I found pants that I could wear while teaching my fitness class that would stay up, fit my short stature without me having to hem yet another pair of work out lettings, and suck in my mom belly. For the price I paid, I knew I was getting a good product. So imagine my disappointment when they Mother Tucking leggings only ticked two out of the three boxes.
1. I hardly touch the waist band when doing even the highest impact routines as they come clear up to my bra, check.
2. I didn’t end up having to hem as I got the capri version for a reason. I’m short, I get it, most companies just love to rub that in, but these work! In another review, someone mentioned them “flaring” out at the bottom which they do and that is perfect since I can’t even fit my legs in some boots with the calves I have, it’s what they are meant to do. And they do it well!
3. Now, to the issues at hand, that dreaded mom belly. These pants don’t quite cut the mustard with the sucking in the mom belly. I don’t know what I expected but with a description of “world famous compression technology to keep your postpartum tummy securely tucked” and I break a sweat trying to get these bad boys pulled all the way up, I would anticipate that my mom belly would get a little flatter and I could rock a crop top to show off all my postpartum hard work. Not the case! Not only does the crotch hit a little off-centered, but that postpartum tum is out and proud and ready to tell the world that I had a baby and my body is still fighting me on giving that badge of honor up. I mean, I get it. These aren’t magic leggings. They can’t make extra skin disappear with a little compression, but if I suck my tummy in and lift up a little at my ribs, I feel I get better results than these with their “world famous” compression tech.
Let’s wrap this up. Do they do the trick? Yeah, it gets the job done, but I expected more. Will I buy another pair? Nah, I’ll stick to my target high waisted paints at a ¼th of the cost and get them hemmed. I’d still be saving coin. Do I love Belly Bandit? Yeah, but I will just stick to the maternity support bands and may even try the girdle after baby number two, whenever that happens. Go ahead and get these if they go on sale, but don’t expect that postpartum tum to do a magic trick and completely disappear. They do, however, work perfectly under a flowy top but you do you.