Would you like to try the corset diet?

Another day, another diet. 

And the latest flight across Hollywood Pond is the corset diet. It may have been actresses, including Jessica Alba, who inspired this latest trend by regularly dressing up in period costumes.

Discover our collection of corsets, as well as corset tops and corset dresses to reveal your femininity!

Incredibly simple, it involves cinching yourself into a corset every morning and enjoying both a cinched hourglass figure and a reduced appetite, thanks to the constriction on your stomach.

It may sound a little crazy, but for me, it's nothing new. I stumbled upon it seven years ago as a way to cut down on my cake consumption, and I can attest that it works—provided you're happy to sacrifice your ability to bend over.

After being sent by a magazine to learn burlesque dancing, I immediately took a liking to the corset I was given to wear. As the kind of girl who browsed articles on women fitting into the "apple," "pear," or "petite" categories for an option that said "a little like a barrel with a belly button," having a real waist was incredible.

Back home, I immediately started saving up for a corset of my own. At the exorbitant cost of €100, it was custom-made in Brighton, fitted snugly under my bust and laced up the back.

Thanks to my burlesque classes, I knew how to undress seductively without staring at one of its metal stays. But instead of wearing it for sexy moments, I became addicted to wearing it to work.

It was comfortable enough to wear under dresses, and I even used it as outerwear when the Victorian look became fashionable. Like an extra-effective control panty, having a flat, smooth stomach and a super-curved waist gave me a confidence boost.

And one of the side effects—in addition to looking a little like a Clue character when I tightened it too much—was not being able to eat as much food. At first, I was devastated. I looked fabulous, but I could no longer fit a whole stuffed-crust Meateor pizza into my stomach when it was gently squeezed from all sides.

I could still eat a lot, but not as much—and since I was only a few pounds away from an unhealthy BMI, I soon realized that this wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

On occasions when I usually indulged massively—like trips to my favorite Chinese buffet—I would put on my corset beforehand and discover that I could still indulge in the first and second servings, but not the third and fourth plates that helped my weight climb.

Being able to compare "dinner babies" with my boyfriend might have been cute, but it wasn't particularly sexy. And in addition to feeling quite naughty in my exotic lingerie, I managed to lose a few pounds and learn to control my portions better.

This meant that my barrel-shaped proportions were becoming more curvy than awkward, and suddenly, I no longer needed to wear the corset to have a waist of my own.

Of course, there are downsides. I really did miss being able to tie my shoelaces. And some women would wear corsets day and night to try to reshape their bodies, compressing their ribs and rearranging their organs to achieve a permanent wasp waist. Uh, no thank you.

But even though it sounds like a completely ridiculous diet, wearing a corset can work, if your problem is portion control and you don't go too crazy (use it sparingly, take it off if it becomes uncomfortable, and don't forget to wear something else on occasions when you want to eat everything in sight).

Plus, since sex is a very good workout and your average man is probably a fan of the hourglass figure, it can also help you get a little extra exercise...