Q: Use cool water and mild laundry detergent that’s free of bleach and added dyes to wash your suit if it isn’t already clean. Fill the sink with cool water and apply the soap directly to your suit. Massage the material in the water to create suds and clean away any grime. Drain the sink, then use fresh water to rinse the suit until no more suds are visible. Squeeze the suit by hand until the suit is just damp instead of drenched. If you iron a dirty suit, you are essentially baking in any residual salt, sand, sweat, sunscreen, or lotions you may have come into contact with the last time it was worn. If you don’t have a cotton cloth specifically for ironing, you could also use a handkerchief or some other kind of scrap fabric, just as long as it is clean and made of cotton. Never put the iron directly onto the damp bathing suit, as that will damage the material. To avoid damaging the swimsuit, avoid using high heat. It’ll take a little longer to iron and dry the suit, but in the end, your suit will be in better condition. You don’t need to fill the steamer basket in the iron for this process. Because the suit is already wet, you won’t need to add moisture to it. Because you’re using a low-heat setting, be prepared to iron your suit for upwards of 10 minutes. Work systematically from the top to the bottom of the suit, using long, even strokes. Press down with force so that the heat of the iron penetrates through the protective cloth and hits the swimsuit. Even though the iron isn’t exuding a ton of heat, still be careful to not catch your fingers or grab the bottom of the iron with your bare hands. It’ll still be hot enough to burn you! Make sure to work both sides of the suit so you don’t end up with one side that shrunk and one side that is still the original size. Try flipping the suit over after going from top to bottom completely. You may also want to wipe off the ironing board with a clean, dry towel when you flip the suit over. If there is excess moisture on the board, you don’t want it getting absorbed back up into the side you were just working on. It may take 10 minutes or more, so settle in at the ironing board. Continue using adequate pressure and alternating sides so that the suit dries as quickly as possible. Once the majority of the water is gone and the suit is almost completely dry to the touch, you can stop. If you dread the idea of ironing for that long, watch a show or listen to some music while you work—it’ll help the time pass more quickly. Avoid putting your suit into the sun as the heat could mutate the colors and weaken the elastic. Leave it on the ironing board, or hang it up on a clothesline to let it finish drying. Once it is completely dry to the touch, go ahead and try it on. If it isn’t as small as you’d like, go ahead and repeat the ironing method another 1 to 2 times. If it isn’t shrunken enough after those efforts, it may be time to take it in by hand or invest in a new suit. You could pop the suit into the dryer on high heat for about 20 minutes to finish drying it. This could help the material to shrink even more, but letting it air dry will be gentler on the material.
A: Wash your suit, rinse it out, and thoroughly wring out the excess water. Cover the suit with a cotton cloth once it’s on the ironing board. Turn the iron on to a low- or medium-heat setting. Iron the suit, pressing down with slow, firm movements. Flip the suit over from time to time to evenly iron both sides. Continue ironing until almost all of the water has evaporated. Let the suit air dry the rest of the way before wearing it again.

Q: Standing up taller can make you look five pounds lighter, so why wouldn't you do it? Stand in such a way that your pelvis is relaxed and downward with the belt line slanting forward and your backside angled back and behind (not under) you. Line your rib cage up with your stomach. Roll your shoulders back and let them drop down gently. Center your head over your spine and elongate the back of the neck by imagining a string tied to and gently lifting the crown of your head. There are a lot of ways to put your wardrobe to work for you in the battle against the belly.  By choosing the right fabrics and styles, you can create the illusion of a smaller tummy.  Pick fabrics that skim the body.  These include woven cotton, silk or rayon blends and lightweight wool blends.  Stay away from fabrics that cling such as Lycra and lightweight knits; they tend to emphasize every bulge. Divert the eye.  Look for garments with features that draw the eye away from your mid-section.  For example, tops with detailing around the neckline or a ruffle down the center give the eye something else to focus on rather than your stomach.  Wrap tops and dresses are also good choices as long as they're not made from the kind of clingy fabric you're looking to avoid. Add a belt.  Use a wide belt in a dark color to cinch your waist, separating the hips and bust and creating a waistline. Play around with patterns.  Geometric and floral patterns can be a good way to disguise a bit of a belly, but you'll have to experiment at bit with the size of the pattern; make sure it's scaled to your body size. Put color to work for you.  Yes, black is the most slimming color, but it's not your only choice.  Celebrity stylist Phillip Bloch recommends purple, navy, burgundy, eggplant, charcoal gray and deep emerald for a slim look.  You might also want to go monochromatic and dress head-to-toe in just one color--another way to look long and lean. Shapewear can give you the more fashionable figure that you're looking for.  It comes in  many different styles but a high-waisted bike short might be the best for keeping a tummy (as well as hips and thighs) looking slimmer.  Choose a control level--light, medium or firm--that gives you the look you want without causing you great discomfort or outright pain.
A:
Improve your posture. Choose belly-flattening fashions. Use shapewear.