$610 million: that’s the net worth of Sara Blakely. In 2000, Blakely began going door to door with an invisible product. Well, invisible to everyone but the wearer. Spanx was a very different kind of underwear, created to help shape the body of the wearer, tucking you in at all the right parts and letting out the parts that you you wanted let out. No longer did you have to go to the gym to get the body you wanted. You could shape your body with your underwear.

If you are as old as me or older, you remember when gym clothes were bulky and formless. Sweatpants and oversized t-shirts were once the expected attire. Not any longer. Form-fitted, breathable, moisture-wicking, and apparently more technological innovation than my Scion, it isn’t unusual that what you wear to the gym is more expensive than what you wear to work. Blakely not only revolutionized the underwear industry, she also transformed the athleisure clothing industry as well.

But there is one thing Blakely didn’t do. We may look fitter, but we aren’t actually healthier. Spanx may make me look more tone, but they don’t change the reality that my midsection is flabby.

Spiritual Spanx are every bit as tempting as the Lycra version.