Who here wears high heels?

[Pat58]

I used to wear them every work day before Arthur-Itis came to live with me. Not crazy high like the big stilettos in style, usual 3 to 4". Now I'm lucky to find Skechers that fit. If I could, I would still wear them a couple times a week for work. I like how they look and am envious of anyone who can wear them, but I'd die from the pain before I had a chance to break an ankle.

[Lannette]

I used to. Actually, I still have a pair of black and a pair of brown dress pumps. They have 2" heels and a 3/4" invisible comfort platform. It's been almost a year since I last wore them.

Moving to flat, truly minimalist and/or negative heels has done such great things for my body! My hips and low back and even neck feel so much better.

What interests me is exactly how hard it is to find a truly flat shoe. They almost all have at least an inch heel and many athletic shoes are the worst. Even ballerina styles will often have a little 1/4" heel attached.

I've been doing daily barefoot walking, in ultra minimalistic sandals. I can't believe the difference I feel in muscle activation. Yesterday I could actually feel that my toes were being used as I was walking in the forest. It's slowly but surely changing the shape of my lower body. My gluteus are being used. My butt is fuller. My side of the hip indentations are back. If you haven't figured it out, I love flat, truly flat shoes!

[Nuggie's Auntie]

Originally Posted by Lannette

I've been doing daily barefoot walking, in ultra minimalistic sandals. I can't believe the difference I feel in muscle activation. Yesterday I could actually feel that my toes were being used as I was walking in the forest. It's slowly but surely changing the shape of my lower body. My gluteus are being used. My butt is fuller. My side of the hip indentations are back. If you haven't figured it out, I love flat, truly flat shoes!

Lanette, what type do you use? I have so many aches and pains these days. I'm intrigued by minimalist footwear.

[Lannette]

Originally Posted by Nuggie's Auntie

Lanette, what type do you use? I have so many aches and pains these days. I'm intrigued by minimalist footwear.

I wear socks with the little rubber grippies around the house and in my massage office. When it's warm I go barefoot at home.

I wear xeroshoes z-trek sandals for walking.

If I have to wear a true shoe I wear Earth shoes though I'm actively looking for something more minimalist. I'm also looking for my perfect minimalistic athletic shoe and winter boot.

Just be sure to go slow. Your body takes time to adjust. It's a good idea to do foot and leg and whole body! exercises and stretches to prepare. I followed the guidelines in Katy Bowman's book on the subject. (Whole body barefoot)

[fuzzie]

I love high heels - anything under 4" doesn't work for me. I insist on high-quality, comfortable shoes (yes, stilettos can be comfortable) and I make sure to do exercises that strengthen my feet/ankles and stretch my calves.

[Carb8985]

I just finished reading Katy Bowman's book about heels/feet and it really inspired me to take better care of my feet! Heels are really so bad for our feet and for the alignment of our bodies, generally. Fortunately, I've never been one to wear high heels much. I work in an office and will, at most, wear very low heels/pumps, but all of them have wide toe boxes and do not "crunch" my toes together. I also bring flats with me to use if I take a walk at lunch and for my walk/drive home. I do toe spreading and wiggling exercises throughout the day too! And I also recently bought a toe spreader ("yoga toes") to wear at home to counteract shoe wearing.

I also just got back from a beach vacation at an exotic/yoga resort where I walked around barefoot for an entire week, and my feet felt truly amazing! Like all these new muscles in my foot and toes were activated. Even my husband commented about how his feet started to feel more like "hands" if that makes sense. Way more agility.

I need to look into minimalist style shoes and sandals.

[dela]

I am home for the vast majority of my time and generally barefoot. When I go out I either wear boots or fashion type sneakers. I LOVE boots. Normally I wear the kind with only a 1 inch heel, but I do have quite a few pairs with a moderate to high heel if I need to dress something up. I have even taken to wearing the booties with heels for "fancier" dresses cause I cannot walk in regular heels at all!

[bjammin13]

I love beautiful high heels of varying heights. I mostly run around in my athletic trainers, and in the heel category most commonly wear a low to mid healed bootie or wedge sandal. I am not a fan of the 5in platform standard look of the past few years as it is so played out and find the lower and kitten heel varieties for Spring refreshing.

[rhbrand]

I love my high heels! Of course, I only wear them pretty much to church, so I can stand the 5inch, yes, I have a couple pair of 5 inch heels, for that 90 min when I'm mostly sitting lol. I rock them though. And I look amazing when I walk in and walk out! If I'm actually doing something for church, say when I'm an Elder or Decon, and I'm going to be standing for a while, I tend to keep the heels closer to 3-4 inch.

Thank goodness I'm a nurse and wear Dansko clogs on a daily basis. I love my Dansko clogs!

[mspina]

I love my heels. I'm already 5'9" so I don't do the INSANELY high stuff, but all of my heels are at least 3". I probably wear them 3-4 days/week.

Something's gotta kill you....