One time when I was just a little bit overweight, a very unkind woman in a department store said to me. “You know, I can tell that you need to lose weight by looking at your foot size.” I looked at her and wondered what in the world she was talking about. What did my foot size have to do with how overweight I was? I knew I had gained some weight, but I was still confused by her comment.
She elaborated, “If you look at someone’s profile, and see the size of their foot in relation to their body size, you can tell how much weight they should carry.” I mumbled something at her and fled, the whole time wondering if she was right. Did my shoes give away the fact I had gained about 35 or 40 pounds since I had gotten married? I thought I had hidden my weight gain well. After all, I bought clothes when John wasn’t around so he wouldn’t know that my suit size was no longer a 10. I cut the tags out of my clothes so when it was his turn to do laundry he wouldn’t see the size “L” on the shirt tag. If he hadn’t said anything, surely no one could really tell I was putting on weight.
When I got home I stood sideways and looked in our closet mirrors. I looked okay, a little pudgy I suppose, but not huge. (That would come later.) I looked at my feet and then at my profile and saw what that rude lady was saying to me. I could see that in my eyes, my body size did look too big for my feet. I had gone from being average sized to greater than average sized. Even though I was buying bigger sizes I assumed I still looked okay and that my size increase was still a secret. It wasn’t. I was overweight and the whole world knew.
It’s funny because although I did got up a ½ a shoe size during my first three pregnancies, when I gained weight between pregnancies my shoe size didn’t change. And sadly, once I lost weight, my shoe size didn’t shrink.
But one thing that did change was my body profile when compared to my feet. I often turned sideways in the mirror as I lost weight analyzing whether I seemed more in proportion to my feet. Once I got down below 200 pounds, I felt like I did look better. (I’m just shy of 5’10”)
I know that shoe size isn’t a huge issue in the larger issue of weight loss and getting to a healthy place, but for me, it was just another reminder that even being slightly overweight affected every area of my appearance.
Have you ever thought about your shoe size in relation to your height and weight, and are your feet changing size as you lose weight? Fun little topic for a Monday! Diane
ahh shoe size.
mine changed a bit when I lost weight (half a size) but they changed a LOT (a full size) after years of wearing the feel spreading BIRKENSTOCK SHOES
years.
Im always reminded of once being a grateful dead lover
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my shoe size did go up with weight and then down with weight loss. But mostly what changed was TONE. In other words, they became wider and then slimmer. My shoe guys says he thinks YOGA had a great deal to do with the tone. And I am very careful to be in supportive shoes. I have custom shoe supports (the kind where they mold your feet). When not barefoot for yoga, I am in supported shoes.
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My shoes did feel looser when I lost weight! It was actually a nice feeling. When I was bigger my shoes would fit in length but the width was too tight because my feet were always swollen!
The things that people will say! I’m sure it wasn’t humorous at the time, however. My feet haven’t changed. Same, same – still big.
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My feet did grow half a size or so as I gained weight — and they were pretty big to begin with! Now that I’ve lost weight I think they may have shrunk back a little, but not entirely. I’m relieved they haven’t shrunk too much, actually. I dread the notion of having to replace all my shoes. Replacing all my clothes is expensive enough. I’d hate to have to replace my shoes too.
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Interesting. I’ve never thought of this… But I know there was definitely a time when things weren’t in proportion…
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I wonder if I’m the only one who’s shoe size did not change over the years where I got bigger and bigger? Because I have a big shoe size since I can remember and it never changed while I got bigger.
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So I suppose in Shoe Lady’s reasoning my swimfin-like long and lean size 11′s let me carry some extra weight around?
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Never thought of this! Someone recently told me that she thought the same size creep that is happening to women’s clothes sizes may be happening to shoe size also!
Loved Mizfit’s comment
I don’t suppose foot length will change, but I’ve definitely experienced shrinking width with weight loss.
Shoe size is a fumy thing ! When I was at my heaviest weight, I wore size 10 shoe. Then I lost 110 pounds and my shoe size dropped to a 9. When I got pregnant it dropped again ( this one still baffled me, but my breasts also go smaller when I got pregnant so I figured it w body weirdness for me) It stayed at an 8 1/2 till I started tackling weight loss again , and it has dropped to a 7 1/2. Scale is not moving much, but my ring an shoe sizes keep plummeting !
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Diane, something I have never even thought about!!! Me, my feet have always been flat as a pancake, wider than wide & with bunions. AND, the older I get, the bunions get worse, the flatter than flat finds a way to get flatter, the feet get wider & I am lucky to even find work out shoes that fit!
I never wanted to even look at my feet…
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When I weighed more, I never thought about my feet other than that they’ve always been big. But now that I’m more than 100 lbs smaller, my feet are too. I’ve gone down a full size and do feel I’m better proportioned. Who would have known??
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Mine need more support now that I am older but the size has not changed. Even with pregnancy, although they were a bit puffier then. But I have pretty big feet for my short height.
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I am not sure if the change has to do with weight gain or pregnancy. My shoes didn’t feel tight until I was pregnant the first time and wore flip flops for the last 4 months. But I have also refused to buy new shoes until I do lose weight so I can determine if it is weight (ie they will go back) or pregnancy (which I am now an 8 1/2 and not an 8 for the rest of my life).
Definitely! I wore sandals/flip-flops all summer while I was losing weight, so didn’t pay much attention to my shoes. One Sunday after the weather finally cooled off, I pulled out my heels for church and spent the day walking out of them. The next week I tried another pair: same problem. My feet are obviously less wide than they were 6 months ago. Thankfully, I found some good sales this weekend, and my new shoes stayed on yesterday.
Sometimes I think I use by big shoe size (12) as an excuse to stay heavy. “See, I’m tall, I have giant feet! I was a 10 lb baby! Clearly I’m just MEANT to be big!” But when I stop fooling myself, I know that I have an unhealthy relationship with food.
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My feet have always been wide, but they got wider with pregnancy and weight gain. Interestingly, my hoe size went down by a size after losing 50-ish pounds, because my width dropped I tidbit have to keep buying shoes that were longer and therefore could accommodate my wide footbed without pinching it! The length of my foot is between an 8-8.5, but my width is D-E, so I ended up wearing a lot of 9.5′s for awhile.
And yes, I definitely notice my legs and fret look too small for my weight, I carry most of my weight in my torso and chest so I end up looking top-heavy very easily!
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I’ve never noticed a change in shoe size with my weight differences, but I do notice that wearing heels is much more comfortable when I am smaller.
However, my friend said that since she’s lost 30 pounds her foot size has gone down 1/2 a size.
Interesting. Have a good week, Diane!!
p.s. I can’t believe some of the rude people you met when you were overweight…while that fact may have been true, I still can’t believe she said that to you. People are thoughtless.
Sorry to be blunt but what a B*tch! I would have snapped right back at that clerk. That’s just rude.
On a side note…I did lose a shoe size when I lost my 100 pounds. It was THE strangest thing ever!
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I’m in big trouble! I wear a 7 1/2 so my feet are already fairly small for my height. Add the extra weight, and I look like I’m walking on pogo sticks
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Wow, that lady was totally rude, and I’d be horrified if someone said that to me! I’d probably find their boss..
Anyway, until today, I’ve never really thought about shoe size in relation to body weight. But, then again, I’m 5’11″ and my feet are freaking huge. Boo.
Really interesting post today, Diane! Hope you’re doing well.
Huh – never though about it that way. I always thought people with larger feet looked sturdier in general, but maybe it is a weight/height thing too. I gained about a size when I gained weight (and a lot of width). I lost the size when I first lost weight, but I’ve gained about half of it back from running.
I’m mostly a fan of sandal-y shoes anyway and I like em about 1/2 size big anyway, so the changing didn’t really bother me.
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I’m five feet tall. I’ve worn a size 6 or 6.5 since I was around 15, a bit over 30 years ago. I weighed 95 all through high school. I weighed 140 at my peak.–and I’ve never been pregnant. If weight alone (as opposed to the hormones and swelling etc. of pregnancy) changed foot size a lot, then gaining half of my high school weight over the years should have increased my foot size–but it didn’t.
I think the lady at the store was full of bunk! Not to mention someone who should be reminded to mind her own business and not be rude to customers… Yikes, what a horrid thing to say to you!
That’s fascinating! (And rude. But an interesting notion, to compare shoe size to the rest of the body.)
The biggest weight change I’ve had has only been about 20 lbs, so it’s not quite enough to have changed something like my shoe size…
I also find this really interesting: “I thought I had hidden my weight gain well. After all, I bought clothes when John wasn’t around so he wouldn’t know that my suit size was no longer a 10. I cut the tags out of my clothes so when it was his turn to do laundry he wouldn’t see the size “L” on the shirt tag. If he hadn’t said anything, surely no one could really tell I was putting on weight.” I’ve gained something like 10 lbs since I met the boyfriend a year ago, and when you’re only 5 feet tall (like I am), it’s really noticeable to gain or lose 10 lbs. But he hasn’t said a thing. When I started talking to him about it, and expressing my frustration and also how I’m upset because I’m not the same as when he met me, he reassured me that he really doesn’t care about 10 lbs. But I think he did notice, even if he doesn’t care – it’s hard not to notice these kinds of things! There’s so much that people in general don’t discuss because of taboo topics or worrying about hurting other people. But at the same time, I wonder if it isn’t better to discuss those things earlier on to prevent anything from spiraling out of control.
Sorry! Long tangent.
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I don’t know if it means anything or not, but I have supposed it does. My feet are a size and a half smaller than they were at my heaviest, although they are still as wide.
Well, that was rather of rude of the woman. I’m not sure why people offer advice like that when it would hurt their feelings to receive the same.
I’ve never really considered my shoe size before, although now you’ve got me wonderful how correlatable the notion is. What I did notice with weight loss is that I can now wear knee-high boots. They would hardly zip up past my ankle when I was larger.
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I definitely have more room in my shoes and I should try on a 1/2 size smaller but I don’t think it’s changed that much…
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Interesting – I never heard that before. You can bet I will be checking out how my feet look in relation to my body next time I see myself in the mirror!
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How interesting this is! My shoe size went up 1/2 size with both of my babies. Even after losing weight it didn’t go down. Maybe it depends on how much weight you have to lose.
I know this is true of dogs, or at least they say you can get a sense of the size of the adult dog by the size of the feet. But I’m just under 5-5 and wear 9.5 or 10′s. My feet look like boats! And the size never changed with weight, but did increase with pregnancy. When my youngest son was heading into middle school he wailed at me one day that he was going to be a 5 foot tall grownup with size 12 feet – and bunny teeth. He did grow tall, nearly 6 ft, wears size 11′s – and his teeth no longer look too large for his body. The point is I think shoe size (big feet for example) is somewhat hereditary. And in general, my family is quite slim – and I’m getter slim again as well. That woman was wrong and impolite to boot!