Does anyone struggle in high heels?

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  • subconscious_ink
    subconscious_ink Posts: 194 Member
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    I think it's mostly practice. There's a good video on youtube I found about how to get used to walking in heels.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHTNldZ9z4c

    The girl in the video is a little weird and very bubbly, but she gives some good tips :smile:
  • leantool
    leantool Posts: 365 Member
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    i have balance worse than a 3 legged baby girraffe, so i steered clear of them always , even when i were much more fit.:ohwell:
  • RoadsterGirlie
    RoadsterGirlie Posts: 1,195 Member
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    I couldn't wear high heels at 215 lbs. It hurt my feet too much. Now at 125 I can wear them all day long without a second thought.
  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member
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    i can walk just fine in heels.

    i still don't wear them. who the hell decided that a shoe that drastically increased your risk of ugly bunions & painful injuries, a shoe that stopped you being able to move fast in a crisis, was the epitome of feminine beauty?

    Lol, really short women. I'm 5'1. And that '1 is if I stand reeealllly straight. It makes me feel less awkward if I'm not quite so short.
    *looks down on you*

    :-p

    Heh! :laugh: Not hard to do if I'm in tennies, lol.
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
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    Wedge style heels are a LOT easier to walk in than stiletto style.
  • Galathea96
    Galathea96 Posts: 200 Member
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    I hate those torture devices. However since all of the pants of my suits were modified to my height while I was wearing 2-3 inch heels I have to wear them whenever I wear the suits. I just cheat and wear my flat boots or trainers to work and then slip on the heels just before the meetings start. Otherwise I steer clear of heels.
  • professorRAT
    professorRAT Posts: 690 Member
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    I have never been overweight. I used to have big problems wearing high heels. Now I can wear them (although some are still too high and I do prefer wedges). BUT, what I wanted to add was that I started using "barefoot" running/training shoes on leg day at the gym a few years ago (like Nike free, Keen A86, Inov8...). Doing lunges, squats, and ESPECIALLY calf workouts with these very flexible shoes noticeably strengthened the muscles in my feet and I am convinced this has allowed me to wear higher heels more comfortably than before.
  • strflt
    strflt Posts: 29 Member
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    I hate heels. If God wanted me to walk on spikes he'd have given them to me at birth. I always feel like I'm on the edge of breaking an ankle.

    That being said, when I watch women walk in heels, I almost always see a slight wobble in the ankle. Sometimes it's enough to make me nervous for them. How do they go up stairs in those things? These are women who range from model-thin to heavy, too. Though on the upper end of the scale I see fewer heels and more wedges.

    I think it's just balance and what you're used to. If you love heels, good luck learning how to walk steady in them. Otherwise, steer clear and buy wedges. Or buy heels with thicker spikes.

    Or do what I do, and wear flats. (Okay, I wear clogs but that's close enough to flat for this discussion.)
  • VelociMama
    VelociMama Posts: 3,119 Member
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    How do they go up stairs in those things?

    Going UP is easy. Going DOWN stairs in high heels is the challenge.
  • pandorakick
    pandorakick Posts: 901 Member
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    I have no problem with heels at all, 5 cm is for me a comfy shopping trip height, 7,5 - 8,5 cm is good for everyday stuff at the office. Anything higher I would consider "sitting shoes". The downside of this is that my squats suck due to my tight calves because of walking on high heels all the time....
  • spud_chick
    spud_chick Posts: 2,639 Member
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    I have never been able to wear them long without a problem. I had a lot of minor congenital deformities in my feet (no arches, interior and exterior bunions, etc, etc) and had multiple surgeries to correct them (multiple because the first one was botched). Ironically I could wear a heel better before the surgeries but was in more pain. Now it is very difficult, although I've found a few pairs of very soft and modest heels I can wear for short periods for special occasions. Don't know if I could dance in them b/c Hubby Don't Dance (no way). I look wistfully at women who have strong, pretty feet and ankles and can flit around in delicate shoes, but have accepted that's not ever going to be me.

    Someone else here said you should train your foot slowly to wear them by starting slow--lower heel first, and wearing them around house for short periods. That would be a good approach. The muscles of the feet and ankles seem to develop very slowly, maybe because there are so many small ones that have to work together. When I started walking for exercise again about 9 months ago, I wore an arch support/sport insole but once my feet started getting stronger (about 4-5 months) I discovered my feet hurt less without corrective support. Now even though my feet are awful i don't wear any kind of insole except for sometimes a thin, simple air-pillow layer.

    I don't know what kind of exercise regimen you're doing, but keep in mind that if your feet/ankles are not super-strong on their own, don't rush them. I know a young woman who has probably 60-70 lbs to lose who wears high heels all the time but is basically a sedentary foodie. A few months ago she hired a personal trainer, a very bad one in my opinion, who started her *running* on a treadmill every single day from day one and within a week she had injured her foot. After rest didn't help she went to the doctor and discovered she had a hairline fracture. It was more than two months before she could *walk* without excruciating pain, and she was off heels for longer than that. The whole thing nearly discouraged her off trying to get fit altogether. She's going to try starting over with walking now that she's feeling better and has moved to a safer neighborhood.

    Anyway, don't expect your feet to respond too quickly, and ditch the heels if trying to adapt to them starts screwing with your ability to get around and exercise.
  • nokanjaijo
    nokanjaijo Posts: 466 Member
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    I am not great at walking in heels but I still love to do it, though only on certain occasions.

    I am 5'9" so heels make me very tall. I even have a pair of platform heels. It's like being on stilts. It's all very circus funhouse and I enjoy that.

    It also gives my lower legs a good workout.
  • SoDamnHungry
    SoDamnHungry Posts: 6,998 Member
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    I have really high arches and therefore have a lot of trouble in heels. I'm not overweight. The problem is me. ;_;
  • jzammetti
    jzammetti Posts: 1,956 Member
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    I used to be able to manage about 4 hours in heels (as long as I was not walking on a cement floor or something similar). The balls of my feet would hurt so badly after that amount of time. (I weighed 198 pounds).

    Now, at 125 pounds, I wear them all day almost every day and never have a problem (unless the shoes don't fit right - or the dreaded cement flooring!)

    For me, weight was the probblem.
  • CupcakeConnection
    CupcakeConnection Posts: 42
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    A few thoughts:
    1) buy an EXPENSIVE/CONFORTABLE pair of shoes. Just because you will only be wearing them occasionally, doesn't mean you should buy the cheapest pair you can find.
    2) try and find something with a chunkier heel and not a stiletto. A fatter heel will help you balance better.
    3) Because you will be spending more money on this pair of shoes, buy something that is neutral, say, black leather (not patent leather). This was you will be able to wear it with more of your wardrobe.
    4) If you like being taller, find a pair of platform shoes with a heel. The give you the benefits of both worlds
    5) Practice wearing them around the house. It does take time to learn how to walk in heels.
    6) take smaller steps. It keeps you from looking like a giraffe on roller skates.
    :love:

    I totally agree!!! I did the exact thing and bought 2 pairs of extremely nice and comfortable platform heels from Saks. I wore them around the house first and practiced walking up and down the stairs! lol
    Now I pair them with long dark jeans on occasion when we go out to lunch or dinner with friends. Even before I lost any weight people would ask if I had lost weight! I'm only 5'4" and with tall shoes and long dark jeans I instantly lost 10 pounds! Lol
    It's a win win! :wink:
  • Yica83
    Yica83 Posts: 18 Member
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    Hate wearing high heels, they are uncomfortable and bad for your feet, knees and back!
  • SweetestLibby
    SweetestLibby Posts: 607 Member
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    Nope. Even at my heaviest heels were more comfortable than flats. I can run around in heels all day but too long in flats my knees and lower back hurt like hell. I have a wonky foot/arch shape so that any flat shoe has to have an insert.
  • cenafan
    cenafan Posts: 398 Member
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    heels take practice. I am a firm believer that buyer better shoes will help. The price goes in the construction of them. My friend has a cheap pair that is an exact mock up of my YSL Tributes. her feet kill her after about 2 hours. I can run a marathon in mine. And she is WAY smaller than me. They have a 5" heel but have a hidden platform. Look for those.

    Practice practice practice....
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    Two things:

    #1 I have never been able to walk in heels, even at below my ideal weight. I just lurch around like an ogre and here is nothing sexy about that so I avoid them.

    #2 Maybe it's just me, and I don't mean to be mean, but large women on high heels look ridiculous to me. They make their feet look tiny and they remind me of hooves because they're so small at the end of a lady that isn't. No one is looking at your feet and thinking "ooh, she's sexy" they're looking at the whole picture and the tiny little things at the end of your legs just accentuate your bigger parts. The worst is skinny jeans and heels on a chunky lady. Why would anyone want to do that? Maybe I just don't get it, I'm not exactly Miss Fashionista. Except my sunglasses, those are the bomb-diggity.

    I am not usually easily offended, but I found myself very offended by #2 comment. Not everyone has the perfect body. I am very apple-shaped, and my legs are my best feature. They look great in skinny jeans. When I wear wide leg pants I just look big all over. Why are we not allowed to wear clothing that accentuates our good features? Do we tell pear-shaped women not to wear belts that flatter their small waists, because it looks ridiculous with their big butts?

    I don't wear heels because of a back condition, but if I could, I certainly would, because they make your legs look good. But apparently you think they look like hooves on the 'cows' that dare to wear them? Wow.

    You are on a fitness site with a lot of overweight women. Think before you post something like this.
  • DianeMKay
    DianeMKay Posts: 5 Member
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    I wear heels all day for work, and sometimes going out at night too. It is all about balance. I was fine in them at my heaviest and at my thinnest. Also, it helps to get a pair of shoes that are well made (and not the super cheap ones). This will save your feet, and also potentially your back.

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