Choosing a pain-free existence

July 22nd, 2009

shoes Choosing a pain free existence

Here’s a story about pain:
The joints in my toes hurt from years of wearing high heels and dancing in pointe shoes.

Here’s another story about pain:
When I drink coffee or eat white flour products it makes my stomach hurt.

And another one:
Anxiety attacks keep me from doing things I love.

These are 3 stories about pain that I ignored for years. I just suffered. Hello, victim! I was a person who had feet that hurt and a belly that was always angry. I was a person lying down at home in the middle of a sunny summer day because my anxiety was too powerful to let me go anywhere or do anything. I was trapped.

Sounds ridiculous, right? But what are your stories – what causes pain in your life? Maybe, like me, there are things you do every day that continuously hurt you. It could be food you put in your belly, or people in your life, or thoughts in your mind.

Can you imagine a pain-free existence?

I talk a lot about making healthy food choices and nourishing our bodies. It’s true – you ARE what you eat. So eat well and be well. But what about the rest of our lives? I have tried so many diets…I’ve given up sugar, coffee, white flour, heck for awhile I gave up cooked food! I’ve tried eating vegetarian and vegan and macrobiotic…and the experimenting finally worked! Now I eat real food, not processed stuff. And I can go all day – everyday! – without a bellyache. But you know what was harder than all of that diet stuff combined?

To stop wearing high heels and start wearing supportive shoes.

AUUUUGHHHHHH!!!! No way! I could eat seaweed and dust for heaven’s sake but I was NOT going to wear ugly shoes!!!

So, see? I chose pain.

I wore my heels, or maybe dinky little flats. And with every step the pain got worse but I was not willing to give up *gasp* – my shoes!

It tooks years before I walked into the Walking Company practically wearing a disguise. How embarrassing I thought, to be so young and trying on shoes like this! But as soon as I sank into a pair of Earth shoes I understood that this was a choice I had to make. Pain vs. No pain.

Earth shoes not only relieved the pain in my toes, they also let me lower back relax in a way I didn’t know existed. I started with one pair, then another and another. Recently, I found another brand, Sofft. Sofft makes some cute styles that are 100x more supportive than my old shoes.

Pictured above is some of my new footwear. I just bought a pair of heels from Sofft that do a great job keeping weight in my heels instead of toes. I can wear them comfortably for a few hours, like this past weekend I wore them to a wedding. But then I’m back to my clunky heavenly Earth shoes.

So if you see me and you think my shoes are ugly…well, it took years but I finally don’t care! I’m living without pain.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays because I believe we can nourish ourselves with every choice we make.

pixel Choosing a pain free existence

21 Comments digestion, fashion, happiness

  • http://www.fakefoodfree.com Lori

    What a great post that brings all different parts of life together. I think choosing to be happy is one significant way to reduce pain. When it comes to causing pain I think more about situations that may not be as simple as what we eat or wear and we can’t change them, however, changing our attitude is under our control.

    About shoes, those ones in the picture are adorable! I wore heels a long time, then we moved abroad. While other women here are famous for 4in heels, I can’t do it b/c the walkways are too cracked and dangerous, really. So now I’m out of the habit and not sure I’ll go back. I love flats and comfort like never before! :)

  • http://theweightitis.blogspot.com Sarah

    I bought shoes today at the Marshall’s in the Arsenal Mall; Soffts in fact. They have a small heel, totally cute with an open toe and bow and seem like they are going to be very comfortable for me to wear to a wedding this weekend. I require real shoes because of a bum knee and am glad to hear that there are others who share my dilemma. It took me a long time to give up my heels too.

    I like the look of those sandals– Did you buy them locally or online?

  • http://www.fertilehealthy.com/blog Hanlie

    It really comes down to our choices, doesn’t it? We can choose to suffer or we can choose to be well. Those shoes are certainly not clunky! They’re beautiful!

    Great post!

  • http://healthfooddesivideshi.blogspot.com/ sangeeta khanna

    loved this post of your’s Michelle…
    those shoes are not ugly at all….and they should be serving the purpose they are meant for..right!!

    and yes we can always choose to be happy of suffer in pain…making the right choices based on the experience we achieve during our life is the way to go…

    i feel shoes and bra are the most intimate wear , meant for comfort and should be chosen wisely..right!!

  • http://makefriendswithfood.blogspot.com/ Eleanor

    I’m with you, Michelle! Life’s too short to have sore feet. I wear Birkenstocks all summer, clogs and hiking boots in the winter, with rare exceptions for dressy occasions. Maybe my feet don’t look very sexy with shoes on, but they look better than most people’s when the shoes are OFF.

  • http://findyourbalancehealth.com Michelle

    @Lori – yes, I was also thinking about the pain in our lives we can’t control. i think…there probably is a level of even that kind of pain we can affect…like you said, with our attitude!

    @Sarah – Fellow Sofft fan! I found them at Macy’s then shopped online where they were cheaper. If you follow the link in the post where I talk about Sofft, it will take you to one place you can buy them :-)

    @Hanlie – yes, those are my most recent purchase and the least clunky ‘supportive’ shoes I’ve found. But they aren’t as comfy as my Earth shoes pictured to the left!

    @Sangeeta – ha! maybe I’ll do a bra post! good thought.

    @Eleanor – it’s so true! as a yoga teacher I see people’s bare feet all the time. it’s not pretty after years of being stuffed into pointy toed high heels!

  • http://openendedquestion.wordpress.com/ Alex

    Love this post!

    I wore heels all the time in university, even though my toes would literally be NUMB FOR DAYS AFTER!! Crazy, eh? I’m now a big Birkenstock sandal fan…sometimes I even wear them with socks, heheh :)

    I also suffered with panic attacks, but when I really put effort into challenging my catastrophic thoughts, I realized I was creating much of my drama, so I also had the power to stop it.

    I’m still trying to figure out my tummy stuff. It’s my biggest health challenge right now. I’m being proactive about it though and won’t give up! One day, “I can’t go out tonight, I’m farting too much” won’t be an excuse for me anymore! (Overshare?)

    Ps. Cute feet!

  • http://moderngirlscanhaveitall.com sam

    I loved this post too! Thank you Michelle x

  • Rebecca

    I have that pair of Sofft shoes on right now. I work in a courthouse, and I wanted to look good with all of the other lawyers, so I bought a bunch of heels (even tried the comfortable ones), but about 3 months ago, I went to DSW and bought four pairs of cute flats, and I have only worn heels twice since then. I also wore out my Earth shoes even at work (some of them are pretty cute). I think that if enough people start making this choice, the comfortable shoes will become the cute shoes. Thanks for posting this!

  • http://dorishinyblog.com Dori

    Great post! I stopped wearing heels unless I absolutely have to (like a wedding) but I haven’t gotten the supportive shoes like yours yet. After reading this I want to.

    It is so important to feel good and NOT be in pain!

  • http://beckyandthebeanstock.com Becky and the Beanstock

    What a post — both fun and serious. And I have to say, it resonates, if only because it HAS to. I’m no fashionista but I sure do love shoes — and I haven’t been able to wear them for a year. Unhealed fracture in my foot (surgery is scheduled for the winter, when I won’t mind as much being incapacitated for two months) has meant sensible shoes for me, and I’m not liking it a lot. Thanks for putting some perspective on it — and for pointing out what I do know, believe it or not, that shoes that hurt are just silly.

  • http://www.eatingRD.com EatingRD

    I’m with you! I won’t wear those terrible high-heels! If I do get a little heel it has to be aerosoles because they are pretty darn comfy. I’ll have to look into those sofft shoes, actually I think your shoes are really cute!

  • http://loveprevails.wordpress.com Chelsea

    LOVE your post! You are totally right we choose pain all the time, like with those suffering from eating disorders, or just fitting into that pair of jeans or of course the pointy shoes! Another place I LOVE for comfy shoes, believe it or not is… Avon! Go online look up the Comfy or Comfort-something shoes, they usually have wave like looks on the inside sole… They are heaven as well… AND CUTE!! Keep up your awesome postings :)

  • Sara

    Great post, Michelle! After starting my new job (that requires a lot of walking) I have pretty much stopped wearing all of the shoes in my closet. I finally found (and wear daily) the most comfy pair of shoes i’ve ever owned – crocs! Not the clogs…the mary jane style. They’re not the cutest, but I feel like I’m walking on clouds when I have them on. Seriously.

    I chose to give up pain in my feet and have been way better off for it. It seemed so easy, though. I wish I had so much self control on my thoughts and actions in other areas of my life. This is definitely something to think more about!

  • http://theungourmet.blogspot.com Kim

    I never wears heels anymore. I go for comfort! I get the earth shoes catalog occasionally and I really want to buy a pair (or two)!

  • lauren

    very great post. anxiety often still keeps me from doing things i would enjoy. it is taking a long time to find a middle ground between stress and boredom/laziness, even on anti-depressant/anxiety meds. my anxiety has gotten a lot better, and best of all i do not take out my feelings angrily on family and friends. How have you treated yourself better with regard to your anxiety? do you do a lot more with less stress now?

    also, do these more comfortable shoes have high arches? i usually have to wear sneakers with arch support inserts because most shoes cannot fit the supports and if i have to walk a lot the balls of my feel terrible.

  • http://healthyashley.blogspot.com healthy ashley

    I am so on the same page with you! I have so many pairs of shoes that only tear my feet up.. it’s terrible. Now I am moving toward comfortable shoes that I feel good in.. and that are cute, too :)

  • http://www.kitchenstewardship.com Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship

    And so many people choose quick pleasure like sweets over long-time health, too! It’s a weird world we live in, where fashion is more important than health. I’ll go frumpy anytime to avoid pain and toxic chemicals on my body…

  • Max

    I love this post. Especially the dust reference!

  • Julia

    I am religious about supportive, comfortable shoes that are also attractive – to me, at least. Doc Marten boots with cork insoles by Mephisto are a cold weather fave. Dansko clogs and sandals year round. Mephisto sandals are amazing. Ariat cowgirl boots. Naot sandals — the trimmer version of Birks.

    For Bostonians, a great place to know about is the upstairs ‘sale’ room at Footstock, in Concord. They have a Newbury St. shop that’s lovely, but it’s worth the haul out to Concord to find really good deals and the most styles.

  • Pingback: High Heels Sexy? | Blogger For Hire

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