My Incredible Shrinking Clothes – Shoes Edition

Today you get a double dose of Keep it up, David!  In addition to the post below, I’ve also written a guest post for A Life Changing Journey, Tara’s inspiring weight loss and running blog.  Check out my guest post, which is all about staying motivated, here.

This post is so bizarre to me, I can’t believe I’m about to write it.  Let’s see.  Where to start?

Check out my new shoes!

I bought them about a week and a half ago when I stopped at the outlets in Primm, Nevada, on the way home from Las Vegas.  I found them at the Nike Outlet, and they’re really comfortable and supportive.

But there’s something really new and different about these shoes that you can’t tell by looking at them.  It’s that they’re size 13.

That may not mean much to you, but it’s practically mind-blowing to me.  Because, you see, for my entire adult life, I’ve worn size 14 shoes. 

Yes, yes, let’s get the joke out the of way:  Everyone knows what they say about a guy with big shoes.  He also has a big dick big socks.

Have I lost weight in my feet?  I have!

When I was at my heaviest, I didn’t think I had fat feet.  Most of my excess weight was gathered in my torso – chest and gut mainly, but also plenty in my neck and chin region.  I’ve never had tons of excess weight in any of my limbs, let alone my extremities.  And yet, since I began losing weight in January 2010, I’ve noticed changes in my body, even the parts that I didn’t think had anything to lose, like my hands.

Now, it seems, that my I’ve lost enough to make a difference in my feet, and that idea is so completely strange to me.  It’s hard for me to wrap my head around it!  For the record, I don’t think (although I suppose I don’t know) that my feet are getting shorter.  I think that they’re narrower, and/or have a smaller circumference.  When I used to try on size 13 shoes, it wasn’t that there was no room for my toes, it was that they were incredibly tight along the sides and tops of my feet.

Those Nikes, though, fit wonderfully.

And I must give credit where credit is due: my mother predicted this.  She’s asked me a couple times over the past year if I can fit into a smaller shoe size, and I laughed at her.  I laughed.  “Oh, mom, my feet aren’t going to get smaller.  There’s no fat in my feet to lose!  How silly!”   Well, she has the last laugh.  So laugh it up, mom.  You earned it!

A picture of my new size 13 shoe (on the right) next to an old shoe (on the left; a size 14 Adidas):

If I’ve truly sized down to a 13, and this pair of shoes isn’t some sort of fluke or factory mistake, than I’m gonna be really excited, for two reasons:  It’s a strange, but true, consequence of the 167 pounds I’ve lost, and also, because shoe shopping just got a whole lot easier.

Buying size 14 shoes can be a giant pain in the neck.  Many mass retailers, including Foot Locker and DSW, don’t carry sizes bigger than 13 (or carry so few 14s that it’s not worth the trip), so, over the past 10+ years, I’ve bought countless shoes online, without the benefit of trying them on.  I’ve also bought shoes at big & tall stores (which I’ve since vowed to never step foot in again), although lately I’ve discovered the joys of Nordstrom Rack, which has a great selection of 14s.

All that scouring for shoes that fit, though, may be a thing of the past!

Keep it up, David!

If you liked this post, check out the other posts in the My Incredible Shrinking Clothes series.  They’re all archived in My Favorite Posts, so click on that at the top of the page, and scroll down a teeny bit.  Some of the old clothes/new clothes pictures are really astounding!