Did you know that your feet can shrink when you lose weight??
So my senior year of college, I lost about 30 pounds, and fluctuated up and down 5 or so pounds for a couple of years. Then last year, before my wedding, I lost another 15 or so pounds. Well, since then, I’ve noticed that some of my favorite shoes – or even new shoes – seemed to fit looser. I just assumed they had been stretched out or needed to be “broken in” (although I think that if you buy the right shoes, they’ll NEVER need to be broken in).
Anyway, last week I was at Dillard’s, hitting up the massive end-of-season shoe sale, and trying on a pair of gorgeous pewter loafers in my traditional size 7.5. Well they just seemed so loose and floppy and not-at-all flattering, so the sales lady suggested I try on a 7. She said they had a 7 narrow, so I tried it on (I hadn’t worn a 7 since middle school, and I had never even tried on a narrow). Well, it fit like a GLOVE! I don’t need to wear a sock or anything, and they fit like they were made for my feet.
Imagine my surprise when 1) I fit into a shoe size I hadn’t worn since I was under 5-feet tall (no jokes, please) and 2) the first question the sales lady asked me was, “Have you lost a good amount of weight lately?” I don’t know this lady. She doesn’t know if I used to weigh almost 50 pounds more than I do now.
Anyway, she explained that when you lose a significant amount of weight (more than 5 or so pounds), it’s not uncommon to go down a shoe size. I just thought it was weird, and good to know, and taught me that as much as I hate it, it really is a good idea to try on shoes rather than just buy the size I think I need (Ex: I bought the loafers in a size 7, but got a pair of heels in a 7.5).
Happy Shopping!
P.S. These are the “other” shoes I bought that day…Aren’t they adorable?
The Glass IS Half Full! Thanks, Jezebel!
6 03 2009Study Finds Optimistic Women Live Longer [Glass Half Full]
University of Pittsburgh researchers studied data from the Women’s Health Initiative, an ongoing study of 100,000 women over 50 that started in 1994. Time reports that at the beginning of the study, participants were asked to respond to whether they agreed with statement like “In uncertain times, I expect the worst.” Eight years later, researchers examined the women’s death rates and found that those who were optimistic were 14% more likely to be alive than the pessimists. Research showed that the difference between optimists and pessimists was even more pronounced among black women. While white pessimists were 13% more likely to have died eight years into the study, pessimistic black women were 33% more likely to have died.
While there have been other studies on optimism, health and lifestyle variables were eliminated more comprehensively in this study than in the past, so that optimism could be looked at on its own. Dr. Hilary Tindle, lead author of the study, tells Time:
Researchers are not entirely sure what caused the results. Tindle suggests that it may be due to optimistic people having more friends and therefore more people to rely on, or following medical advice more closely. She says it’s possible that optimists have a physiological makeup that helps them manage stress better. While being optimistic may not hurt, the research only found that it is associated with longevity, not a direct cause, so if you want to maintain your cynical ways it probably won’t kill you.
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