Welcome to Nacho Fitness Coach. I'm Sara the expert and I'm Caleigh the beginner. Join us as we discuss fitness culture from our two very different perspectives. So grab yourself a protein shake or a glass of wine and let's get started. So Kaylee let's talk about feet. Alright so you have some challenging feet. I have some some genetic things going on. Yeah. Some lifestyle things. Yep. All of the above. Yeah. Got a lot going on with the feet. Uh-huh. I've got the flat feet which
I was born with. I've always had flat feet which has caused issues with my knees. I don't know alignment but it's since I mean I have bunions, I have corns, I have whatever everything you can. I probably couldn't get a lot of money for feet pictures. You know what I mean? You're not a foot model. You're not gonna be the ideal candidate for a foot model. Oh yeah. You know. The private sector. I don't know. All of her OnlyFans accounts. There's probably a market out there. There probably is.
Messed up feet. Well you know there's something for everyone. Yep. So flat feet. What exactly is that in tail? My arches are non-existent. I have no arch in the foot. Like when I step on concrete getting out of the pool like my wet footprint is an oval. It's all in there. Yeah and it never really mattered to me too much I guess until I started running. We're discovering all kinds of new problems with this whole like health and wellness journey. Yeah and
it's been tough because I don't I mean I've tried to research. I've been kind of told my whole life that like if you have flat feet you need shoes with like arch support but that's so uncomfortable to put something you know try to put something in a space that's not available. Well I kind of learned that the hard way with some new running shoes. Yeah I did. Well also I when I started running I was like why don't because I know me I'm like I don't know how long I'm gonna do
this probably not very long. And so I just went and bought some new Nikes and the ones that I bought initially were pretty they were okay they did the job and then they had a spot that they started to wear on the seam like wear off so it started rubbing and it was gonna cause a blister so I got out of those switched to just what my other pair of Nikes that I bought at the same time and those have been fine but then yeah recently I was like I'm gonna I
need to get some like well cuz I started have bunion pain. Alright time for some like real running shoes so I did all my research so and I've what the best the best running shoes. I bought that and I spent more money on these shoes than I've ever spent on a pair of shoes in my life. Yeah. And they were the Hokas I don't remember which one they were. I waited all week for them to come. I'm so excited.
I know how many times was I like my shoes are coming on Monday and so they came on Monday and immediately when I put them on I was like oh no like the arch was so high and it wasn't it wasn't even just the insole it was like the foam on the outside of it was like pushing up into I want to say arch there's no arch. The inner part of your foot. And I did I used them for two days on the treadmill and second day I sent you that picture of where on that was on both feet. It looks
painful. It was going to be painful. It wasn't a bruise yet or no. It was like the beginnings of a blister. It didn't bruise or anything but I was like these aren't obviously that's all right after the second day on the treadmill like because the box was still sitting there I just stuck them right back in the box and started to return. Did you bad boys back? How do they feel when you were
wearing them? Like do they feel uncomfortable? Other I mean in that area yeah cuz I wore them cuz I got them on Monday I wore them Monday night just to like kind of get a you know we weren't doing anything crazy just could get a feel for them and I was like they just it was like I couldn't ignore it you know so I had a feeling that they were gonna be an issue and they were. So now you're back to square one. Now they're gone. With the like footwear research. Yeah. Now the
Nikes when you got those though you just did you research and just buy them? Not much. You just ordered them online though. I didn't order them online I went I tried them on. Oh you went to a store? Yeah. Okay. There wasn't a whole lot of pre-research. I mean I don't know I might like for me I'm like oh Nikes you know. Well recognized. Right. And you're like okay. They were fine that was why I mean I gravel ran with those for quite a while and they weren't uncomfortable they were
fine until that one spot started wearing which I think is pretty common. Which of you have bunions forever? No I don't think so I think that's kind of been more of an adult problem. So then we're back to square one with the research. So now I've got to get the shoes. And so sometimes every once in a while I'm like I wonder if the thing that Sarah says to do has any value or you know credence. Everything I say has value. Maybe she knows some things I don't know but then I. Maybe not. So you wear
these flippers. People lack of a better. People do feel like they're flippers. They look like. Well it's a lot more awkward for other people to look at me than you feel. I feel because I don't even notice them anymore. Okay so you wear the five toe. You wear the five fingers. The five fingers. Their toe shoes. You put each toe in an individual. Yes. Toe slot. Which. So the other day I was like all
right I'm gonna. Because they're barefoot shoes. Yeah. And so I was like well let me look into this barefoot thing because what I've learned is like getting shoes with high arches or high arch support is prob. You can find both arguments for flat footed people. Really? Can you believe it? No I can't. Like it's just it's crazy that now we have another topic where it's like look you can find whatever you want to find. But if you follow the money. Right. Well that's what usually wins out.
So then you go and you know get fitted for orthotics or insoles or special this. I did. Special that. Yep. I don't know it's all a scam. I think it's all a scam. It's all a scam. We just need to go and reconnect with nature and just be barefoot all the time. And go out and run in forests. You're probably right. But so what I don't know what day it was this week I decided all right I'm gonna look into this whole barefoot thing that Sarah does. Maybe I just need to let my feet be
free. I like that. I mean yeah say I stay home so I'm right I'm barefoot quite a bit and it feels better than anything else. Yep. And so I started telling you like I'm gonna get I'm gonna buy these barefoot shoes. And you were like just get on your treadmill with no shoes on. Yeah that's a good start. I was like okay but you have a treadmill. I still need new shoes. It's not gonna work outside. It can't just be barefoot all the time. I mean you could. So I did and we haven't even talked about
this yet. I did get on my treadmill. Okay. Oh yeah. My socks on. Yeah. It was fine. It was different. I did start feeling some weirdness at my knees. Okay. And I did start getting a blister on the bottom of one of my feet. We do need to have a conversation other than about the socks. We talked about that a little bit this morning too at the workout. Why? Even like socks aren't toe socks. Yeah. Will still push your feet together. I'm not gonna go barefoot on my. Why? Not at the gym first of all.
No you don't need it at the gym. You own a treadmill at your house. I know I just it just felt weird. It might be a little rough. Jeremy did get on the treadmill after I did. He was like I want to try it and see. He didn't like do a whole thing but he tried it and the treadmill was hot because I had just been on it. So like the tread. Yeah. The belt. Of the mill. The belt. That thing. It was like warm. But I think I still would have gotten a
blister probably more so without the socks. Your feet are delicate at this point I'm sure. Yeah. So anyway I ordered a couple pairs of barefoot shoes. Yeah. But not the toe shoes. No because I did. Everything that I looked at was like kept sending me back to the kind that you have. What are they called? Vibram. Okay. Every like all the lists of like the best barefoot shoes like those were at
the tops. I'm like alright whatever. So I go to the site and I'm looking at them and I'm like figuring out my size and the more I looked at them I'm just like no. Can't do it. It's not where I'm at yet. That's not who I am. I love that for you. I love that you can go walk around town in those shoes. I do. That's great. I get very weird looks from mostly from kids actually. I feel like they notice it more than anything because they're like those funny. I look at you
weird. You do. I'll see you. Okay. Well then adults look at me weird too. I would love to get to the point where I don't know maybe you have to turn 40 first. You know what I mean? I start wearing them at like 30. Okay well. So I just spent it in quite a journey for me. You know you just kind of think you get to a point where you just don't care anymore. So how I found my barefoot shoe experience was when I was training for my full marathon. Wait. Your what? My full
marathon. Have you never told me you were? We've done. Oh you have told me that's right. I have more than once. It comes up frequently. Remember that time you walked the marathon? I race walk. I race walk many races because that's enjoyable. I'm not built to be a runner runner. So I started having knee problems because I again I was never trained as a runner or I was never you know understood the form or anything. I just got this wild hair. I was like I'm gonna go. You got
bored. I got bored and I was like I'm gonna go train for a full marathon. Right. Why not? You know so I got training and so my IT band really started bothering me but it was the same thing. It was go get custom more thought. Yeah. Like here's all the things like just basically band-aid it more or support the issue more and not necessarily fix what's causing the issue. And at that time my aunt was visiting from
California you know everything hits the coasts. Yeah. It takes a few years to kind of like work its way into the Midwest. And so she was visiting in the summer and her and my cousin had started wearing them and she had had some issues maybe her ankle or knee or something I don't know and it was bothering her and so she
started wearing those gone. And I was like huh maybe I should just do that. Maybe it's the shoes even though the orthotics that's really actually bothering my knee or maybe my gates a little off or whatever but I was a lazy runner so I was heel striking really bad. And so anyways I started wearing them and my knee pain went away and you know and you've been fine ever since. And that cult ever since.
Ever since. And that's what I realized this past week it's a cult. Oh I told you. That's a whole situation. It is very much so. Because like I've mentioned before when I have an interest in something I go and like join all the subreddits all the Facebook groups like related to that topic and yeah that's a whole it's a whole new
world. And here's the interesting thing was that because the people who are on the side of being barefoot like it's the only way to go if you're not if you put your shoes or your feet into regular shoes you know that's a cardinal sin don't do it never again. I agree with those people. Okay but I did read an article about and I don't remember what it was maybe I can find it again but I read
an article about how it was from a foot doctor what are they called a podiatrist? Yes. They were saying like yes bare feet can be great yes that's probably the way it was supposed to be our feet were not supposed to be shoved inside shoes that don't fit us right but the fact of the matter is they already were so you can't just go straight from shoes with true xxx support and then to nothing to nothing because you don't have those muscles built up yet right and so you're going to probably
potentially cause more problems by just going barefoot. Yes well I or well we say barefoot but we haven't really explained what barefoot shoes are. So that's true so I mean they vary they don't have to have the toes in them no basically like the def I don't know if it's the true definition but to me a barefoot shoe is something that doesn't have any kind of like foam bottom have the zero drop where like your have front of your foot and the back head at the
same level. Yes have zero drop have zero like curvature in the bottom you know the first thing I do anytime we get shoes is I rip out that even like that little like insert. Yeah well and the way that they squeeze your toes together the way that our toes look if you think of a baby's toes yeah they're so wide splayed out whereas like you look at an adult's toes or they're all gotten crushed together and that's not that's not the way it was supposed to be. No and that's definitely
a lifestyle thing where it's happened over time. Yeah so then you know when you think about it though like you know it's really big in like the yoga world where it's just like you know your feet are what ground you and you know being able to spread out and plant and it's one of those things where it's your connection yeah and it's we've all gotten squished into like our shoes and so our feet aren't functioning well but think about it I mean your foot is literally what kind of aligns your
entire body yeah you know if your feet are not functioning properly you're gonna be compensating it and that's what I'm realizing now I'm like my posture is awful yeah and I think it's all connected it's all connected so it's like hmm maybe because my feet aren't like sprawled out and I'm using my toes all correctly and like you know having you know the way in my foot hits the ground well and you saw this morning how my feet hit the ground and just standing you know where my ankles came in
my knees I walk with my feet pointed outwards because when my feet and my toes are pointed outwards my knees are straight ahead where they should be but if I put my feet straight ahead like a normal person walks yeah my knees point inward you go knock me a little bit so we need to work on probably some hip strengthening stuff though too because you can work on bringing that out so those are the things are important though to understand when you start strength training and then like
loading your movements you know the last thing you want to do when you're doing lower body exercises is for your knees to start caving in because that's going to create all kinds of issues too so you have to have that strong foundation yeah and it does it starts with your feet yeah and kind of that connection and that grounding and that whatever you know so you know years ago I would always see um a lot of gym people at the gym and they would wear converse shoes oh gosh because at that time
they had the zero drop they were yeah on the bottom the rubber but like what was getting very quickly underestimated was how narrow they are yeah pinch and point your toes in and I tried converse one time probably 10 years ago it hurt that I wore them literally one time and took them back they hurt my feet so bad yep yep and so you know because they're very very very narrow and so yes it was the beginning of the like strength training world I guess to figure out okay
having zero drop like you don't yeah and you don't want to lift in running shoes yeah it's very unstable yeah you know because you're basically standing on like little cushions there and you're just and it's going to roll in and out and a lot of running shoes will force your gait to either roll your foot slightly out or slightly in and so I don't know if that's due to like trying to correct natural things happening yeah you know while you're running or not but figuring that out and defining
solving the true problem is definitely the way to go so there's some instagram accounts I've shared with you though that I've found like they have really helpful content on like information and so they there's some suggestions for like exercises and things like that so yeah it's like I looked into that the exercises and I've started doing them a little bit but the one thing I read was like do this for 30 minutes every I don't that's a long time you know yeah I feel like a
little bit something would I like to fix my feet sure yes that's a long time no no well and that's even like you mentioned that the barefoot kind of shoe it's not usually like switching 100% to it yeah right I we don't wear shoes in our house so we walk around barefoot a lot at home so I was pretty used to it already I did just do the cold switch yeah I just got rid of them I was fine but my husband he has had plantar fasciitis and different things that have happened with his
foot feet and so he did more of the I'm gonna wear these yeah you know 15 minutes a day and then switch and slow did the gradual thing yeah helped him a little bit see now I don't know which way I need to I don't know I'll try these new shoes they're coming tomorrow so they're they're flat on the bottom but then they've got like full they've got the full shoe on top you don't have to fit your toes in no yeah there's no toes so you know like no that's just weird I don't know maybe I'll get
there someday but well I have started expanding because you know I started wearing them I was traveling for my corporate job a lot and they were a very big topic of conversation and I you know I like having conversations with people I know I struggle with random people yeah airport and you know the runner community and that's awesome conversation starter it's your weird shoes it is especially with runners and because you'll see people you know in the running community it's
like they can pick each other out I mean really any community yeah I recognize somebody that's like you right right so there I mean I would have people that were runners stopping me oh that's terrible and they hey do you run in those oh yeah I've done half marathons on them and they're like do you like them well I mean I'm obviously wearing them so I do really like them and yes I've ran races and I'm well I've race walked my races yeah let's just make sure that's
clear and so but it was a non-stop conversation starter and that was really super irritating for me as a very personal like introvert in like social with strangers it was like I just want to put on my headphones and not have to talk so they have now since come out with so many different options to get barefoot shoes that look regular on top yep have a wide toe box so they've got plenty of room to spread out and so they are definitely less they're less obvious
yeah and you've got lots of options yeah there's a lot out there so I'm excited to see kind of what you think yeah about yours yeah when you get it in but excited it'll be a good time but take it easy yeah just kind of work on it right now I think I probably won't run in them initially I think that's another way other things to straighten out oh I was gonna ask you do you you love this whole you love this whole barefoot thing do you have you been were you like a kid that like ran around
barefoot outside I don't think so but I grew up in the out the farm yeah country kid and so like we never wore shoes in the house because right it was just it's dirty out country and so um I just have always been barefoot inside okay I didn't know if you were one of those fair old children no I don't really I don't remember that much I don't particularly care for do I seem like I would be that kind of kid I don't know I don't know I grass I think I don't really like the feeling
of grass yeah on my feet so I can't walk outside at all and I because I don't wear socks than ever either I mean my feet are really rough and so you would think that would make it easier to walk out on harder surfaces concrete gravel whatever it's not it's almost like worse because then it cracks all the hard stuff and it's probably good money for those pictures I the cracking I probably could there's probably some product of hey if you are the marketing person at some
company that has some crack fixing cream or something like I got your I got your befores I got here before I was I'll do what I'm talking about no I don't think I'm talking about oh all right these two are totally different levels I am I'm taking it one way are you gonna fill me in are you just gonna leave me hanging there are I mean there is a wide population of people out there who want pictures of feet oh like finished people
I'm like taking this down the marketing you missed it earlier I totally missed it oh sweet night oh sweet baby angel it's a whole stay that's a real thing stay sweet it's a very real thing really I mean it's true you can I mean really why I know from experience people like feet that's weird and it really is just as simple as pictures pictures of your feet yeah you can make money doing that good money oh we're in the wrong you wear me with my big old
clod hop and flat feet and you and your rough man feet we could probably make some pretty good money we probably could this episode was going really really well like we were really it was very we were hitting some good points until you had like four more drinks of your high news you know I just knew I couldn't let this episode end without talking about Alan was dying over there so I can't see Alan because he's off to my side so sometimes I feel
like I'm in the worst seat in the house because I can't see Alan's reactions oh no okay well then now I know you know you learn something new every day a little extra income here and there I don't know I don't think I've ever seen your actual feet so I can't tell you well I mean yeah they're covered with my shoes what you're gonna get for those but oh well I guess how do I find out okay I don't think anyway I'm like wait money Alan's like I know a guy he's like no
anyway I have no idea where I don't know I mean we started talking about footwear and then you you hightailed it to feet and that's fine we can bring it back though I mean we'll we'll act like I changed the subject I really we're still talking about feet we are well I mean it's footwear yeah which you do put on your feet technically but I guess I did take there a little bit because you asked me started talking about well you asked look like you asked if I walked around barefoot as a
kid yeah so I guess here we go we're all brought up do you also also put your kids do you try to keep them in like barefoot shoes yes there's one I actually tried to find kid-sized versions of my Vibram shoes and they don't have them I could not find them so if they exist I don't wasn't able to look at them um but you know kids do it is nice for them to have protection of their toes like with like a thicker rubber because they are rough and they play and they do all the things and so
I don't know they they might struggle if I even was able to find their size so there is a very specific version of tennis shoes that I do put them in yeah that first thing I do though when I get them is I take the insoles out you do so they're straight on the rubber bottoms but they've got a nice wide toe box um I bought both of my kids keen's last summer oh which are not they're not technically barefoot but no they do have a nice wide toe box and like there and a lot of
protection I mean it's a closed yeah toes good for the summer yeah they're great shoes for the war proof for the longest time I mean his my oldest like her feet were really wide from the very beginning and I always felt bad you know even like the little sparrows yeah they're so cute and you think oh this is yeah great and like I put them on her and it was no or even the converse is for her yeah like super narrow it's not it wasn't fitting her feet very well so for the longest time
she was just in crocs yeah because crocs did at least give her a nice wide kind of toe box so that's kind of their summer pick even still usually to date to today yeah and then yeah I do have a kid's version of play plae is the brand of shoes that they and my extensive research that they wear you came across in a moment so it's a white toe box and they have a chain well and the brand that I bought I don't know how you say it cigar cigars cigars yeah I don't know I never
heard it's like a cheap I mean you I think you even get them at walmart it's like a 40 dollar pair of shoes they have kids shoes oh they do see so some of them would be good to get but it's hard for like little girls to get like dress shoes that are nice and wide because they all just go straight out there narrow and so they are coming out with a lot of like I see adult shoes anyway there's a lot of like mary jane style shoes or like ballet flats oh yeah that would give her some room a
little bit more so yeah they still don't cut them very wide no they're not very wide so she's usually in like her really pretty sequiny tuly spinning around dress with her crocs because that's just how that's how we roll I mean she knows it's fine the way it should be that's she can take the pick and that was kind of the other thing that kind of like I always knew I had flat feet and I knew I had feet issues but it wasn't until like high school you know college age where all these girls
were out wearing high heels it's ridiculous I would try to I would try to wear heels I'm like what is wrong with me like why can't I figure this out why can't I wear heels I could not physically could not walk in them did they were they painful extremely oh really I could not and even still because it happened just a few months ago I went to a wedding and I got a wild hair and I was like oh I'm gonna wear these and they're not high high heels probably have a
I don't know inch and a half all right I'm gonna wear these I'm gonna take some sensible shoes along to change into because I know better and I don't know why I do this because it never goes well I can't walk I can't walk from the car into the you couldn't even get across the parking I mean it hurts and not only that but I look ridiculous because I remember I used to watch girls I'm like how are they what are they doing that I can't do how are they walking what am I
missing I just I don't know what I can't do it my feet don't fit in heels that doesn't bad news bad news yeah I have well it was never meant to be I have for the most part sworn off no it's hard they're beautiful and they are very fun they're pretty but they are not for everybody they're not good for your feet that's for sure not good for your feet so you know stick give it a try I'm excited to hear yeah we'll have to like talk about this again after you get your shoes
and you start kind of working into them and running to see how it goes because I do think it'll be really interesting to see what changes yeah if anything maybe nothing changes and you go back to those nike's I don't know okay but hopefully yeah I was just really disappointed with the hokas yeah that's a bummer because that's all I ever hear too about like yeah and I actually specifically seeked out shoes for like flat feet bunions and like that's what kept pulling up yeah
so hmm we're gonna convert you over to the dark side all right barefoot all the way oh that is a really loud train oh well then I guess just in time are we hearing that in our headphones yeah yeah it's totally like why is that train so much louder it's kind of freaky all right well anyway it has a wrap up this episode we'll send you off with that train noise in the back of the building that was really loud tonight so with that all right until next time bye
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