moonboots are the new awesome

i post today about one of my new, but unexpected favorite things.

as bridget can attest, i have what could only be described as an obsession with very tall shoes. very tall, very cute, very impractical shoes. i'm sure she could write a novel about all of the ridiculous shoe choices i have made (and thereby made her life miserable)...especially when we go on girl vacations. i always seem to wear the worst possible footwear for whatever we are doing because i choose them based on form, not function. (you can ask her about my wooden 4" tall platform clogs in Boston, kitten heels walking all over NYC and across the Brooklyn bridge, platform sandals in Seattle etc. etc.)

suffice it to say, i am not known for making good, practical footwear choices.

which is why my endorsement of a "medical grade" shoe is so noteworthy.

here's the scoop:

i have been having awful back, neck, knee, shoulder and hand problems for about the last 3-4 years...most of which have to do with bad posture, repetitive motion and lifting stuff that is too heavy and doing it with my back, not legs. anyway, that's a different story. this past winter, i decided to put myself in physical therapy to get a handle on all these things so that i wouldn't turn into a gimp at age 27. and it worked and now i'm not a gimp.

anyway, so my physical therapist told me about these shoes called MBTs...and i of course politely listened while thinking "oh no, you are SO not going to get me to buy orthopedic shoes. no no no, not me, not ever. absolutely not!"

but, then i heard my pilates teacher talking about them, and my massage therapist had 3 pairs(yes, it takes an army of people just to keep me mobile), and my mom's pilates teacher has them and blah blah blah...and then i found out that they sell them in the Bliss catalog. for some reason, this made them seem less, i don't know, ugly? but, i was still very skeptical.

the claim is that the shoes will fix your back and knee pain, help with posture...and tone your legs while you stand...and the Bliss catalog claims that they will get rid of cellulite.

BUT...they are also endorsed by nurses...and i apologize to any RNs, but i'm sorry, nurses just aren't known for having cute shoes. comfortable? yes. cute? not so much.

well, my mom (who is also a fan of impractical footwear) decided to join the "dark side" (i.e. orthopedic footwear and sensible shoes) and ordered a pair. and she ordered a pair for me too even though i said "ummm, no thanks...i'd rather use the $245 to buy like 10 pairs of tall, cute shoes."

(yes, they are $245.)

anyway...long story short:
THESE SHOES ARE AMAZING. and i mean, amazing.

every single word is totally true. i can stand up in these working 24 hours straight doing flowers and my back doesn't hurt at all. ( i used to not even be able to walk the day after a wedding...even when i wore good running shoes). lifting and moving heavy objects? no problem.

they do totally work your legs, even while you're just standing there. i have seen a complete leg transformation since i started wearing these. seriously--all the little tiny muscles that make dancers legs look good? yea, that kind of leg transformation. and when i go walking in them, my legs totally burn---way way way more than when i just wear my nikes.

and best of all, the cellulite claim is 100% true. 100%. i wore these every day for a month while i worked on the movie this summer...and while i gained 15 lbs, my legs look better than ever. no, seriously. it defies logic. but i have less yucky back of leg "stuff" now than i have since...ummm...maybe puberty?

anyway. enough of my raving. these shoes are simply awesome. stupendous. fabulous. and this is coming from someone who really hates ugly shoes.

my brother calls them moonboots, but i don't even care that they're hideous. i wear them everyday. and yes, i roll up my jeans when i wear them-------->




(people, this is big. if you asked me 6 months ago if i would be caught dead in these shoes, the answer would have been NO. that's how awesome these are)

they are expensive, yes. but, they have already saved me at least that much in physical therapy co-pays.

i'm saving up for these ones which are supposed to work your legs even more. {honestly, if you knew how out of character it is for me to be saving up for orthopedic shoes...}

so, you can read more about them on their site...i don't really get how they work, all i know is that they are awesome. if you are considering investing in a pair, do it. they're awesome. wait, i already said that. they're...grrrrrreat!

today...was good. exercised 3, ate 26. flex in tact. yay!