I love being barefoot!

After many years of sore tired messed up feet and finding out that shoes just aren't getting any better, I decided to go barefoot. So last December I started going without shoes as much as possible. I figured the best way to get my feet tough was to just go for it even though it was winter time. It has been hard but my feet feel 200% better! My skin is as tough as nails and getting tougher all the time. My foot pads are getting thicker. My feet, legs, and abs are way more toned and strong. And believe it or not my feet look nicer then ever, (even with the dirt!) Oh! and best of all my feet don't hurt any more! *(unless I dance all night or some thing and unlike when I wear shoes a good nights sleep makes any minor discomfort go away)*
    Now I only wear shoes while at work or while in stores. And even then I cheat! I get away with wearing thin flip-flops or my homemade moccasins. I tried those " Five Finger" shoes and after trying three different styles of them I gave up and got my money back! I am still on the hunt for the perfect "minimalist" shoes for short extra wide feet who got bunions from shoes always fitting too tight. I'll spread the word when I find them. I've got a feeling that I will just have to make more moccasins when these ware out.
  So how did I do it? How did I start? Well I started with walking short distances. Like I would take a walk around the block or I would walk from the back of a parking lot to the front of a store at first. When I got good at that ( which only took a week or two) I started going longer distances. I always carry my flip-flops with me just in case there is a lot of glass on the ground or I want to pop into a store. In the beginning the flip-flops helped me take a brake when my skin got sore and I still had to walk. I try to walk on as many different kinds of surfaces as possible. Some things are still hard for me to walk on, like really rough gravel or old cracked asphalt. I have walked on broken glass many times of late (not on purpose) and only had one cut and one little piece stuck in my right fore foot. Now when I get cuts or holes in my feet they heal really fast, so I am usually back on track in no time.
  I have talked to some long time "bare footers" and they all say that it takes at least a year and a half to two years to be able to walk on nasty stuff  like sharp gravel or old rough cracked asphalt. They also say that some people never get used to it. We didn't have stuff like asphalt in the old days so it's not too surprising that it would be hard on bare feet. I hope that I am one of the lucky ones who will get used to walking on every thing. And since I live in California again I can walk with out shoes most of the time, save for a few weeks in late December and January. So there is lots of time for me to toughen my feet up.
  So here are some tips for starting out....

           1., as stated above start out slow, only walk short distances.
           2., some times skipping a day helps to build up your skin and foot pads- just like when you lift weights.
           3., step down, never drag your feet, you could get cuts on your feet.
           4., when you walk try to land on the middle of your foot not on your heel then "roll" on to your fore foot then push off with your toes.
           5., when you run, land on your fore foot and push off with your toes.
           6., always carry thin soled flip-flops with you just in case.
           7., make some soft moccasins or buy some minimalist shoes so you can keep working your muscles and building up your foot pads when you can't be totally barefoot.
           8., do your homework, read every thing that you can about bare footing.
           9., never give up keep doing it.
           10., have fun, try new surfaces all the time.
           11.,***WARNING! once you get good at it you might not ever want to wear shoes again!!***

                                                           ****HOMEWORK****
Here are some things that helped me out a lot (and still do) when I started out.
   The Society for Bare Foot Living's web site (they really know there stuff)! www.barefooters.org
   Living Bare Foot's web site, home of the Living Bare Foot Show. They also rate minimalist shoes which I found to be vary helpful livingbarefoot.info
   Birthday shoe's blog is a new one I found that rates alot  of minimalist shoes and has helpful tips and videos.www.birthdayshoes.com
   The Vibram shoes web site can be helpful if you want to check out their shoes.www.vibramfivefingers.com