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I was always overweight. BUT, I have always been active. I was a tom boy growing up. I loved playing baseball, kick ball, dodge ball, football, fort, cops and robbers, anything that involved running and or ramming around.

I played sports in High School. I played softball on company teams. I bowled in leagues. Anyway, you get the point. I have always been kind of a "jock-ette".

So I had a hard time accepting that my feet start to ache when I walk too much. The first year of our own little "Biggest Loser" contest, we started walking to get our cardio workouts.

I started to have a problem with aching feet, the left one in particular. I started "retaining water" ( my feet and ankles were swelling). I have played sports my whole life - you just work through the pain. BUT, the pain and the swelling continued.

When I finally started to give in and investigate about foot pain, I soon discovered that I was NOT retaining water. My foot was swollen for a good reason, I had a STRESS FRACTURE!

I got one of those surgical shoes and continued walking. Walking, ha what an understatement. I hobbled, daily for 2 months.

I started out exercising as if I were still a kid. I had no idea about the physical changes that aging brings with it.

If I could only give one word of advice to those who are starting on a fitness quest, that word would be SHOES !
I wear Merrell Walking Shoes they have great support.

As we age, the soles of our feet get thinner and less able to absorb the pounding your feet take on each and every time you take a step.

Did you know...

For every pound of body weight you gain, your knees gain three pounds of added stress; for hips, each pound translates into six times the pressure on the joints.

With every step you take, your moving body puts pressure roughly equal to three times your weight on your hips and knees.

Being only 10 pounds overweight increases the force on the knee by 30-60 pounds with each step.

Overweight women have nearly 4 times the risk of knee OA; for overweight men the risk is five times greater.

If you lose just 1 pound, you reduce by 4 pounds the force your knees must absorb when you walk.

Unfortunately, I have also read and found to be true that a real good pair of shoes wear out or lose their cushioning in about 500 miles. For me about 6 months. I found it almost unacceptable to think I would have to pay $100. every six months for new shoes. Like it or not, if I don't pony up, that aches and pains return.

When I was hobbling those two months a couple of summers ago, I became a "Shoe evangelist". I would preach to everyone who would listen about NEEDING good foot support.

This was my mantra: I ask myself right now, would I be willing to pay $50. right now to NOT HAVE A BROKEN FOOT? In a New York Minute!

But you might say, $50. I thought the shoes were $100. Yes, the good shoes are $100. but I would pay nearly $50 at Walmart to buy the cheap shoes I use to wear. So just add $50. to the regular price you pay and get yourself peace of mind, comfort you will not believe, and don't forget the pain you won't have to deal with.