Can your feet get fat?

[KBee]

My boots don't fit anymore. I gained about 20 lbs. Think that's it? Am going to demo some to get through the day.

 

[Abbi]

I don’t know that for sure. But I do know when I dropped 50+ pounds I went down half a shoe size. But 20 pounds doesn’t seem enough to make a difference. I’m sure someone has a better or more scientific answer! Sorry your boots are giving you a bad hour!

 

[Christy]

Your feet can get bigger as you age because they spread out. Basically things start to flop and flatten out (just like other body parts start to sag or give into gravity, I guess). It's pretty common.

 

[judeb]

Yes, they can. I gained half a size when I was pregnant, which I understand isn't uncommon.

 

[judeb]

And I feel like mine have also got a bit wider and flatter in the last couple of years even though my weight has remained the same. I'm 44, so maybe age, as Christy mentioned, also plays a role.

 

[contesstant]

Yes, they absolutely can increase a mm or two in overall volume with weight gain/loss. I was on the losing end of the spectrum 3 years ago and had issues of my boots suddenly having more room. A mm in a boot is a lot!

 

[KBee]

Thanks. I ended up having some basic boot work done. I never had the liners heated/molded so that helped, but now they feel packed out, which is why I never heat molded them... And trying footbeds again, even though they have hurt my knees in the past.

 

[newboots]

Good luck, @KBee. I grew 1/2 size also during pregnancy. And my feet grow a bit during the summer when they aren’t confined to shoes very much, but sneakers, sandals, and flip flops instead.

 

[skibum4ever]

I think my toes got a tiny bit smaller after losing 40 lbs. I say that because the last 2 years I have had terrible trouble with the toes on my left foot. Every time I was in the lodge I had to remove the boot. I was feeling desperate despite a lot of boot work. The toes would frequently go dead and I often skied in a fair amount of pain.

This season I have had zero trouble with my toes. I guess I don't have to either:
1) give up skiing...or
2) amputate my middle toe! These were the
options suggested by mr.skibum.

What a relief!... seriously.

 

[liquidfeet]

I think my toes got a tiny bit smaller after losing 40 lbs. I say that because the last 2 years I have had terrible trouble with the toes on my left foot. Every time I was in the lodge I had to remove the boot. I was feeling desperate despite a lot of boot work. The toes would frequently go dead and I often skied in a fair amount of pain.

This season I have had zero trouble with my toes. I guess I don't have to either:
1) give up skiing...or
2) amputate my middle toe! These were the
options suggested by mr.skibum.

What a relief!... seriously.

Maybe some bootfitters don't have the equipment to enlarge the toe box in a way that would help your toes. My beloved bootfitter (the one who finally put me in boots that fit my feet properly) made a tool just for that purpose, and when he raised the roof over my toes AND widened the toe box, things for me got a lot better.

 

[newboots]

A talented bootfitter is so important! Mine has fashioned all sorts of tools (he will offer a tour of the back room if you display any interest!) and patented some of them. He has changed my skiing for the better, twice!

I suppose there are limited tools on the market for this arcane profession.