The Shoe Diet

Manolo, Steve Madden, even a sassy pair of shoes from Target can look pretty yummy, right? So why not use fabulous footwear to motivate you to lose weight? Isabelle R. Shaw, Ph.D., explains just how to do it in her new book, The Shoe Diet. She talks to FatFighterTV about the science behind the plan, how to make it work for you, and oh yes - shoegasms.

The Shoe Diet is all about setting realistic weight loss goals and instead of rewarding yourself with food when you reach those goals, treating yourself to something that has zero calories, like a delicious pair of shoes!

Dr. Shaw has over 10 years’ experience in psychology research, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in psychology, and a Master’s and Ph.D. in Biomedical Science. She used shoes as a reward to help her exercise more when she was trying to lose weight. But Shaw first came up with the idea when she was trying to kick the habit:

Heel-ing Power
I knew I had to quit smoking and it was a really hard thing to do, so I started to bribe myself with shoes along the way. I thought, “If I don’t have a cigarette today, then I’ll get to have the shoes that I saw in the store last weekend.” I just kept looking at that dangling shoe, if you will, and that kind of helped me to stay on track.

If it feels good, we do it
It’s basic reward psychology. We’re very simple people. We are driven by pleasure. When you think about it, that’s what we do – when we do something and it makes us feel good, we’re more likely to do it again.

Name your price
It makes no sense to spend too much money if it’s going to stress you out. I was a graduate student when I was on this diet. I was not making more than $15,000 a year.

It’s not about how much money you spend on shoes because these days you can find $10 shoes, $5 shoes – sometimes just little flip flops help me to reach my goal that week. If you put money aside, let’s say, for the lattes you’re not having… you get a nice little chunk of change to get a pair of shoes.

Why shoes?
There are a lot of people out there right now who you don’t have to ask, “Why shoes?” It’s a great motivator but it’s absolutely whatever makes you feel special. Whatever is a great reward for you, use it. A lot of people use food to make themselves feel good. The idea is to replace the food with something else. So it could be shoes or it could be anything else, really.

Putting your best foot forward
Most people in this country know what they have to do to lose weight. They understand that they have to eat better and that they have to exercise. It’s very simple. However, it’s so hard to apply on a daily basis, especially when your rewards are so far away. What I like to tell people is The Shoe Diet really teaches you how to achieve a long term goal using shoes as a short term reward. It’s the positive reinforcement throughout the process. And when your healthy behaviors become habit, then it becomes easier.

So, tell me – what is a shoegasm?
I think if you’re a shoe lover, you understand the concept. You see a pair of shoes and you’re like, “Oh my God, I will do anything to get those shoes!” You will get this great sensation – you feel so pretty, you want them, and you will do anything you can to get those shoes.

If the shoe fits…
It’s like – I’m worth being pretty, I’m worth the effort I’m putting into my body. I think that’s something people forget. They treat themselves badly. And one of my mottos is, “Why treat yourself badly when you can treat yourself to a new pair of shoes?”

When you start realizing that you are worth it, those shoes become your little trophies. You can say, “Wow, these are the shoes I bought the week that I had a breakthrough – I went to the gym three times and I never thought I could do that” or “I managed to incorporate healthy eating this week” – just little goals that you set for yourself. Then at some point you wear your shoes proudly and it makes you realize, “Wow, I can do this!”

Whatever it takes
People would rather take a pill than to actually go walk for 20 minutes a day and we need to change that. And that’s the whole idea of The Shoe Diet. There’s a quote on my website that says, “We’re not willing to exercise for our health but we might be willing to do it for a pair of shoes.” It’s crazy when you think about it, but if that’s what it takes to get you on a healthy pattern, then why not.

How many pairs of shoes do you have?
I decided I’m never going to divulge that information. Honestly, because I don’t know. I don’t count. And throughout the years, I give away a lot of shoes. It’s just not something I even know. But I wouldn’t tell you even if I did know.

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Dr. Shaw says you can use other rewards besides shoes, like fun jewelry, CDs, even giving yourself time off. Again, the idea is just to replace a food reward with something else. And of course, you can use the reward system to help you reach other tough goals in life.

You can read an excerpt from The Shoe Diet or order a copy here.

Since I can’t use my first reward-of-choice (chocolate!), I guess my second choice would be spa treatments… or maybe cool earrings. How about you?