Seriously, What's With the Fit Flops?

I think I might need Fit Flops. As uncool as they are, I am noticing more and more that even those with the bodies that have not seem a gym since physical education class 40 some odd years ago are sporting some seriously sculpted calves.

I balk at the fact that I am even entertaining this idea, in the same way that I balked at the man walking along the shoreline at the beach last summer with tanned, toned legs and feet wedged into a pair of white FF's. Yet, they are everywhere. Reebok and Sketchers have come out with their own versions, neither of which are very attractive. Victoria's Secret is advertising them on their website and in their catalog. Who would have thought that you could by g-strings and fit flops from VS? If this isn't proof of how far America has come, then I don't know what is. One of my students came in with a pair of Sketcher Shape Ups after Christmas; her whole family has them! I asked her if she noticed a difference in her legs, and she said they hurt a little when she first started wearing them and that she had to get used to the rounded bottoms that curve like the bottom of a rocking chair. Based upon this small gathering of information, I am assuming the pain is due to one having to use the leg muscles differently than if they were wearing a standard style shoe. Correct me if my hypothesis is wrong, please.

According to advertisements, people don't need to exercise if they shove their dogs into a pair of Fit Flops or Tone Ups. Sketchers claims;

"Tone-ups® sandals are a great new way to help tone your legs, get more exercise and lose weight while you walk!"

With our country one of the fattest in the world, I think it is pretty sad that is the angle the advertising agencies are going for, yet at the same time, genius! For the most part, people walk. Busy lifestyles do not allow everyone to make it to the gym and by the time the day's committments are met, aren't people too tired to muster up the energy to get to the gym? Clearly, these shoe companies have figured out a way, and a clever one at that, to draw people in.

I am an avid gym goer and a healthy eater. I see these shoes as an excuse to avoid exercising our most important muscle, the heart. No shoe can substitute the kind of workout one would need to do this. A horrific sight that I have conjured up in my twisted head is McDonald's, packed durin lunch. Everyone has supersized it because they are, after all, donning some form of non-athletic, athletic shoe. As a person who does not eat McDonalds and loves to be sore and sweaty after a genuine workout, I see FF's as an opportunity to tone when I am not at the gym. Something else to note is that the price of these shoes regardeless of brand is in the $50 ballpark. For those who don't like to sweat and don't want to spend at least that amount on a monthly gym memberships, these kicks are a sweet-ass deal!

I suppose this is a cup half empty/half full debate. If I purchase a pair of these shoes, I know my friend Rita will definately disown me, yet, I am intrigued.