This is it! I have completed the challenge. I’ve worn the same pair of shoes for two weeks (a minor miracle for shoe-loving me) and I’ve walked everywhere I can think of. Have the FitFlops worked? Are they worth the price of £39.95? Well, the jury is now out.

The measurements:

Thighs: 21 inches  - a total loss of one inch

Calves: 14.5  inches  - a total gain of a half inch.

Hips: 37 inches – a total loss of one inch 

It appears that the FitFlops work if you use them in conjunction with a lot of extra walking. I did a bit more than my usual amount of walking, choosing to walk on the escalators rather than stand on the right, and to climb up stairs instead of using the lifts. 

They were very comfortable to wear overall, although they were somewhat stiff at first. This stiffness did cause my feet some pain for the first few days but soon that eased off as they got used to shoes. However, I had quite a few problems with the right shoe pinching a nerve on the top of my foot. The straps cut into the bony bit and after a long day I was almost always in pain. 

This is not necessarily a flaw in the shoe; it could be that these were just not quite right for my feet, as many people have told me that they find their FitFlops extremely comfortable. 

Now that I’ve tried these shoes out and seen the difference they’ve made in my inches I think that, if I could find a more comfortable pair, I would be happy to spend that amount of money on them. Cheaper than a gym and delivering proven results they are worth every penny if you’re prepared to use them exclusively when you walk around. 

Of course, this may not be an ideal solution for a shoe lover but something worth considering if you want to walk every day for an hour as a part of an exercise regime, or use them when you pick the kids up from school. 

And a final thank you to Fitness Footwear, who gave me my yummy chocolate leather FitFlops for the challenge.

Yesterday my FitFlops and I gamely meandered across the hallways and byways of the London underground in a synchronised stagger of tiredness and muscle fury. My muscles have staged a counter-revolution and it looks like they're using some dirty tricks to get their own way. It all started innocently enough...

My morning wake-up wasn't the creaking pain of the day before. Instead I lithely danced out of bed and around the house. It was one of those mornings that I love. That we all love. Everything came easy, everybody was in a good mood, the sun was shining and I felt utterly alive. Until I got to Victoria Station.

Crazed humans in orange jackets had sealed off the bowels of the underground and were guarding it like indifferent killer dogs. Stay away, they don't notice you, come too close and they growl with barely restrained contempt. So, my FitFlops and I had to uncover an alternate route, and fast! My train had already been delayed and work waits for no man.

And off we went! Running across the platform I'd already crossed and into the main area, dodging other commuters moving at the same pace and with the same expression of intense worry, across the zebra crossing (that the taxi drivers don't seem to be able to see), and to the bus stop. Pant pant.

"NO. Your bus is down there, round the corner and up the street."

I had gone to the wrong place. Back across the zebra crossing (dodged two taxis while moving at speed. No easy feat in these shoes, let me tell you), down the street, around the corner, "Oh, that's my bus!", put on a burst of speed, hit little old lady with flying laptop bag, and onto the bus.

"No, your Oyster card has run out."

Off the bus, past the annoyed passengers, down the street, back into the station, stand in queue to recharge card. And repeat.

By the time I got to work and sat down at my desk, my muscles had gone on strike, I had a blister on my toe, and I wanted to weigh myself because I was soooo excited about how many calories I'd burned in that adventure.

"Let's do it again!"

I also have to say a big thank you to Fitness Footwear, who gave me my yummy chocolate leather FitFlops for the challenge.

You may (or may not) have noticed that I missed yesterday's slot. This was due to extreme stiffness and exhaustion. I couldn't summon up the strength to type out my evening missive, that's how tired I was. Why? Because Monday was a day of insane galloping about the streets of London and my poor little muscles got given a beating by my all-powerful FitFlops.

As I lay in bed attempting to move myself to my computer I contemplated the terror of Tuesday. What was I going to do if I was still this stiff? Well, the morning dawned bright and sunny and I leapt fell out of bed and onto the floor. Using my lips and my shoulders, I was able to claw my way to the shower and coffee machine.

Yes, I am stiff, stiff, stiff. And I love it. Since having kids and starting a business I've been so darn busy I've not had the time for a good daily workout. I miss being all sweaty and stiff and feeling wonderfully healthy and alive. These FitFlops have given me a taste of that fun without eating into my limited time stores. Bravo! I am definitely looking forward to the Final Measure on Friday, when the end has come and I've tested these shoes to their limits.

Needless to say, it was with no small amount of trepidation that I approached my Tuesday journey to London. I was worried I would fall over on the tube, or freeze in position on the walking side of the escalators (can you imagine the fury of other commuters if that were to happen!), fortunately my muscles soon warmed up and I was fine.

It's been a good couple of days and tomorrow looks to be just as much fun. Stay tuned for the final few days.

P.S. I wish my legs had morphed into the ones you see in these pictures.

I also have to say a big thank you to Fitness Footwear, who gave me myyummy chocolate leather FitFlops for the challenge.

Well! It may be measuring day but I can tell you right now that the evil and wicked Thorntons may have destroyed all the hard work I did this last seven days. Let me explain...Today was a day with a great deal of walking and my FitFlops got one heck of a workout.

It all started out innocently enough. I got off the train, I bought a coffee, and I ambled up to the entrance of the Underground. In my half asleep state I didn't really click that the reason the man was walking in front of me (causing me to keep on moving to the right) was because he was closing the gates. Victoria was shut. Sorry for me.

Cue some breathless pounding of pavements as I galloped around the area in search of a bus that would take me to work. Eventually, after navigating an angry granny (not at me, fortunately), a deranged teenager, and some roadworks, I found a bus. Then it was running to work, running up the stairs and running about all morning.

At lunch PlayPennies was invited to the Thorntons Christmas in July. I walked all the way there in my FitFlops and it was about 30 minutes of hard exercise as I only had an hour to spare. The event was fantastic, by the way, so check out my mini-deal announcement at 3pm today.

The room was dripping delectable chocolate from every pore. How could I not have Thorntons for lunch? They also gave me some samples to try out which I rapidly enjoyed in case someone at work wanted me to share. Yes, I am a bad person but this is chocolate for heaven's sake! Now there was a lot of pressure on my FitFlops to somehow burn those naughty calories down to the ground. I've put some pics of the treats here for you to enjoy.

So I hiked the 30 minutes back to the office, did some more bustling about and galloped home on the tube and train. Now it is time to reveal whether or not a week of FitFlop marathoning has changed my measurements...

Week One Measurements:

Thighs: 21.5 inches (RESULT! I lost half an inch)

Calves: 14.5  inches (Sadness! I gained half an inch!)

Hips: 37.5 inches (OOOH! That's another half an inch lost)

Conclusion: Perhaps the saying should go, "A minute on the lips, an inch on the calves" because that is the only place I gained in size.

Stay tuned next week for the final stretch when hopefully I will have managed to lose even more inches off my frame.

I also have to say a big thank you to Fitness Footwear, who gave me my yummy chocolate leather FitFlops for the challenge.

I ached today, ooooh yes I ached. Not a lot, not as if I'd done ten rounds with Mike Tyson, but enough to make me totter a little as I made my way to the station in my FitFlops. Plasters adorned both feet to prevent the current holes in skin from getting any bigger, and I was armed with my camera to take some shots of the lovely underground, just for you!

I must admit that I am starting to feel more of a burn as I progress through the challenge. The FitFlops are on my feet from 7am to 8pm every day, all day. I'm positive my bum looks tighter and leaner, and I am hoping that's not wishful thinking. Ha! Well, measuring day is on Friday so we'll soon know which one it is.

The FitFlops are also becoming more comfortable each day. From feeling a little clunky and stiff last week, to now molding nicely to my feet. While I do have some rubbed spots on the top of my feet (as per the plasters), the rest of the foot doesn't even realise its in shoes. A vast difference from my usual footwear that I used to travel to London in. I don't suffer from sticky foot syndrome, which is very nice.

I really do hope that these FitFlops rise to the challenge and get me those leaner, longer legs that they promise. Because they look good, feel good, and frankly, if they make me look like a babe at the same time, then they are the dream shoes. Today the photos I took were my version of "subway action shots". I was forced to detour via Westminster because the Victoria line had ground to a halt and I was really impressed with how nice it was.

Thank you to Fitness Footwear, who gave me my yummy chocolate leather FitFlops for the challenge!

Oh my, and what a day it was. The temperature was high, the air was still, and I had to hike my flabby bum across the UK in my shiny new FitFlops. My lazy side was glaring at me the entire time. Although, to be fair, the rest of me was very excited and grateful that it wasn’t raining.

Can you imagine me squeaking across the train station in wet shoes? Soggy feet on the freezing cold train? What’s up with that anyway? Finally the weather is deliciously warm and summery, so the train people decide to whack up the aircon so by the time I arrived at London Victoria my feet had hypothermia.

The shoes are very comfy, although the straps on the right foot seem to catch a nerve every now and then that sends a jolt of pins and needles into my toes. It took a bit of practising to get the foot used to how unbendy the base is and stop twanging my nerves.

I also have very raw feet on the top. The skin has been rubbed quite a bit. I’m going to have to apply plasters tomorrow, otherwise I’ll have broken toes by Friday! I am hoping that this is just the leather getting to know me and not a pair of Hungry Shoes.

You know, you get those shoes that, once they’ve tasted blood, keep wanting more?

Anyway, I walked up and down every escalator. I walked up and down every platform. And I walked with purpose and speed. I am feeling a little stiff already this evening and am hoping that I’m not going to end up walking like a terrifying robot tomorrow because I can’t bend my legs!

The pic on the right, by the way, was a sign on the tube that made me laugh like mad this morning. Not sure why Danger of Death is so funny, but there you have it.

Three more days to measurement day! Eeek!

Thank you to Fitness Footwear, who gave me my yummy chocolate leather FitFlops for the challenge!

I’m sorry about the randomness of the name (Day One) but I figured that now I’ve introduced the challenge it’s probably easier to move forward in numerical order. Over the weekend I got my FitFlops sorted out and started wearing them wherever I went.

On Friday I really did feel some burn. I was running pretty much ragged preparing everything for my daughter’s birthday party so the shoes got a lot of wear. Also, thanks to the Orange Juice Incident of 2010, I discovered that they are easy to wipe clean, don’t stain, and are waterproof. This is good news. Not so much the clothes my daughter was wearing, or my lovely jumper though...

The FitFlops are alright in terms of comfort. I must admit that the design does put a lot of strain across the front of my foot. The straps tend to cut into my foot a bit when I’m walking because the shoes don’t bend at the base as easily as a normal pair of flops might do.

Initially this was a little distracting and uncomfortable, but as the leather began to mold to my feet, the shoes became increasingly comfortable to wear.

At the end of the day on Friday I felt some pain in my calves and knees, and on Saturday morning I was faintly stiff. Not as stiff as I’d expected, if I am honest, but there was definitely something there.

I ate a load of cake at the birthday party (I bought too much) so these poor shoes have a lot of work to do! Today I am finally getting to take them on the Big Commute across London which, I think, is going to be the true test of their comfort and their fitness promise.

Check in tomorrow to find out if these make the commute worthwhile!

I also have to say a big thank you to Fitness Footwear, who gave me my yummy chocolate leather FitFlops for the challenge.

I am a tad overweight; some would say “cuddly”, others would say, “stop eating cake”. So, I have decided to take the trend by the horns and subject my unfit body to the rigours of shoes that have been designed to exercise your muscles while you walk.

Yes, I am going to be using a pair of FitFlops from Fitness Footwear and I am going to document my results over the next three weeks.

As of today, I am going to pop on the FitFlops and commute to London. Yep. A two hour trip each way during which I solemnly swear to: walk up and down all escalators, stand on all tubes (not the 1hr20min train ride though), and walk everywhere while wearing these shoes.

On the days when I’m not missioning up to the Big Smoke, I’ll be wearing them while doing all my daily activities – looking after my preschooler, cleaning the house, running around doing admin and so forth.

This is going to be the ultimate test to see whether these shoes do what they promise on the tin. Will they increase my leg, calf and gluteal muscle activity? I will be measuring my thighs, calves and bum once a week (the start-out measurements are below) to see if there is any difference as I go.

Will they improve muscle tone and increase bottom muscle activation? I’ll be relying on the measurements and photographs to see whether my legs are showing any improvements in tone and musculature.

Will they reduce back stress and improve my posture? I suffer from back pain thanks to my typical computer posture so I will note exactly how much better my back feels at the end of a long day of walking and sitting. Obviously the shoes can’t help my seated posture, but they may help ease strain on my back.

I will be updating the FtiFlop Challenge every day (except weekends) for the next few weeks so if you have any suggestions, think I need to add some more details, or have any extra ideas then please post them here. After all, if these DO work then mums of the world shall celebrate for we can exercise while we do our admin/work and save precious minutes in the day.

Start Out Measurements:

Thighs: 22 inches

Calves: 14 inches

Hips: 38 inches

I actually can’t believe I am sharing my enormity with the world.

Expect the next measurements in one week! Oh, and I forgot to mention that I am not going to change my (bad) diet one single bit. Not a jot. Not at all. So the results will accurately reflect the results of the FitFlops.

I also have to say a big thank you to Fitness Footwear, who gave me my yummy chocolate leather FitFlops for the challenge.

EDIT: Sadly my shoes, my wonderful FitFlop shoes, were too big for me! So the FitFlop Challenge is on hold while the fabulous Fitness Footwear whisk a smaller pair on over to me.  Please check in on Tuesday for the next riveting instalment!