A ball-of-foot type shoe insert has two regions with different compressibility characteristics, illustratively created by using polyurethane foam of difference densities, in a front region which, when the insert is positioned in a shoe, will underlie the toes of a wearer, and a rear region which, when positioned in a shoe, will underlie the ball of the foot. The front region is less compressible so that the toes in combination with the insert fill-up the toe box, thereby preventing the foot from sliding forward so that the anatomical heel of the wearer fits naturally in the heel of a shoe that is too big for the wearer.