Am I the only fat diver on earth?

[debdiver]

You are FAR from the only fat diver. Yet ANOTHER reson I LOVE my drysuit!! I haven't scared myself with having to wear a bathing suit in ... um ... well ... a long, long time. Notice how I said BATHING suit. My goal is to look good in a ONE PIECE.

So keep diving and be healthy. Who cares what others think. It's what you think that's important.

 

[Laser]

When I was just starting out there was a guy affectionately called * Popeye * who is by no means slim by his own admission. Underwater, I would trust him with my life.

 

[saltwater taffy]

Getover it!!!! You will be respected more for your diving skills than how well you look in your gear. Once we're in the water, we are all on the same palying field. This is why women have had a hard time gaining any respect in the diving industry. They think we are more interested in if we will chip a nail or not. Jump in the water, have a great time

 

[ladycute1]

You're certainly not the only one... there are many of us who are much larger than you are. I get plenty of looks when I get on a boat, and by the end of the trip somebody is always asking me how many dives I have or what level of training I have.

A custom wet suit is the answer... and not all that expensive, either. Check out Liquid Fit -- Carol's wonderful and will be happy to help you.

If you want proof that there are larger women diving than you, feel free to look at my profile.

Liz

 

[Turtle Gal]

Okay, it is getting so irritating to go diving and be the only female that is not thin and wearing a bikini. I suppose I could wear a bikini, but I would scare myself and others. It's so frustrating too, to end up wearing men's wetsuits where the arms are too long and I have to roll them up like some kind of orphan diver. I hate wearing more weight too, although I put some of it in the back pockets of my BC so no one really knows. I'm also feeling like an old diver chick at just 29! Frustrating, frustrating! I guess I'll have to work harder to lose my body-integrated buoyancy devices! Thanks for listening to me rant!

I feel your pain on the bikini thing,Just yesterday I went to a store tried on a bikini (okay 3 or 4)I like to have a bikini tan if you know what I mean?I Lost 25lbs since last Summer,But I realized I still don't have a Bikini figure,Not for another 30lbs or so.So I can still fit into last years swim suit,Thats what I will wear this year. IF you need to loose weight go for it.But my attitude is Im not going to knock my self out if I can't loose the last 30.Ive heard people say swimming is the best exercise you can get cuz you can loose weight better.Just go dive and have fun ,the weight will come off in time.Turtle Gal

 

[RebreatherBoy]

There are lots of people who are very obese who dive, some morbidly so.....

The emotion you elude to of humiliation is something humans have to motivate us to stop inappropriate and/or behavior including unhealthy eating lifestyles.

I personally get a kick out of people who engage in these unintelligent fad diets which are not sustainable. The key is a healthy steady sustainable diet of reasonable food portions and an avoidance of the typical junk foods Americans hog out on and a regular amount of robust physical exercise. Multi-day dive trips with 6 dives a day is an excellent good workout while on vacation without it seeming like a workout...

However don't let these natural emotions stop you from enjoying an incredible opportunity to experience nature in a manner most people can only dream of....

 

[Scubamedicjoe]

Okay, it is getting so irritating to go diving and be the only female that is not thin and wearing a bikini. I suppose I could wear a bikini, but I would scare myself and others. It's so frustrating too, to end up wearing men's wetsuits where the arms are too long and I have to roll them up like some kind of orphan diver. I hate wearing more weight too, although I put some of it in the back pockets of my BC so no one really knows. I'm also feeling like an old diver chick at just 29! Frustrating, frustrating! I guess I'll have to work harder to lose my body-integrated buoyancy devices! Thanks for listening to me rant!

For your information allot of us are over weight but don't mean we cant dive.
I been over weight for years unfortally, I been on many diets and different gym's work out ect even had my personal doctor, we worked out in gym for four months together he didn’t believe till that point.
That some of us are made to be big I guess I lost six pounds when I worked out with him, even my eating habits ect don’t seem to help. So with all that said go diving have fun and forget all them skinny people who have nothing to do but talk about us big people.

 

[Scubaguy62]

and forget all them skinny people who have nothing to do but talk about us big people

You make it sound as if that's all skinny people do.
First, I'm not in the best of shape either. I could stand to lose 30 lbs no problem, but my wife is quite petite and in shape, although she will argue against it.

Chantana, if the location in your profile is correct, I can understand how you feel, and if I could add something to it, it will be this, it matters not how much weight you think you need to lose. It can be as little as 20 lbs, but even those 20 lbs could make anyone feel less than estetically appealing, especially if in your geographical location most others are slender and in good physical shape.

We live in South Florida (Miami metro area), which is probably as bad as our west coast counterpart (So. Cal area) when it comes to pretty bodies on the beach and on boats. Some of those bodies are chiselled with diet and exercise, but the great majority are surgically chiselled, which IMO, is a great deception, unless it is medically necessary.

I will suggest this, if you are looking to change your body to compete (for lack of a better term) with those other slender, shaped bodies on the boat, you may wish to re-think your motivation. Change your body, by whatever means you choose, because it will make you feel better about yourself, not for what someone else may, or may not say about you. In the end, you will have a better sense of accomplishment. If you're a good diver, if your weight does not impede your diving, and you can perform as well as those other slender, shaped divers, you're have half the battle won.

Good luck and keep on diving!!!

 

[RebreatherBoy]

Calling somone who exercises, eats right and has an athletic, toned attractive body "skinny" is rather offensive.

Most of the people with attractive bodies here in SoCal are NOT as the result of surgical enhancement, it is the result of a combination of a healthy, active lifestyle incuding working out with weights, aerobic workouts and healthy eating habits.

 

[love2godeep]

Okay, it is getting so irritating to go diving and be the only female that is not thin and wearing a bikini. I suppose I could wear a bikini, but I would scare myself and others. It's so frustrating too, to end up wearing men's wetsuits where the arms are too long and I have to roll them up like some kind of orphan diver. I hate wearing more weight too, although I put some of it in the back pockets of my BC so no one really knows. I'm also feeling like an old diver chick at just 29! Frustrating, frustrating! I guess I'll have to work harder to lose my body-integrated buoyancy devices! Thanks for listening to me rant!

Chantana, I guess we all have things about ourselves that we would like to change. It's especially frustrating when something we dislike about ourselves interferes with something we love to do.

Being fit and "fat" is better than being slim and out of shape. Of course, the media makes sure to entrench, deep in our psyches, that there's something wrong with us if we aren't slim and beautiful.

I would concentrate on being fit and healthy: eating a good diet with lots of fruits, veggies, and whole foods; keepin on a daily exercise program; drinking the water; getting the rest, sunshine, fresh air, etc.

Along with being helathy, you'll probably find yourself dropping slowly to your optimal weight. Which isn't the same for everyone, by the way!

You've put enough angst in your message, however, that I'm just wondering if maybe you ought to lose the weight, not because it's necessarily needed for health, but because you'd feel so much happier about yourself.

In any case, IMHO, most women who wear bikinis on the beach have no business in them.

Best of luck,
L2GD