anticipated changes due to lost weight

[stepfen]

Hello everybody.
I managed to reduce my body weight by ~10% (from 110kg down to about 95ish kg or from ~242lbs down to ~210lbs) over the last 3 months - mostly by reducing food intake and unfortunately not due to much more exercise than my usual limited workout.

At the same time due to lock downs etc I haven't been able to dive (actually it has been ~50 days now - but it feels much more than that).

It seems probable that I will be able to start diving from next week. The question is, am I expected to see any noticeable differences in my diving due to reduced body weight?? Eg less weight needs or changes in trim etc?

One change I have already seen topside is that now I get cold much more easier than before (or at least I feel so). Luckily water should now be around 20oC hence manageable.

Anything else I should expect?

BTW I dive a 5mm 2 pieces (long john) wet suit (which I won't/can't change for now), and before COVID I used to need 6kg of lead for my 15lt steel tank and my AL back plate.

The question is mostly theoretical - food for thought. I know that any differences won't/can't be dramatic.

Your thoughts?
Thanks...

 

[rick00001967]

first....congrats on the weight loss. good for you. actually if you are loosing the pounds slowly without working out a lot then you are doing better than most. you will be better off in the long run because you will learn what your true caloric intake needs to be to achieve / maintain your ideal body weight without relying on a lot of cardio (for example).

as far as diving.....hopefully the physical part of diving (swimming, carrying tanks etc) will be easier. and yes you should be able to shed a few pounds of lead. every little bit helps right

 

[BoundForElsewhere]

generally speaking, fat floats, muscle sinks. So, if you lost fat, you could probably lose some of the lead you previously wore. oh, and a new wetsuit may be appropriate, too.

Congratulations, especially now that there really is nothing to do but eat and watch tv.

 

[TMHeimer]

During my 15 years my weight has varied by between 20-30 pounds. I've not altered my weighting. I do wear 42 pounds, so that may be a reason (not that much of a difference those 20-30 pounds as opposed to if I used much less weight). Another reason may be laziness. Based on that I would think you may drop just a very few pounds.
I was in the hospital a year ago and when I was able to dive again my weight was maybe 175-- it is now 200. Using the same weight doesn't seem to make much of a difference-- not that I notice anyway. I'm almost always right close to the bottom, so being a little overweight (if I am) is no biggee, so they say.

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

Everyone's physiology is different so the exact result can only be seen once you physically get in the water, generally speaking loosing weight would mean you would need less lead.

Best advise i can give you is to test it out in shallow waters and see exactly how much weight you need to take off

 

[Marie13]

When I've lost weight, I've shed some lead. Do some shallow dives and take off small amounts at once - perhaps 1kg and go from there.

 

[peterak]

The specific gravity of body fat is about 0.9, so if you lost 30 pounds of fat (congrats!) you should be able to shed about 3 pounds of lead. Ballpark estimate to start with.

 

[ps444mike]

hey there.. congrats im in the same boat.. I lost about forty pounds.. before the virus a few things I noticed.. I ditch some weight on my on my back plate..an my sac rate was much better..

 

[Graeme Fraser]

Hello everybody.
I managed to reduce my body weight by ~10% (from 110kg down to about 95ish kg or from ~242lbs down to ~210lbs) over the last 3 months - mostly by reducing food intake and unfortunately not due to much more exercise than my usual limited workout.

At the same time due to lock downs etc I haven't been able to dive (actually it has been ~50 days now - but it feels much more than that).

It seems probable that I will be able to start diving from next week. The question is, am I expected to see any noticeable differences in my diving due to reduced body weight?? Eg less weight needs or changes in trim etc?

One change I have already seen topside is that now I get cold much more easier than before (or at least I feel so). Luckily water should now be around 20oC hence manageable.

Anything else I should expect?

BTW I dive a 5mm 2 pieces (long john) wet suit (which I won't/can't change for now), and before COVID I used to need 6kg of lead for my 15lt steel tank and my AL back plate.

The question is mostly theoretical - food for thought. I know that any differences won't/can't be dramatic.

Your thoughts?
Thanks...

About the weight you've lost; don't worry I found it when I stood on my scales!!!

Something doesn't add up though. Fat has a specific gravity of 0.9, but wine has a specific gravity of about 1.10.

As I've been drinking more since lockdown I was hoping the two would cancel each other out, but apparently not!

Stoopid physics

 

[Steve_C]

Back of the envelope you loose about 1 pound for every 10 lb of weight. You will want to do a weight check of course but this gives you an idea of what to expect and bring appropriate weights.

If you dive dry not so much of an issue but with a wetsuit you do not want it too loose. But my experience diving with some hefty buddies is that really the suits are a size too small and they currently can barely get in them so you may be in luck.