Please get in shape!

[fishoutawater]

I think it depends on whether you place lifespan over functionality. I know some guys like Tamas. Big guys that work constructioin jobs, farmers, firemen etc. They do carry around some extra "bioprene" (I like that!), but they can still function like human beings.
But I also know some guys that are roughly the same size as the other guys, but they have desk jobs and sendentary lifestyles. Guys that watch football, but never play it. Those are the guys that are at risk. I'm trying to NOT be one of those guys.
I have a desk job. I used to eat a lot of garbage. At one point, I was up to 225 @ 5'11". Now I hover around 185-190. I look and feel MUCH better. It takes a whole lot to make me breathe hard anymore. I was pretty athletic when I was a kid (wrestling, football, swimming, martial arts etc), in the military, and as a rigger at a shipyard, but when I got a desk job, this jellyfish thingy grew around my gut. I finally realized that jellyfish on my gut wasn't going to leave on its own, and it was trying to kill me.
To me, fitness isn't about being overweight or not, its about functionality.
OTOH, carrying the extra fat is a chore in itself. I like to run up and down hills. There's this very steep hill behind my house that became my daily challenge when I started getting back in shape. At first I could only walk up it, and I'd have to stop about half way up to rest. I progressively improved over the next few weeks to where I could sprint up it without stopping at all. At that point I'd lost 20 lbs. The hill was getting easier and easier. I'd have to run up and down that hill several times to work up a sweat.
Then I decided to make it harder by filling a rucksack with rocks and run up the hill with it. It was then that I realized I'd lost about the same amount of weight as what I had in my ruck. Made a whole lot of difference. I didn't have to stop on the way up the hill, because my heart could handle it, but the extra weight made me work so much harder. So in that respect, body fat ratio is important.

 

[JustJoe]

I was thinking the same thing. When I enlisted I was 6'3" 215. The Army said I was overweight and had that I "WOULD" lose the weight in basic. Well, I left basic at 225 and left jump school at 235. Of course, I performed over the requirements for the physical tests so they had no problems with my weight and nobody ever mentioned it.

Joe

Most of the push comes from insurance companies for BMI's. I was in the Army for fourteen years. I was involuntarily enrolled as a charter member of the "fat boy club". I was 6'1' and 225lbs. According to the insurance industry tables, I was to weight 197. I had to have a waiver every year when I was up for promotion. I ran 30 miles a week, and couldn't get away from it. Today I am 6'1" 245 and bulked up from lifting.

There are always exceptions to the rule, like you, Tamas.

By the way, my company is rolling out a new smoke cessation drug, that has the added benefit of weigh loss, without gaining it back....

Jack

 

[pants!]

It sounds so scary when you say that your body fat is a living thing growing on you and trying to kill you..

 

[alemaozinho]

what kind of exercise regiment do you suggest...........

 

[couta0938]

B.M.I's are a waste of time - keep them to glossy womens lifestyle magazines. They don't differentiate between body fat and muscle mass - and are therefore a poor indication of physical condition.

A lot of people here seem to be justifying being obese (and i'm talking about having excessive body fat here, not the results of a B.M.I). There is no justification in being obese at all - it isn't big (well, technically it is) and it isn't clever. Granted it is your choice on how you lead your lifestyle, but please don't try to justify it on here to make yourself feel better - on forums such as this everybody has the potential to influence somebody. It has been medically proven to have a lot of bearing on serious health issues such as heart disease - there is no getting away from this.

Much kudos and respect to everyone on here who has made the effort and beat themselves back into shape as fishoutawater has detailed in his above post. It takes a lot of guts (must stop these bad puns!) and motivation to achieve this, but it's something everyone can do.

Come on all you Divers, fight the flab... Better get a refill on that popcorn!
Andy

 

[ScubaThor]

what kind of exercise regiment do you suggest...........

Four words: "PUT THE FORK DOWN!"

 

[triciask]

I agree totally. At one point I was considering Bariatic Surgery, my BMI score what somewhere out in another solar system. And after talking with other professionals such as marine biologist etc. from other sites; they offered little to no advise except to say you're too heavy - scuba is not for you. BLAH BLAH BLAH!

Those little statements actually helped me... It pushed me into doing further research and spoke to my doctor, etc...and here I am getting ready to finally get certified.

I truly believe that if you know and are realistic about your personal limitations then there is nothing you cannot accomplish.

Best of luck to you, and safe diving!
Tricia

Thanks, mine was rhetorical question since I already know the answer to it. After all I am diving and still alive.......it just boggles the mind to see some 'professionals' out there blinded and forced by drug companies to label people based on a stupid number.

 

[pants!]

what kind of exercise regiment do you suggest...........

Eat Less, Exercise More.

Does it matter so much what exercise regiment you do? Not really, as long as you're exercising.

 

[ScubaThor]

Okay, here is the more constructive version: My doc recently suggested that it "wouldn't hurt" to drop 20 lbs (I'm 5'11", 220) and I took his advice. All I do is run three times a week and ride my bike on the weekend. Haven't really changed eating habits too much, but you'd be amazed how much of a difference even a little exercise makes.
Stepping off the soap box now. Where's that popcorn everyone keeps talking about??

 

[Heffey]

Originally Posted by DocDAT
Whilst a controversial issue, it is an important one. The risk of DCS is substantially higher in obese people. It may be one of the reasons why so many people get DCS even though their computers told them they were safe.

Originally Posted by Heffey
Where did you get this information?

This is a snippet off of the DAN web site.
“There is no strong body of evidence to suggest that overweight individuals have a greater risk of DCI or that they suffer more dive-related injuries that divers who are within 10 percent of their ideal body weight. Obesity by itself does not restrict diving.”

Originally Posted by DocDAT
http://www.scuba-doc.com/obesity.html

Well DAN may say that, but ask most doctors specialized in diving medicine what they think about obese people diving and they'll tell you the same thing. The extra body fat increases the nitrogen load. It's not only a fitness issue, but also how much body fat there is.

Thanks for the link.

I did some more research and did find a great deal of anecdotal evidence for the obesity and DCI connection.

When I see the kind of data these studies are dealing with I feel it would be impossible to ever sift out the “fit but fat” DCI hits from “unfit & fat” hits.

I think that the nitrogen loading characteristics of fat in its self is probably enough to make the connection between being obese and increased DCI risk.

I guess one shouldn’t base an opinion on one snippet of information, no matter what its source.
Thanks again,
Jeffrey