Am I the only fat diver on earth?

[Foo]

My teen and I are both size 12/14 and this sport has been the best thing that has happened for either of us in terms of self-confidence. We have a Mares 3/2 full suit and a Bare 3/2 in the plus size. We also have a Henderson skin and a Comp skin that are both very comfortable and roomy. The Henderson skins and Trilams have an amazing amount of stretch. I did get a 7mm Harvey off ebay in size XL that is tooooo small, presumably because it is so thick?

 

[Bob3]

When I was just starting out there was a guy affectionately called * Popeye * who is by no means slim by his own admission...

Hmmm... Some of the guys on my crew used to call me "Bluto".
I don't wear a bikini either, & the last time I weighed 150 lbs was gradeschool.

 

[Mrs Mares]

thanks everyone. i've decided to lose this extra floatation once and for all.
Chantana are you referring to your inconsiderate hubby?
No but seriously, I weigh 110lb, but still experience all the same emotions that you do, I think that nearly all women have a problem with either being too big, or not having big enough boobs or maybe thinking that their bottom is too big. It is something that we learn from a very young age from our mothers or other female relatives. Please try and be positive about all you can achieve, and stop this cycle repeating itself by teaching your children to love themselves no matter what their size. Above all have fun, stay healthy and enjoy life.

 

[jrmcw]

I wanted to say thanks for this thread. During my certification class, I was using the rental suit from the dive school. They asked me what size I wore and I told them (haha - 22, find THAT in a wetsuit!) and the guy looks at me like, "Um, no you're not, try this one". So I wore their XL Xcel suit. Which I think has been stretched to be more like an XXL suit. It was tight at my arms, though, and left my left arm with a nice black and blue mark.

I've been trying to find a woman's suit that I can fit into, as the guys suits are TOO long for where I'm at right now. But, I'm working on losing weight (have lost about 35lb since end of Jan), and I didn't want to buy a custom suit because I *am* still loosing weight.

I was thinking that just snagging a guy's suit and using it for a bit might be the best route to go until I get closer to my goal weight. Then, I'm all for the Henderson suit!

Thank you for posting this. I too am in the same boat. I can't find a suit that fits good, and I don't want to spend the cash while I am losing weight. I am hoping that I can buy a guys large 7mm and then give it to my husband. The hard part is that you can't tell from the charts what will work. I am 5'7, 190lbs, but I wear a 12/14...what does this translate into for wet suits?

BTW...I used to be slim.. (ok, I would love to be a size 8 again, which I consider slim) when I first starting diving (before my break from diving and adding on 55lbs) I never looked at other diver's weight. I just wanted to have fun and learn from more experienced divers. I always felt conscious becuase I was a new diver, and I could tell that some people did not want to dive around me before we dove together for the first time. Because of my experience, I don't really care if I am big, just if I am improving my skills and having a good time.

Good luck with the continued success. Thanks for letting me rant.

Great job on losing 35 lbs!

 

[bsquyres]

Thank you for posting this. I too am in the same boat. I can't find a suit that fits good, and I don't want to spend the cash while I am losing weight. I am hoping that I can buy a guys large 7mm and then give it to my husband. The hard part is that you can't tell from the charts what will work. I am 5'7, 190lbs, but I wear a 12/14...what does this translate into for wet suits?

We are pretty much the same...only I am a little shorter (about 1/4") and I am a size 16 (14 is a little too tight). I hesitated buying a wet suit when I started because I wanted to loose weight. Unfortunately, I only lost about 7 lbs, but it doesn't bother me. Anyway, My hiusband pointed out that wetsuits do stetch, so I ended up buying a O'neil 3 mm full and a 2mm shorty, both size 16. They fit great and I would probably be able to wear them both even if I dropped 10 more pounds. I don't think buying a men's wetsuit would be a good idea unless you are close to flat chested (I'm not), you would probably be uncomfortable -- it would be too big in one place, too small in another, and too long overall. Recently I bought my husband a Bare 3/2 mm full and he loves it. I tried on the 16 womens and it also fit. Bare actually has a wide range of sizes and their charts give dimentions, they are also very reasonably priced. It wouldn't hurt to look at some of theirs. By the way, Bare has a trade in program right now...give them an old wetsuit and they will discount one of theirs ($30 off a 3mm full).

B

:dazzler1:

 

[Sue-ba]

This is my experience...

At 14 I thought I was fat because I weighed 2 pounds more than my best friend ( I weighed 102 lbs). At 30, I wished I still was only as fat as I was at 14. At 36, I wished I was still only as fat as I was at 30 (I had a hypothyroid episode). At 40, I lost some of that thyroid weight after treatment, and now, I look in the mirror and am just thankful that I don't weigh as much as I did at 36.

I like what I see. It seems to be easier to keep the weight off now that I do. I have broken the cycle of, "I hate what I see, therefore, I eat."

Even so, I would never wear a bikini. :11: I have even been known to wear a shorty, long-john type "work-out" thingy under my suit. I was covered from my shoulders to my knees. I got a lot of compliments on that get up and everyone asked me where I got it.

 

[galactica2001]

This is my experience...

At 14 I thought I was fat because I weighed 2 pounds more than my best friend ( I weighed 102 lbs). At 30, I wished I still was only as fat as I was at 14. At 36, I wished I was still only as fat as I was at 30 (I had a hypothyroid episode). At 40, I lost some of that thyroid weight after treatment, and now, I look in the mirror and am just thankful that I don't weigh as much as I did at 36.

I like what I see. It seems to be easier to keep the weight off now that I do. I have broken the cycle of, "I hate what I see, therefore, I eat."

Even so, I would never wear a bikini. :11: I have even been known to wear a shorty, long-john type "work-out" thingy under my suit. I was covered from my shoulders to my knees. I got a lot of compliments on that get up and everyone asked me where I got it.

:05: It's great to hear a woman say she likes what she sees. I really admire that.
I can't say that for myself yet, but maybe in time... :14:
I wear bikini, though. For the spite of it. I like wearing it. And maybe I'm just a little wicked and want to do what I please even if that means violating beauty rules.
But still...congrat on the body image. I wish I could say that for myself as well...

 

[EricJ]

I'm a big guy, and I find that before the first dive DM's always think I'll need to be wearing more weight. I had one DM double the weight in my BC before a dive without telling me. I should have checked the weight myself, but I ended up diving way too heavy. The DM claimed he worried I wouldn't be able to descend. He never bothered to ask how much experience I had or how much weight I wore on other dives.

Another misconception I run into is that because I'm big I must suck air. Big people CAN be in shape (and relaxed which is probably a bigger factor in air consumption). I have a bit of a belly, but I'm an open-water distance swimmer and am VERY relaxed in the water. I'm always happy to have a DM pay a little extra attention to me, but I find they are frequently suprised when they see that NO I didn't suck their precious tank dry; In fact, I came up with 1000 PSI .