Well, for a bit of perspective from "that guy"...
Here's the first post I made on this board just recently
Unusual challenge. Significant weight loss with diving as goal. - ScubaBoard
I'm over 300 (way over) and in the process of coming down. It's a chore, that's to be sure, but definitely worth it. Diving has always been something that I've been intensely interested in doing and sort of use it as the 'carrot' I dangle out there for once I reach a certain fitness benchmark.
Obviously, individual fitness levels vary greatly. I'm a big fat guy in the "offensive lineman" sense- I can still do physical activities, but my stamina for extended stuff is lousy. There are guys who weigh less than I do who can hardly roll out of bed.
THANK YOU for posting this. It really serves as a wake up call. There is just no way in hell I'd consider for a second diving a 100' wreck, as a new diver in this sort of physical condition. No way, no how. One day I definitely will, but to do so as a severely overweight individual is well outside my own tolerance for risk and frankly, should be for anyone else in this sort of shape.
People really, really need to be objective about their own physical capacities when engaging in activities like diving, etc. There is absolutely no room for personal sensitivity or self-delusion when your life is on the line. While I'm not particularly sensitive about my weight- I joke about it myself- others are hypersensitive about their own obesity and unwilling to address it in the context of engaging in high risk physical activities (as if being obese isn't high risk enough...)
I think divemasters should be very forthright in speaking plainly and openly with overweight people when it comes to going on a dive like this. It's one thing to be making bubbles in a training pool, something else entirely to be 100' down in an open water environment. While it's up to everyone to make their own decisions, there are times and places where individuals are unable to make a cogent decision for themselves. In the case of severely obese individuals wanting to go on deep, open water dives, this may be one of those cases. While I personally may be objective and rational about my own weight situation, there's no doubt that many- if not most- people in my same shape are very much IRRATIONAL about it and refuse to acknowledge that certain, realistic limitations may apply.
This is many times more critical when dealing with new divers who are overweight or obese, as they may not have the slightest inkling that the weight/fitness thing is even a concern. It's entirely possible that through their training, they didn't encounter one single person along the way who had the balls to step up and respectfully address the fact that they should limit themselves to certain diving situations and as a result, they just don't know any better. If you as a divemaster are uncomfortable with speaking up, ask yourself which from the following two options you find less appealing: Risking hurting someones feelings or carrying their dead body to the surface?
Here's the first post I made on this board just recently
Unusual challenge. Significant weight loss with diving as goal. - ScubaBoard
I'm over 300 (way over) and in the process of coming down. It's a chore, that's to be sure, but definitely worth it. Diving has always been something that I've been intensely interested in doing and sort of use it as the 'carrot' I dangle out there for once I reach a certain fitness benchmark.
Obviously, individual fitness levels vary greatly. I'm a big fat guy in the "offensive lineman" sense- I can still do physical activities, but my stamina for extended stuff is lousy. There are guys who weigh less than I do who can hardly roll out of bed.
THANK YOU for posting this. It really serves as a wake up call. There is just no way in hell I'd consider for a second diving a 100' wreck, as a new diver in this sort of physical condition. No way, no how. One day I definitely will, but to do so as a severely overweight individual is well outside my own tolerance for risk and frankly, should be for anyone else in this sort of shape.
People really, really need to be objective about their own physical capacities when engaging in activities like diving, etc. There is absolutely no room for personal sensitivity or self-delusion when your life is on the line. While I'm not particularly sensitive about my weight- I joke about it myself- others are hypersensitive about their own obesity and unwilling to address it in the context of engaging in high risk physical activities (as if being obese isn't high risk enough...)
I think divemasters should be very forthright in speaking plainly and openly with overweight people when it comes to going on a dive like this. It's one thing to be making bubbles in a training pool, something else entirely to be 100' down in an open water environment. While it's up to everyone to make their own decisions, there are times and places where individuals are unable to make a cogent decision for themselves. In the case of severely obese individuals wanting to go on deep, open water dives, this may be one of those cases. While I personally may be objective and rational about my own weight situation, there's no doubt that many- if not most- people in my same shape are very much IRRATIONAL about it and refuse to acknowledge that certain, realistic limitations may apply.
This is many times more critical when dealing with new divers who are overweight or obese, as they may not have the slightest inkling that the weight/fitness thing is even a concern. It's entirely possible that through their training, they didn't encounter one single person along the way who had the balls to step up and respectfully address the fact that they should limit themselves to certain diving situations and as a result, they just don't know any better. If you as a divemaster are uncomfortable with speaking up, ask yourself which from the following two options you find less appealing: Risking hurting someones feelings or carrying their dead body to the surface?
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