I lost body weight. How to determine new weight needs?

[drbill]

One rule of thumb we use is 10% of body weight plus about 7 lbs if diving in a 7mm full wetsuit.

 

[Nathan Doty]

That's a lot of weight.... I weigh 170, dive with 6lbs.

But it's all guessing. 25lhs of fat or 25 of muscle or somewhere in between is going to affect things. Go get v wet

 

[Esprise Me]

That's a lot of weight.... I weigh 170, dive with 6lbs.

In a 7mm?

I weigh 165 and the rule of thumb I heard was 10% body weight plus 4 lb. (in salt water with a 7mm and AL-80); 20 lb. does indeed work for me. With a steel tank I can go down to 16 lb. With a thinner wetsuit I can do a lot less.

 

[Nathan Doty]

In a 7mm?

I weigh 165 and the rule of thumb I heard was 10% body weight plus 4 lb. (in salt water with a 7mm and AL-80); 20 lb. does indeed work for me. With a steel tank I can go down to 16 lb. With a thinner wetsuit I can do a lot less.

Good lord are you trying to kill me? I live in Florida! And I spent most my life in Wyoming. I've done 1 dive in a 3mm shorty, every other time I dive in long speedos and an undergear stretch shirt as a rash guard, and generally cant wait to get below the warm water level. Steel 72 +8 lbs (forgot about a trim weight). I'm planing on trying 6 total next trip.

20 lbs to me is a LOT of weight, don't know how you guys do it

 

[Esprise Me]

I would never try to kill a Florida man; yours are the only headlines I can read anymore without wanting to drink myself into a stupor!

Seriously though, I assumed you were responding to drbill's post, but I realize now the OP never said what his exposure protection was. I guess I heard 17 lb. and just assumed he was wearing a comparable amount of neoprene. Let's hope all that lead wasn't for a shorty!

 

[SRQ Bill]

Thanks everyone. Warm water so no wetsuit. I’ll be sure to carry small increments of weight to drop.

 

[Nathan Doty]

I would never try to kill a Florida man; yours are the only headlines I can read anymore without wanting to drink myself into a stupor!

Seriously though, I assumed you were responding to drbill's post, but I realize now the OP never said what his exposure protection was. I guess I heard 17 lb. and just assumed he was wearing a comparable amount of neoprene. Let's hope all that lead wasn't for a shorty!

I moved here 3 years ago, got ow the 1st year. So story time. My class is 6 teenage boys, 1 13 year old girl z a 72 year old woman, and 1 other grown man who we'll call... a floater. And that was before the 7mm full suit. He's my assigned dive buddy.

I don't know how much lead he ended up with on the checkout dive, but he physically could not get any more in the bc, and the boat was out of loaner lead and belts by the time he finally got down. His first dive was less 5 minutes, he never switched to his snorkle and burned the tank trying to sink.


Unrelated but I recently found the Florida man meme. Florida man, the world's worst super hero. You read all the crazy headlines as stories about 1 bad super hero. Its hilarious. That crazy Florida man got caught streaking at Disney.... again.

 

[SandyRobinson]

On your next dive take your normal weight - 12 pounds on your belt or BC and a 2 and 3 #er each on a clip and attached to D-rings. During your safety stop, play around with removing the weights - give to a buddy or attach to a down line.

Good luck and congrats on the weight loss.