Too Fat to Dive? Hay Naku, Don't Be Stupid
You think because you have a belly you cannot dive? Sus. The ocean does not care about your size. I explain why heavy people make great divers, but you must understand the physics of the fat.
I was at the shop yesterday. Cleaning regulators. You know, the real work. Not playing with Facebook like the young dive masters do. A customer walks in. Big guy. Maybe 110 kilos. He looks at the wetsuits on the rack. He looks at the photos of the skinny models on the PADI posters. Then he looks at the door. He wants to leave.
I put down my wrench. I say, "Hoy, where are you going?"
He looks at his feet. "Tatay, I think I am too heavy for this. Maybe I just snorkel."
Sus maryosep. This makes my blood boil. Not at him. But at this industry. They show you pictures of people who look like they only eat lettuce. They make you think diving is for the gym rats.
Listen to Santiago. I have been diving since before you were born. I have seen bodybuilders sink like stones and panic. I have seen grandmothers with big bellies float like angels.
You think you are too fat to dive? No. You are just buoyant. There is a difference.
The Ocean Does Not Judge, It Only Floats
In the water, gravity is not the boss. Archimedes is the boss.
Here is the simple physics. Fat is lighter than water. Muscle is heavier than water. Bone is heavy.
If you are a big guy or girl with a lot of body fat, you are a natural life vest. You float. Hay naku, you float too well! This is not a disadvantage for swimming. It is only a challenge for getting down.
My skinny dive master, Rico? He has 4% body fat. He enters the water, he sinks. He shivers in 28-degree water because he has no insulation. He is like a stick.
But you? You have built-in neoprene. You stay warm. You float on the surface easily while waiting for the boat. This is good. The problem is only when we need to go down.
The Battle with the Lead
This is where the hard work comes in. Because fat floats, we must add lead weight to make you neutral.
If you weigh 100 kilos and much of it is belly, you might need 12, maybe 14 kilos of lead (depending on your wetsuit thickness and if you use an aluminum tank). This is heavy. On land, this sucks. Walking to the boat with a tank on your back and 14 kilos on your hips? It is terrible. Your knees will hurt. You will sweat.
But once you hit the water? Pfft. The weight disappears.
The mistake many instructors make, the lazy ones, is they guess your weight. They give you 8 kilos because they are lazy to carry more. Then you try to descend. You kick, you struggle, you cannot go down. You think, "I am bad at diving."
No. You are just under-weighted. You need more lead. Do not be shy to ask for a "weight check" before the dive. If the belt is too heavy for your hips, use a BCD with integrated weight pockets. Or use a harness. Distribute the load.
Don't let some 20-year-old instructor with a six-pack tell you 6 kilos is enough. If you float, you float. Physics does not lie.
The "Sausage" Problem: Wetsuits
This is the real headache. Rental gear.
Most dive shops in Asia, they buy gear for small people. Sizes XS, S, M, maybe one L. If you are big, they try to squeeze you into a suit that is too small.
I see it all the time. A big guy trying to pull a Size L wetsuit over a Size XXL belly. It looks like a longganisa (sausage) about to burst. It restricts your breathing. It makes you panic. If you cannot breathe because the neoprene is crushing your chest, you will use your air in 10 minutes.
My advice: Buy your own suit.
You don't need the fancy brand from America that costs $500. Go to a local tailor. Here in Batangas, or anywhere with a good dive industry, there are people who make custom suits. They measure your arms, your belly, your neck.
When the suit fits, you don't feel fat. You feel protected.
Comparison: Rental vs. Custom
| Feature | Rental Suit (The Sausage) | Custom Suit (The King) |
|---|---|---|
| Fit | Tight in the belly, long in the arms. Uncomfortable. | Fits your shape perfectly. |
| Breathing | Constricts chest. Increases air consumption. | Allows full lung expansion. Relaxed breathing. |
| Warmth | Water flushes through the loose neck seal. Cold. | Seals tight. Keeps body heat in. |
| Dignity | You look like you are fighting the suit. | You look like a professional. |
| Price | Free (but costs your happiness) | Investment (lasts years) |
Air Consumption Myths
People say, "Oh, big people breathe more air."
Sometimes true. Big lungs need more volume. Moving a big body through water takes more energy than moving a small stick. This is drag. Hydrodynamics.
But you know who uses the most air? Scared people. Stressed people. People who are fighting their buoyancy.
I have seen a 120-kilo man dive for 60 minutes on one tank. Why? Because he moves slow. He does not use those stupid split fins that flap around doing nothing. He uses stiff fins. One kick, glide for ten seconds. He is relaxed.
If you are heavy, you must be more efficient. Streamline your gear. Tuck in your gauges. Don't let your octopus drag on the coral (sus, I will smack you if I see that).
If you are relaxed, your size does not matter as much as your technique.
. The background is blurred blue water. The diver's wrist is thick, wearing a simple, rugged dive watch, not a computer.)
The Magic of Zero Gravity
This is why I want you to dive.
On land, gravity is cruel. If you are heavy, your ankles hurt. Your back hurts. Running is painful. The world tells you you are slow.
Underwater? Gravity is gone.
When you are neutrally buoyant, you are weightless. You can do a somersault. You can hover upside down. You can hang motionless next to a wall of coral.
I remember this one student, "Big Boy" Mike. Huge American guy. On the boat, he needed help to stand up with his tank. He was sweating, breathing hard. I was worried.
But we rolled backward into the water. We descended to 15 meters.
Suddenly, Mike was a ballerina. I am not joking. He had perfect trim. He moved with just a flick of his ankle. He looked like a Manatee. You know the Manatee? The Dugong? It is a fat animal. But look at it swim. It is the most graceful thing in the ocean.
Mike looked at me and signaled "OK". His eyes in the mask were smiling. For 45 minutes, he had no weight. No pain. Just flying.
That is why we dive.
Practical Tips from Tatay Santiago
If you are heavy and want to dive, listen to me.
- See the Doctor. I am a dive master, not a doctor. Carrying extra weight can sometimes mean high blood pressure or heart issues. Diving puts pressure on the heart. Before you book a course, fill out the medical form honestly. If you answer "YES" to the BMI or heart questions, go see a physician. Get the clearance. I want you to be safe, not sorry.
- Do not be ashamed of the weights. If you need 16 kilos, you take 16 kilos. Better to be slightly heavy and controlled than light and corking to the surface. A rapid ascent will kill you. Being heavy will just make you work a bit more on the ladder.
- Check your BCD Lift Capacity. Not all BCDs are the same. If you are big, you need a BCD with enough "lift" (usually 40lbs or more) to keep your head above water at the surface. Don't use a Travel Lite BCD meant for a child. Get a heavy-duty Ranger style or a wing.
- Get Stronger Legs. You don't need to run marathons. But you need to climb the boat ladder. Squats. Do squats. The ocean is weightless, but the boat ladder is not.
- Skip the Split Fins. I say this to everyone, but especially big guys. Split fins are for weak kicking. You need thrust to move your mass. Get a solid rubber fin. Jet Fins or Mares Quattros. Something that pushes water.
- Relax. The fish don't care if you have a six-pack. The shark is not looking for abs. The ocean is the only place where you can be light as a feather.
So, hay naku, stop looking at the magazines. Stop worrying about looking like a sausage in the rental suit. Buy your own gear, check your health, and get in the water.
The water is waiting. And it is the only place where we are all equal.
Just don't touch the coral, or I will close your tank valve myself.