Main Menu
Join Undercurrent on Facebook

The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 | |
For Divers since 1975
The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975
"Best of the Web: scuba tips no other
source dares to publish" -- Forbes
X
April 2003 Vol. 29, No. 4   RSS Feed for Undercurrent Issues
What's this?

Slow Burn

from the April, 2003 issue of Undercurrent   Subscribe Now

Travel on liveaboards like the Dancer and you'll be greeted with more food than you would ever serve yourself at home. If you eat the early Continental breakfast, then three full meals, enjoy the soups and desserts, have a couple of drinks before dinner and wine with it, and nibble on the onboard snacks like cookies between dives, you could easily partake in a 4,000, maybe even a 5,000-calorie day.

But ah, you say, look at all those calories you burn diving. If you're like most sport divers, you probably think you burn something like 600 to 900 a dive.

So why is it that many divers, after these trips, write to Undercurrent that they actually gained weight on the trip? Because burning that 600-900 calories on a dive is wishful thinking.

Dr. Jolie Bookspan, the author of Diving Physiology in Plain English told Undercurrent that a diver "burns the same number of calories diving as doing any other light exercise." And, she adds, "it's a myth that exposure to cold water burns more. This had been explored some years ago in a study where obese women pedaled stationary bicycles in very cold pools. Beside being unpopular, it didn't work."

Think about an easy dive on coral reef like a walk in the park. If you weigh 200 lbs., you'll be lucky to burn 200 calories an hour. Dive five times a day, eat up, and go home five pounds heavier.

I want to get all the stories! Tell me how I can become an Undercurrent Online Member and get online access to all the articles of Undercurrent as well as thousands of first hand reports on dive operations world-wide


Find in  

| Home | Online Members Area | My Account | Login | Join |
| Travel Index | Dive Resort & Liveaboard Reviews | Featured Reports | Recent Issues | Back Issues |
| Dive Gear Index | Health/Safety Index | Environment & Misc. Index | Seasonal Planner | Blogs | Free Articles | Book Picks | News |
| Special Offers | RSS | FAQ | About Us | Contact Us | Links |

Copyright © 1996-2024 Undercurrent (www.undercurrent.org)
3020 Bridgeway, Ste 102, Sausalito, Ca 94965
All rights reserved.

cd