Fifty Shades of Fat — And Why It Helped Me Swim the English Channel
- Deniz Kayadelen
- Jun 24
- 3 min read
I’m honored to be featured in a powerful German article(DER SPIEGEL) titled „Fifty Shades of Fett – und nicht alle sind böse“ (“Fifty Shades of Fat – and Not All Are Evil”), which dives deep into the science of body fat — and how it can be both life-saving and empowering.
For most of my life as a performance and extreme swimmer, I tried to be as lean as possible. But when I set my sights on swimming the English Channel, I had to rethink everything I believed about fat.
Cold Was My Greatest Fear
At 21, I had a traumatic experience during a cold open-water race. I lost orientation, passed out from hypothermia, and woke up in the hospital under an electric blanket. For years, I couldn’t even take cold showers.
But something inside me refused to let go of my dream. I had always admired Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to cross the Channel, and promised myself I would follow in her footsteps, fear and all.
From Fear to Flow
That promise led me not only to confront my fear of cold but to master it.
Today, I’m a six-time world champion in ice swimming, a Guinness World Record holder for the highest-altitude ice swim in the Himalayas, and a passionate advocate for turning fear into flow.
Why was fat essential?
When I trained for my solo Channel crossing in 2023 (after doing it first as part of a relay team in 2019), I knew I had to gain weight — about 7 kilograms — to help my body withstand the cold. No wetsuit is allowed. Just a swimsuit and cap. The only protection? Fat.
I jokingly called it my “Channel belly.” But there was nothing accidental about it — I ate intentionally, focused on foods like salmon, which are rich in healthy fats. And it worked. I felt stronger, more resilient, and more connected to my body than ever before.
Fat is not the enemy. It’s a survival strategy
What the Science Says
The article explains something I’ve learned firsthand: fat is not just something to lose or hide. It acts as insulation, fuel, and even produces hormones critical to metabolism and immune function. There are different types of fat in the body:
White fat stores energy.
Brown fat burns energy to generate heat.
Beige fat adapts and transforms based on cold exposure or training.
It turns out that embracing my body — and giving it what it needed — was the very thing that made it possible to conquer my greatest challenge.
Fat Carries Memory, Trauma — and Power
Fat has a memory. It can hold onto trauma, but also offers strength, transformation, and purpose. It’s plastic, adaptable, and essential — especially for endurance athletes facing extreme conditions.
Swimming the English Channel took me over 15 hours. It was brutal, beautiful, and deeply transformative. Four years earlier, I would have been trembling the entire time. But now, I’ve conditioned both mind and body to handle extremes — because transformation isn’t just physical. It’s psychological, emotional, and even spiritual.
Want to go deeper?
I created a coaching booklet to help you unlock your Peak Flow — mentally and physically. Get it here
You can also book a free 1:1 coaching clarity call with me — no pressure, just presence, purpose, and a plan. Book your FREE session here
Watch or listen to my podcast “Out of Comfort Zone” on Spotify and YouTube, where I dive into stories of resilience, flow, and peak performance.
And if you haven’t yet read my bestselling book Out of Comfort Zone, you can get your copy here — filled with tools and stories to help you step into your highest potential.
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