KUSA — It's not just women who struggle with eating disorders -- men can, and often do, face the same challenges.
Studies show more women struggle with eating disorders than men, but about one-third of those affected are men.
“It is very difficult in this day in age to have what they consider a woman's disease. It is stigmatizing and sometimes looked at as shaming,” said Ovidio Bermudez, chief clinical information officer at Eating Recovery Center.
The reality is, 40 percent of those who suffer from binge eating are men. This disorder includes rapid eating until you feel uncomfortable and eating when you're not hungry, which often results in guilt and shame.
It's often developed earlier in life, which is true for my story.
As a child I struggled with weight loss. Growing up, food wasn't nourishment. It was a reward. I was overweight in elementary school and by third grade, I weighed well over 150 pounds.
I got heavier in middle school, and as I entered high school, I weighed in at over 300 pounds.
My appearance didn’t tell my entire truth. I was happy, friendly and social on the outside, but inside, that was not my reality.
“Having an eating disorder as a man is no different than depression or anxiety,” Bermudez said.
Although depression was not an issue for me, I did struggle with self-esteem issues.
“For both men and women, eating disorders are a serious mental illness with a high mortality rate,” Bermudez said
My parents tried everything to help me lose the weight. My first diet was as early as second grade. I even gave sports a try, but that did not work either.
After years of failed attempts, I decided to embark on a different journey -- one many have taken.
Gastric Sleeve and Gastric Bypass are two procedures Dr. Michael Snyder has performed a countless number of times. A person's Body Mass Index (BMI) determines which option will work best for them.
“If your BMI is 35 to 40 (+), the chances of you losing weight over five years is about 1-3 percent, and that's why people talk to me and we start about interventional options,” Snyder said.
In the summer of 2008, I spent six months taking nutrition classes to get me prepared for Gastric Bypass, a procedure that would change my life by helping eliminate the medical issues I was beginning to have.
Some of those included sleep apnea, hypertension, diabetes and major joint pain.
On Nov. 19, 2008, I went into surgery weighing 435 pounds. Over the next two years, I lost more than 200 pounds. I've maintained the weight loss, but it hasn't been easy.
“Living with it long term is work," said Snyder. "Everyone who maintains weight loss has to do activity it's not essential for bariatric success, but it is for maintenance of weight loss.”