Let’s Break The Rule

Although I was never diagnosed with an eating disorder—to be fair, I never went to see a doctor about my issues—I’ve been very open about my own experiences with disordered eating as a young, post-collegiate athlete. It’s a taboo topic of discussion for so many, but I’m glad to see more athletes speaking up and sharing their stories—especially males.

“Though eating disorders are almost definitely more prevalent among women, they are thought to be underdiagnosed among men,” Nora Caplan-Bricker wrote recently for Outside magazine. “Guy East, a cyclist who struggled with anorexia and bulimia, said that on his teams, the mentality was, “We’re men, we don’t have any problems.” Even though East knew many of his friends were going through the same thing as he was, the unstated rule was, “You can’t discuss it.”

Well, it’s time to break that unstated rule. Let’s discuss it. If you’re a male and don’t know where to start, just reply to this email and I’ll do what I can to kick off the conversation.

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A version of this post first appeared in the morning shakeout, my weekly email newsletter covering running, writing, media and other topics that interest me. If you’d like for it to land in your inbox first thing on Tuesday mornings, subscribe here.