After every bite of food, Paul Sikora sets down his fork. A binge eater in recovery, Sikora has been almost killed by his compulsion 15 times, and it cost him his career as an executive chef. “I ate food to celebrate, and I ate food to medicate,” said Sikora, 56. The specifics of Sikora’s tale are unique, yet he is one of many.
More and more men are seeking help for eating disorders, said Tamara Pryor, clinical director of the Eating Disorder Center of Denver.
“There has really been a shift in the culture,” she said. “There is a little less shame and a little more willingness for men to come forward and seek help.”
The number of male patients seeking help has increased steadily since 2005, Pryor said. Men account for 25 percent of all people with a binge-eating disorder, she said.
In 2007, the National Institute of Mental Health estimated there are three females with eating disorders for every male patient, compared with the historically cited ratio of 9 to 1.
“For older patients, there usually is a very significant cause to seek treatment, such as a traumatic event,” Pryor said.
Sikora said he has had body-image issues since his youth, which were heightened by an addictive personality, always trading one compulsion for another.
“There was alcohol and drugs,” he said, “but there were some good compulsions too, like working to become a great chef.”
Sikora said he needed help and wasn’t ashamed or scared to admit it.
“You have to do what you have to do,” he said. “Who (cares) what others think?”
Sikora does not weigh himself unless he is at the doctor, because he doesn’t want to be identified by a number or allow the figure to influence his feelings about himself.
Since he began cooking at 17, being a chef was all Sikora said he wanted to do with his life.
But his disorder has resulted in a heart arrhythmia. In 2006, he had a pacemaker and defibrillator implanted that causes him to pass out every time it shocks his heart. In 2010, he passed out 10 times. Last year, it happened five times. A few times, he passed out at work.
“They were afraid I was going to fall onto a knife or fall into the fire. They had to let me go because of the liability,” he said. “That was a really sad day.”
In treatment, Sikora said he learned to dine, not eat.
“I learned to take my time, chew, enjoy it — things I watched people do all my life as a chef,” he said. “Ironic.”
Eating Disorder Center psychiatrist Dr. Mike Rollin said the most determined patients are the most successful in recovery.
“They are the ones who can remember the times that really pushed their buttons and remember their commitment to themselves and their recovery,” Rollin said.
The practices Sikora learned at the clinic help him in recovery today, he said.
“I set my fork down after every bite,” he said, “and there is always conversation around the table.”
Ryan Parker: 303-954-2409, rparker@denverpost.com or
