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When Patrick Jones checked into an Arizona facility for eating disorders in early 2016 for a 30-day treatment, he did not give the physical impression of someone who suffered from an abnormal relationship with food. In fact, Jones looked like the epitome of health and wellness - which is not surprising, considering that he has operated his own Stamford-based independent personal training business since 2003.
But while Jones' appearance offered no outward clue of a problem, his internal condition had been suffering for 15 years from an endless binge-and-purge cycle.
"On a scale of 1 to 10, I was at a 10," he said. "I would train a client in a gym and then I would go eat at a restaurant, binge and purge, and then go back to another client. And then repeat. All day long. Sometimes eight times in an hour."
And the food that Jones consumed and then immediately expelled ran the gamut from nutritionally vital to unapologetically unhealthy. "It was any food," he continued. "I binged on broccoli. Broccoli! It's crazy. I have a vivid memory coming home and having a binge on whatever is available, whether it was the kids' food or turkey breasts."