Photo: Matthew Stockman/Getty
Tom Daleyis opening up about his past struggles.
When a fan asked Daley if it was “fair to say youdeveloped an eating disorder” during the hardships he documented in his new memoirComing Up for Air, the athlete replied, “I used to make myself throw up, in 2012. I weigh myself every day. I’ve had a very strange relationship with food and my body image.”
“I guess it is a mild form of that,” he continued. “Men always seem to not have eating disorders, and it’shard to talk about it. But I would consider myself to be someone that has very much struggled with body image, and eating, and feeling guilty and shameful of the things that I eat.”
Tom Daley.Daniel Berehulak/Getty
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While answering a follow-up question, Daley said that he believes his body image issues stemmed from the pressures he felt at the time to excel at diving.
“I don’t think the body image issues come from anything to do with the media,” he shared. “My body image [issues] came from within my sport — it was hammered into me that I was overweight and needed to lose weight in order to perform.”
Daley also touched on the subject of body images issues when he was asked about his views on the “sexualization of athletes in sport.”
“You have these body issues as an athlete. Lots of people would look at athletes and be like: ‘What are you talking about? You’re an athlete, you’re in shape, you have nothing to worry about.’ But especially as a diver, you’re up on the diving board and you’re so naked, so visible, so it’s quite hard to be content with your body, because you always want to be better,” he explained.
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These days, Daley has found other outlets for a healthier lifestyle.
Asked what does a “bad day look like” for the Olympian, Daley said, “I need a lot of sleep and I like to eat, so if there’s no food in the house then I will definitely be slightly cranky. Working out, or just going for a walk, turns my mood around.”
He added thatknitting— something he was photographed doing on the sidelines at the Tokyo Olympics — helps him stay optimistic. He also enjoys hanging out with his 3-year-old sonRobert “Robbie” Ray, whom he shares with husbandDustin Lance Black.
“One bad day is a day in a week, in a month, in a year, in a whole career of things that have also gone really well. I try to acknowledge it and then move on,” Daley said. “In a competition, each dive is an independent event. You just have to be in the moment.”
If you or someone you know is battling an eating disorder, please contact the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA) at 1-800-931-2237 or go to NationalEatingDisorders.org.
source: people.com
