A successful CEO at an oil and gas company, David Beckermert talks about his struggle with bulimia
David Beckwermert was known as a successful businessman, being the CEO and President of a billion-dollar Calgary oil and gas company. His family life was idyllic, with a long-term marriage and 3 children, but he was hiding a painful secret.
Berckwermert has suffered from bulimia for most of his adult life. He admitted to purging up to 10 times a day, feeling out of control and powerless.
"I'd overeat, then go to the bathroom and puke. I didn't think about it any more than I did washing my hands or brushing my teeth," he says in an interview (The Vancouver Sun, 2007).
He began bulimic behavior when he was in university. A job at a logging camp became available and he jumped at the opportunity. What he didn’t anticipate was the abundance of good food that a college life of Kraft dinner and noodles denied him.
But because his mother was overweight, he knew he didn’t want to gain weight. Thus began his dangerous dance with bulimia, which lasted for many years to come.
He would now like to lessen his job as an executive and send more energy helping others with eating disorders and emotional eating issues.
