NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans Saints linebacker Michael Mauti became so fearful of food in recent years that even the thought of a holiday dinner gave him high anxiety.
Not wanting to cut short an NFL career that began in 2013, Mauti tried to manage — with medication and diet adjustments — the ulcerative colitis that was destroying part of his digestive tract. But the excruciating pain and mental anguish he came to associate with eating made a pro football physique hard to maintain, and his weight dropped to 190 pounds, more than 40 pounds lighter than his target weight.