Hello and welcome!
My name is Sarah Kramer and I’ve been a registered nurse for 15 years and a coach for 5 years. I’m a mom to two girls, married to my high school sweetheart, live in the Midwest and have a natural love of caring for and helping others.
Why I do what I do:
I had an eating disorder as a teenager, which greatly affected my relationship with food, exercise, body image and mental health. Once I got the eating disorder under control, I began a decade of disordered eating and over-exercising. My views about my body were never positive and I was always chasing a number on the scale. Needless to say, that didn’t feel good. All the years of dieting took a toll on my mental health and exhausted me. Something had to change, and the change started with me.
That’s when I stopped dieting, obsessively weighing myself daily, trying to “burn off” what I ate, speaking aloud how negatively I felt about my body and started the healing process. It’s a process, yes. Years of dieting and negative body image don’t magically disappear overnight, but each day, your relationship with food, exercise and body image improve. When you decide to start undoing everything diet culture has taught, life starts to open up.
For the last year, my coaching business has shifted to fitness and intuitive eating, with body image tagging along (they’re all typically tied together). I am here to support, encourage, empower, motivate and educate you on how amazing it feels to no longer be obsessing about a number on the scale, eating “perfectly” or feeling guilty when workouts don’t go as planned.
My name is Sarah and I’m a diet culture dropout. Soon, you’ll be saying the same thing; let’s work TOGETHER!
What is intuitive eating?
Intuitive eating is going back to the basics of eating. You can learn more below.
Intuitive eating 101:
Intuitive eating is about making peace with food. What does that mean? Removing feelings of guilt, shame, anxiety or obligation around food. All foods serve a purpose: some nourish the body and others nourish the soul. Satisfaction, whether mental or physical, is a big part of intuitive eating. This is not a diet (you’ve heard that before, right?!); no, it’s really not. It is going back to the basics of how foods make you feel, particularly how foods feel in your body. You start tuning in, listening to and honoring your body and what sounds good or satisfying to you. Intuitive eating is ditching the mantra, “I should eat this” or “I shouldn’t eat that.” It may feel overwhelming, like anything new, at first. But, no longer dieting is going to feel so good. You will feel freedom around food, and know it is healthy and acceptable, to incorporate a variety of foods in your life.
Fitness:
What is the first word that comes to mind when I say, “Fitness, exercise or workout?” If you hate exercise, you’re doing it wrong. It’s true! I don’t believe anyone truly hates exercise, but what I do believe is this: if you say you don’t like to exercise, it’s probably because you haven’t found a type that works or brings joy for you. Many times, people are trying to mimic how someone else works out and it’s not a one size fits all kind of situation. Trying various forms of exercise can be a game changer. You don’t like running? Try walking instead. You don’t like lifting weights? Try bodyweight exercises instead. You don’t like stretching? Try a structured flexibility and mobility option like yoga instead. There’s always another option available. Sometimes, it takes a bit of trial and error to find what really lights you up and gets you excited to move your body.
Body image:
The way you feel about yourself is important. Having poor or negative body image can affect your whole life. The way you look at, speak about, feel toward and treat yourself should be positive and uplifting, not in a toxic way, but an empowering way. Unfortunately, many of us have struggled with poor body image at some point. Maybe it was due to environment, expectations placed on women, magazines, diet chatter or the obsession with being thin. What matters now, is the opportunity you have, to change it all. The way you speak to yourself when getting dressed, eliminating self-deprecating comments, weaning away from the scale, nourishing your body, celebrating what your body allows you to do and appreciating your unique self. You don’t have to like what your body looks like, but you can learn to respect and appreciate it.
Thank you for supporting my small business and my passion.
We all deserve to enjoy food, move our body in ways that feel good and appreciate the body we have.
~Sarah Kramer, registered nurse and fitness & intuitive eating coach
© 2022 Sarah Kramer, fitness & intuitive eating coach
