Testimonials and praise

one-on-one coaching testimonials:

“I only ever thought I’d be happy once I was skinny. I truly believed that I would only find complete happiness and contentment once my body looked a certain way. I was so wrong because, in working with Sara, I have found that happiness and contentment exist in me regardless of the size of my body. I was completely entrenched in diet culture and had tried all the fads. Of course they worked at first because they all do, but it was always going on and off diets, trying the new one, starving myself in 10 different ways just to find that happiness in achieving a certain body size and even when I got there, wanting to be smaller and smaller and never being satisfied—should have been my first clue that none of this was sustainable. Sitting down in our first session, I told Sara my current weight, where I’d like to eventually be, how many Weight Watchers Points I was currently eating a day and how often I was bingeing. She politely nodded and patiently listened to all my diet culture jargon and never once said “stop doing that,” “get off WW,” “Don’t weigh yourself!” - at the end of our session she helped me brainstorm three small tiny steps I could take to start having a more neutral relationship with food and my body (put a towel over the mirror, give me an idea of your relationship and feelings around your food, fill out a goals form). Over the next 6 months, in engaging with Sara in session and out, she gradually, 3 small goals at a time, helped me tear down the rigidity of diet culture and realize that happiness will never be found in the size of my body (see: even when I was small I wanted to be smaller!). Food, exercise, clothing sizes, etc used to shape every aspect of my life and add a level of underlying stress to every situation I was in. Sara helped me let all that go and remove a layer of stress that really just has no business being there for anyone. She took this looming monster that was always in the corner of my mind and finally made it go away. She changed my life and she will change yours too.”

-Janice M

“I stumbled upon Sara’s profile on instagram at a time when I was completely swallowed by my eating disorder. She was the first coach I saw on the media that really resonated with me, although my page was almost exclusively showing me recovery content at the time, since I was so lost and desperate to find something that would help me. I was lucky to arrive on her profile at a time when she was offering a free masterclass. When I watched it, I just felt that there was something different about her, that she could be trusted and that she would help me so much if I started working with her. I started actively following her account, but was still too scared to reach out to her. That’s when she did, and asked me what had brought me to her account, and I will be forever grateful she did so, because it literally changed my life. I told her everything that had been going on for me about my ED, which I had never done with anyone else before. She was immediately so helpful, and I started working with her for a 1:1 6-month coaching program. I stopped bingeing and purging completely in only three months, which had seemed so impossible to me before starting to work with her. I literally got my life back, working on self compassion, self-love, and the ability to trust my body again, which is especially tricky in ED recovery. She never forced me to do anything, but only showed me the way on a path that would have made me turn around well before arriving at the destination if I had attempted doing it alone. As a perfectionist and high achiever, I was also putting a lot of pressure on myself to “successfully recover,” so she was also there to remind me to take things one step at a time, and to be proud of myself and of what I was accomplishing. On this journey, I also learned a lot about fatphobia and the fat liberation movement, which I wasn’t really aware of before, and which is now something I strive to fight for, and that also helped me give a greater meaning to my recovery: actively resisting diet culture and refusing to let it control my life by proudly being recovered in an environment that praises EDs: The ballet industry. Altogether, working with Sara changed my life on so many levels: getting back my energy to be the healthiest I’ve been in years, getting back my brain which doesn’t think about food or my body 24/7, getting back all the small moments of life that were taken away by my ED and that I can now fully enjoy: family dinners, nights out with my friends, reading a book at a coffee shop with a latte instead of black coffee (AND a pastry!), workouts focused on how I feel rather than how I look, rest… and I am forever grateful for all of it. I would recommend working with Sara to anyone that struggles with an eating disorder who knows that they truly want to recover, but are scared or don’t know where to start, and altogether to anyone who wants to improve their relationship with food, their body, and learn to eat, move, rest, live intuitively. “

-Sido L

Working with Sara has been essential in creating so much positive change in my life. Her guidance and coaching have made the difference between my disordered eating controlling me, and ME feeling in control of managing my disordered eating, and my anxiety food-related symptoms have started to occur less frequently. Sara has transformed my vocabulary to create a safer environment around food. After 5 months with her my hunger cues have only grown, and so has my peace. I’m making more conscious choices, feeling more confident in my skin and enjoying food more! Her gentle encouraging voice has replaced the harsh one that existed within me before. Working with Sara has been the ultimate act of self-love I could give myself. Thank you, Sara, for giving me the foundation to build that self-love further! From the bottom of my heart… I was so emotional writing this to show how sincerely grateful I am. Thank you, Sara, for all you do. Your impact on not just me, will last for generations that come after you. I could not have gotten this far without you! I can only imagine the blessings that will come from the positive work you put into the world!

-Alicia H

“I highly recommend Sara Vander Zwaag as a Holistic Health Coach. Not only will she support you as you seek to improve your relationship with eating, but she will also connect your concerns to your life in general. Working with her is a form of therapy. Gently and thoughtfully, Sara will help you learn about yourself and your relationship with food, and in doing this, steer you towards thinking in a creative, new way about your health.  She taught me how to eat to minimize physical issues stemming from psoriatic arthritis and diverticulitis, through specific food choices and lifestyle changes. After each session, she sent me a summary of our meeting, so that I had time to understand and implement these positive changes in my life. In a typical session with Sara, she would excitedly tell me what I could add to my cereal, my salad, my dinner, to improve nutrition and taste. These were “Aha!” moments that have stuck with me. It is a wonderful thing to feel emboldened in your life choices and to understand your motivations. It is wonderful to feel relief from both physical and emotional issues. I highly recommend Sara in every way.  She is thoughtful and kind, listens closely to thoughts and concerns and is a fount of helpful information and support. I will forever be appreciative of Sara’s guidance and expertise.”

-Emmy V

“Working with Sara felt like a big mom hug. I immediately felt safe in her space. Her warmth & compassion instantly put me at ease, and I felt secure sharing my struggles with food and body image. Sara listened to me. She asked thought-provoking questions that allowed me to view my thoughts and patterns from a different perspective. She offered guidance when needed, but also deeply understood the power of a moment and allowing me to simply sit with, and absorb the discussion. Sara is nothing short of incredible and I highly recommend working with her every time you have the opportunity to do so.”

-Erin

“Sara is compassionate and deeply knowledgeable. Her ability to facilitate reflection and guide me through my own fears related to food and stress was poignant, and she guided me on this journey with both clarity and care. Sara goes above and beyond as a health coach. Not only did she adapt our coaching sessions based on my needs or feelings within a given day, but she was always there to answer any questions and provide me with recommendations when I needed insight. Sara takes an inquiry stance, which helped me to do the same for myself—by doing so, I’ve become more free to try new things without blaming or shaming my body. Sara was able to help me work toward my goals of greater stress-management, improved digestion, and food freedom by helping me to better understand the mind-body connection. She provided me a space to try out and process new tools for stress reduction as well as new eating habits. The biggest tangible change I have noticed since beginning the program is that I have a much more flexible and less restrictive diet, and I feel more comfortable trying out new foods without the fear that they will negatively impact my digestion. Another significant overall change I have noticed has been that I am now much more able to confidently listen to my body and seek out what I need in order to feel better and be closer to my healthiest self. I would recommend Sara to anyone who wants to reinvigorate their mind-body connection, as well as to anyone who struggles with stress-management or perfectionism. She helped me to understand that my eating habits and digestion patterns are deeply tied to my emotions and past life events. With her guidance, you will be able to better listen to your body and restore your connection to self.”

-Casey M

“I can personally attest that Sara approaches health coaching from a holistic, embracing, non-judgmental, and loving place. She focuses on wellness with attention to your wellbeing on the whole, steering far from diet culture, guiding you to nourish your body, mind, and soul. With patience she listens and is ready to help you. Before I had a session with Sara I had no idea my emotional experiences were soooooo connected to my physical health. Sara will hold the space for you to figure it all out. She's friendly, approachable, funny, and she recommends tasty food.”

-Mallory B

“Sara helped me work towards my goals of greater nourishment, connection, and routine by providing helpful suggestions and things to pay attention to. She gave support and non-judgment when I didn’t follow my routines, as well as encouraged exploration of why that happened–this included the acknowledgment and integration of my inner child who rebels against structure. Sara also helped me focus my attention on the physical, bodily level as well as connecting my emotions and mental functions, which overall helped to create more awareness and connection to my body! The biggest tangible change I have noticed since beginning the program has been that shift in my awareness and how it has rippled out into my habits, behaviors and overall wholeness of self. The greatest gift and surprise has been the connection to my own body and physical sensations that have come about in our work together. It has brought a whole new level of awareness, nourishment and connection that I never even knew was possible before this work. All of this has had the overall effect of a much stronger and more intimate connection to my body and my root center. That stronger connection has in turn helped me to nurture and nourish myself more on a physical level by bringing in more movement, joy and pleasure, and knowledge. Sara is supportive, nourishing, intelligent, firm and fun! She creates a safe space to explore a range of different topics relating to the body, emotions, past experiences and patterns in a way that feels encouraging and light, even when things can get heavy. Her reminders to bring back joy, fun and pleasure really helped me to shift my perspective on how I was approaching my body, and that has made such a big difference in how I’m eating and relating to my body now! I would recommend working with Sara to anyone who is struggling to establish a new relationship and vitality with their body, health and wellness!”

-Kelsay M

Group coaching testimonials:

“Sara, as a person, is extremely passionate, eloquent, and compassionate about her work. It is evident that she knows what she’s talking about because she has lived it. She speaks of her continuing process as one of recovery. She is the perfect coach. Beyond teaching me new ways to consider the broad vocabulary around health, dieting, etc… that permeates our culture and subconscious minds, Sara helped me grow exponentially in my self-compassion. I chose to work with Sara during the pandemic while I also leaned into the support of my one on one therapist and occasional group therapy.  I found it tremendously supportive to combine all three. They were some of the most stressful and lonely times of my life to date. It became evident for me during all of this work that my relationship “with food” was NOT really my relationship with food, but rather, my relationship with my whole self, which includes my body, and my ability to self-nurture. Before working with Sara, it had never really occurred to me that what I called “binge eating” or “emotional eating” could be looked at in a different light. It never occurred to me that I could get so stressed out that I literally could not digest food. In our group coaching sessions, we shared so intimately.  Through the exchange of these week-to-week adventures with self-talk, beloved clothes no longer fitting,  self-image, and our views/desires towards food, I grew to understand that there is no normal around any of it. Furthermore, that the “morality” of how/when/what we eat is false. It's truly been a revolution to have women around me, guided by Sara as coach, to entrain new abilities and help me unravel so much pain around food and body. I am forever grateful. Now, I am more in the habit of speaking to myself kinder than I ever could have or would have previously. Finally, I was able to treat my body as the precious one that she is. Finally. Thank you so much Sara!  No one before you had delivered your viewpoints. You have instilled the new ability to talk to myself like I talk to my best friend. No one had pointed out to me that the way I was thinking/talking to myself was abusive. And Sara helped me, and everyone in our group coaching, unlearn years of painful thoughts that resulted in painful eating and non-eating habits. I am forever changed.”

-Alejandra M

“Sara’s Foundations Group Coaching was so much more than I had expected. I joined wanting to get a clearer understanding of intuitive eating, and what I ended up receiving was a total transformation within. Not only did I gain a deep understanding of intuitive eating and vision of my personal relationship with food, I also gained insight and a wider perspective. Through our group work, and with Sara’s gentle support I found myself nurturing a part within that I didn’t know needed healing. Working with Sara has been such a treasured gift. She is a soft and warm place to land when the dismal outside (and sometimes internal) worlds seem to be working against us. Sara is a phenomenal healer and a powerful leader who brings a wealth of wisdom and expertise. This allows her to meet you right where you are. If you are on the fence about signing onto her programs or 1:1 - this is your message from the universe. I highly, whole heartedly recommend working with Sara as a Coach.”

-Adrienne H

“Sara's guidance has been transformative in helping me accept my body, let go of restrictive food rules, and enjoy food without shame. I'm truly grateful for her expertise and supportive approach, which has made a significant difference in my life. I highly recommend her to anyone seeking a healthier and more positive relationship with food and their body. Thank you!”

-Jackie M

“I started group health coaching with Sara because I struggled with my body image, resulting in restrictive eating and a problematic relationship with exercise. I was weighing myself every day, counting calories, and treating exercise as a transaction with eating. At one point using noom, I was only eating 1,200 calories a day. I knew I was unhappy and wanted something to change, but felt alone in wanting to stop dieting and criticizing my body. That's why I was immediately interested in the group health coaching option--I wanted to meet other people who might feel the same way. From the start, I knew Foundations was going to be different from anything I'd experienced before. Even the intake questions at the beginning were reflective and showed that Sara was truly interested in us as whole people. This carried throughout the whole program, as Sara checked in with us before classes and between via text. The classes were a great mix of lessons, discussion, and writing prompts. The writing prompts were a huge part of reframing my previous mindsets about my body and food. It strengthened my mind-body connection, and helped dispel external messages about my body from social media, diet culture, and fatphobia. Of course, I also loved the other clients in my group. It was such a safe space. I felt supported, and no longer alone. I started noticing progress big and small right away. I was honoring my hunger cues without guilt. There was so much more room in my life when I didn't have to count calories or make sure I was avoiding "bad" foods. I could cook and order at restaurants and fully enjoy the experience, without immediately regretting my choices or kicking myself over them the next day. The longer journey is repairing my relationship with my body image. As a self-described perfectionist, my first instinct was that I needed to be happy with my body no matter what. But in Foundations, I've learned that it's okay to not "love" your body all the time. Thanks to Sara, I'm getting closer to a neutral image of my body, and appreciating everything about my body--what she can do, where she's been, and how she's gotten me to where I am today. Overall, I would highly recommend Foundations to anyone and everyone. I wish I'd had something like this when I was younger. Sara helped me step back and look at my holistic health--more than just my physical health. I now have a better understanding of my needs and how to honor them.”

-Audrey F

“Sara has made such a huge impact in my life and I am forever grateful. I have been longing to feel pretty and comfortable in my body again for so many years, and I finally feel it!! I know that I have a long way to go, but Sara has given me the tools, positive feedback, support and love that pushed me to see that it’s okay to be in this body, my body. Her [my body] and I have been through some hell and she never once gave up on me but I gave up on her…several times. And that is not fair at all! I have accepted that this is me and I have so much love to give and what the f*ck does it matter what my weight is when my heart is so full??!! It doesn’t matter and I am so ready to continue this journey, this life that I am so happy with. I cannot thank Sara enough!”

-Melissa H

“If you’re interested in learning about Intuitive Eating or just looking to work on your own relationship with food/body, I cannot recommend Sara’s group coaching enough! The 6 months I spent in conversation and reflection with 3 other amazing women was transformative!”

-Danielle E

“I signed up for group coaching because I am someone who does really well with accountability in a group setting. Hear me out: I went in thinking I needed to be held accountable to “following rules,” whatever those were. But what I was actually held accountable to was feeding myself, forgiving myself, loving myself. And that was hard. I am so glad that I had others going through it with me. We all had our own battles to fight and wins to share, but we were fighting them with a cheering squad. I participated in two rounds—one leading up to my wedding and the second leading up to the birth of my child. What I was able to do by the end of each was love myself in my skin, and also forgive myself when I had a hard time loving myself. I came for the structure, but I stayed for the freedom. I don’t think about anything other than “does this feel right” and “what do I WANT” and “what will support me right now” when I think about food, movement, and my body. My life is forever better.”

-Lindsey L