My story

Hi, I am Sarah. I currently live in Perth, Western Australia but I grew up in Malaysia - a place with beautiful food, cultures and people. Food has been a big part of life and my culture. I always enjoyed delicious food and have interest in how nutrition is key to good health. Hence, I became a dietitian.

Throughout my life, my health has not always been the best. So, I need to be more careful about my health, more than what seems normal. With poor blood circulation and hormonal issues, I struggled with temperature changes, energy swings and eating habits. Hence in the past, I tried different diets and ways to lose weight. It resonated when I hear people say ‘I seem to put on weight just like that!’. I was not happy with my body and felt very inadequate. I was strict with my diet and exercised compulsively, in order to stay in ‘shape’. Then, I developed mental health issues due to a variety of life stressors. This made it harder to navigate wellness because it meant a lot of situations were outside of my control. What ‘worked’ in the past, did not anymore. I could not control my eating habits and I felt guilty, terrible and disappointed with myself. As a dietitian who struggled with disordered eating in the past, I can tell you that ‘knowing’ is one thing, ‘doing’ is another!

Thankfully, over time I recognised that my body image perspective was skewed, my relationship with food and self is destructive, and that it took away my sense of enjoyment, peace and confidence. To change took courage and commitment to myself: to choose a better way, to choose to love myself again, to strengthen my inner being, so that I can enjoy all that life has to offer.

I am so grateful for the different forms of support I have received from people. Now, I embrace my natural size and shape, place more value on who I am, am more compassionate with myself, and daily choose courage, authentic-living and wholeheartedness as my core values. Without reaching out and getting the support I need, the journey would have been nearly too difficult to embark. I do not wish mental health issues or disordered eating on people but it has broaden my soul, opened my eyes to different perspectives, help me relate to others better, and help me appreciate how beautiful life can be.

Dietitian and eating disorder recovery coach

I have worked in the areas of private practice, corporate, disability and aged care. My interests has been in metabolic health, public health nutrition and eating disorders.

Clients I have worked with has had unique health situations, high-stress careers, as well as eating disorders. I have provided tailored approaches together with their professional and personal support network.

With my own experience of disordered eating, metabolic and mental health issues, just as I have received support, I want to help real people in everyday situations, to journey towards wellbeing and/or overcome from disordered eating.