Episode Details

My name is Sarah Lacey and I am an emotional regulation coach, CBT Counsellor in the NHS and an award-winning Nutritionist. My ultimate driver is to show women how to de-stress their way to weight loss and supercharge energy and self-esteem, minimizing emotional eating and other forms of self-sabotage which can affect work, productivity and relationships. The results I get are both transformative and sustainable.

In this my first ever podcast (eek!) I share a bits about my life, my struggles with weight loss, mental health and how I became a coach, doing what I love.

I share why my approach to weight loss and well-being means an end to dieting for good and is an open door to food and mood freedom.

As a Psychotherapist for over 18 years I know the impact thoughts and emotions have on our behaviours (eating and beyond) and that is why I combined my psychological expertise with nutrition coaching to provide the missing expert input that PTs (and most other Nutritionists) do not possess. My training and experience means that I can offer therapeutic input to quash unhelpful thoughts, sensations and behaviours to optimise an individual's mental, emotional and physical health.

I spent my early twenties making poor food choices and undereating, or opted for all the quick weight loss 'fixes', if there was a fat burner on offer I was there! Overtraining? 100%. Emotional eating - all. the. time. I had been able to mask my unhealthy relationship with my body and with food right up to when I became pregnant for the first time, but from then on all the cracks started to show. I could not regulate myself due to feeling pretty bloody traumatised after my eldest son's birth, the adjustment reaction was very real and I spiralled into the exhaustion funnel and full on anxiety and depression...then came Graves disease with Hyperthyroid Eye Disease. By this point I was very overweight, my self-esteem was in bits all the while I was breastfeeding and back working all over Northern Ireland as an NHS CBT Practitioner. It was cr-ay-zee!

So eventually I realised that I was caught in a vicious cycle of learned self-helplessness and that, actually, I DID have the power to control my life choices, and definitely my eating habits! I did it for me first and foremost but I also wanted to be a healthier and happier version of me for my boys and my family and friends. It was a slower than anticipated process but with the support of my coach I dropped 55lbs and achieved confidence in my body and my strength of character. I was able to continue to breastfeed my sons, work multiple jobs and beat anxiety, depression and Grave's disease.

I realised that no other PTs or qualified nutritionists were placing emotional regulation and behaviour change as a primary focus for weight loss and I knew that with my 18 years mental health experience that I could combine it and nutrition coaching to make lasting mental and physical changes in womens' lives.

So for the next few years I became qualified as a Nutritionist before founding Nourish & Nurture in March 2020 (fab timing, right?).

How I can support you:

- Food & Mood Freedom Academy my 90 day course teaching individuals all the nutrition, mood and mindset hacks they need to optimize their health and well-being. www.emotionalregulationcoaching.com

- Macros, Mood & Mindset Reset: my intensive 1:1 90 day Mentoring package.

- Seminars: in person and online. I have been asked to host education and wellness seminars in the local community, in local gyms and I am a regular guest speaker for the fabulous Matt Boyles, the UK's leading GBTQ+ health and fitness coach.

I am determined to help as many individuals as possible to lose unwanted weight, beat emotional eating and supercharge their self-esteem by prioritizing their mental health in order to