Introduction

I first met this lovely lady on Periscope. I remember stumbling upon her live scope of her church’s worship team practice, followed her on Periscope, and then started learning about her as she scoped about her story and some lessons she had learned. I instantly connected with her! She has such a sweet spirit and a joy about her that makes me smile every time I talk with her or read her content. She also has much wisdom and encouragement to share because of the experiences and struggles she faced. I am delighted to share this interview with you!

You can read her content and get a free audio guide on 3 Ways to Transform Your Body Image on her website, http://www.saraannapowers.com/, you can like her page on Facebook, and follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@SaraAnnaPowers).

Tell us a little about yourself. Who are you? What should we know about you?

“Hi there! I’m Sara Anna Powers. First and foremost, I’m a disciple of Jesus. I’m also a wellness coach, an attorney, a yoga instructor (RYT 200), and mom to the BEST cat named Lancelot. I am passionate about giving motivated women proven strategies to learn how to love their bodies right now so that they can shape the lives they desire.”

The Journey of Growth

What are some areas of your life that you feel you have grown the most in?

“The beautiful thing about growth is that it’s a constant process. We never stop growing and changing through life! I’ve seen the biggest growth in my life in my ability to be compassionate toward others. All of the tough times I’ve lived through have helped me develop this compassionate mindset. The more pain I’ve experienced, the more I’ve been able to empathize with others experiencing that same pain. I’ve seen enormous growth emotionally as I’ve made the decision to be non-judgmental. This was a HUGE shift for me, as I grew up being a bit of a goody-goody and judging those who were different from me. As I’ve grown spiritually, it has really become clear to me that my place is to love, not to judge. I’m so grateful for that shift because it has allowed my relationships to be much more authentic.”

What happened in your life to cause you to take serious action and intentionally take the journey of growth?

“Growing up, I looked like the “perfect” kid. I was a cheerleader, the valedictorian, the lead in the school play. I really looked like I had it all together. But inside I was hurting so badly. I was stressed out by the need to “be the best” at everything. I had placed so many unrealistic expectations on myself and I was struggling to live up to them. There’s nothing worse than disappointing yourself, right? The one area of my life that had consistently bothered me was my weight. I was actually a great size, but I wanted to be skinny like my girlfriends with super-high metabolisms and like the models I saw in magazines.

In 1999, while on a mission trip (of all things!) I developed anorexia–and the compliments I got from starving myself were truly astounding. I felt like I had finally found the answer to getting the attention I craved. Unfortunately, it required limiting my food intake so severely that I got down to 103 pounds (I’m 5’7″). I battled anorexia for four years before finally coming to the place where I was broken enough to beg God to heal me. As they say in AA, my life had become “unmanageable.” For me, I had to get to that place of brokenness to be willing to desire the serious spiritual and emotional growth necessary to recover from the eating disorder.”

Overcoming Obstacles

What was one of the biggest obstacles you face? How did you overcome it?

“One of the biggest obstacles I faced was my desire to please. I am someone who loves to make other people happy, and there were many times in my recovery journey that I felt like I was disappointing people. People will always have an opinion about what you should look like, what you should wear, what job you should take, which church you should attend, etc. I had to really focus in on where God was taking me and tune out all the other voices. This is not easy. It involves getting really quiet and still and allowing God to show you what He has for you. Sometimes what He’s telling you won’t make sense in the moment but it will become clearer as you follow His voice and his leading.

Also, I had to set really clear boundaries around relationships that were not helpful to my recovery. Certain people were not helpful to me in my recovery and I had to limit the time spent with them. They weren’t “bad” people, they just had their own struggles with weight, size, and shape, and so I had to become strong enough to recognize that being around them was holding me back. I didn’t necessarily drop the relationships completely, but I made sure that my time around those folks was limited and that I went into any interactions with my mind set on my own recovery.”

When were some of the hardest times to keep going? How did you push forward?

“My recovery story is a bit unique in that after I had been living in recovery from anorexia for a few years, I went the opposite direction and began binge eating. This was a reaction to loneliness, a lack of healthy, nurturing relationships in life, and a loss of a sense of purpose in my career and work. Rather than examine the difficult emotions I was feeling, I stuffed them down with food and alcohol. In a very short period of time, I binged my way up to 220 pounds. It was terrifying. My identity had been so tied to being small that when I looked at myself in the mirror, I almost couldn’t recognize my face.

While I know God didn’t desire for me to binge and damage my body in that way, He was so faithful to use that experience for my ultimate good (and for the good of the women I now coach). Once again, I had to become broken and to cry out for help to God. This time, I had a desire to see myself as God saw me. He was faithful to assure me that He created me and He already saw me as beautiful. I began praying to God that He would let me understand His love for me and make decisions about my body from that place of love. As I filled up my mind with the truth–that I was already loved, already valuable, already worthy, and I didn’t have to lose 50 pounds for life to get good again–I naturally began making healthier decisions for my body.”

Motivation

What is one of your biggest motivations today?

“One of my biggest motivations is to give hope to women who struggle with their body image, weight, size, and shape. I want them to know that it is possible to have complete FREEDOM from body obsession and to love yourself. When I was struggling with anorexia, I remember several women telling me that while I could definitely get my body healthy, I’d always struggle mentally with food and weight. And that so discouraged me because I would think, “Well, if I’m going to be obsessed about food, I might as well be skinny!” I would have given anything to have known that it was possible to have full freedom from my size obsession! I want to give that to women who are battling the same things that I battled for years.”

Advice

What advice or encouragement would you give to a younger you?

“First of all, I’d go up to her and just giver her the biggest hug!!! I’d look her in the eyes and tell her that she was absolutely gorgeous and that God has a very big plan for her life. I’d tell her to cling to Him and ask for His direction at every turn. I’d tell her to seek out life-giving relationships and friendships with other people who know and love Jesus and to make those relationships a priority. Most of all I’d tell her to ENJOY the love of God and bask in it daily.”

Resources

What resources have helped you in your growth?

“I am a big believer in therapy in the beginning stages of recovery. As a coach, there are times that I need to turn a potential client away because I can see that she needs therapy, not coaching. Therapy will really look at the past patterns of how you got to a particular place, whereas coaching is very forward-looking. Once someone is further along in the recovery process, coaching can be an excellent option. I worked with my own food coach after I was in recovery and she helped me stay centered on how I wanted to FEEL in my body and how specific food choices I would make affected my energy levels. I also work with a coach currently to keep myself moving forward in my business and life goals. That accountability is so valuable to me.

Books have also been incredibly helpful to me. I have my favorites available on my website at http://www.saraannapowers.com/tools (these are affiliate links, so if you purchase through them, I will get a small percentage of the sale). In particular, the book Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend was life-changing for me.”

Reaping the Benefits

What have been some of the most rewarding parts of your hard work?

“I could go on and on about this! Being able to share my story with women, to let them know that they are not alone, to give them hope and then watch them walk into the light of vibrant recovery–that is the most rewarding part of the work I do. My platform is a privilege and one that I take very seriously. I’m grateful every day to be able to watch my own struggles now be used for good in the lives of the women I coach individually, those who participate in my better body image course, and those who read my blog.”

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If you’ve found any kind of inspiration from hearing Sara Anna’s story, please share it and pass it along to spread the encouragement!

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