Sarah Spann Overcomes an Eating Disorder to Inspire Others

Wow. Can I just say I never thought I would be able to type out a title like that, let alone read a title like that in A NEWSPAPER: “Sarah Spann Overcame Eating Disorder to Inspire Women“

The Tallahassee Democrat, a local newspaper, reached out to me and wanted to write an article on my story. I happily agreed, not realizing just how beneficial it would be personally for me.

See, sometimes I tend to forget the things in my past where God’s goodness has already shown to be true. And because of that, when new setbacks and trials come up, I get discouraged instead of remembering his faithfulness in the past to serve as encouragement in my present circumstance.

REFRAME SETBACKS AS OPPORTUNITIES

This was a line in my daily devotional this morning, the morning this article also came out. And I just smiled as I realized how needed this reminder was.

When you experience a setback, something that didn’t go as planned.. you can either allow it to drag you down, making you discouraged and possibly even leading down very destructive paths.

OR..

You can reframe it as an opportunity. An opportunity to allow God to work. An opportunity to see his power. An opportunity to see Him transform your setback into GOOD.

Seeing your setbacks as an opportunity, takes away the sting from the difficulty, the discouragement, or the pain you’re experiencing.

This has been a long awaited post I have been meaning to write for awhile now.

When first creating Fresh Fit N Healthy, I was embarrassed of my past. I tried to hide it. I pretended like I simply wanted to help girls and others out there live healthy because I liked cooking healthy and working out myself, not because I had been at such an unhealthy place myself at one time.

But then I realized my past setback could be used as an opportunity. An opportunity to help others.

For me, the years I struggled with an eating disorder were some of the most painful years of my life. I felt as if I were in the lowest valley.

It all began because I felt as if I had no control in my life, because of many things in my family going on that were out of my control. And because of that, I tried to control the one thing that I could: my food intake.

This led me down the very destructive path of an eating disorder.

I lost a lot of friendships. I lost the joy of living. I lost the freedom I was created to experience.

I pushed many people away. I got mad at God for all the many things occurring within my family at the time. I secluded myself and became obsessed with a need for control. Which turned into starving my body and almost making a game out of how little I could eat in a day.

I could go into SO much improvehearingnaturally synthroid more detail. I really could write a book on it all and my process through it all. But for the sake of this being a single post, I will include the greatest parts.

And if you all are still reading this post by now, and would like me to include more posts like this on my story, I will gladly do so <3

Thankfully I finally saw the light.

I finally came to the realization that I was destroying my body…& my life!

My mom, who never left my side, was someone I owe a lot to. Second to God, she was the one that helped me through this all and to find true recovery. She was probably seen as my worst enemy as I was going through it, as she would tell me the truth. She would tell me I looked terrible. That I was destroying my life. And make me eat when I screamed that I didn’t want to.

But it was her honesty and truth that saved me alongside of God’s grace and mercy.

It wasn’t over night, but day after day, I slowly found healing through the help of close people in my life, a dietitian, and most importantly, seeking God through time in His word and in prayer.

I had found TRUE recovery. I had rediscovered the joy I had lost. I had found FREEDOM.

 

 

God takes our ashes and gives us beauty. Isaiah 61:3

He will yet fill your mouth with laughter and your lips with shouts of joy. Job 8:21

 

I quickly realized where my passion was.

It was to help other out there struggling with similar issues.

To help prevent others from going through all that I went through.

To help others find true healing in their darkest times through sharing my own personal journey.

& Fresh Fit N Healthy was born.

Now, as I am on my way to become a registered dietitian after getting my Bachelors in Nutrition and becoming a Certified Personal Trainer..my hope is to do just that: help others.

If you are experiencing any type of setback right now, HAVE HOPE.

There is hope for you. God can help you overcome just like he helped me overcome. 

He can turn your darkest days into light. 

He can turn your tears into joy.

He can turn ashes into beauty.

He will turn broken things into blessed things.

He can take you from the lowest valley to the highest mountain top.

you can become #FreshFitNFREE

<3 xo, Sarah Grace

 

 

I hope this brief synopsis of my personal journey can help someone out there.