Sorea Schmutz. Intuitive Eating Coach.

I was 16 when I was diagnosed with Bulimia. Growing up in a small town in the 1980s, there was no help, no language for what I was experiencing, and nobody to talk to. So I didn’t talk about it.

For years, the disordered thinking around food roared loudly in my head, very much overshadowing my life.

For decades, I kept searching for answers on my own, through books, podcasts, research, and a relentless drive to understand what was happening inside me. The physical symptoms eased at times, but the disordered thinking around food stayed. It wasn’t until my fifties that I finally discovered Intuitive Eating.

Something clicked. For the first time in my life, after more than thirty years of struggling, the way I thought about food finally made sense and slowly changed.

Sorea sitting in a wicker chair by the window, reflecting quietly

The journey

Recovery wasn’t a straight line, and it wasn’t quick. The black and white thinking around food began in my teens and followed me into my fifties. I had to trace things all the way back to childhood, to the food rules I grew up with, the negative body-image beliefs I absorbed without knowing it, the connection I’d lost with my own body somewhere along the way.

But I found my way through. And everything I learned, I learned because I lived it, every difficult decade of it.

Today I can honestly say I eat freely. I eat what I love. I listen to my body. And I no longer spend my days restricting or fighting food.

Why I coach

I spent more than thirty years fighting a battle that nobody around me could see. I often think: if I could have met someone like me when I was in my early twenties, my life would have looked very different.

That’s why I do this work.

I work with women who are exhausted from dieting, women who have tried everything and keep ending up back at square one, blaming themselves for something that was never their fault. I understand that place deeply. And I know there’s a way out.

My approach

I don’t give meal plans. I don’t count macros. I don’t tell you what you can and can’t eat.

What I do is help you understand your own relationship with food, where it came from, why it looks the way it does, and how to gently, practically begin to change it.

We work together to reconnect you with your own hunger and fullness signals. We explore your eating personality, because not everyone is the same, and your path to food freedom should fit you, not a programme.

And we do it at your pace, with full support every step of the way.

Real women. Real stories.

Anchen G

Op 59-jarige ouderdom het ek besluit ek is moeg vir diëte. Ek soek ’n alternatief, ’n volhoubare eetplan en leefstyl wat kosse insluit waarvan ek hou en wat fokus op my gesondheid. Ek het verskeie diëte gevolg na my laaste swangerskap. Met elke diët het ek my gewig verloor, want my kop is sterk. My groot probleem was lang naweke en vakansies. Dan het ek sommer lekker weggeval aan alle kosse wat verbode was tydens my diëte. Kos is vir my ’n “social event” en ek het meestal geët totdat ek oorvol was. Toe vertel Sorea my van “Intuitive Eating”. Jy eet waarvan jy hou, geen kossoorte word verbied nie en jy fokus op ’n gesonder liggaam. Geen meer kos “deprivation” nie. Na ons eerste sessie was ek skepties. My fokus was nou om te luister na my liggaam. Wanneer is ek honger en wanneer is ek vol, asook vir watter kos is ek lus. Nadat ek vir 1 week geluister het na my liggaam se behoeftes, het ek gewig verloor, en ek het geët waarvoor ek lus was. Die mees “amazingste” was: omdat ek kon eet waarvoor ek lus was, het ek outomaties minder geët en gesonder keuses gemaak. Vir ongeveer 10 weke het ek elke week gewig verloor sonder om te diët. Toe gaan ons vir 9 weke met vakansie. Waar ek altyd gewig opgetel het tydens vakansies, het ek nou gewig verloor. Dit was vir my die grootste bewys dat “Intuitive Eating” werk. Dis nou my nuwe leefstyl en so bevrydend. Ek sal Sorea 200% aanbeveel.

Read in English

At 59, I decided I was tired of diets. I was looking for a sustainable eating lifestyle that included foods I enjoy and focused on my health. I followed many diets after my last pregnancy, with every diet I lost weight, because my willpower is strong. But my problem was long weekends and holidays. I would indulge in all the forbidden foods. Then Sorea told me about Intuitive Eating. You eat what you enjoy, no food types are forbidden, and you focus on a healthier body. No more food deprivation. After just one week of listening to my body, I had lost weight and had eaten what I wanted, when I wanted. Because I could eat what I felt like, I automatically made healthier choices. For about 10 weeks I lost weight every week without dieting. Then we went on a 9-week holiday. Where I always gained weight on holiday, I now lost weight. That was the biggest proof that Intuitive Eating works. It is now my new lifestyle and so liberating. I recommend Sorea 200%.

Hanni C

Weight loss and healthy living are just about nailing down the perfect diet and exercise regime, with a lot of discipline and motivation thrown in. At least, that’s what I thought before starting my journey with Sorea. Over the course of our time together, Sorea coached me through so many different facets of not only food and health, but also through all the less obvious habits, beliefs, and noise surrounding food that actually carries so much more weight, pun intended, than the actual food itself. She has been a tremendous help in guiding me toward letting go of limiting beliefs around food, breaking historic coping mechanisms, and ultimately instilling in me a peace around what I eat that is so freeing. No more labelling right or wrong foods, counting calories, or cutting out food groups. Just mindful, balanced living that makes sense for my unique situation and my family. The way to food freedom is a much more intricate and nuanced path than I could have imagined. I cannot think of a better coach to walk this road with. Thank you Sorea for truly stepping each step to food freedom alongside me.

Ané B

Vir 7 weke het Sorea in my lewe ingestap en alles verander. Dit was nie net oor kos of ’n eetversteuring nie. Dit was oor my. Oor om myself weer te leer ken en lief te kry. Sy is die tipe persoon wat jou hand vashou sonder om los te laat. Sy loop saam met jou op die pad na genesing. Met haar kreatiwiteit en opregte hart laat sy jou glo dat healing moontlik is.

Read in English

For 7 weeks, Sorea stepped into my life and changed everything. It wasn’t just about food or an eating disorder. It was about me, about learning to know and love myself again. She’s the kind of person who holds your hand and doesn’t let go. She walks alongside you on the road to healing. With her creativity and genuine heart, she makes you believe that healing is possible.

A candid chat about intuitive eating

I sat down with Tamsin Haley on the Salt Dipped podcast for an honest conversation about dieting, food freedom, and learning to trust yourself around food. Pour yourself something warm and have a listen.

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