Welcome to The Gut Clinic
The Gut Clinic is located in Warners Bay, NSW at 7/478 The Esplanade.
We are located in the Bay Arcade (nearest Brown Sugar) between 4Cyte Pathology and Adams Cafe.
Depending on the day and time, parking can be challenging. Please allow extra time. We do have a lovely waiting room if you come early to have a seat and relax.
Meet Sara
Hi, I’m Sara.
Owner and Naturopath of The Gut Clinic
I want to welcome you and reassure you that you are in the right place.
Like many of you, before I became a qualified naturopath and counsellor, I suffered from gut health and weight issues that had been with me off and on for most of my life.
Gut Health
My mother tells me I was constipated from 6 months of age, and I suffered reoccurring tonsilitis all through primary school. As a young woman at college, I would have one bowel movement a week and suffer terrible bloating with a rock-hard stomach. I would avoid parties because I never knew when my gut would play up. If I do go out, I could be doubled up in pain or vomiting for hours simply from eating. It wasn’t until 2002 that I was diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and told by my doctor to take some laxatives and relax!
I felt lost – like I’d been dropped off at the end of a long road all by myself and told to find my own way back. It was such a helpless and hopeless moment in my life.
I began working with a naturopath, learning how my diet and mindset, along with herbal tonics were integral to my gut health. I learnt my triggers (foods, stress, poor sleep) and finally felt in control of my health.
Healthy Weight
My weight was not a major issue for me until my late 40s when hormones started to change. Before that, I restricted my food intake and did a bit of exercise and I could usually shift the weight. I did try Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Light & Easy, fasting, macro counting, calorie deficit, and a few others that I have forgotten. Most of these worked. But over time, I tended to resume my less-than-ideal eating and movement patterns, and the weight would slowly creep back on.
Once I hit my late 40s though, everything changed. I felt like no matter what I did the weight would not shift, at times it felt that dieting caused me to put on weight. And I was putting on weight mainly around my tummy, ie visceral fat. With a strong cardiovascular risk in my family, this was pretty scary. Something needed to change, I needed a new approach that not only allowed me to release the weight but to keep it off.
The Metabolic Balance method is what changed everything for me - it gave me the answers and the results.
A bit of history for you:
I worked in insurance for 19 years…
I fell into insurance after University as I had studied but was no longer interested in joining the medical field. I enjoyed the technical aspects of my various insurance roles. I was often complimented on my ability to make complicated or unknown topics easy to understand. I was, and still am, very client-focused, which served me well.
Although I was successful and challenged, I was deeply unsatisfied and highly stressed. The values of the job and the companies I worked for were at odds with my own and I struggled to enjoy my life including my kids and my husband. Once I learnt that stress was such a significant factor in my gut (and mental) health, I simply had to re-evaluate my career.
I quit my job to study naturopathy full time, making up lost time with my two beautiful kids, falling in love with my husband again, rediscovering who I was and finding a new tribe. I took some time to heal and redirect my energy and focus. I was incredibly and thoroughly happy, for the first time in a very long time.
I adore what I do for a living. In my clinic, I strive to give women a space to feel safe, heard and supported. I love to dive into technical journals and research and translate this to simple healing protocols unique to each of my valued clients.
“My goal is to give people with gut and weight issues options - they can do so much with the right foods and get amazing results with herbs and nutrition.”
As a naturopath and health coach, I want to know all about you so that I can create an individualised treatment plan which may include:
Individualised herbal tonics- seriously my favourite part of my job. And the results are amazing!
Supplements (including vitamins and minerals)
Individualised and personalised dietary recommendations
Lifestyle prescriptions – exercise, counselling, stress management
Referrals for specialised testing (as required)
Because YOU are the driver of your health, all of these treatments are optional, you decide how you want to proceed.
Natural medicine is amazing, and holistic and can usually still be taken alongside any current prescription you may have (be sure to inform me).