IN™ is a year long, online Health Coach training program with a curriculum that encompasses not only dietary theories, but also working with clients and running a business.
What really appealed to me about this program was that the school focuses on what food you’re putting in your body, at the basic level, but takes a very holistic approach to health. The “unique nutrition philosophy takes a holistic approach to wellness and encourages students to consider relationships, work, exercise, and spirituality as essential to building good health” (source). This is 100% in line with my personal beliefs on health: it’s very all-encompassing. Someone can be eating all the right things but still be completely unhealthy.
Enrolling at IIN was something I had thought about for a really long time – I think well over a year. Through various healthy living blogs, I’ve heard great things about the program from its graduates. At the end of the day, it always came back to the financial aspect that held me back. Thanks to my friend Jessica, I secured a really fantastic deal on the enrollment fee. I had wanted to do this for so long that I knew it was the right decision for me, and with a good discout, I knew that I couldn’t say no any longer.
Over the holidays, I went through some of the fundamentals lectures, and classes officially began on January 14. I’ve learned about many dietary theories already and now we’re starting to talk about the first interactions with potential clients, known as the health history. Last week, I took my first of four tests required for graduation, and passed with flying colors! Yeah!
IIN is a lot of work and they are not shy about emphasizing that fact in the initial stages of the curriculum. It varies per week how many hours I devote to studying and various IIN work, but I would say at the bare minimum, it is three hours a week. Like anything in life, though, I know I’ll get out of this experience what I put in to it, so I’ve also been spending time doing extra learning in the vast research library they offer students.
One of the biggest questions people ask is what I want to do with this certification once I’m done. To be completely honest, I’m not sure yet, beyond the fact that it’s something I’d like to do on the side, and keep my current job. I have a lot of ideas and dreams, but I’ve still got over nine months left in the program, so those dreams might look completely different. I don’t want to shut any doors by setting my sights on one particular thing. I do know that I have no plans to jump right into starting my own health coaching business full-time. I’m not sure that’s something I ever aspire to.
Although I’m only about a quarter of the way through the program, I am absolutely loving my experiences with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition thus far. I think that once it’s all said and done, I will be a great Health Coach. Wherever this path takes me, I hope to positively impact the lives of so many people.
If you have questions about IIN and my experiences thus far, I would love to hear from you! I also need to do a minimum of six health histories over the next few months, so if you want to be a guinea pig for that, let me know. Leave a comment or shoot me an email at Mindy @ justaonegirlrevolution DOT com