If you have read my story, you know that once I decided it was time to get healthy, I started to study like crazy. I devoured any information I could find about the correct ways to feed my body and to be healthy. As I searched for information online, I kept seeing ads for the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. (Of course, this was just good marketing, it is always a good idea to keep putting your product in front of the people who may be interested!)
I decided that I wanted to help people learn about food and nutrition, and that the best way to do that was to go back to school. I researched several different schools and soon realized that if I wanted to be a nutritionist or dietitian, I would spend 4 years and tens of thousands of dollars, and at the end I would end up with a job working in a hospital trying to decide what kid of formula to put in people’s feeding tubes. That is not what I wanted to do at all! I wanted to help people before they landed in the hospital or developed chronic, debilitating disease. I wanted to help desperate women like me who didn’t know how to wade through the muck of health information and misinformation out there to learn to be healthy and happy.
I didn’t know what to call it at the time, but I wanted to be a health coach!
One day I finally clicked on one of those IIN ads, and it didn’t take long to realize that this was exactly what I was looking for! Also, the teachers were a lineup of all of the nutrition experts who’s books I had already been studying, which made me confident in the content. I was sold! I talked it over with Marquis, and next thing I knew I was signed up, awaiting my first day.
The way IIN works is that you have your own login to your virtual classroom, and every Monday there is a new module full of content for you to learn. I soon discovered that for me, the best way to get through the information was to listen to the lectures early in the mornings while I was exercising, . This made it really easy to fit it into my day! I still had to take time to work in the workbook and take the quizzes/tests, but it was very doable. I was determined not to get behind and to complete each module in the week it was given to me, and I’m happy to say that I did it!
Every single week I had an eye-opening “aha” moment.
There was always something I needed to hear right then. There was also tons of business training, which was so helpful for someone like me who has never started a business.
One thing that really appealed to me about IIN is that at the 6 month mark you receive an interim certificate and can start practicing as a health coach. They don’t just preach nutrition to you, they want you to get out there helping people, so practicing and doing the work is part of the curriculum. In fact, they brag that some people even pay off their tuition before they graduate! That’s pretty amazing. I can’t tell you that I’ve paid off my tuition, but I can tell you that since the six month mark, I have been paying my tuition payments solely from my earnings as a health coach. What other school hands you a way to start paying the tuition back within just 6 months of starting? That’s a pretty awesome benefit!
Would I do this again? In a heartbeat. I won’t lie, it has been hard! I have fallen asleep at night reading my workbook and other school materials, I have listened to lectures in the car, and practiced health coaching consultations while my family was off having fun and doing activities I would have much rather been doing. But in the end, it has just taken a year of hard work to get me where I wanted to be. This has been one of the most worthwhile things I’ve done so far, and I know that the best is still yet to come!
I learned not only about nutrition, health coaching, and how to start a business, but I also learned how to be more happy. And who doesn’t want that?
I would love to share my health coaching programs with you. Shoot me an email at Emily@thatswhatieat.com and let’s set up a FREE Discovery Session. There is no obligation, I just love to talk to people about health and nutrition, and would love to help get you on the path to wellness!
If you feel like IIN might be the school for you, too, mention my name to them, they are running some great specials right now that will open up some awesome savings for you. You’re welcome!
Congrats! I’ve been wondering about them as I see their ads all the time. Great feedback!
Hi Emily,
I would like to know maybe just one or two of the books you studied before you began your classes at IIN.
I cant afford IIN right now and mainly just want to learn for myself and my family.
Thanks for your feedback,
Michelle
Michelle, good question! Here are a few I would recommend:
Integrative Nutrition by Joshua Rosenthal – this is written by the founder of IIN, so it’s a great introduction to what is taught there! It’s also part of the course materials, so if you buy this one, be prepared to get another copy when you are ready for IIN.
French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guilliano – This is one of the first books I read, and it is still one of my favorites! She is a wonderful storyteller, and it totally changes the way you view food, it’s fabulous.
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan – Really any of his books are fabulous, but this is the one I started with and the one I recommend all the time. It is just so great at explaining what food does to our bodies and how modern food is made.
I would also check out a couple of documentaries if you can. Hungry for Change is on Netflix and is a great one. I also recommend Fed Up, which you can rent through Amazon. I also recommend Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead, which I think you can also watch on Netflix. I don’t believe that juice fasts are actually as good for the body as this movie makes it seem, but the overall stories are really inspiring!
I hope that helps! Let me know when you are ready for more!
Hi Emily
I have been looking into this course for a while now…to be honest I was completely put off by the super aggressive marketing and excessive emails in my inbox which I eventually had to spam! – not a good start. Unfortunately it really gave me a bad feeling especially as it appeared that every time an ex student mentioned the school on their site, they were also marketing it very aggressively (a lot of them market IIN more than their own business on their business websites)!
This led me to do some investigating and it would appear that ex students are paid fairly well for signing up new students….are you able to disclose exactly how well they are paid?
(it did also lead me to discover a few other things that were not very “savoury”!)
A lot of the books that I have read are written by ex students so I am definitely interested in the course but it is a lot of money to shell out for a certificate that is not even really accredited on a program that is looking more and more like a “pyramid scheme” every day and where it is proving very difficult to get a really honest opinion.
Sorry if this sounds like I am “bashing” you…not at all, but you are not marketing it super aggressively so I get the feeling you are more interested in being a health coach than an IIN salesperson!
These are some great questions! I definitely don’t feel like you are bashing me. In fact, you have voiced many of the same concerns that I had as I was researching IIN. Yes, there is an affiliate program that students and graduates can participate in. While I’m not able to disclose the amount that we receive as affiliates, I can tell you that it’s pretty comparable to other affiliate programs for schools or employers.
Here’s my opinion on your concern. The type of people that are attracted to a school like IIN are the type of people who want to help people. Everyone I have been in association with from the school has been genuinely caring and wonderful. I take great pride in never recommending a product or service (or school!) on my site that I didn’t love, and that I wouldn’t recommend to close friends and family. Having met and associated with these people, they are all the same, they would never endorse something they didn’t love. Of course, there are always the exception to the rule and those who are just after money, but I believe the majority are very happy with their education.
As for me, I would tell you the same thing whether I was an affiliate or not. I am very glad that I went through the program, it was very worth it to me! I really needed the structure, and the confidence to do what I have done. Like you said, lots of great books out there were written by IIN grads, which tells you that there is some great learning going on there.
If you have any other questions, I’d love to answer them for you here, or you can email them to me at Emily@thatswhatieat.com. I am happy to help!