This is a guest post by our blog team member, Amy, who recently graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition! We are super proud of her accomplishment and thought others might be interested in her story (including what she plans to do with her brand new Holistic Health Coach certification). A big congrats to Amy!
Amy’s Story
I have had a fairly contentious relationship with food for much of my life. As a child I was overweight and ate a lot of standard American junk food. As a teenager, I would often hear, “You have such a pretty face” which only left me wondering what was so bad about the rest of me. I went on a “doctor” supervised diet my sophomore year in high school which led to rapid weight loss as well as to boyfriends, which I had never really had before. And so began a 15 year struggle with various eating disorders; anorexia, bulimia, and compulsive exercise, which culminated with a stay in a treatment center when I was 28. While there, I interacted with many young girls not far from death who had so much to offer this world, but all their energy, creativity, and life-force was going toward this one thing…as was mine. At that point, I knew that I needed to heal my relationship with food so I could one day help others heal theirs.
In my thirties, I finally realized that food was not the enemy, but I was focused very much on eating no or low fat. During this time, I also became a wife and a mom. I was now feeding a family, and convenience was “king.” Then came my forties when I began to really take notice that much of what I was eating was leaving me feeling listless, foggy, bloated, and nauseous, and my younger son had also developed a problem with eczema. I realized how terribly disconnected we had become from the food that we were eating everyday. I knew it was time to transform my family’s eating habits.
Throughout my years of research, the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) (sample the course here) would often pop up on my radar. It always intrigued me, but I already had a graduate degree in telecommunications and didn’t think I could, as a mom, ever find the energy to go back to school or change my career. However, a deep desire to help others end their struggles with food and find a path to wellness, coupled with a bit of serendipity (a job with 100 Days of Real Food and a conversation with a successful local health coach), helped me decide to take the plunge. Fast forward barely a year later, and I am an IIN graduate!
Getting Started With IIN
While finding myself a student again was a bit daunting, it was evident from the arrival of the beautiful welcome package, that IIN was committed to helping me be successful. My tuition covered everything I would need. The first few weeks were about getting acclimated, and I found myself anxiously awaiting the more pithy content. That content quickly came in the form of week-long modules (lectures, video, and powerpoint) which covered:
- Holistic Wellness
- Bio-Individuality
- Primary Foods (Achieving Balance)
- Whole Foods
- 150+ Dietary Theories
- Food Politics
- Cooking Basics
- Coaching Skills
- All Aspects Of Setting Up A Business And Launching A Meaningful Career
The first half of the program consisted of nutrition education, and the second half was business training. Once the ball was rolling, school simply became a part of my routine, and with the flexibility the course offers I never had any trouble fitting it in or meeting the requirements. IIN’s comprehensive resources, library, templates, and marketing materials eliminated so much of the creative guess work I would have had to have done on my own, which equated to a huge time savings!
In a nutshell, IIN is a flexible, online year-long program that provides holistic nutrition education and business training. There are no prerequisites required and you end up with a national certification and college credits.
Accomplishments By Graduation
As with most things in life, you get out of it about as much as you are willing to put into it – so for me, IIN’s program was satisfying and enriching from start to finish. In the space of one year, I became a Certified Holistic Health Coach and started a coaching business, Spunky Avocado, with my business partner as well as a beautifully functioning website and blog. IIN was there to help me every step of the way, providing support and even hand holding whenever and wherever it was needed. One of their tag lines is: “Could one conversation change your life?” Well, I can honestly say that it certainly changed mine. If you have any interest in a career in holistic health and wellness or if you just want to gain the wisdom for yourself and your family, I highly recommend the Institute For Integrative Nutrition.
Special IIN Offer
Update: Although this deal has expired, if you speak with IIN we suggest you mention 100 Days of Real Food and ask if there are any current promotions you might be able to take advantage of. It doesn’t hurt to ask!
Layered Jar Salad Recipe
On a another note, the other half of Spunky Avocado (Niki) and I are delivering our favorite mason jar salad to a friend who recently had her third baby. We figure she could use a break. This salad packs a nutritious punch and a lot of great flavor. We thought we would share it with you, too. Enjoy!
Southwestern Barbecue Grilled Veggie Mason Jar Salad
Amy recently graduated from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition! We are super proud of her accomplishment and thought others might be interested in her story
Ingredients
- 1 cup salsa, (this is the bottom layer)
- 1 avocado, chopped (the salsa acidity will keep it fresh)
- 1/2 cup cilantro, loosely packed
- 1/2 cup red onion, chopped, and grilled
- 1/4 cup yellow bell pepper, chopped, and grilled
- 1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped, and grilled
- 1/4 cup orange bell pepper, chopped, and grilled
- 1/2 cup corn, cut fresh from cob and grilled
- 1/2 cup black beans, rinsed and drained
- 3/4 cup brown rice, seasoned with a squeeze of lime
- 4-5 cups romaine lettuce, chopped (this is the top layer)
Instructions
Grilling
- To grill corn in the husk: Soak in water for a few minutes before placing husks directly on a medium heated grill. Turn the corn a few times to assure that one side does not get too charred. Then remove corn from direct heat - off to the side or to a top rack. Close the grill and allow it to continue to cook for 15 minutes. After the corn cools, remove the kernels from the cob with a sharp paring knife.
- To grill onions and peppers: Quarter onions (removing the smaller pieces) and peppers (removing the ribs and seeds). Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and lightly season with sea salt. Grill until they begin to char on both sides.
Assembly
- Layer the ingredients as listed from bottom to top in a jar. Serve immediately or store in a refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Tips
- You can add and subtract layers to this salad. You can also simplify it by not using grilled ingredients (though you should try this version at least once).
- I make big batches of these and other grilled veggies and freeze what I do not need immediately. They are great to have on hand for adding a lot of flavor to countless dishes.
Recipe Notes
We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
Nutrition Facts
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What size jar-it looks bigger than quart size in the picture.
Yumm
Hi,
HI! Thanks for posting this article. I want to go back to school for a degree in holistic nutrition and I’ve been overwhelmed by the number of schools out there but I keep coming back to IIN. How many hours a week did you put into your studies including class time and studying? I am a mother of 2 so I need to know what I am getting my self into for time management purposes. Also after completing your education at IIN, do you have clients that you work with? If so, how did you get your name out to get those clients. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Hi Libby. I would say that on average I would read, listen to lectures/modules, research, etc about 4-6 hours a week. It is very individualized. My business partner and I went through IIN together so that was helpful as far as keeping us both on task. :) We do have coaching clients and we also have gotten a lot of traction coaching in the eco-living niche. You can see our approach to our business at our website and on Facebook: http://spunkyavocado.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/spunkyavocado. We are having a great time and still defining ourselves. It is a process. We are just completing our Trademarking process, too. :) I have found it all to be very life enriching and am more motivated than ever to keep blazing a path! Wishing you the same kind of experience. Happy to answer any other questions, too.
Amy, thank you for sharing your story! So many others have been through similar difficulties, but it takes a lot of courage to share that will us here. Stephanie, I would suggest looking into a degree in medical dietetics. I am a registered dietitian and love my opportunity to work with clients (in the hospital, out of my home, and at our local gym) to make healthy lifestyle changes that work for them! I follow my own intuition when it comes to my clients. Whole foods work for me and many others, but may not be the path for everyone. It is my passion to help them achieve their goals in the healthiest way possible.
PS. What does your certification say? Does it state it’s from IIN or an affiliated college? I’ve read conflicting info about which school one actually gets certified from once completing the IIN program. Once again, thank you :)
Hi again, Julie. Be sure to check out IIN’s FAQ page: http://www.integrativenutrition.com/admissions/FAQ. I have a certificate from IIN that shows I successfully completed their health coaching program. I continue to build upon my knowledge base daily but do not know that I will pursue any type of official credentialing beyond IIN. I’m quite satisfied. :) And, Devyn we are not offering medical advice. Our role as coaches is to support and mentor our clients by helping them make lasting changes that will that nourish many aspects of their lives, changes which inspire good habits tailored to their individual needs. Again, as coaches we don’t claim to be medical professionals. I can say, however, that most doctors will tell you they had precious little nutrition education in medical school. I’m happy to say that I think that is starting to change. An ounce of prevention, after all… And truly, is there a better place to start preventing disease than by having our medical professionals educating their patients on how to best nourish each and every cell in their body? Shouldn’t our collective mission, wherever we fall on the health/wellness career continuum, be to support each other’s efforts to create a healthier world? ~Amy
IIN is not certified. I am a pre-nursing student in a clinical nutrition course, and I can tell you that ‘certified holistic health coach’ is not a title of someone with sufficient training in nutrition to over anyone medical advice.
I do love the recipe though!
Hi Amy. Thanks for sharing your story. I actually put myself on a strict candida detox program starting in July 2013, which included no dairy and gluten also, as well as no sugar, corn and much more. This all due to chronic infections that doctors couldn’t figure out and help. After then getting chronic hives, I put two and two together through my own research and turned to my knowledge in natural/holistic healthcare to heal myself. I am what I call “my own best doctor” and have improved quite a bit since taking over my own care. Having been a marketing professional for 20 years with long hours and lots of stress, I began to use the downtime off work to think about how to break the cycle and and live a healthier lifestyle. I now know I want to apply my personal interests in helping myself and others into a change in professional career. After becoming certified in Reiki, I began reading about the IIN program and have been thinking about it for a while. I came across this page and your post while researching IIN and other similar programs online. I like the basic areas IIN covers, but am concerned about the format. My mother and I watched the initial one-hour introduction video. We stared at a powerpoint presentation practically the whole time. Although the content is of interest, we found it hard to stay focused and engaged without seeing an actual person talking to us. I am curious if you actually get to see an instructor lecturing during the courses or are you always staring at a bunch of words on paper while listening to a voice without a face? Also, did you attend any live conferences related to this program? I appreciate any feedback that might help me finally start this program or determine it’s not for me. Thanks.
Hi Julie. Thanks for your questions. My experience with IIN’s format was very little “just looking at words on paper or a screen”. Most of the lectures had visuals to go along with their presentations and it was almost always a full bodied person that I was looking at. :) You might have been looking at some of the support materials vs the actual lecture. As I’ve mentioned before, the wealth of information that I received from my time with IIN has been invaluable and so very readily applied to my own life, my family life, and as essential but gentle guidance for clients. INN does, in ways, challenge some conventional nutrition wisdom. You would have heard about eating real food, giving up processed food and sugar, returning to more traditional foods, integrating super foods, fermented foods, etc. long before it would be mentioned in mainstream health communities. In fact, there are IIN students building upon their traditional nutrition certifications with an IIN Certificate because they want a more holistic/integrative approach to their counseling. You have to decide if it is the right fit for you and again, you will get as much out of it as you are willing to put in. Let me know if I can answer any more questions. I’m also always happy to chat. Just let me know. :)
Hey Amy!! We have quite a few similarities to our story. I am very encouraged by your story. Thank you! Just to clarify, is the “if you sign up by…” date says may 2014. (hoping that’s a typo ðŸ˜!!)
Hi there. The date on that one is correct but they are always running new promotions for new students. ;)
What a great gift idea! Once this is packaged and sealed, how long should I expect it to last in the jar and still taste good?
Hi there. This salad is best served within a day! :)
Is that one really big mason jar or do you split this into several jars?? I just can’t imagine getting all that into a mason jar. Sounds delicious tho! Can’t wait to try it.
Hi Jenny. Sorry for my earlier confusion. I’ve answered a lot of questions today! That jar is a large jar. You could certainly make several small salads, too, in smaller mason jars. :) ~Amy
Hi Amy
Thanks for sharing your story, IIN has just recently intrigued me aswell. I have had my own floral business for 8 years and was stressed as working mom of 2. I have closed the doors to my business to take some time off for health and normalcy and to enjoy the kids, family and day to day. I am interested in cooking well and health as i know it has helped me through my own personal health issues, I am very interested in this course, but am a visual learner, hands on, and was never the best in school. Do you think this course could still work for me.
thanks for your time,
Pauline
Hi Pauline. Most of the lectures include visuals. What is so great about the program is that it works, I think, for any learning style because what you get out of it is what you are willing to put in. You can do it at your own pace, walk away form a lecture when it is overwhelming your brain and then return when you are ready. There are coaching circles that you participate in that are very helpful, too. I think it is invaluable information whether you plan to make a career of it or just put it to practice in your own life. :) I hope that helps. Enjoy your family! ~Amy
Hi Amy,
I loved your post. It was very honest, and you followed your heart, which I do not think enough people do. I also used to struggle with personal health issues, which involved ten year battle that I honestly could not bear for another day since it involved intense pain. By the time I realized the source of my issues (I am much better now!), I had learned SO MUCH regarding food and ingredients, as well as immune support.
I recently started a blog as well to help others, since I needed an outlet for this. I think I was driving my friends a little crazy, since they all have issues in one form or another, and I always had so much to say, things for them to do and try. I could not shut up about it and they could not shut me up either. :) It has become a healthy obsession of sorts. I love that with this newfound “hobby” as my husband calls it (sigh….but I love him) that I have stepped into this world of amazing people like yourself and Lisa, that truly just want to help others and teach TRUE, simple health. It is awesome. I look forward to following your blog and page and wish you the best!
Love the look of that recipe! Going to had to try that one.
Elena, Wholesome Style
Thank you, Elana. So glad you were able to find your way to wellness and can share your story to help others! I know what you mean about not being able to shut up about it. :) We have to assume that if we shout it from the roof tops enough, people will listen, right? Wishing you the very best with your blog. ~Amy
Amy, we can only hope….and keep shouting. :) Thank you!
Elena
http://wholesomestyle.com
Thanks for sharing your story about your struggles with food and how you have managed to turn your health around. It is wonderful that you were able to go back to school and become certified in nutrition. My wife and I began our quest to a healthier lifestyle about 2 ½ years ago, when my father was battling cancer. What we learned through our research and studying, was that the food we consume is directly related to our health. We learned that cancer is a preventable disease, in most cases, and that by learning to eat the right foods, many diseases can be avoided. We continue to study, research and learn more about health and food. My wife, Angela, recently started a blog, http://www.healthykideats.com, dedicated to helping parents feed their families healthier foods and teaching parents what we have learned along our journey. We hope that through our efforts, others will be encouraged. Thanks for sharing your story and good luck with your coaching business. PS – Angela made the salad in a jar for dinner and for my lunch – I loved it.
Thanks for sharing, Brad. It is going to take all of us working collectively to educate others (about the vital role of whole food nutrition in health outcomes)to turn this country’s eating habits around. Glad to have you and your wife as part of “the team”! Best of luck with the blog. I now know how much work it is to have one of your own. PS- I I could eat that salad every day. :) ~Amy
Thank you for sharing your story and yummy recipe Amy! So glad you are healthy and happy now! I don’t really understand the negative comments. I think it is wonderful what you are doing! I am a Certified Health Coach through Dr. Sears and also a Juice Plus Representative. It is a wonderful and fulfilling job to help others in their health journey! Keep up the great work and thanks again for sharing! 😊
Thanks, Diane. I was a Dr. Sears devotee when my kids were little and I have a friend here in Charlotte who went through the program. I really like their materials and message. What a great way to help families get on the right track! Best of luck in all you do. ~Amy
Why are people being so harsh with their comments? This is a post sharing HER journey. We all have choices if we want to even read each post. If you aren’t interested in the content of a day, please just skip it. Other people may be interested in this route and this will plug them into something they really wanted to do already.
Please remember when you comment that if you wouldn’t say it to someone’s face the same way, be polite enough not say it online either. Comments are still directed at a real person, with real feelings. I’ve already had one favorite blogger quit because they were tired of having to put up emotional defenses to endure the blunt comments. It’s their blogs, they have the choice to write anything they want on it.
Very disappointed with this advertisement! If you do a quick search on the Internet you will find out that the school mentioned above, the Institute for Integrative Nutrition is a huge scam.
With all due respect, Marie, you can go online and find information to support or negate your beliefs about almost anything. You are entitled to your opinion, of course, but as a graduate (and an intelligent woman) who has moved her career and life in a direction that brings me great satisfaction, I can assure you, it is not a scam. I should also add, I am very grateful that comments such as yours did not keep me from reaching my own conclusions and taking the risks that have propelled me forward. Wishing you well. ~Amy
Hi Amy,
Great post! I would love to know more about your son’s issue with eczema. Has it been remedied? We eat probably about 90% real foods but my son’s eczema is hard to get a handle on. He has multiple food allergies as well, and the two usually go hand in hand. Anyway, just curious if you had any luck getting rid of your son’s eczema.
Thanks so much,
Lindsey
Hi Lindsey. We had already given up most processed foods and then eliminated gluten and dairy. His skin issues did resolve. We have not, however, continued to be gluten and dairy free though we are very careful about the quality of foods we choose. We’ve not been able to yet pinpoint a particular allergy though dairy clearly has an impact on his digestion. It’s very difficult to keep him away from cheese. :) ~Amy
I would just like to say that I LOVE this website. What Lisa (and her staff) do every day has changed the way my husband and I eat. For that, I am thankful. I appreciate her continuing to post tips and recipes that allow me to continue on my “real food” journey. Lisa also has to make a living and I am thrilled that she gets sponsors and “affiliates” to support her blog. To me, that means that she’ll be able to keep doing this – thus helping me and all of you! I get the impression that Lisa wouldn’t associate with an affiliate/sponsor that she didn’t believe in their product/service. That being said, we are all different and we all have choices. Read the blog/article, do your research and make the best decision for YOU.
Carry on, Lisa (and Amy)! Thank you for what you are doing!
:)
Congratulations Amy! I learned about 100 Days of Real Food from my dear friend & Charlotte Today contributor, Brooke Thomas, and I just love what you all are doing over here (I am also finding Jason’s Pro Blog School website to be a tremendous help too!)
Anyway, thank you so much for sharing your story. I would love to do an interview with you to feature on our own website, Clean Cuisine.
My husband, Andy Larson, M.D. is a bariatric surgeon and the medical expert behind our website/ book and a lot of his patients frequently ask about health coaching, something I just don’t have the free time to offer them. It would be great to be able to provide his patients and our readers the name of a health coach, especially one who has struggled with some of the issues you mentioned in your story.
On a personal note, I radically changed my own diet and my relationship with food in 1998 when I was 22-years old after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (I was having terrible symptoms, wearing a catheter and having a difficult time walking up the stairs at the time I was diagnosed.) But Andy and I firmly believe in “farm before pharm” and changing my plate really did change my fate. I just celebrated my 38th birthday and I truly feel better now than I did when I graduated from high school!
My husband also changed his diet to support me (he just celebrated his 41st birthday) and we have since raised our incredibly healthy 13-year old son, Blake, on whole foods (“real food”) ever since he was weaned. The thing is, nobody in our family feels like they are deprived or on a “diet”—in fact, we feel just the opposite; we feel like we are privileged to eat this way because real food tastes so amazing!
Right this very minute our son happens to be on an overnight school field trip to the Florida Keys (we live in south Florida) and I just got a text from him saying he was so disappointed that the bus took the kids to McDonalds for lunch. He said he just couldn’t eat there because the food is so gross and that he can’t wait to come home so he can eat some “real food”. And yet sadly, so many people feel deprived if we tell them not to go to McDonalds!
As the past President of the Palm Beach County Medical Society and the Medical Director of JFK Medical Center’s Bariatric Wellness and Surgical Institute, Andy frequently lectures to other physicians on the major role nutrition plays in so many inflammatory conditions, but the vast majority of doctors just are not up on nutrition and they don’t give it the attention it truly deservers. I am confident there will be a big role for health coaching (in partnership with family medicine doctors) in the near future and I think you have a tremendous opportunity to really help people change their lives.
Anyway, we are in the middle of totally redoing our website and I have to go to NY tomorrow for a presentation but things will slow down for me in a few weeks and it would be great to touch base with you then if you think you might be up for an interview?
P.S. The layered salad looks delish ;)
Thank you, Ivy, for sharing so much. What an inspiration! Yes, I think most people are in the dark about how foods can promote inflammation within our bodies and that inflammation promotes disease. There is so much mis-education out there. I would love to talk more in depth with you. I will email you with my personal contact information. Enjoy NY. ~Amy
Amy, your story was so inspirational! The first step to a fulfilling life is thinking about what we’re putting into our bodies. Just like you said about your classes at INN, you get out what you put in. Everyone should have the kind of training you received at IIN. At Cayisa, we also value food education, starting with the basics…community gardens! You should check out our cause at cayisa.com under “Seed for Seed.” Seed for Seed helps foster learning gardens, sustainable farming, and reforestation across America. Thank you so much for this post! The layered salad jar looks delicious. What a fun and healthy gift!
Thank you, Lauren! I went to the Seed for Seed website. Love it. If it weren’t for our Suburban Smackdown Challenge (buying nothing new for 6 months) that we just began at Spunky Avocado, I’d totally support you by purchasing a bracelet. :) What a compassionate and sustainable business model! I’ll keep it in mind for Christmas gifts. ~Amy
I was really looking forward to hearing another story of someone’s journey to real food. We all love a little inspiration, and to compare our stories to our own. I have to say I was disappointed I clicked on the link to read this article. “Amy’s Road to Real Food” read more like an advertisement for the schooling, rather than sharing information about the actual real food journey, improvements, thoughts,struggles, and triumphs. I am happy Amy found her career track and feels fulfilled… but besides her new job as a coach and blogger, how did transitioning to real food go for her and her family? What about her son’s eczema? How about her weight issues? etc…. Perhaps the title should have been “Working at Real Food inspires Amy to find her dream career.”
Hi Cam. This post was very much about my honest experiences and impressions of IIN’s program. I would love for countless others to be able to have the same experience and gain the same knowledge whether they intend to be health coaches or not. I’m very happy to share more details of my personal story anytime. Be well. ~Amy
I actually agree with everything that Can said. I was disappointed with this article. It seemed very much like an advertisement. I thought it was going to be like the earlier article by the other team member who shared her story. This article just reminds me that 100 days does offer so much to its readers but it still is just one of the many websites trying to get you to buy something….
It is important to distinguish here that anyone can be a health coach with or without a $5k certification simply by watching a ton of educational vids, & documentaries which is pretty much the jist of this program.
I am convinced most of the grads make more money on promoting the program than actually working in the field. I also have heard from MANY people that if they want to have a nutrition practice this is not the program for it – they are not even near prepared because it is mostly theory & business. So what do they do? Go back to school and spend another 2k on an in-depth nutrition certification. Yikes! The pyramid scheme selling, and paid recommendations turns me off personally.
I do agree that the more people promoting a healthy lifestyle the better, but the price of this program vs what grads get out of it is nothing short of insane. You can be a full fledged and qualified Holistic Nutrition Coach or Holistic Nutritionist for half their tuition fee and a be WAY more educated (they also mind/body/spirit focused).
Simply Google “nutrition coach” and check out some of the other quality in-depth programs before getting caught up in the profit fueled hype of this way overpriced one.
The fact that half a health program is business is a red flag in of itself – explains the passive aggressive selling tactics, I can’t help but notice the grads sell in the same way they sell their program via the cycle of emails they send out that are exactly the same each time – anyone on the mailing list will understand this. Limited ‘one time special offer’ (that isn’t one time at all), almost sold out, then sold out, then more seats. Then comes a payment plan that has ‘never been offered before’ (but has) then its almost sold out, then sold out, then more spots. And…the cycle repeats. I can’t help but wonder if this is more about marketing than health?
Totally agree with you! I hope readers do a quick search before signing up.