Can you believe it has now been over a year since I started this journey into the wellness world, by making the decision to enrol in this life-changing course to become a health coach!

I don’t think I ever really spoke much about this journey, or how this whole year has gone… mostly because I felt like I wanted to truly be immersed and learn things, observe how it all unfolded before I could give you an honest opinion of my experience.

But here we are, I graduated officially on the 18th of September 2019, I am officially a health coach (one who is about to launch her programs.. eek!!) not only that but I feel like it’s changed a lot for me, I feel so much more aware and educated about a whole array of topics which have helped me grow as an individual.

The wonderful school I decided to join for this course is called IIN, aka the Institute of Integrative Nutrition!

I thought I’d share more about the course and my experience, and clarify a few things if you were curious and have been thinking about enrolling (psst I also have a pretty damn good discount to offer)

So let’s start with the basics…

 

WHAT IS IIN?

IIN is the largest nutrition school in the world! It is based in New-York but it is online-based. They have designed an incredible one-year long course for anyone passionate about health and wellness, wanting to help others and make a change in this world. They foster community and individuality, they are truly at the forefront of the wellness movement. So is IIN for you? Do you feel like you need a career change? Maybe you’d like to improve your own health and wellbeing? or you’d like to increase your knowledge to start a wellness business of your own? IIN is a true powerhouse, it is truly there to drive you to achieve your personal and business goals and transform your life for the better.

 

WHAT IS A HEALTH COACH?

Ha a very good question! Before I started I was also confused about what exactly a health coach is! I had heard of life coaches and business coaches, but health coaches..? not so much!

A health coach is a supportive mentor who helps clients feel their best through food & lifestyle changes and personal one-on-one encouragement. A health coach is someone who can give you a holistic approach & support to your health. They are your guide on your side, giving you some accountability.

According to the World Health Organisation, the top 3 causes of death in this world are dietary related illnesses such as heart diseases, stroke, pulmonary diseases. Not only that but we also live in a world with more depression, stress, anxiety and chronic conditions than ever before!

The demand for health coaches is at an all-time high! We need more guides on the side, we need more healers, more mentors. IIN teaches you that health is not just about what you eat, it’s about your relationships, your work, exercise, spirituality… Health is not just one-sided. This is where their concept of primary foods (your career/home/spirituality etc) and secondary foods (the food you put in your mouth!) comes in.. it is their driving force and what in my opinion sets them aside of any other schools out there.

Many people have a PT to help them reach their physical goals in the gym right?! A health coach is someone who holds you accountable in your kitchen, and in your day-to-day life as opposed to the gym..! A health coach will help you create sustainable lifestyle changes, completely personalised to you!

A health coach, however, is not a nutritionist or someone who is qualified to prescribe any medication nor take the place of a GP or any other form of a psychological or psychiatric counselling. A health coach is there to support and complement any other health care professionals.

 

THE COURSE

The course itself is divided into weekly modules. Each new module is released on Monday mornings (here in the UK they’d come on at around midday) this weekly set up was my favourite part because it meant you had a whole week to go over that module in your own time.

This is very personal of course but they recommend spending between 5 to 10 hours on the course weekly in total. I probably averaged 7 to 8 hours per week. Modules vary in length some are shorter, some have longer video content that takes longer to get through, it depends! and normally a long one is often balanced by a shorter one afterwards.

This means you can do the course while working full-time! It’s the beauty of this set up truly! You don’t have to put your life on hold, you can keep going while you’re learning. Oh and you know what? They have an app, which means you can access your course from wherever you are, phone, iPad, laptop.. you can pre-download modules/classes if you know you won’t have access to the internet. Perfect for long car rides, or morning commutes! You can listen to lectures wherever you want.

You have 4 tests during the whole year, and you need to pass 2 out of the 4 to graduate (amongst other requirements) they are all multiple-choice tests, and are not there to trick you!

You will learn over 150 dietary theories (as well as diving deep in relationships, career, spirituality etc) but also coaching techniques, and in-depth business training. It’s an all in one course, they truly want you to finish the year with a successful running business! You can actually start taking clients on half-way through the program, with a student rate, so once you’re done you’re already up and running! But this is all up to you, I decided to wait until I was done with the year as I am still working as a photographer.

The teachers are also a true highlight of this course. I would say about half of it is taught by Joshua the founder and director of IIN, and the other half are all experts, leading doctors, researchers, physicians, business leaders and other authorities who are at the forefront of the health and wellness field. The list includes Deepak Chopra, Arianna Huffington, Gabrielle Berstein, Dr. Neal Barnard just to name a few..!

Some absolutely fascinating people. You truly learn from the best!

Want to know more?? See below more info about their curriculum, or try out a class to see what it’s all about, and what the format looks like!

 

 

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My Experience

This past year has been truly amazing and life changing. I had been wanting to change my career path and dive into the wellness world for the past 5 years or more, but I had never found a format that suited my lifestyle and allowed me to keep working! I already have an undergraduate degree in Law, and if I’m being honest with you, I truly didn’t feel like I wanted to take 3 years ‘off’ to go study and put myself in even more debt… it just didn’t feel right.

Then IIN came into my life, at first I wasn’t in the right space to be able to do it, it wasn’t on my radar, I had pushed the idea of diving deeper into the nutrition/wellness world aside, and told myself that maybe when I’m older this is something I’ll do… fast forward a couple of years and I had gone full-time freelance and had a lot more freedom and time to focus on my other passions aside from photography.

Funnily enough, IIN kept popping up on my social media feeds, so I finally decided to go through with it via the referral of someone I loved and followed on Instagram, she inspired me to change my career and dive headfirst into this new course!

I am SO happy I trusted my gut and went along with it! I made it all happen while working all year, and paying off the school fees all on my own (feeling very proud about that!)

I am now a month and a half post-graduation and about to launch my very own health coaching business, and I cannot wait to share more about that process and my experience!

 

What Next?

What happens after you graduate? Of course, becoming a health coach is high up on the list - whether it’s online, face to face or group coaching, doing retreats or whatever rocks your boat! A LOT of graduates have gone on and set up other wellness-related businesses! This is actually one of the reasons I decided to look into IIN in the first place, because a whole bunch of people I enjoyed following online, all had one thing in common.. they had all graduated from IIN!

Some people have gone off and wrote books or e-books, some have dove into the health and wellness blogging scene, some have gone on and become the right-hand person to a doctor to provide patients guidance, some have started their own product, food or wellness related, some have gone off and become amazing speakers, or started a restaurant…! I mean the list is endless, because it’s also very business-focused, it doesn’t have to be just one thing, you can take those skills and apply them to many different paths..!

Have you always been the person people go to when they have health/nutrition questions?

Are you passionate about helping people feel their best?

Have you been dreaming of a job you can do from virtually anywhere as long as you have a wifi connection? (this for me is a MAJOR driving factor, especially because we love to travel, and want to have a family. Being able to work for myself from home, is a blessing!)

Are you tired of a medical system that relies heavily on medication to mask symptoms and doesn’t help PREVENTING disease in the first place?!

Are you passionate about HEALTH?

Then jump in, the world is truly your oyster!

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I’ll be in touch directly to answer any of your specific questions, and share exactly how much you can save through signing up through me!

I have just signed up to become an ambassador because I truly believe in this program, so by following links or signing up through me, means that I might make a commission, but I’m also bringing you the latest deals and helping you save through incredible discounts! (this is how I personally signed up to the course in the first place and it made a huge difference!)