I get asked all the time why I picked the Institute for Integrative Nutrition when I was searching for a nutrition school to attend. For me, there were many layers to my decision that I’d love to share with you, but ultimately the things that attracted me to the program may be different than the things that inspire you to attend, so I recommend chatting with a member of the admissions team so they can personalize the discussion to your goals and help you decide if Integrative Nutrition is the right fit for you, too. 

What actually inspired me to look into holistic nutrition was working with my own Health Coach who happened to be a graduate of Integrative Nutrition. After working with her for a few months, I was able to revamp my health and my relationship to food and felt compelled to ask her how she got into health coaching; she then told me all about her experience at Integrative Nutrition.

When I was in college, I didn’t even know you could do this for a living, so I was over the moon when I discovered that you could! When I started working with my Health Coach, I wasn’t even looking for a career change, but she helped me so much that I suddenly felt like all of the other women struggling with the same issues I did deserved to know this information, too.

There were 4 things that stood out to me in a big way about Integrative Nutrition as I started doing research about the course.  

1-Community

2-Primary Foods

3-Guest Teachers

4-Business Training

1. The community at Integrative Nutrition is unbelievable. I made some of my best friends going through the training as well as connections that got me jobs. The people in your class will inspire you and love you up; they will encourage you to do and be your best. It’s such a supportive community. When I spoke to my Health Coach about enrolling she literally gushed about her experience and I was sold since she was someone I admired and trusted so much.

2. As a woman who has struggled with emotional eating for years, the primary food component was the missing piece for me all along until I found Integrative Nutrition. I loved that the course put as much emphasis on finding balance in your life as it did on finding balance on your plate. Before Integrative Nutrition, I made the wrong food choices and used food as a form of self-medication when another area of my life was out of whack. Learning how to make these connections and how to develop healthier ways of dealing with my emotional stress helped me overcome major eating issues I had struggled with on my own for years. It gave me my life back.

3. The guest teachers, I mean come on! These are the world’s leading experts in the field, all coming together to teach you the most balanced nutrition approach out there. It’s non dogmatic, it’s based in science, and it’s accessible to all. I won’t lie, saying Deepak Chopra and Andrew Weil were my teachers brought me a whole level of clout I never would have had on my own.

4. The business training was like the icing on the cake in my decision-making process. I knew the training I would get would be awesome since I had worked with a Health Coach first hand, but I didn’t know the first thing about starting a business or selling myself. I had a fine arts background; I had never taken a business or marketing class so I was literally starting at square one. I learned so much because Integrative Nutrition broke it down step by step, and in doing so taught me how to share my authentic message and become an authority in the field. I loved Integrative Nutrition’s approach to have you start working with clients along the way as you develop confidence and fine-tune your niche market. The best part is, I graduated with 11 clients and got a job at a wellness center!

I loved my Integrative Nutrition experience and I’m so happy I went this route; for me it just made sense. I knew the clinical approach wasn’t what I was looking to teach others and I never wanted to work in a hospital. I felt strongly that I wanted to focus on nutrition and lifestyle balance because one without the other just didn’t make sense. I also knew that diets didn’t work (from a little too much life experience), so I wanted to teach my clients how to listen to their bodies and not just follow another diet.

Have you thought about what you do and don’t want if you become a Health Coach? Why are you attracted to the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and will you make the step to do something about it? Share with us in the comments below! 

Shannon Brennan-Cressey is a graduate of Integrative Nutrition’s 2008 health coaching class and NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She has worked in wellness centers, with private clients, and coached other prospective Health Coaches as a member of the admissions team at Integrative Nutrition. Shannon supports women in finding better balance in their lives and in finding peace with food. She also runs a health and wellness blog where you can find her posting about things like green wedding planning, body image issues, self-empowerment, and healthy delicious recipes.