My Experience with IIN
*I only recommend what I would do/use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission. My blog is reader-supported, and your continued understanding and support is appreciated.
I didn’t always know that I wanted to work in the health, wellness and nutrition field. I also don’t think I 100% really knew what I wanted to do before entering the education department in college. I do think there is so much truth in the fact that we are too young to make large life decisions when we enter college, like what we want to do with our life, because we don’t get to learn who we really are and what we really want until those college years and beyond. I know this isn’t the case for everyone, but this was the case for me.
I am going to share my experience of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) with you, and how I fit that into working a full time job, managing my instagram, and the transition of it all.
WHAT IS A HEALTH COACH?
A Health Coach is a wellness professional whose main role is to guide clients to reach their health and wellness goals, whether that’s sleeping better, boosting energy, weight loss, stress management, and so much more. Health Coaches create a safe space for their clients to explore their health, facilitating behavior and lifestyle change that can be sustained for the long-term.
Using their nutrition, holistic health and coaching education, Health Coaches help their clients discover which foods and lifestyle choices make them feel best. Most importantly, Health Coaches take a holistic approach to health, focusing not just on food, but also all the other areas of life that can support and nourish overall health, such as career, spirituality, relationships, and environment.
HOW I KNEW IT WAS TIME TO TRANSITION CAREERS
With all of this being said, I didn’t enjoy the education field as much as I thought I would. My favorite part of being a teacher was actually teaching - working whole-group and small-group instruction, experiencing light bulbs moments, and watching children blossom into their own. But, honestly, I felt like that was the least emphasized part of my job. I don’t believe in a lot of what the education system was growing into, and the pressures being put on students today.
I knew this wasn’t a forever career for me, and I knew that if I didn’t pursue my passion sooner than later, I never would.
THE FIRST STEP
In January of 2020, I enrolled myself into IIN’s 12 month health coaching program. IIN is college accredited, dual-licensed with the NYDOE, and globally recognized and approved. Modules are released on a weekly basis in the 12-month track, or 2 modules per week in the six-month accelerated track. Although modules open at a regular cadence, you will be able to go through the content on your own schedule - you don’t need to be online at certain times to be able to complete your program. As long as you complete the program within the allotted time - six months or 12 months - and satisfy your graduation requirements, you can take the program at any pace that works for you.
WHAT DOES THE IIN PROGRAM ENTAIL?
All learning content is hosted in the online IIN Learning Center, where you’ll access audio and visual lectures, handouts, quizzes, assignments, and tests. The curriculum also contains interactive tools to accommodate all types of learners! You can expect to spend about 5-8 hours per week on your coursework (or 10-16 hours in the accelerated program); how much time you spend really depends on what you want to get out of the program. Just like with anything you're working on: you get out what you put in.
IIN is designed to give you the knowledge you need to create sustainable lifestyle changes for yourself and in others. You will learn from visiting faculty, functional medicine physicians, PhD’s, and researchers, which cover a functional nutrition, nutrition science, and anatomy concepts so you’ll have a general understanding of how the body functions, how the body utilizes the food you eat, and how your microbiome affects your health.
After graduating, you will earn the title of Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, and you’ll receive both a paper certificate and a digital badge to display your accomplishment across online platforms.
IIN graduates have gone on to:
Partner with doctors in their private practices
Up level their existing career with their health coaching knowledge - many Health Coaches already have careers in health and wellness
Become a Health Coach for a wellness center, spa, gym, or health food store
Open their own wellness centers, spas, gyms, or health food stores
Create their own products in the food, beauty, or supplement industries
Become involved with local and federal government to influence health and food policy
Create their own podcasts and TV shows
Write books such as cookbooks, how-to books, and self-help books
And so much more!
My favorite part of the program was learning through lectures and hearing from professionals in their field. I also loved Coaching Circles. Coaching Circles happen at the end of the program, where you meet once a week with 10ish of your classmates and an IIN coach to learn more about coaching, do practice coaching sessions, and more. It was great to connect with others in my program, and better learn what coaching would feel like.
WHAT I’M DOING NOW
Since graduating from IIN, I have been building out my health coaching business, one step at a time. I love working with clients and giving them the tools, resources and knowledge they need to feel their best self, and live their best life. The coaching has come easy to me, since I have a background in teaching. Everyday, I am tackling the business and back-end types of things. It’s so important to ask for help when learning and growing. You can do it, you just need to try!
I have so many friends who have taken IIN just for themselves, family and friends, to build healthier habits and better understand the way the body works. I also have some friends who utilize their certification as amazing health coaches!
By clicking these links and enrolling with my name, you can grab 20% off of your tuition!
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN BECOMING A HEALTH COACH?!
• CLICK HERE FOR A SAMPLE CLASS
• CLICK HERE FOR A PROGRAM OVERVIEW
• CLICK HERE FOR A CURRICULUM GUIDE
When applying for the program, feel free to let them know Lara Dominianni referred you, to get up to 20% off your tuition!