My Year at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition

It’s hard to believe it, but I’m about to graduate from nutrition school!  If you had asked me five years ago what I’d be doing today I never would have imaged it was possible to build a business and life that I love in the world of nutrition.  Food and health were things I was personally passionate about, but who can really turn those into a career?  It turns out I can!

When I decided I was ready to make the career transition and dive into the world of nutrition I spent quite a while looking at possible schools, before deciding to enroll at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN).  I’d heard of IIN before (in fact, it kept popping up in my life in serendipitous ways!), but I really dedicated myself to learning about the program and understanding what it would mean to be a Certified Holistic Health Coach before I enrolled.

A few things stood out to me right away.  First, I loved their non-dogmatic approach to nutrition and health.  I didn’t want to study at a place that only subscribed to one nutritional point of view and would fill my coursework with one-sided perspectives.  The world of nutrition is complicated.  It’s the only science where you can find actual research to back up nearly any claim you can think of (grapefruit diet anyone?).  IIN takes this one step further – in addition to training students in over 100 different dietary theories, they also teach the concept of bio-individuality.  Bio-individuality means that all bodies are different and there isn’t one magic bullet diet that works for everyone.  This felt honest to me, and like a fresh approach from many other nutrition programs.

Second, I instantly clicked with the concept of primary foods, things like spirituality, relationships, career, and physical exercise.  IIN teaches that primary foods are equally important to the foods we put in our mouths, and that nourishment includes all the ways we feed and fuel our bodies and our lives.  I couldn’t agree more!  When I look at my own journey the personal growth and development work stands out as a major turning point in healing my body.  As I often say to my clients, the physical body and emotional body are deeply connected, and when you heal one you create the possibility of healing the other as well.  I wanted a school that looked at people as whole beings and didn’t just fixate on the food we’re putting in our mouths.

Finally, I was impressed by the business classes infused into the nutrition curriculum.  There was a clear path at IIN to take this knowledge about health and nutrition and really build a business with it.  This felt comforting when considering an outside-of-the-box new career, and has proven itself to be invaluable so far.

My year at IIN has been nothing short of amazing.  It has deepened my own personal development, introduced me to lifelong friends, and kickstarted my new career as a health coach.  It has been a year of expanding the boundaries of what I thought was possible, learning fascinating new information, building confidence and stepping into my potential as a coach.

It’s a bit crazy to be graduating this December and to look at the evolution of One Beet Wellness over the past year.  I kind of want to pinch myself!  It feels surreal to be creating the life I want to live, building a business I believe in, and feeling the best I ever have in my body, mind, and spirit.  I have put in the hard work, but IIN has given me the framework and education to make this possible.

I’m sharing my experience both to mark the passage of this important milestone in my life, and to spread the word about the transformative work happening at IIN.  The world needs more people who understand what it means to heal as a whole person and who look to natural remedies, like food, as the first line of defense.

If you feel the calling – for your own health, the health of your family, or the health of the world, I encourage you to check out IIN and request information about the health coach training program.  And please be sure to tell them Zoe Keller sent you 🙂  I’m an ambassador for the school and love to know when people are inspired to sign up because of my story.

And of course, please be in touch if you have any specific questions about the program.  I’d be happy to talk more!