.. at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) that is 
If you happened to catch the Tweet earlier you already know.. but I am now a member of the 2010 class at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition!! I stumbled across this program a while back and had been tossing around the idea of pursuing it for sometime. The more research I did, and the more I reflected on my professional and personal goals moving forward, the more I realized that INN was a development opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Their philosophy is directly in line with my health beliefs. INN takes a holistic approach to health overall and nutrition specifically, with an emphasis on bio-individuality– that no one plan works for everyone. The program teaches a 360 approach; acknowledging that nutrition, physical activity, personal relationships, career and spirituality are all sources of nourishment, and are aspects of health that need to be addressed and balanced. The philosophy explains how “everything we consider a source of nutrition is really just a secondary source of nourishment.” That food is in fact secondary to other aspects of life– ”food can fill you, but it cannot fulfill you.”
The program starts in February, so I’ll be doing the distance learning option (though it would be so cool to be studying in NY). Another awesome feature of INN is their emphasis on professional development and ensuring that their students and graduates are given the tools they need to start seeing clients and developing their business as soon as possible. Upon graduating you qualify for certification under the American Association for Drugless Practitioners as a Health & Wellness Counselor.
I’m so excited!
So, other than that… Today started just as any other 1st day of winter break should start.. with a delicious breakfast and a lot of lounging around catching up on my reader and tweeting ..
FITNESS
After Thursday’s day off, I was ready to get sweating!
Weighed-In eeck
So I got measured today.. naturally I wasn’t particularly excited about this, but I knew it would be a good thing to both track changes and keep me in check. Everything was how I knew it would be, with the biggest increase coming in my waist. No surprise there, as I tend to loose and gain over my abs first. I was however pleasantly surprised to find that my body fat had only gone up approximately 1.5%. Turns out when the puffiness went down I still have muscle there :p
I also checked out a new yoga class and teacher tonight at Candlelight Flow. Probably my least favorite so far, but there’s only one way to find out what I like, so no worries.
NUTRITION
I’m on a new kick, in the form of Protein Pudding! Breakfast this morning was Protein Pudding Mess. In the mix we have..
Chocolate Protein Pudding (1 scoop Nectar Chocolate Protein Powder + 4oz Oikos Yogurt + 1 pack Sweetleaf)
Warm Maple Apple (~1/2 apple + WF Maple Syrup + lotsa Cinnamon headed stove top)
1 tbsp Naturally More PB
12 g MixMyGranola
I snacked on a couple Fitness-ized Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies before my lifting session. My post-workout meal looked quite a bit like breakfast but instead of pudding I made a thick protein shake and topped it with the rest of the Maple Apples (there were lots but they sunk in haha) and a Blueberry Fiber Cake. I was moderately obsessed with these fiber cakes over the summer. They come in Blueberry and AppleCranberry and have a whopping 12g of protein per serving. I’ve found these at both Whole Foods and Trader Joes.
Per usual, by the time I got home from Yoga I was ravenous.. though it definitely didn’t help that I stopped at Trader Joe’s on the way home. :p Any who, dinner was just the other half of the stuff acorn squash I made a couple nights ago.
I was in a baking mood tonight, partially spurred by the roommate decision to make it a holiday movie night! So here we go..
Chocolate Peppermint Luv
There was an extra roll of sugar cookie dough left over from the cookie party we had last week. It’s been taunting me for a week, so it had to go to use tonight. So I made a cheater’s version of We Are Not Martha’s, Chocolate Peppermint Bark Cookies. I didn’t have hard peppermint candies but I did have a bag of Candy Cane Hershey’s Kisses. So after the cookie bar came out of the oven and the semi-sweet chocolate layer was spread on, I sprinkled them with chopped up Candy Cane Kisses..
And then I tried to break it into those adorable bark-like pieces. The result.. FAIL. haha, taste-wise, they were just fine, but the chocolate didn’t stay stuck to the extremely undercooked cookie. ahh well, like mother always said, cheaters never prosper :p
After that fail there were still a bunch of leftover chocolate chips and kisses.. what’s a girl to do?! .. How about make Double Chocolate Peppermint Covered Graham Crackers?! I think graham crackers are a highly underrated snack item. I melted the Kisses in the microwave, dipped the graham crackers and let them chill for 20 minutes.
I used the chocolate chips for the second chocolate layer, then sprinkled them with smashed Holiday M&Ms. Lovely..
I took a survey.. of the 2 other people who tried these (aka my roommates), and they receive an A+! Perfect serving size, great peppermint taste, and 3x the chocolate fun. Definitely will have to remember this one.
Along Other Lines
Check out this great post from Healthy Chow on slowing down and appreciating the moments
And an interesting critique, which I agree with, of The Biggest Loser from Mohr Results
And I’m spent..
Wow, just had one of the Chocolate-Covered Grahams and I’m sugared out for sure. It’ll feel good to sweat that out tomorrow!
What are you all up to this weekend? Last minute Christmas plans, parties? .. as for me, I’ll be working on my resume :/.. well, and working out here & there and catching up on a big stack of magazines! Have a wonderful Saturday!
Fun Links
Those graham crackers make me want to light up the fire and make some s’mores. But no time for that weekend – I fly to the States on Wednesday and my house is a tip. Spring, er, winter cleaning – at least it’s good exercise!
those graham crackers look lethal. I would probably devour them in one sitting
congrats on the IIN! That sounds like such a cool opportunity!
Congratulations on the IIN decision! I can’t believe you will be hearing from Andrew Weil, I’m his huge fan and I even use his cosmetics he designed for Origins!
Can’t wait to read more about it once you start it!
I’ll be having a lazy weekend, catching up with friends and relatives. Good luck with your CV!
WARNING: FOOD PORN! LOL
I actually saw INN online about half a yer ago and I thought about it too but Iam still not sure which route I want to take. I am studying for my personal training cert now and want to do a nutritional cert to go along with it. I am very interested in how this goes for you – so be sure to post your thoughts along your way
Hope you have a fabulous day!
WOW! That INN program sounds really interesting. I totally believe that balance in life and satisfaction in all areas feeds the soul and in turn helps us make healthy choices in nutrition as well. When stressed out, for example, I have discovered that I can be an emotional eater and make the wrong choices and so to stop that, I have to solve the underlying problem.
Another WOW, I’ve only caught a few episodes of Biggest Loser and have thought it was over the top and bordering on libelous (though I’m sure their legal counsel has that covered) in their treatment of these people who so desperately want to lose weight and become healthy, but hard core mental and physical torture isn’t the best way to achieve it in my books and surely discourages the target audience from going any further in persuing their weight loss goals and adopting a healthier lifestyle.
Meant to say as well, on the Biggest Loser, great link to the critique, I’m in total agreement with it.
I love the protein pudding! I’m definitely going to try that!
Your eats look awesome, especially the pudding. You have been in such a baking craze and I love it!
Congrats on the IIN!!
Congrats on IIN! I was looking into their program a while back while contemplating coaching/training with Road Runners Club of America or going more into nutrition/fitness… but I never did get very far because they don’t post much information about tuition and stuff, and I like to know up front without signing up for a mailing list. Is it very expensive?
Call them! They are fantastic about staying in touch and answering any questions you may have. As far as expense.. I’m already a broke grad student, so to me it’s pricey, but everyone I told about it seemed to think it was quite reasonable. And it’s a great benefit that you can start seeing clients, and earning money, half-way through the program.
Thank you so much for mentioning me on your post! You are the sweetest! And congratulations on getting into IIN! I have some friends who attended the program in NY and loved it. Actually, the shiatsu masseuse/yoga teacher at my studio graduated from the IIN program and he’s fabulous! He highly recommends it. I’m so happy for you! This will truly be a wonderful experience for you.