Episode 1

full
Published on:

27th Jan 2018

1: From Mission to Habits: The Start of My IIN Journey

Week 1: Exploring the Foundations of Health Coaching

In the first week of the Health Coach Training Program (HTCP) at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN), the focus is on understanding the program's mission to improve health and happiness, and the role of health coaches.

  • Participants learn the importance of self-reflection and intention setting, which are foundational skills for personal growth and client coaching.
  • The curriculum includes setting personal goals for the year, and participants engage in activities to understand their intentions and feelings.
  • A highlight is a talk by Dr. Mehmet Oz, who emphasizes that people change behaviors based on feelings, not knowledge, and stresses making healthy choices easy.
  • Assignments in reflection and intention are part of the week, paving the way for habit-forming strategies crucial in health coaching.
  • Participants are encouraged to explore methods that integrate lessons into their daily lives, balancing personal schedules and learning outcomes.

Listeners interested in the health coach journey are invited to send a message or voicemail to Megan at https://www.swisscastnetwork.ch/show/becoming-a-health-coach

00:00 Introduction to Week One

00:44 Understanding the Mission and Role of Health Coaches

02:47 Setting Intentions and Goals

04:25 The Golden Path

04:57 Insights from Dr. Mehmet Oz

08:46 The Importance of Habits and Reflection

11:29 Assignments and Personal Reflections

15:52 Time Management and Structuring the Course

18:19 Conclusion and Invitation to Connect

Mentioned in this episode:

IIN Special Deals

IIN is expensive but they always have special deals going on. Check out their catalog of classes by clicking on my ambassador link to automatically get the best deal being offered. You can also use MEGANMCCRORY20 at checkout. I appreciate your support!

Get big discounts on IIN Courses

Transcript

2024 Edit of BHC-01 From Mission to Habits: The Start of My IIN Journey

===

Introduction to Week One

---

Megan J. McCrory: ~ So ~[:

So I was hoping to ~like ~get right into like meat of coaching. ~Um, ~however, *The Institute for Integrative Nutrition*. So it's shortened to IIN and,~ uh,~ they do a lot more than just coaching. I have to admit, that's one of the things that brought me ~or, ~or helped me choose this program because it's not just about coaching.

It's not just about business, but it's also self discovery. So I like that about the program. However, I'm like, okay, ~let's go, let's go, ~let's go. So I am, ~I ~I'm getting a little ~like, you know, ~antsy. I just want to ~get, ~get into it. ~So, um, ~

Understanding the Mission and Role of Health Coaches

---

Megan J. McCrory: the first week we basically,~ uh,~ went over the,~ uh, their, ~their mission. So their mission is~ to play a crucial role in improving the health and happiness.~

rld*. So I like the mission. [:

Let's make, ~you know, ~each person,~ uh, is, is, ~is,~ you know, ~affecting their neighbor, their friend or whatever. ~So, ~I like that. ~Uh, I, ~I think it's true. ~Uh, ~I see it in my own life. If I ~do, ~do something and I talk about it with my friends, they try it and who knows, they talk about it with their friends. So,~ I like, ~I like the mission.

~Um, they, The ~this part of the curricula this week one really focused on so ~the ~the mission statement and then we talked about the role of health coaches in health care. We also learned how being a health coach can also really facilitate your own healing as well. You're often, ~you know, ~find that what you're saying to your client is exactly what you should be saying to yourself ~or in a situation that you were.~

e skills in the end, you can [:

~And, ~and where health coaches lie in,~ um,~ the health industry,~ um,~ is something where I,~ uh, you know, ~the approach as I talked about ~in, ~in the first episode or in episode zero, really, you know, ~kind of ~that glue where, you know, The doctor prescribes you to do something or diagnoses you with something and basically says you need to do X, Y, and Z.

And the health coach is there ~to help you ~to help you get it, to do it, and to really integrate it into your life,~ uh,~ to make it most effective for you and so that it sticks. Right.~ So, um, ~Instead of just like ~kind of ~giving the students ~kind of ~rote memory review ~and you know, um, memorizing,~ they do a lot of activities.

~So, um, ~

Setting Intentions and Goals

---

hat's your intention for the [:

I like that to start right off with, what do you want to get out of this course? And that's it. Really, the course is what you make of it. Now, I've heard some people say it's not so technical. Other people love it. It's changed their life. I really believe that whatever you do in life, you only get out of it what you put into it.

~So, ~I'm trying to do this course. I will do the course 100%. ~But, um, yeah. So that's, um, for me, ~I'm okay with that approach of, ~you know, ~goal setting and intention ~and whatnot,~ because I think it's also valuable skills that once I learn how to do that for myself, I can then give those tools to my clients in the future.

year is, *"I will change my *[:

Because, come on, who doesn't like to make the world a better place? ~So, ~That's my intention. ~Uh, ~I'm improving myself, I'm improving my friends and family, if they, ~you know, ~let me. And,~ um, that's my, ~that's my goal. So that was one of the activities that we did this week.

The Golden Path

---

Megan J. McCrory: Another one was,~ um, Uh, something kind of like a goal.~

~They call it~ the Golden Path* *and it's,~ um, yeah, it kind of looks like the Wizard of Oz, kind of ~a Golden Path through the forest and,~ uh,~ every couple of weeks, they're going to give you more information about the Golden Path and ~what, ~what's going on. ~You know, ~like~ your, ~your way forward essentially.

So we did the first week of the Golden Path. So I did that activity as well. They have one guest speaker, only one guest speaker. So *Joshua Rosenthal *is the one who's doing most of ~the, ~the,~ um,~ the courses. He's the one who's,~ uh,~ founded the school, but we had,~ uh,~ one guest speaker in this module, which is Dr.

Insights from Dr. Mehmet Oz

---

met Oz from, ~you know, ~the [:

But he had a whole ~um,~ ~ uh, ~episode or segment on how you can be too rough to your your butt essentially, or ~how, ~how fragile the lining is of your intestines and then therefore your anus. ~So, uh, ~It was funny because they had like somebody going through ~like they, ~like they like had people coming out of like an opening acting like the people were the poo.

't be so hard on your butt. *[:

Actually, he's a very good speaker. I can see why he has a TV show. I don't know anything about his skills as a doctor, but he had two points that really stuck out to me. ~Um, ~One was that people don't change what they do in life based on what they know. They change based on how they feel. And I can totally see this, ~you know, I mean, ~that's one of the first things that they're telling us in IIN is that people know what to do, right?

edicine area, is basically a [:

bad they feel because they've been feeling this bad for a long time. Or conversely, you could say they don't know how good they could feel. Because they're,~ um,~ because of ~their, ~their nutrition and diet habits,~ uh,~ have been the same for such a long time. ~So, but ~I like the point because ~it, you know, they,~ people really will start to feel bad before they do something.

~And, ~And you know what? It really only takes a little bit of good to start to feel good. You know what I mean? You, it's like a snowball effect. Just get off the couch and do a 20 minute walk. ~Right? ~You will start to feel better. I know this. I've been through it. Oh, so many times.~ Um,~ I just did hear the other day a very good quote because I am a, I'm an exercise stop and starter.

ery hard to say I can't walk [:

~So, um, ~One of the quotes that I heard from this app that I use called Aptiv. ~I'm going to do a whole thing on Aptiv.~ I love it. It's like the best personal trainer you've had. But so this personal trainer, I'll have to figure out who said it. She said, "_*If you hate starting over, stop quitting."*_ And I was like, oh, that's a good one.

That's a really good quote. If you hate starting over, stop quitting. Because ~every time you start over Stop. You know, ~every time you quit exercising for a period of time, you lose what you've done for such a long time and you have to gain yourself back.

The Importance of Habits and Reflection

---

Megan J. McCrory: So anyway, that all ties back into this Dr. Mehmet, ~you know, ~people don't change based on what they know, but based on how they feel.

Not ~Not what do you want to [:

The second point that Dr. Mehmet Oz made in the lecture this week was that _*you have to make it easy to do the right thing with the fewest decisions and the easiest path*_. And again, couldn't agree more, especially in my own personal life. If it's easy, if I have good food on hand, I eat it. If like I said, like I just said,~ the gym,~ I changed my gym to ~the five,~ the gym that's five minutes away from my home, not five minutes away from my work.

do the right thing and also [:

This touches on habits ~and, ~and how to create healthy habits. Every time you make a decision, your brain is ~like, ~okay, that's one less decision I can make today. ~Right? ~So you want to keep your brain power for the decisions that make a lot more important decisions than do I go to the gym or not? ~Right?~

Because there are more ~important ~important decisions in your life. ~So ~If you can figure out how you best adapt to a new habit, once you make something a habit, then you don't have to think about it anymore. It's like brushing your teeth,~ or wiping your ass. ~ ~ I mean, ~you just do it. ~You do it because you've always done it.~

onsistently, but you're also [:

~So, um I really, uh,~ One of the things I want to do in my practice is to incorporate~ uh,~ *habits* and how people form *habits *and the best way forward with that. So I really think ~that ~that's a major part,~ uh,~ in health coaching is *habits.* And I'm really excited about that.~ So, um, Yeah, ~So those are the good points I found ~from ~from Dr.

Assignments and Personal Reflections

---

new information and to solve [:

Now, I don't know if that's true. But I do know that self reflection is great because you're like

"Wait, why haven't I done this, or I keep doing that",

and if you don't write it down, or record it, or do something, you're gonna miss those things. ~And you're not gonna find, um,~ Let's say you're not going to,~ uh,~ notice that you've done that thing five times and ~the, ~the consequences. ~You know, uh, you don't like.~

So if you write it down and reflect on it, and you don't have to write, you can do what I'm doing here ~and, ~and honestly, this podcast, is really one of my, is ~my, ~my reflection method ~for this, ~for this year. ~Um, ~I do, I think I do a pretty good job. ~Uh, ~I keep a journal. ~Um, I, ~I note things down. I do a lot of self reflection goal setting, ~kind of ~getting ideas out of my brain.

. ~Um, ~Maybe not as much as [:

~Um, ~So that was really cool. ~Um, ~Basically pushing people to, to learn how to reflect on yourself and that's something everyone should do. I think.

Our second assignment was to explore our intentions. Now, okay, the intention exercise I think was great, but now they wanted me to sit for 10 minutes and think about that and then come up with ~like ~a list of descriptive words or phrases that represent the *feelings* that I want to invoke by the end of the program.

rds or phrases were going to [:

And maybe I missed it, but I decided, okay, I have a pretty good.~ You know, ~I drew the line there. ~That, that, ~

So the last assignment was~ basically~ based on the lecture from Dr. Oz. And this was again, another thing that I decided that I would do, but in a different way than they asked. So they said, get like a physical jar, take physical pieces of paper

and for the following,~ um,~ activities or areas of your life, you should write down examples of how you can do that ~so, the~ experience.~ The, the, the, um, the, ~the good things in life. So food, fun, beauty, sleep, love, growth, and connection. So those are the things that they said, okay, so pick something for each of those things and put it in this jar and fill the jar up with these things.

~Okay. ~ ~ So, ~For example, [:

So that's awesome. ~Uh, ~I liked the idea, but I didn't really like the whole idea of having a jar with a bunch of paper in it. I'm much more of a, like I just said, a journal person. So what I have decided to do is make a collection in my journal that and do that thing, which, you know, but writing down a bunch of things, ~you know, ~or you could also do it like in Wunderlist, for example, if you're a digital person and yeah, just make a list of everything around food, which if I did it, it would basically bring me more joy to life. ~You know?~

So I'm going to do that,~ uh,~ in my own way.~ Um, so, overall, yeah, okay, it's going a little long because I'm hoping to make these 10 minutes, not 20 minutes.

~

Time Management and Structuring the Course

---

still doing too much in the [:

Now, granted, I had a few extra things this week that I had signed up for. ~So, ~One of the things was this *Broken Brain series by Dr. Mark Hyman*. Absolutely amazing. Absolutely love it. Let me know ~what you think. Uh, Uh, becominghealthcoach. com, uh, at gmail. com,~ if you have watched ~that episode,~ the series, really amazing series.

I'm not sure if I would pay to get ~the, the, ~the digital material. ~Um, ~but it is a lot of information curated into a very nice package. So I had to watch those within 24 hours because they were only open for every 24 hours. And then I also started an essential oils class, which is also 10 days. ~But only every day it shows up.~

lection part and Wednesday I [:

And then Thursday and Friday I would actually work on a different course that I'm working on, which is the *Side Hustle Society from Chris Gillibeau*, who's an author and podcaster that I've been listening to. And I chose to do this extra course at the same time,~ um,~ because this is a side hustle for me.

And so I thought it would be good to learn ~from an, uh,~ independently from the health coach or health world,~ um,~ a side hustle. ~So, um, ~this is a community and,~ uh,~ they have lessons and stuff. So I need to structure this better. And that's what I'm going to do for a week~ uh,~ three ~so, ~because I'm already recording this at the end of week two.

our, maybe more, less, yeah, [:

I've been trying to keep my time so I can give you an accurate representation of how much time I'm taking,~ um, Um, ~originally they said it was going to be like 8 to 10 hours a week. Maybe the 8 to 10 hours a week will come later on. So let's see,~ uh,~ how that works.

Conclusion and Invitation to Connect

---

Megan J. McCrory: And,~ um,~ yeah, that's all I have for today.

If you, for this week, this is week 1. ~Uh, ~I have 40 weeks to go. Let's see how it works. Or let's say, it's 40 modules and 4 tests and some weeks off. So ~it's a, ~it's a whole year. ~Um, ~I'm glad you found me. Thanks for sticking around. I hope this is interesting for you. ~Again,~ If you're interested in *becoming a health coach* or you are in health coach training right now, please reach out to me at

becoming a health coach at gmail.com

and let me know if you're interested on coming on the podcast. ~So I'm really would love to expand. So it's more of a conversation, uh, between two people rather than myself just talking the whole time. Um, although you can see I can fill 20 minutes very quickly. ~ ~And if you have any questions about, um, the, the school or what I'm doing or why I made this decision, or what the broken brain series is or the essential oils class that I'm watching.~

And~ I'll see you next week. [:

Show artwork for Becoming a Health Coach

About the Podcast

Becoming a Health Coach
A behind-the-scenes look at becoming a health coach through IIN, with reflection, insight, and growth.
Are you exploring a career in health coaching? Wondering if the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) is right for you? In Becoming a Health Coach, Meg shares her unfiltered experience going through the IIN Health Coach Training Program—module by module. You'll hear about holistic wellness, habit change, mindset shifts, and what it's really like to train as a certified health coach. Perfect for aspiring coaches, wellness enthusiasts, and anyone curious about a more meaningful, purpose-driven path.
Support This Show

About your host

Profile picture for Megan McCrory

Megan McCrory

I'm interested in just about everything which means I can hold a pretty good conversation at a dinner party...