Saying I’m interested in nutrition is an understatement. I might be borderline obsessed – but not in the calorie counting, daily weigh-in kind of way (at least not any more). I’m obsessed because I realize there is so much knowledge out there, and I want to get as much of it as I can into my brain. I’ve informally dedicated several hours a week to researching and learning about healthy nutrition and lifestyle for over 9 months now. A few months ago I reached a crossroads where I was felt stagnant. My instincts told me getting some formal nutrition education was the right thing to do to get me out of the funk. I am already putting in the time – I should have a certification to show for it!
I want to funnel my passion into improving my blog and helping others. I want to teach people that it’s not all about a clothing size or number on the scale. You can look good by accident when you pursue true, optimal health. To be honest, its taken me 2 years to even begin to grasp these lessons myself, but I am determined to spread them as far as I can. I’m excited to announce that I’m 4 weeks into my studies to become a certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner through the Nutritional Therapy Association!
What is an NTP you ask? A certified Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, or NTP, uses several tools including a Nutritional Assessment Questionnaire, Food Journal, Functional Evaluation to look for root causes of dysfunction. NTPs then recommend traditional food preparation and cooking techniques, whole foods, and supplements (if appropriate) to help bring the body back into balance.
I decided on the NTP program for a few reasons. First, I agreed with the underlying philosophy. This is not a program based on the Paleo way of living. Rather it promotes bioindividuality – the idea that there is no one way of eating that works for everyone. That said, the program does still jive close enough to Paleo for it to work with my current personal approach, while also giving me the flexibility to evolve and support a wide audience of potential clients. It just wouldn’t make sense for me to enroll in a program aligned to one nutritional approach, especially if I didn’t follow that approach myself. Second was cost. I know my budget limits and the NTP program works within them while still providing great value and high quality training.
I honestly don’t have defined plans once I complete the program, but I know I won’t be quitting my day job anytime soon! Right now I’m just focusing on enjoying the learning process again, and I’m excited to share my journey with you.
Run. Lift. Create. 