Intro to IIN

I had my first teleclass today! Yay. I've been sick/busy so I've been offline a lot recently, but I was able to get online today to delete spam, and post this on the class forums in the Introductions thread. (It's HUGE! So many people!! All of them so awesome and so much like me!!!)

Hello fellow classmates and new friends!

I'm [Pup], I'm 29, and I'm a native of Arlington, VA. I help run a small giftshop located on the grounds of the Washington National Cathedral (I love it!) 1 1/2 years ago, I left a soul-sucking corporate career to put my health, sanity, and interest in art and people above my (much, much larger) salary. I'm grateful to be married to my best friend.

I have been reading and learning and becoming more and more passionate about health and nutrition over the past several years. I can relate to Josephine's intro:
"J" wrote:
Now that I have learned so much from reading and "experimenting" on my self I want to have the certification to validate the recomendations I give to others.

This is so true!! It's hard to talk to people about how saturated fats can actually be good for you without their eyes glazing over. I believe it's so important to help people unlearn their bad food habits and help re-teach people a new healthy relationship with food. I had stopped talking to my friends and colleagues about diet and nutrition because they thought I was a quack to question the food pyramid and the SAD (Standard American Diet). I started researching traditional nutritionists programs, looking to obtain some kind of certification so that people would listen to me, even though I knew I'd be taught a flawed food pyramid. When I found the website for IIN a few weeks ago, I knew it was for me! Since I've communicated to my peers that I've signed up, and they see how passionate I am, some of them have started listening and seeking my advice.

I continue to struggle with my health - Today, I'm slightly obsese, but I'm less so than I was last week, and the week before. =D I'm actively changing and am already changed for the better. I am so looking forward to this curriculum, and getting myself healthy first. I was raised with the SAD -- my parents had no idea how bad it was. How would they, when the media, doctors, and schools help promote bad nutrition in favor of convenience and big business! I've stopped and started healthy ways of eating for several years, and have known that something would have to happen to force me to give myself fully to a new lifestyle. This past January that happened, and in the interest of never having such a major personal health crisis again, I'm finally on the ball.

So, there I am. I am really looking forward to meeting all of you!