Ever have one of those days when you feel like you've been going since you woke up?  Well, today has been like that for me...and I've been awake since 4 am. 

*Deep breath*....*Inhale*....*Exhale*....

Much better.  :)

Sometimes I need to remind myself to take those deep breaths in the midst of the chaos, because a lot of times I forget.  Odd how we can forget to.....breathe!

You’d never guess that 2011 graduate Lindsey Smith is in her early twenties: with a successful health coaching practice in Pittsburgh, PA, a published a book, and a completed an international book tour, she’s  thriving in a self-owned business that she built in less than three years. That’s the sort of achievement our graduates are capable of. They posses an unwavering dedication to transforming the world.

The start to Lindsey’s journey is a common one: an okay job, struggles with her body image and self-confidence, crappy relationships, and a life lived pleasing others as opposed to herself. After enrolling in the Health Coach Training Program, she’s discovered what it means to be healthy, to love herself, and to stop craving and start living! Here’s how she got started and how she’s accomplished so much.

What were you doing prior to enrolling at Integrative Nutrition?

It's 7:32 pm, and I'm sitting gazing out my skylights as the sun is going down.  Beautiful.

Remember in my first blog post about this cleanse where I said I wanted to run and play with my little girl?  Well, guess what?  Tonight...I did! 

We were in the bedroom waiting for "Daddy" to get everything together for Dahlia's sponge bath, and she and I started playing as I brushed my teeth.  She stood there by the bed, and as I scrunched my hands in an I'm-gonna-get-you kind of way, I inched in closer and closer.

Hi there! I’m Christy Goldfeder, Health Coach and writer at Delicious Life Health Coaching and IIN Graduate, Class of 2006. Join me on IIN's virtual Health Food Store Tour, where I’ll give you weekly tips on how to shop healthfully. Come back each week as we stroll through the aisles to discover which foods are the healthiest.

Here’s what I look for when shopping for coffee, tea, or other beverages:

Organic: Crops like coffee and tea are usually sprayed with a number of chemicals. Choosing organic products helps reduce the amount of pesticides and herbicides we consume.

Fair Trade: It’s not always possible to find fair-trade goods. But it’s great when you can because crops are grown in an ecologically sustainable manner, and goods are sold at a price that can sustain communities.

Here are a few healthy beverage choices:

Coffee: Is coffee good for you? It does have antioxidants and flavonoids. A recent study says that people who drink coffee regularly cut their overall risk of dying. And coffee has also been shown to protect against diabetes and Parkinson’s disease.

Damn, I'm tired. 

My daughter (14 months) is getting her molars, so she's been up in the middle of the night...for what seems like hours...for the past 3 nights.  Sleep deprivation anyone? 

All I wanna do is sleep.  I don't wanna blog, just sleep.  I told my wee one that tonight she's going to sleep like a log, not a baby.  She laughed at me.  Is that bad?  ;)

The latest issue of Time magazine, featuring a provocative cover photo of a mother breastfeeding her nearly four-year-old son, has sparked a media craze with everyone from U.S. congresswomen to Saturday Night Live weighing in.

What’s all the fuss all about? The photo, and the accompanying article about the attachment parenting philosophy championed by pediatrician William Sears, is generating controversy about everything from the sexualization of breastfeeding to the more fundamental question of what it means to be a good parent.

We recently kicked off the Health Leadership Awards with mother and school food champion Allison Carmen.

At IIN we are blessed to have a community filled with exceptional mothers who are dedicated to changing the lives of their family and the world.

That’s why this week, we honor and celebrate Smokin’ Hot Mom Nina Manolson, whose outstanding work as a Health Coach empowers all of us to “feel good in our skin.”

Turning Risk into Reward

I enrolled at IIN after a genetic test determined I was at high risk for Breast Cancer. After a lifetime of struggling with my weight and criticizing myself in the mirror, I was faced with the preciousness of my body and how I could no longer afford to be at war with myself. I stepped up my self-care and, in the process, realized that my passion lay in helping women reclaim their body and ending the struggle between food and self-image for future generations.

What makes you feel amazing? What can snap you out of a bad mood in seconds?

One of the key things we learn at Integrative Nutrition is how to feel our whole selves with what we call “Primary Food” – the relationships, activities, work, exercise, and spiritual practices that fulfill our lives and fill us up in ways that food cannot.

Our community is great at feeding themselves with healthy doses of Vitamin L (love) and primary food. We asked our community what makes them feel their best, and here’s what they told us:

The question you've all been dying to know the answer to...

Did she manage to get through the weekend of partying without eating anything other than smoothies?  Did she stop her cleanse??

Well, the answer is both yes and no. 

The first day of the week can be a daunting prospect with so much undone ahead of you. Look at it from another point of view, though, and Monday is a perfect day for starting new habits and striving towards new goals.

If you ask around the office here at Integrative Nutrition, our goals include many small intentions, like exercising more often, accomplishing creative projects, learning a new skill or language, and keeping our apartments cleaner.

These goals can fall through the cracks, though, because they seem too ambitious or maybe we just forget to work on them. They would be much more manageable if broken up into small chunks. So why not resolve to work towards these goals a little bit everyday?