Welcome, and thank you for taking the time to learn more!
I am Lynnel, the Director of the NutraPhoria School of Holistic Nutrition, and a practicing Holistic Nutritionist working with clients all over the world.
I’ve spent the last 20 + years in the alternative health field as a practitioner and teacher, and have built multiple successful wellness businesses from scratch while being a single mom of four. Yes, it was borderline crazy-making at times, but I survived.
I am telling you this because understand the hesitation that comes with thinking of adding something else to your busy schedule. I also understand the “I don’t know if I can do this” fear because I felt it so many times I lost count. All ll I can say here is that it’s SO worth it in the end.
If you desire to be more, do more and have more control over your life and career, you are in the right place. You deserve to do something that you are excited to wake up to each day.
Serendipity
I remember the day like it was yesterday (time goes by much too fast!) when I decided to take the leap into the holistic health industry.
At the time I was working in a corporate sales and marketing job. I was really good at what I did, the money was good – but I was not passionate about it. After a while, I began to dread Mondays, the looming work week, the long hours, the what-felt-like-forever commute, and the time away from my family.
I began to resent having to ask permission for vacation, or sick days to be home to take care of one of my little ones. I got tired of corporate politics and I got tired of feeling unfulfilled with no real purpose. I felt stuck in a hamster wheel.
It may have been different if I was passionate about what I was doing, but I wasn’t. I deeply desired to feel like I was making some kind of difference, to help others, to do something meaningful and rewarding.
I also felt chronically unwell which just made matters worse.
I always seemed to have a headache, I was tired before the day was halfway through, I had brain fog that was disruptive to my day-to-day life, and the most frustrating part is that I could not get any answers from the conventional system. My doctor at the time thought the best course of action for my ailments was anti-depressants. I remember thinking “I’m sorry…WHAT?”. The most perplexing part for me was that I was NOT depressed! My body felt sick so that answer was simply not acceptable as far as I was concerned and sadly after working with thousands of women, it seems to be the go-to bandaid “solution” physicians offer women. I politely declined the prescription and started my journey into the world of holistic healing.
I, like many in this field, happened upon my career in a beautiful serendipitous moment while on a search for answers.
After not feeling satisfied with my well-meaning doctor handing me a prescription for medication simply because she did not have another solution other than a bandaid, I kept searching for answers. I had no interest in a bandaid that comes with a laundry list of detrimental side effects that knew completely outweigh any alleged benefits in my case. At the time I had no idea that holistic nutritionists existed so I headed to a dietician hoping to get some guidance because intuitively I felt my issues were linked to food. I left that appointment deflated yet again with a food-guide-based diet plan that I tried to follow but made me feel worse.
That is the moment I embarked on a powerful journey of self-discovery while becoming immersed in research, determined to find a better way.
That better came way quicker than expected!
It was a holistic nutritionist and I cannot even describe how enlightening it was to have a whole new world open up to me. Within two appointments we discovered I was eating foods I had a sensitivity to. Foods that were causing a cascade of inflammation in my body and destroying my gut health. Wheat, corn, and soy are my three biggest offenders and made the bulk of my diet at the time. The removal of those three foods, a targeted supplementation plan, a specialized diet, and a gut health protocol completely changed my life. No more inflammatory pain, no more brain fog, and energy levels through the roof, it was incredible. I could not believe it was that simple after years of trying to get help from the conventional system.
It was this transformative experience that completely changed my health and my life. It is also the moment my love for holistic healing was born.
Follow your instincts
You are about to make a pivotal decision about the direction of your life. This is huge and requires you to tap into your intuition.
Before getting into this field, I spent many years researching and reading every nutrition, self-help, and wellness-related book I could get my hands on. The more I read, the more I wanted to read.
I quickly became the go-to source for friends and family constantly fielding health-related questions. I used to joke that I would soon start charging for it. I am sure many of you can relate to this.
Then one day, the ah-ha moment hit me.
I knew firsthand how life-changing all the knowledge I had learned was and I wanted to share it with the world. I finally instinctively knew this was the career I was supposed to be in. If you feel that too, the best advice I can give is to do it.
Have faith in yourself because it is amazing what happens when you follow your passion!
The Universe has an uncanny way of giving us exactly what we need when we need it (just like you being here right now!) if we are fearlessly following the path we intuitively know is right for us.
Take care in choosing your school
When I decided to become a holistic nutritionist I realized pretty quickly that even though I had already collectively spent many years in both university and college; my psychology and business education wasn’t enough to work in this industry and I needed to go back to school.
I was both excited and worried about how to make it all work. I knew I did not want to sit in a classroom all day, nor was it financially plausible with children to support. So I started researching online programs.
That is where I began hitting roadblocks.
What does it all mean?
What program is the best?
What are all these industry associations, designations, and regulations?
What about the scope of practice? What do I want to be able to do?
The questions kept coming and I couldn’t seem to find clarification.
To help you find that clarification fast, here are a few things to consider when looking for the right school for you:
- Do the school and its mission resonate with you?
- Do you feel the passion they have for what they do?
- How do you feel when you look through the program – does it motivate you?
- Does the program provide you with comprehensive nutrition training?
- Has the curriculum been audited by an unbiased industry organization?
- Can you obtain registration status and liability insurance upon graduation?
- Is there a focus on overall mind/body/spirit healing?
- What type of wellness business training do they offer? (because you WILL need it)
- Is there any support after graduation?
- Is the program in-depth enough to give you the confidence to work with not only clients but also peers & medical professionals?
- Is the curriculum clearly outlined so you understand exactly what you will be studying?
- Is the tuition reasonable or overly inflated?
I didn’t ask myself those questions when I decided on my first online nutrition school. I ended up going with the one that didn’t feel right but felt better than the rest I had looked at and started my program with excitement. My excitement quickly turned into disappointment when I realized that the school was positioned to dictate what the “right” diet is vs providing me with the facts and allowing me as a practitioner to decide what is right for me and my clients. At NutraPhoria, we teach from the perspective of the nutritional needs of the body which can be met in various ways, not one-size-fits-all. Everyone is different in terms of what diet works for them. This is the premise of bio-individuality and it is important for you to know how to work with any dietary preferences, food sensitivities, cultural food preferences, illnesses, and so on.
I felt like I was butting heads with their philosophies and ended up transferring out of the first program I took. I lost the tuition I paid and felt completely disheartened. Thankfully I ended up finding another program that seemed to fit my expectations and started over. After graduation, while building my private practice, I ended up working for that school in an advisory capacity for nearly 4 years where I was tasked with curriculum development, research, and industry regulations.
Over those 4 years, I became an industry education expert of sorts – I talked to hundreds of students, gained vast industry insight, and researched every competing nutrition school’s curriculum. I realized quickly that there was a huge gap in the training offered at nearly every school. The magic formula was missing nearly everywhere!
What is the Magic Formula?
Nutrition, Coaching Skills, Business Training, and a whole Mind/Body/Spirit functional-based approach
I saw so many amazingly talented graduates failing in business – even with a great nutrition education backing them up. I began mentoring outside of work hours; answering business questions, sharing MY business materials, coaching methods, and providing guidance.
That is when a ‘light bulb’ went off. I had a vision of a program, THIS program that is structured to not only educate top-notch nutrition professionals but to arm them with the coaching and practical business skills needed for the best chance at success in the wellness industry. A program I WISHED was available when I was a student.
When we created our curriculum, it was with a clear vision to teach you, our students, not only what is required by regulatory bodies; but to go above and beyond providing what we felt was lacking at other schools.
Let me just tell you right now that the holistic health industry is AMAZING! And has changed my entire life, which is why I have chosen to devote my career to helping you follow your dream and live your Best. Life. Ever.
Feel free to reach out anytime, I would love to hear from you and answer any questions you have.
xo
Lynnel
PS – If you have not already, be sure to take a read through our Prospective Students resource area – it is loaded with helpful articles aimed at helping to arm you with as much information as possible so you can make a decision for your future that feels right for you. Also, visit the FAQ page to find answers to some of the questions that may be going through your mind:
