Another musician! From the American Food Rebel Network. Pablo Das is his name. “Fuck you sugar, fuck you wheat, fuck you alcohol… ” LOVE IT!! Hilarious.

We just watched the trailer for Missrepresentation. Very powerful.

And to close the conference, we’ve got John Robbins.

John is the author of several books, including The New Good Life, Diet for a New America, Healthy at 100, and The Food Revolution.

Healing is much bigger than who we individually are. We are a part of each other’s dreams, healing, frustrations. When we’re in tune with out partnership in life, we’re called by something much bigger than we can understand.

John’s uncle, Baskin of Baskin and Robbins, died of a heart attack in his early 50′s. John wondered if there was a link to the ice cream. John did not want to profit from selling a product that might undermine anyone’s health. He didn’t want a trust fund, and inheritance, or have anything to do with the family empire.

John and his wife moved to a small island off the coast of British Columbia. Modest little place, grew their own food. He felt more confident there, because in the ice cream empire, he didn’t feel authentic.

“MD does not stand for Medical Diety.” One of John’s legs was shorter than the other. His doctor told him to get used to it. But nce he was living his authentic life, the leg grew. Healing happens in many different ways.

Hilarious story about how John’s father was given John’s book by a highly paid doctor, doc not knowing they were related and estranged. The changes he implemented based on the book were dramatic and life-changing. Irvin then called John to tell him the news and to tell him he was right. Irvin lived an extra 20 good years.

John then talked about the labeling of genetically modified foods.

Celebrate the opportunities we as health coaches have to do this healing work. We will grow more responsible, more alive, more grateful. Less pain, more love. Hope is a choice. Be engaged, no matter how things play out. Even if someone is dying, healing can occur in different areas – in their emotions, their feelings, their spirituality.

Very inspiring talk, what a way to end the conference!

Announcements:
- Graduate websites are getting information on a IIN Cleanse.
- three cleanses are available, grad chooses which one connects most with their niche
- logo generator
- newsletters and automatic emails
* my personal thoughts on these new tools is that they give me an icky feeling. Generic is not the way to go if you want to be a successful health coach. I love IIN, but it’s when I jumped the nest and started writing my own stuff in my own voice targeted to my clientsthat I became most successful.
- practice manager to run your practice on your computer

Next up we’ve got Paul Pitchford, author of Healing with Whole Foods.

Start with an intention, a clear mental construct. Our awareness should be our first priority.

Paul did a Tai Chi demonstration to show how the hands correspond to each other. Sometimes the hands touch, sometimes they separate... But there is always unity to the hands through the heart. It's good for coaches and clients to have a meditative practice to bring awareness into our life.

Yang - mind, thought, energy, spirit. Yin - blood, bones, food, tissue. yin and yang need each other, and begin to merge. That brings us a life of ease, without stress.

Paul has studied Chinese medicine for years, and he incorporates it with science.

Branch 1: awareness practice
Branch 2: activity (movement)
Branch 3: sattva nutrition (vegetarian, mostly cooked and fermented food)

Sattva: equilibrium and essence. Yoga and meditation, morality, nutrition. Chinese saying: "When you're not so extreme, you're not so sick." Indian saying: "meat in small amounts is good for the body, but bad for the bodhi (spirit)".

Your genes are fluid. Genes can change. Don't worry too much if you have inherited bad genes, you can protect yourself with proper diet and excise.

Paul showed that some research says that a human brain cannot form correctly on completely raw diets. Raw food is cleansing, cooked food is building. Now that we can break down cell walls with high powered blenders, we can get romper nutrition from them than in ancient times. Still should be some element of cooked foods.

90% - 95% of people should not eat wheat. Mushrooms are amazing for immunity. Sea vegetables are essential for minerals. Aloe Vera is very important for health. Beans must be prepared correctly - soaked, cooked a long time with seaweed - to be properly digested.

A fabulous presentation from Paul Pitchford!!

Now we’ve got Seane Corn taking the stage.

We’re doing some breathing with Seane!

Everything is a vibration. Love, hate, grief are all vibrations. If we don’t deal with them, we store them as stress in the body, which leads to disease.

We are here to learn what love is, and what love is not. Things happen that are incomprehensible. We cannot change what IS but we can change our consciousness. Go toward that which scares you and find the spiritual value. The transformational opportunity is in the shadow.

We are here to serve and support our clients’ journeys. Being attached to their results will lead to stress and burnout. Look at your own attachments. What is your intention? Why are you doing this work? Stop caring about what people think of you, because your conversations will become all about you. You are a guide so let go of your ego. Trust that you are doing exactly what you are supposed to be doing. Abundance will be provided if your intentions are really clear and open. Be open to the possibility that you are standing in the middle of your own grace.

I was so mesmerized by Seane’s inspiring words that I didn’t do her talk justice in my live blog. Apologies to everyone!

Rob Herring, an IIN grad, is going to sing us a song about a GMO documentary that will be coming out later this year. Awesome song about the fact that some people are trying to block Health Coaches from practicing and reserving the nutrition counseling market for Dietitians only. Love it.

Next up we’ve got Stacey Morgenstern and Carey Peters of Holistic MBA.

Because the work that we do is so incredibly life-changing, it’s a bargain no matter what you charge. Don’t be blocked by fear, charge what you are worth!!

Leaving a steady pay cheque is terrifying but committing 100% to being a health coach is very rewarding.

IIN people – I recommend checking out the slides because I’m going to have a hard time translating the slides into something coherent!! But I can tell you they’re talking about breaking our signature 6 month program into tiers. 1 month jumpstart, 3 month 90 day intensive, 6 month platinum program. Three very separate experiences with three different result outcomes. This eliminates the barriers of time and money.

Biggest mistake is to differentiate the three tiers on price alone. They’re not the same program! They will have different outcomes or results. Make sure clients understand that.

Other tips:
- narrow your niche, fill an unmet need
- start local, go global for finding clients

An IIN grad who is a medical doctor is opening up Day 2 about MDs and HCs working together.

- describe what you do in 1 to 2 sentences
- don’t worry about defending your credentials
- bring brochures that can be given to patients rather than business cards
- remember that I know more than the MD about nutrition and illness connections
- work with the doctor, not against them
- be sure to send a professional letter back to state your success once you’ve had a referral

The first guest speaker on the second day of the Mega IIN conference with Eric Barron.

“Better understand your clients using the DISC behavioral styles”

You do a health consult. Prospective client is excited to work with you… But then they come up with excuses. What do you do to get them off the fence?? Make better connections with prospective clients. What is their motivation? What are their fears? That is how decisions are made. Feed the motivation, manage the fears.

Give clients information the way in which they want to receive it. The health consult is all about the client.

D.I.S.C. behavioral styles, developed by Dr. William Marston in 1930. 4 quadrants of behavior. We’re all made up of all 4 quadrants. Most of us have a dominant and secondary style in any given situation.

Dominant:
Motivations are the bottom line.
Fears are losing control and wasting time.
Behavioral highlights are self-assured, direct and forceful, time sensitive and impatient.
Thinking: “This better be good and you better be great”.
Connecting and closing with a D: be a les person, use less emotion, less story telling, confidence in delivery, don’t try – just do, they need to know they will win, tell them how quick, how much, let’s get going!

Influencer:
Motivators are flattery and positivity.
Fears are rejection.
Behavioral highlights are animated and verbose, charming and persuasive, emotional ups and downs.
Thinking: “Who else is doing it? Will it be fun?”
Connecting and closing with an I: say nothing! They will talk themselves into things. The more they talk, the more they like you. Smile and be optimistic, make it visual and emotional, speak to the “who”, make it fun, general rather than specific, they want to look and feel marvelous.

Steady:
Motivations are working together and supportive behavior.
Fear is change.
Behavioral highlights are careful, calm and patient, slow and steady.
Thinking: “This sounds like a wonderful experience, but I’m scared”.
Connecting and closing with an S: Slow it down, map out each step, be empathetic and let them know you understand what they are about to go through, they need and want to like you, you will hold their hand at each step, and they love team work.

Compliance:
Motivations are accuracy and specifics.
Fears are conflict and criticism.
Behavioral highlights are creative and serious, analytical and observant, questioning with high standards.
Thinking: “I need more info, this can’t be right”.
Connecting and losing with a C: remember that that worry and that they are very anal/analytical. They don’t speak much. Think Spock, specifics rather than general info, support all claims with facts and figures, give as many details as possible, give them space and let them think, silence is golden (they take time to process information).

There’s a great grid that Eric showed us that I will try to upload a bit later. For IIN people, his presentation will be available on the OEF. you can take an online survey on Tony Robbins’ website.

Final thoughts: it’s not about the money. Maximize connections, understand clients’ needs. The energy you give off you get back.

Eric is absolutely hilarious!!! Amazing speaker.

I’m SUPER excited because now it’s time for David Wolfe.

David has written many books, including Naked Chocolate, Superfoods: The Food and Medicine of the Future, and Eating for Beauty.

So excited for David!!!!

David is talking about adding stuff in to crowd out the crap. We need health benefits and flavor!

Don’t eat anything that ever needed to be cured. Eat raw foods, super foods, super herbs and living spring water. You are what you eat.

Why raw and living foods? A clean, simple and controllable source of nutrients. Full of enzymes. They cleanse, detoxify and nourish. Pure, original, simple, authentic.

Lots of *cosmic giggles* during this talk

Investigate this stuff personally. Get excited about farming.

Estrogen dominance and weight gain – use beet juice to detoxify the liver. David says to look into DIM, I3C, 16 alphahydroxyesterone (if I spelled that right, I want a prize!)

Enzymes are way higher in raw foods than in cooked foods.

Loves in the grass. Wheatgrass is important for detox, immunity and cleansing. Chew wheatgrass and pumpkin seeds together; the seeds will break down the grass. Trypsin and kino trypsin are also to be looked into. We’ve got homework, people!!

Why superfoods? Raw foods not enough. Goji, maca, micro-algae (AFA, chlorella, spirulina, marine phytoplankton), aloe vera, none, cacao, hemp, chia.

Super herbs: medicinal mushrooms, key Chinese herbs (ginseng, astragalus, ho shou wu), key Ayurvedic herbs (ashwadaganda, shatavari, tulsi), nettles, horsetail, chamomile, passion flower (natural aromataseinhibitor).

David is making some sort of smoothie, and I TOTALLY want some. It’s got chlorella, maca, powdered vanilla, chaga mushrooms (actually a mix of 24 medicinal mushrooms), coconut water, raw cacao beans, blueberries, and honey. More nutrition, less food.

David is a hilarious and compelling lecturer. He doesn’t follow a logical argument method like my brain prefers, but man is it ever entertaining!

Now we’ve got Gary Taubes, author of Why We Get Fat
and Good Calories, Bad Calories.

Why do we get fat? Conventional wisdom is “energy in > energy out = weight gain”. Conventional wisdom is that the more affluent you are, the less active you are and the fatter you are. But Gary showed many studies showing that poor, active people are more overweight than the rich. Hard working poor people have high levels of obesity. Why??

Often times, calorie-restricted diets don’t work. Exercising more also often doesn’t work for weight loss. So “calories in > calories out” is a much too simple explanation of why we get fat.

Let’s not forget about genetics. Or sexual variations. Or puberty differences. Or lipodystrophy. Calories have nothing to do with any of these differences.

Malnutrition and subnutrition are causes of obesity. Childhood malnutrition seems to lead to adult obesity.

Obesity is a disorder of excess fat accumulation. Overeating and inactivity are compensatory effects, not causes. We don’t get fat because we overeat, we get fat because we’re storing excess fat. Growth is the cause, taking in more calories is the effect.

What regulates fat tissue? Just like a tumor, the fat tissue doesn’t care what the body is doing; it just wants to grow.

Insulin makes the body store fat. When insulin Wi secreted or elevated, fat accumulates. When insulin drops, fat escapes from fat tissue. Carbs and other sugars spike insulin and therefore carbs and sugars are the cause of tissue accumulating fat.

What I’m getting from this: you’re not fat because you’re overeating; you’re overeating because you’re fat. I hope I got that right. Lots of science in this talk, which I really enjoyed but had a hard time taking in while blogging

You can check out Gary’s website here.

And now we have Geneen Roth, the author of Lost and Found: Unexpected Revelations About Food and Money.

A little background: Geneen was a compulsive eater and dieter for about 20 years. She was even addicted top diet pills for 4 years. She struggled with an eating disorder, eating about 150 calories a day and jogging 4 miles a day. "For every diet, there is an equal and opposite binge." After doubling her weight, she contemplated suicide. Luckily Geneen decided to stop dieting and listen to her body. She finally felt liberated and happy, though still overweight, she started a support group.

Nuggets of wisdom from Geneen:
- How we eat is how we live.
- People often connect through suffering. Some people are afraid to lose that connection if they attain their natural weight.
- We don't change by force, deprivation, guilt, or fear.
- It's not about the weight, but it's not NOT about the weight.
- anyone who looks like they have their shit together is standing in it

"If love could speak to you, what would it say?" eating guidelines.
- eat when you're hungry
- eat when sitting down (but not the car)
- eat without distractions
- eat what your body (not your mind) wants
- stop when your body has had enough
- eat with the intention of being in full view of other people
- eat with enjoyment, gusto and pleasure

Personal note: it's hilarious to hear the words "hello you motherfuckers" come out of the mouth of someone so cute and professional looking. Makes me think of "namaste motherfuckers" at the end of the What Yogis Say video. HILARIOUS!

Geneen ended with a reading from her book.

Joshua is back on stage, talking about the ripple effect. It’s time for a wave of change! If America can be healthy, hopefully the rest of the world will follow.

There’s a gentleman on stage talking about national accreditation for IIN. Greg Braxton? I missed his name, sorry! If anyone can tell me his name I will make a correction. IIN will be considered as 40 credits for college as of now.

Other announcements:
- future students will be able to use an app to use their own iPhone, iPad or iPod.
- current students and grads will also have access to this app by the end of June.
- there is a new Health Coach directory. It will be the world’s largest health coach directory and community. coaches.integrativenutrition.com

Next we’ve got Julia Ross from The Mood Cure.

Julia’s talk is about Sugar Addiction: confronting the greatest nutritional crisis of all time.

Sugar made it impossible for Julia’s clients to make health progress. When sugar was imported from India to Europe, it was only handled by apothecaries and druggists. It was known as a drug. It was known as addictive. Business people wanted to use it for that very reason- because of the addictive properties, their fortunes would be made.

Businesses created the slave trade to produce sugar locally.

Traditional diets have one things in common: NO SUGAR And all of them have produced excellent health. Heart disease happened after sugar. As sugar consumption increased historically, disease also increased. In 1970′s, we really moved away from traditional foods. No longer was sugar reserved for after meals, it was during meals.

The new malnutrition, the modern industrialized one, is obesity. Julia showed photos of severely obese children. It’s a slow death.

Julia referred an article by Robert Lustig, MD called Is Sugar Toxic in Nature Journal. Look it up This article says that sugar is as toxic than alcohol. He wants to make sugar a controlled substance like alcohol. He wants sugar to be only available to persons over 18.

Sugar addiction:
- loss of control
- continued use despite adverse consequences
- withdrawal symptoms
- relapse rate of 97%
- progressive and terminal
* addiction is not a choice.

Sugar substitutes are also as addictive as sugar. They affect the same area of the brain. High fructose corn syrup is everywhere and one of the worst. And sugar is also starches, chocolate (an addictive and potent opiate even without sugar), gluten-containing foods (the more gluten in the wheat, the more addictive the wheat. It affects the endorphin system) and casein-containing foods.

high fructose Cory syrup is twice as sweet as fructose, twice as addictive as fructose, and equal to alcohol in liver damage. It suppresses many hormones.

Intuitive eating does not help with an addict. “When you’re using your heroin, try to be conscious about it.” Not helpful! Julia suggests amino acid therapy to break sugar addiction. Julia’s Diet Cure book will have an updated release on May 5th.

Another stretch break! And my favourite… A massage break!!

Next up we’ve got Mark Sisson from Mark’s Daily Apple.

Mark is going to talk about the Primal Blueprint. He apologized in advance if he ruffles some feathers. I love ruffling feathers!!

We have common goals: burn off stored body fat, build or preserve muscle, increase energy, improve strength and muscle, etc.

Mark talked about his high carb low fat high mileage days. He developed chronic injuries and inflammatory pain. He decided it wasn’t working so he set out to figure out how to be healthy. Most health with least struggle.

We all have a DNA recipe to be a healthy human. The key is switching genes on or off. The biological cues are all found in human evolution. According to Mark, we need: animals and plants. We do not need: sugar, grains, dairy, legumes, seed oils. The result is lean, strong, fit, fertile, disease-free human being.

Hunter-gatherers were fat burners, not carb burners. They were keto-adapted. There was no obesity. Then agriculture happened. We have become sugar-burners and our genes have been reprogrammed to be dependent on carbs as a source of fuel. The Primal Blueprint is about returning ourselves to the fat-burning state.

Mark says we do not need any carbs to live, only healthy fat and protein. Athletes will need to use carbs to restore glycogen stores, however.

How do we become fat burners? Control insulin! Insulin locks fat into fat cells so that we can’t use it. There are many hormones (leptin, ghrelin, etc.) also involved, but at the top is insulin. It takes about 21 days for your body to figure out and reset once you switch to a low carb diet.

Unless endurance athlete, 100-150 grams of carb is the most you need in a day. Weight maintenance mode. 50-100 grams of carb per day is called the weight loss sweet spot. Carbs coming from mostly vegetables, a little fruit. 0-50 grams per day is the keto generation mode. Most people today are eating 300+ grams of carbs per day!!

Best fats: macadamia nut, avocado, coconut oil, animal fat.

There are no grains in the Primal Blueprint. Mark says grains are the worst thing for humans. Grains cause evolutionary shock. Whole grains might be the worst! The nutrition in grains is inconsequential. And the flavor is all from stuff you put on top! Dry toast? Plain oatmeal? Pasta with nothing on it? In addition, most people have gluten issues, which often don’t manifest until later on in life.

What about fruit? Today’s fruit is not like ancestral fruit. And we’re always eating it out of season. Fruit was used to store extra fat before a cold season. For endurance athletes, fruit is a great way to restore glycogen stores. Losing weight? Stay away from fruit.

Basic primal:
1) Eat when you’re hungry. Don’t eat breakfast if you’re not hungry.
2) Fat leads the way, then protein, then carbs.
3) Snacks if necessary, but only if necessary. Make them high fat snacks.
4) Hydrate by thirst.
5) Intermittent fasting! Slows cell division, starts to repair DNA. Anti-aging strategy.

What to expect when going primal;
1) Redirect energy pathways
2) Steady fat loss until your ideal body composition
3) Decrease in hunger
4) Improvement in blood glucose markers
5) Improvement in lipid markers
6) Decrease in inflammatory makers
7) Decrease in need for meds (particularly for blood sugar meds)

Final message: Try going primal for 30 days. Decide for yourself.

Thank you Mark for a very interesting and though-provoking lecture!