It’s Friday. And I’d like to give a lovely reader:

free tuition with the Institute of Integrative Nutrition worth more than $4000

when they buy a copy of the  I Quit Sugar ebook between now and Monday EST 5pm.

As you might know, the INN course saw me qualify as a Health Coach last year and was a big force in my quitting sugar and writing all about it. I know there are a lot of you out there keen to do the course. So. It’s Friday. Let’s give a little. This could be your chance.

The free tuition, worth $US4500, is for the upcoming course, starting October 31 and doesn’t include materials ($495). Buy a copy of the book between now and Monday EST 5pm (if you’ve already purchased one, buy for a friend!) and email me at info@sarahwilson.com.au to confirm you’re ready to enrol.

I’ll announce the winner on Monday. For more information on the course, click here.

Good luck and a restful weekend to all of you, wherever you might be. I’m off long boarding! x

On Friday I had the indescribable joy of chatting to Nora Gedgaudas on Skype. Nora wrote the paleo living bible Primal Body, Primal Mind and is a gem of a woman.

photo via The Alkaline Sisters

In a nutshell, the premise of her thinking is this:

* our genealogy hasn’t changed since Paleolithic times when we ate fat, protein and low-starch veggies.

* our diet has changed to a high carb/sugar/starch diet, with the introduction of the agricultural period 10,000 years ago, which our bodies have not been able to adjust to…which makes us sick and tired.

Ergo:

We need to eat MORE FAT and ELIMINATE CARBS for optimal health and longevity.

Perhaps the most home-hitting point she makes is this:

Fat doesn’t make us fat, fat eaten with carbs does

and:

We aren’t what we eat, we’re how we metabolise what we eat

If you’re interested in all this, her book is seriously the go-to bible. I went crazy with my highlighter and post-it reading it last week. And for auto-immune/hashimoto sufferers…it almost caters directly to our conditions (Nora’s family all have hashimotos).

The great news is: Nora’s also out here in Australia in November speaking at universities in Sydney, Armidale and the Gold Coast. I’ll be at the Goldie to see her speak. It will be rad.

But in the meantime…our chat:

Chat with Nora Gedgaudas Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Some of you asked some questions via twitter on key points of the paleo diet. I thought I’d spell things out a little, because they’re themes that I’ve touched on a lot on this blog. My sugar quitting philosophy is similar, ditto my exercise approach.

But aren’t grains needed by our bodies?

It would appear not. They contain no essential nutrients we can’t get from elsewhere in more effective ways. They’ve traditionally been eaten when fat and protein haven’t been around (and, thus, signal to the body there’s a famine going on). Since we have the option not to eat them, why would we? Especially given the below…

Well, I’ve just graduated as a Health Coach with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York, the world’s largest nutrition school. Hoorah!

Which means I’m officially qualified to share the nutritional, lifestyle and wellness tips and tricks I already post here on my site. (This should come as some relief!). As many of you know, this course has helped me incredibly with my own health concerns (auto-immune disease, or hashimotos) and has enabled me to reach out to thousands around the world with similar concerns.

I know many of you are very health-conscious and have asked me about the course.

If you’d like to learn more join me Thursday, January 20 @6pm US EST / Friday, January 21 @ 10am Australian EDT for a live webinar.

Since 1992 Integrative Nutrition has been the cutting-edge leader in holistic nutrition education and trains students around the world to become health coaches. A health coach is like a life coach or a personal trainer, but works one-on-one with clients to help them achieved balanced health.

I’ll be speaking about my story and how I ended up enrolling in the INN program.  On this webinar we’ll dive a little deeper and talk about my passion for food and happy, healthy living.

We’ll cover:

• What I learned from growing up on a subsistence living farm with goats for milk and meat
• How my love for food got me where I am and what I feel about health and wellness today
• Why I chose Integrative Nutrition and what I learned
• Whether the INN course suits your needs

You’ll also get to hear a bit more about their curriculum, teachers, and how to get involved. Please register here to reserve your seat!

Be well,

Sarah x

PS. I recently got a $500 referral donation from INN after Jessica Ainscough signed on to the course. Jess, so you know, I’ve donated this to the Australian flood appeal!