WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BECOME AN NTP?

As a personal trainer, I knew that I was limited in my education with issues that I was seeing my clients face every day. Stubborn weight loss, cortisol issues, adrenal issues and also my own personal story with a terrible gut and horrible digestion made me curious. I knew that there had to be more information that I didn’t know. I started searching for nutrition schools but never found something that clicked. I actually found NTA when I was sitting in my living room, I saw Eat The Yolks by Liz Wolfe, a book that I have recommended to so many people, and saw NTP. Out of curiosity, I searched NTP where I found NTA and signed up the next day.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT THE PROGRAM AND WHY?

My favorite part of the program was the Functional Clinical Assessment. I was so surprised about the powerful information that the Functional Clinical Assessment gave. As a practitioner, I was able to really get some hands on experiences and show somebody through the LNT process how powerful certain supplements are to heal the body. And that is something I never knew existed until NTA and is such an integral part in me finding out that each person is so individual and also that supplements, when used correctly, can be very powerful.

HOW ARE YOU CURRENTLY USING THE EDUCATION YOU RECEIVED THROUGH THE NTA?

The NTA is seamlessly integrated into the programs that I launch and the ideas that I have. I am always looking to create new content to help popularize the idea that you are the healer of your own body.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS.

My online program, the 21-Day EmFit Challenge, started over 5 years ago out of necessity. I was a new trainer and worked really hard to get the clientele that I had and I left the country for 6 weeks. This developed into a program where I send daily emails, give them a meal plan and also integrate workouts in a very affordable way. This online training program is just one way that I work with clients. I do see, very rarely, clients one-on-one. As I open up a gym in Denver, Colorado that will increase slightly. I really integrate my NTA education into corporate wellness and corporate wellness programming. I do lunch & learns, I talk with employees, I work with them to figure out what issues they need addressed and I make sure that I give employees not what I think they should hear but very practical and realistic information to help them change their life.

CAN YOU DESCRIBE ANY OBJECTIONS YOU HAD TO OVERCOME BEFORE STARTING THE PROGRAM OR YOUR BIGGEST FEAR BEFORE TAKING THE LEAP?

The biggest thing for me was learning that everyone is so individual. The more you are in NTP and the more you work with clients in NTP, the more you realize that you can’t have “one size fits all.” Sometimes with workout programs as a personal trainer, you can be a little bit more general, you can be more broad. Yes, there might be some exceptions, but for the most part you really need to have this individual approach with NTP. Teaching people was my biggest struggle because people just want the answer. Finding a way to get people to get curious about their body is the only way change happens, especially in a business that can be scalable. Since I was primarily an online trainer, how do I teach these people that there is no “one size fits all”? And I am still working on that, but I think the best way to do that is to just provide quality information and get people curious about their own body. It’s turned into some really amazing and successful projects and companies including the EmFit Challenge and The Body Awareness Project.

IS THERE ANY ADVICE YOU CAN SHARE WITH NEW GRADUATES?

With new graduates, you’re coming out of NTA excited and ready to change the world. I think taking clients, holding their hand and making sure they realize that little changes make a huge difference. Don’t feel like you have to overwhelm them with all the supplements and all the ways that they could be better. Focus on one or two things and really give that to your clients in step-by-step ways so that they don’t get overwhelmed and it also works. Too much too fast will scare them and it will discourage you because they won’t be as receptive to all the amazing things you want to teach them. Find the topics throughout your learning process that really light you up. Is is the gut health piece? Is it the vitamins and minerals piece? What is that really spoke to you and really hit home for you personally? We are all on our own journey and that’s why we are nutritionists. And then from there, you can make that your thing. Figure out a thing that is your thing and own it and learn everything you can about it.

WHAT HAS BEEN ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE CLIENT SUCCESSES THUS FAR?

The Body Awareness Project, a program I created about healing your skin from the inside out, have been my favorite success stories because I’m getting women to understand that their acne is so much more than just the wrong kind of face wash.

WERE THERE ANY HEALTH CHALLENGES YOU WERE PERSONALLY EXPERIENCING PRIOR TO ENROLLING IN THE PROGRAM?

I actually experienced health problems in the program. I jumped into the program while I was also competing in CrossFit, and had just gotten my wisdom teeth taken out, and also went to Patagonia for an amazing trip. My body crashed and burned and by midterms; I was in full-blown adrenal dysfunction. I think this adrenal dysfunction had to happen in order for me to fully understand the clients that I was going to see were going through. I went through a NTP who was actually a group leader in my course in Salt Lake City, Dr. Rachel Yan, and she helped me heal from the inside out. I had a lot of things going on that I didn’t realize were going on and she gave me the help I needed. I was also able to learn my limits as a practitioner and as a CrossFit athlete and was also able to find the supplements that really worked for me.

CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT YOUR HEALTH JOURNEY IN APPLYING THE PROGRAM’S CONCEPTS TO YOUR OWN SITUATION AS YOU WERE GOING THROUGH THE CURRICULUM?

It was so fun to learn about certain supplements and then turn those supplements into teas. That was a way that I learned how to heal myself, especially with the adrenals. I loved coffee so I created a tea that would be very supportive for my adrenals and now it turned into a tea company, Element Tea, with my best seller, Herbal Coffee. I also had some serious gut issues my whole life and so to be able to take some really great supplements and incorporate them into the Tummy Tonic tea that I have was also another way that I was able to heal myself and then in turn, heal others.

WHAT ARE A FEW OF YOUR GO-TO SNACKS?

My favorite snack is pepperoni with Kite Hill cream cheese and chicken sriracha EPIC bars.

DO YOU HAVE A FAVORITE TREAT OR INDULGENCE?

I really love vanilla collagen protein stirred into some peanut butter; it’s delicious!

WHAT’S THE LAST BOOK YOU READ?

Soda Politics: Taking on Big Soda (And Winning) by Dr. Marion Nestle

WHAT WOULD YOU TELL SOMEONE WHO IS THINKING ABOUT BECOMING AN NTP/NTC?

I would tell somebody that you should do it for your own knowledge. In some way, we are all a little bit broken and life is all about figuring out how we can individually be the best version of ourselves. For me, I love teaching people. But even if you don’t have experience teaching someone or you don’t have a career lined up working with people, to have the knowledge that you will gain from the NTA program to heal your own body and also to communicate very clearly on issues like gut and adrenal health, is just irreplaceable. Sign up!

Emily Schromm is a personal trainer, Nutritional Therapy Practitioner, and entrepreneur helping others empower themselves by way of food and movement. Running online strength and nutrition programs at EmilySchromm.com, her other companies include her backpack-turned-weight-training bag, the EmPack, her podcast Meathead Hippie, her holistic tea line, Herbal Element, and her newest venture on clear skin, The Body Awareness Project.