No, I am not a nutrition/biology/exercise science major. I am a woman who was 50 lbs overweight and heard about Ideal Protein from a co-worker. At the time there was only one clinic in my small town offering the protocol. I lost the weight through that clinic, never ever once meeting the dr!! A personal friend who is also a dr. watched me slim down and became interested in adding the protocol to his practice when it was mentioned at a seminar he was at and it clicked that this was the diet he had watched me have great success with and become very passionate. When he decided to add it to his practice he asked me to be his coach largely based upon the fact that I had "walked the walk" as well as my enthusiasm in wanting to help others change their lives. You will find that many clinics have coaches that have never had a weight problem and more than likely have never done the protocol! I am not saying one bit that they are not great coaches, but personally I know that my dieters really love the fact that I have been in their shoes!
We do receive a full training to become a certified coach from our regional representative. The dr I work for reviews each and every health profile, meets every dieter and is there for me 24/7 should there be anything that comes up that I am not qualified to respond to. We also have the IP corporate staff available to us as well.
There are MANY diets out there, including ones where you are under the guidance of a professional nutritionist, personal trainer etc. If IP is not the one you feel comfortable with, then please choose another one! For myself and many, many others IP has changed our lives!!
Best of luck to you Kara on your journey!