Robyn Youkilis, a certified wellness expert, author of the best-selling book Go with Your Gut, and leading authority on gut health and weight loss. Robyn’s new book which we talk about on this episode, Thin From Within – The Go with Your Gut Way to Lose Weight is part coaching guide and part cookbook, with 75 delicious recipes, to help readers optimize their digestion and shed weight from the inside out. Robyn teaches you how to feel comfortable, confident and energized in their bodies, and how stubborn weight can melt away when they learn to tune into their gut. Robyn has been featured on Today Show, The Cooking Channel, CBS News, and many more media outlets.
Can you talk a little about your book? What is it about?
Her aim of writing book was to make people passionate about making changes in their lives. She wanted people to have a conversation around the word ‘thin’ in a new way. She aims to promote self-love through her book. She has not used the word ‘thin’ in reference to a body type but because we have just developed an ideal with the word ‘thin’. She wanted to connect with women who were still chasing this ideal consciously or sub-consciously. She does not talk about weight in terms of the number on a scale but more of what it is an individual is chasing. According to Robyn, a desire to lose weight means we want something different in our bodies and something different in our lives. She talks about meal preparation and food recipes in the book that can help you lose weight.
Can you tell us about the benefits of fermented foods?
Fermented foods are typically raw and have some pro-biotic nature in them. Fermented foods are good for your microbiome. A microbiome is a bacterium that resides in and on your body. It is responsible for a number of body processes that help our body run and function properly.
What was one of your first jobs?
The first job she had was when she was in high school. She was a ski instructor and rock-climbing instructor. She also worked as a babysitter while in high school.
How did you get into health coaching?
Robyn says she did not follow traditional route to becoming a health coach. It was not something she wanted to do from her childhood. She was doing odd jobs before going into college and she was also interested in acting. She did musicals as a kid and loved theater as well. However, she opted for international law in college mainly because she always had an eye for atrocities and wanted to help people around the globe. Later, she worked for UN for some time and in local non-profits doing criminal court work. She eventually found her way to Los Angeles and did small acting gigs over there. She started to get into cooking and food. She came across this nutrition school, The Institute for Integrative Nutrition which is considered as the world’s largest nutrition school. She enrolled in one of their programs and graduated as a certified health coach. She opened up a health coaching practice after she graduated. It has been nine years and Robyn has not looked back.
Did you ever think you would write a book?
Robyn says she was never a good writer. She recalls her time in high school when her best friend used to help her in work that involved any sort of writing. Robyn says writing books was something that really happened on its own once she started to list down all the things she was offering to her clients in her programs.
How did you end up getting a book deal?
Alex Jamieson, a famous food chef and health counselor who also happens to be Robyn’s friend invited her to a conference. Alex introduced Robyn to a literary agent over there and told the agent about Robyn’s work. That agent helped Robyn create her proposals for different publishers. Robyn eventually got a book deal with a publisher through her agent and was able to publish both her books through the same publisher.
What failure later became a success in your work?
She was very hesitant in doing group coaching programs in the first five years of her practice. Initially, she tried group coaching programs but was not very successful in it as only one or two people would sign for it. She decided to drop this idea of group coaching and went solo coaching for the next few years. Eventually, she launched her first successful group coaching program Rockstar Roadmap, it was a huge success. It felt fun, she didn’t feel it was forced.
What is the best advice you have ever been given?
The best advice she was given was by Joshua Rosenthal who is the founder of The Institute of Integrative Nutrition who said: “Life is a long time”. It simply means that you don’t have to do all the things at the same time, you need to go slowly and steadily. You can do different things in different phases of your life.
Any final thoughts you would like to share with the audience?
Robyn advises everyone to take a moment every day just to connect with themselves. Say something nice to yourself before going to bed or in the morning.
How can we connect with you?
You can find more about her work and her books through her website. Her website’s URL is
Buy the book: Thin From Within