New Year, New You

Many people use the beginning of a new year as a jumping-off point for setting new goals. These goals are often focused on health, whether it’s losing weight, exercising more, or cutting down on refined sugar. Some set goals to budget their money better or improve their sleep hygiene to get better sleep.

Did you know that 80% of people abandon their resolutions by February? These resolutions are often way too big to start right away and don’t have a clear plan for how they can be achieved. For example, you set a resolution to lose a certain amount of weight. You’re doing really well the first week of January – exercising regularly, eating whole foods, and drinking lots of water – and then you have an “off” week. There’s a happy hour here and a birthday party there, and by the end of the second week, you’re feeling discouraged because you weren’t as “good” as the week before. It all spirals from there, and by February, you’ve determined that losing weight is too difficult.

What if you had a Health Coach? Health Coaches can help you tackle that greater resolution and break it down into actionable steps that translate into sustainable behavior and lifestyle change. So even if you had an “off” week, your Health Coach would help keep you accountable and give you tools to cope with those situations that were out of your control, keeping you on track to reach your goal.

Integrative Nutrition Health Coach Robyn Youkilis on New Year’s resolutions

We connected with one of our successful IIN graduates, Robyn Youkilis, to get her take on New Year’s resolutions and why she chooses not to set them at all.

IIN: Do you set New Year’s resolutions?
Robyn: I don’t set resolutions because the pressure of doing it on someone else’s timeline or because everyone else is doing it has never worked for me. As it relates to business, I tend to use more of the back-to-school energy in September to set goals, intentions, or focus for the year ahead. And then I check in with what I’ve set out to do in February or March and see what progress has been made, what needs to get cut, or what wants to be added.

We also asked her more about her practice as a Health Coach – she’s all about optimizing gut health – and how coaching has changed her life.

IIN: You’re a big proponent of nourishing your gut for overall health and well-being – what do a lot of people get wrong about gut health?
Robyn: Most people think gut health is just about pooping every day – and that’s a huge part of it – but it’s so much more!

Gut health is about cleaning up your gut so you can identify your hell yeses and no, thank yous. It’s about continually checking in and knowing when you can say, “I’ll have what she’s having” and when you can affirm, “This is what I need today.” By tuning into your gut all day, every day, you’ll become clearer and clearer on what you want in your life and how to soar from that place of intuition.

IIN: How do you like to start your mornings? Do you have a morning routine/ritual?
Robyn: Here’s what I do most days: When I wake up, I place one hand on my heart and one hand on my belly and take a few deep breaths.

I say some version of the following to myself (think Goodnight Moon, but the morning self-care edition): “Hi, I’m awake. How lovely is that? Good morning, body; good morning, heart. I’ve got you. I’m here; this is me. These are my arms; this is my skin; this is my chest; this is my face. I’ve got you.”

This moment of calm is what I call my Morning Minute. It’s time for me to connect with my mind and my body and get my feet grounded underneath me before the day gets ahead of me.

IIN: Do you have a “typical” day? 
Robyn: No two days are alike! I always take a moment to check in with my intuition and ask, “What do I need right now/today/this week”? I also prioritize getting my body moving – whether that’s taking a sweaty spin class, walking across the Williamsburg Bridge with ankle weights (for a little extra oomph!), or having a dance party with my daughter, Navy, in the living room.

Some days are more coaching heavy, where I have my high-level group coaching call, Rockstar Collective, late morning and then a few one-on-one clients later in the afternoon. Other days, I’ll spend in the city coworking with my team and doing my favorite city things in between.

IIN: Sometimes having a set schedule or routine just isn’t possible with a toddler. Is there anything you do or make the time for since having your daughter?
Robyn: It definitely doesn’t happen as a routine anymore, but I keep a list of self-care practices that I rotate through whenever and wherever I find the time. That way, I’m not searching for what to do, and I know I have something to make me feel good regularly. My list includes morning prayers, meditating, journaling, reading, putting on a song and dancing, and being in my kitchen for grounding.

IIN: Do you have a nighttime routine/ritual? How do you like to wind down?
Robyn: I use my nighttime skincare ritual to wind down. Typically, I spend about 10–15 minutes doing a double cleanse and making sure my skin is moisturized and ready for bed.

IIN: What’s one thing you learned at IIN that’s stuck with you as you coach clients?
Robyn: “Life is a long time, and there is no there.” Joshua [Rosenthal (founder of IIN)] often reminded us that life is a long time. You don’t have to do it all right now (and likely can’t)! Pick one thing and prioritize that now. And that one thing might just be rest, which is more than okay.

IIN: You’ve been a Health Coach for quite a while now – how long did it take you to truly feel comfortable coaching as your career? 
Robyn: As with anything new, it takes practice and consistent action to start to see results. I think for me it took around two years to really feel comfortable with coaching as my career. Actually seeing my clients have life transformations was a huge part of me feeling like, “Okay, I’ve got this. I’m really good at this.”

IIN: What makes your business/practice unique?
Robyn: My intuition guides my business decisions and direction.

When one of my group coaching programs was wrapping up, we had built so much momentum, and I realized that I had nowhere to send them. So I got really quiet and asked my intuition, “What do these women really need?” And from my intuition, I saw it all: a weekly coaching offering, where I was ready to show up no matter what was going on in my life. I just knew that this was exactly what we ALL needed. And from this place, within a week, I created (and filled!) my most successful multiple six-figure coaching program, The Rockstar Coaching Collective.

Trusting my intuition and letting my gut run my business was the turning point that made everything way more fun and successful in every sense of the word.

IIN: As a Health Coach, one of your main roles is to support others on their health journeys. Where do you go for support?
Robyn: My team; the women in my high-level coaching program, Rockstar; and my husband are all huge supports for me.

IIN: If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring Health Coaches or students currently in the Health Coach Training Program, what would it be?
Robyn: Go with your gut, but always listen to your heart!

Inspired to learn more about how you can finally turn your passion for health and wellness into a lucrative career? Get the HCTP Info Kit now!

Are you already a student or graduate of IIN’s Health Coach Training Program? Want to learn more about how to create a diverse microbiome, reduce inflammation, and optimize the health of your gut? Join our Gut Health Course, now open for enrollment!