Dr Adrienne Youdim
Triple Board Certified Physician | Former Medical Director |
Expert in Human Performance and Resilience
Author, TEDx Speaker, Forbes Health Advisory Board,
Host of the top 2.5% global HealthBite podcast.
What are you Hungry for?
Every day we are inundated with triggers — from personal challenges and professional demands, to financial uncertainty and geo-political instability. How we respond to these pressures determines not only our vitality but our relationships, our performance and the culture we create around us.
Through her work on hunger and reactivity, Dr Adrienne Youdim reveals the unseen forces that drive behavior and decision-making. She shows how four forms of hunger — physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual — influence energy, clarity and purpose.
When these hungers go unmet, we become reactive, leading to short-sighted choices, strained communication, and reduced performance. When they’re recognized and addressed, individuals and teams operate with resilience, engagement and enduring impact.
“Dr. Youdim delivered a powerful message providing practical strategies for leadership and personal development.”
Hunger is not the problem, it is the Invitation
Every human being experiences hunger for vitality, validation, connection and meaning. Dr. Adrienne uses the Hidden Hungers™ Framework to help leaders understand the silent forces that fuel their behavior and shape their performance.
The Hidden Hungers™ -
What Drives Our Behavior
1. Physical Hunger
Sustaining Energy and Vitality
Physical Hunger is our body’s call for the nourishment that sustains life and vitality - rest, movement, and play. Meeting this hunger fuels stamina and sustainable high performance. When ignored, we experience exhaustion, poor focus, and decision-making — all of which erode productivity.
2. Emotional Hunger
The Hunger to Be Valued and Seen
Emotional Hunger is the need for recognition, validation, and the reassurance that we are seen and valued. Nourishing this hunger builds emotional regulation, confidence and trust. Neglect results in people-pleasing and self-doubt, eroding our confidence and sense of worth.
3. Relational Hunger
The Hunger for Connection and Belonging
Relational Hunger reflects our need for belonging, intimacy, genuine human connection, and support. Tending to this hunger strengthens collaboration, psychological safety, and engagement. When this hunger is unmet, collaboration weakens, silos form, and communication breaks down.
4. Spiritual Hunger
The Hunger for Purpose and Meaning
Spiritual Hunger is the yearning for deeper purpose, meaning, and contribution to something larger than ourselves. When nourished, it ignites intrinsic motivation, ingenuity, and a renewed sense of direction. When unfulfilled, leaders experience apathy, disengagement, and diminished impact.
These hungers are intelligent signals. When leaders learn to recognize and address them in themselves and in their teams — they unlock greater resilience, engagement, and performance.
When our hungers are unmet, we become reactive. That reactivity shows up as overworking, overcontrolling, people-pleasing, avoidance, or conflict — behaviors that undermine clarity and composure.
In today’s volatile environment — from economic uncertainty to technological disruption — leaders are surrounded by triggers. The ability to pause, reflect, and respond rather than react is now a defining feature of effective leadership.
Reactivity
The Hidden Cost of Depletion
Dr. Adrienne equips leaders and teams with practical tools to:
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Recognize their personal patterns of reactivity
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Build the awareness and discipline to respond with intention
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Create team cultures grounded in shared purpose and trust
When we are nourished — physically, emotionally, relationally, and spiritually — we lead with steadiness. We make better decisions, foster stronger relationships, and create organizations that perform sustainably under pressure.
Watch Dr. Adrienne Youdim In Action
Did you know?
Stress
83% of US workers suffer from work-related stress leading to cardiovascular disease, obesity, and mental health disorders such as depression and anxiety.
83%
Preventable
75% of medical costs accrued mostly due to preventable conditions
75%
Billion
$322 billion of turnover and lost productivity cost globally due to employee burnout
(nearly the combined annual profits
of Apple and Microsoft)
$322
Prioritize Performance Engagement and Resilience
From Reactivity to Responsive Leadership
Dr Adrienne Youdim helps high-achieving professionals and leaders replace self-defeating patterns with the clarity and composure required for purposeful, high-impact action.
Drawing on her expertise as a physician, mindbody specialist and executive coach, she explores the link between physical energy, emotional regulation, and effective decision-making. Adrienne’s work shows that sustainable performance and strong leadership stem from nourishment — not depletion. When individuals recognise and meet their unmet “hungers” — the needs for energy, connection, recognition, and purpose — they lead with greater focus, alignment, and resilience.
By addressing the underlying drivers of reactivity using her Resilient Minds™ framework and FUEL Blueprint ™ for sustainable performance, Dr. Adrienne empowers leaders and teams to perform at their best, build healthier cultures, and create lasting organisational impact.
F.U.E.L.
Redefine success by nourishing yourself first, creating a foundation for impact and enduring success.
Dr. Adrienne's unique FUEL blueprint provides actionable strategies to promote wisdom and wellbeing enabling individuals, teams, and organizations to unlock their greatest potential and thrive.
F
Feed your body with nourishing foods
Proper nutrition enhances mood, cognition, and productivity, fueling both body and mind for sustained performance.
U
Unwind with Rest and Restoration
Rest and restoration are essential for building resilience, and enabling leaders to perform at their highest capacity.
E
Energize with movement
Regular movement is critical to maintaining mental and emotional wellbeing and has been associated with focus, creativity, cognition and productivity.
L
Lean into Nature, Connection & Contemplation
Lean into spiritual practices like time in nature, connecting in loving and supportive relationships and engaging in contemplative practices like meditation, journaling, and creative projects, unlocking inner wisdom and emotional balance.
Receive The FUEL Blueprint—a powerful, research-backed guide to help you nourish your body, mind, and purpose. Discover how to lead a life filled with vitality and thrive!
Testimonials
"Dr. Adrienne brought a fresh perspective to the importance of self-care that is actionable and inspiring. Her workshops are captivating, relatable and filled with practical knowledge and inspirational advice."
Rancho La Puerta
Travel and Leisure 2024
Worlds Best International Destination Spa
“A powerful, refreshing and EXCEPTIONALLY valuable approach to Leadership and Engagement. Wow!”
Professionals in Human Resources Association
“Dr. Youdim is an excellent and inspiring speaker, who knows how to captivate her audience. Our attendees especially loved the 5-minute breathing exercise activity at the end!”
USC Hospital
The Nourished Leader
In a culture that demands constant performance and productivity, we have been conditioned to sacrifice our personal wellbeing in order to succeed. Ironically, this self-neglect is what undermines the very success that we are working so hard to achieve.
Drawing from decades of experience in medical practice, academia, executive coaching and her personal professional journey, Dr. Adrienne will teach participants integrative mind-body practices scientifically proven not only to support physical and mental but also to build resilience, engagement and the emotional regulation necessary to lead strategically and maximize professional impact.
Far from esoteric platitudes, Dr. Adrienne offers actionable strategies in an interactive format allowing participants to experience in real time how to align personal health with professional success.
The FUEL blueprint guides individuals, teams, and organizations to cultivate greater resilience, engagement and performance in order to thrive in the workplace and beyond.
Resilience
Navigate challenges with flexibility to thrive under pressure and recover after failure and thrive
Engagement
Nurture personal energy and vitality in order to work with greater intention clarity and purpose
Sustainable Performance
Align strengths with personal and organizational vision to achieve maximal impact
Emotional Regulation
Cultivate emotional agility and reduce reactivity, promoting emotional balance, clarity and intention.
Metabolic Health
Support your body with science-based tools to achieve peak metabolic health and wellbeing.
Collaboration
Develop mutual relationships and mission-driven teams grounded in mutual respect that work effectively toward shared goals
"Excellent and inspiring speaker, who knows how to captivate her audience."
Helping You Live and Lead from Alignment, Not Depletion
Dr. Adrienne Youdim is a triple board-certified physician, former Medical Director at Cedars-Sinai, and TEDx speaker who helps leaders and organizations transform reactivity into clarity, composure, and purpose-driven performance. With two decades of clinical and executive experience, she bridges the science of physiology with the psychology of leadership to show how our inner states shape decision-making, communication, and impact.
Through her signature Hidden Hungers™ framework, she uncovers the physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual needs that drive reactivity, conflict, and burnout—and when addressed, create leaders fueled by resilience and engagement - able to lead from alignment rather than depletion.
A member of the Forbes Health Advisory Board, Dr. Adrienne is a trusted voice on health, resilience, and leadership. She is the author of Hungry for More, host of the top 2.5% globally ranked HealthBite podcast, and creator of Resilient Minds, a science-based framework that equips leaders to navigate demands with clarity, composure, and steadfast resolve.
Her science-based and deeply human approach makes her a sought-after guide for leaders committed to sustainable impact without diminishing their energy or capacity to perform.
Hungry for more?
Hunger is universal and symbolic of our unmet emotional, spiritual and psychological needs.
Drawing on nearly 20 years of experience, Dr. Adrienne weaves personal and patient stories with the latest science and research to get to the heart of what we are truly hungry for.
This inspiring and empowering book will not only transform your relationship with food but will fundamentally change the way you look at yourself-in the mirror and beyond.
HealthBite Podcast
HealthBite by Dr. Adrienne is dedicated to helping you achieve greater physical, mental, and emotional health and well-being.
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Each episode brings Dr. Adrienne and other inspired voices to explore the intersection of science, nutrition, health, and well-being, offering practical tools and inspiring insights to support your journey towards living well, mind, body and soul.
These digestible, actionable bites offer listeners compassionate guidance, inspiring them to achieve greater physically, mentally and emotionally fulfilling lives.
