Salad With a Side of Fries Nutrition, Wellness &amp; Weight Loss – Details, episodes &amp; analysis

Nutrition Nugget: IQ Bars

Jenn’s Electrolyte Mix

IQ Mix, Salad With A Side Of Fries, Jenn Trepeck, Electrolyte Mix, IQ Bars, Smart Mouth, Thomas Keller, Fine Snacking, Michelin Star Chef, Zero Grams Of Sugar, Magnesium And Adaptogens, Ultra Clean Label, Certified Non-GMO, Certified Gluten-Free, Vegan And Kosher, Mental Clarity, Elevating Your Mood, Preventing Muscle Cramps, Blood Sugar Balance, Insulin Response, Sweet Flavor, Lemon Lime, Magnesium L-Threonate, Cross The Blood Brain Barrier, Mood And Memory Support, Lion’s Mane, Adaptogens, Hydration Blend, Trisodium Citrate, Tripotassium Citrate, Sea Salt, Natural Flavors, Citric Acid, Stevia, Vitamin A, Magnesium Dose, Elimination Changes, Rehydration Support, Gut Impact, Better Quality Ingredients

Hormones are Your Check Engine Light (feat. Jillian Greaves)

Episode 311

mercredi 16 juillet 2025 • Duration 40:17

Can’t seem to balance your hormones and get rid of frustrating symptoms like anxiety, irregular cycles, or weight gain no matter what you do? Chances are, your hormones aren’t actually the root cause of those symptoms, but are actually your body’s “check engine light”.

In this Salad with a Side of Fries episode, Jenn Trepeck and functional medicine expert Jillian Greaves dish on hormonal health, revealing how to read your body’s symptoms for real answers and real results. Jenn and Jillian explain why hormones are your body’s check engine light, highlighting root causes such as chronic stress, nutrient deficiencies, or disrupted blood sugar balance. They dive into the chaos of perimenopause, where cycles can feel like a guessing game, and share why trendy fixes like intermittent fasting often backfire on women’s health. Jillian’s journey highlights the power of self-advocacy and foundational habits, such as nervous system support and proper hormone testing, particularly during the mid-luteal phase. Together, they offer practical, no-nonsense strategies to help you work with your body, not against it, for lasting hormonal health.

The Salad With a Side of Fries podcast is hosted by Jenn Trepeck, who discusses wellness and weight loss in real life, clearing up myths, misinformation, and bad science surrounding our understanding of nutrition and the food industry. Let’s dive into wellness and weight loss for real life, including drinking, eating out, and skipping the grocery store.

IN THIS EPISODE:

(00:00) Introduction
(02:02) Your hormones are a check engine light, indicating underlying health issues
(06:25) Jillian Greaves shares her hormonal health journey
(08:11) Symptoms are the body’s way of communicating imbalances, urging women to support their hormonal health
(12:14) Hormones respond to deeper dynamics like nutrient deficiencies or stress, requiring investigation into the causes of hormone imbalances
(15:29) For perimenopause, tracking cycles and monitoring symptoms helps to aid in managing hormonal health
(17:24) Testing hormones during the mid-luteal phase is crucial for accurate assessment
(20:57) Foundational practices like blood sugar balance, sleep, and circadian rhythm regulation are essential for supporting hormonal health
(23:15) Reduce physical stressors by focusing on low-impact, strength-based movement to support hormonal health
(26:33) The tools you use to support your nervous system need to be sustainable
(28:47) Trends and extremes can be detrimental to long term health
(31:58) A discussion on Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) as a quick fix for hormone imbalances
(40:28) Become a member today for $10 per month; prices are going up

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Hormones act as a check engine light, signaling underlying issues like under-eating, over-exercising, or chronic stress rather than serving as the root cause of our symptoms.
Focus on foundational health practices—such as maintaining blood sugar balance, promoting sleep, regulating circadian rhythms, and supporting the nervous system—to naturally regulate hormonal health.
Avoid trendy fixes like prolonged fasting or elimination diets; prioritize sustainable, personalized approaches to address perimenopause and hormone imbalances.

QUOTES:

(12:40) "One of the biggest mistakes we can make is overly fixating on the hormone itself. And what we need to do is ask the deeper question ‘why?’." Jillian Greaves

(14:31) "I always say the body is doing exactly what it's supposed to do. It's compensating." - Jenn Trepeck

(14:52) “Work with your body instead of always trying to fight against it, and we hear it all the time, work with your hormones.” - Jenn Trepeck

(28:09) "What I'm hearing is stop stepping over a hundred dollar bills to pick up pennies, which is the way I talk about looking for the shiny object instead of relentless consistency in some of the basic things." - Jenn Trepeck

RESOURCES:

Nutrition Coaching with Jillian Greaves, Registered Dietitian

GUEST RESOURCES:

Jillian Greaves

PSOC Root Reversal Program

Functional Dietitian & Women’s Health Specialist (@jilliangreavesrd) • Instagram photos and videos

BIOGRAPHY:

Jillian Greaves (MPH, RD, LDN) is a Functional Medicine Dietitian, Women's Health Specialist, podcast co-host, and founder of the highest-rated dietitian and functional nutrition business in Boston. She has been recognized across major publications such as Dr. Axe, Healthline, and EatingWell for her transformative and unique approach to wellness. Jillian’s mission is not only to empower women to understand and treat the root causes of their health issues naturally but also to guide them in breaking away from the pursuit of perfection in doing so.

It was early on in Jillian’s career when she realized the potentially damaging consequences of the “pill for every ill” approach traditional medicine often takes. After years of struggling with her health, she realized that what she learned in her professional experience and her doctors’ orders to “just take birth control” were not enough to help her truly reverse her symptoms.

Fueled by her own personal health challenges and frustration with being told that “everything looks normal” while her body was telling her otherwise, she decided to build her private practice.

Through her private nutrition coaching and courses, Jillian has helped thousands of women – and counting – heal their gut and hormone symptoms while breaking away from dieting extremes through personalized and sustainable programs. Her unique approach to helping clients achieve whole-person health is focusing on assisting them to foster empowering relationships with food and their bodies.

Hormones, Check Engine Light, Hormone Imbalances, Perimenopause, Blood Sugar Balance, Hormonal Health, Jillian Greaves, Jenn Trepeck, Functional Medicine, Health Issues, Root Causes, Chronic Stress, Nervous System Support, Women’s Health, Nutrient Deficiencies, Mitochondrial Issues, Hormone Production, Hormone Clearance, Gut Microbiome, PCOS, Fibroids, Menopause, Birth Control, Digestive Symptoms, Eczema, Anxiety, Hair Thinning, Bloating, Self-Advocate, Female Physiology, Dieting Extremes, Circadian Rhythms, Cycle Tracking, Mid-Luteal Phase, Estrogen Dominance, Low Progesterone, Thyroid Health, Intermittent Fasting, Seed Cycling, Low-Impact Movement, Vagus Nerve, Hormone Replacement Therapy, Tracking Cycles

Nutrition Nugget: Semantic Satiation

vendredi 13 juin 2025 • Duration 10:02

Nutrition Nugget! Bite-size bonus episodes offer tips, tricks and approachable science. This week, Jenn is talking about semantic satiation—a surprisingly powerful brain trick that can help shift your mindset around words that make you flinch. Ever had a word that just bothers you when you hear it—like “hunger,” “bikini,” or even “no”? What if you could take the emotional charge out of it entirely? Tune in to learn how semantic satiation can rewire your brain and transform your relationship with language. Like what you're hearing? Be sure to check out the full-length episodes of new releases every Wednesday. Have an idea for a nutrition nugget? Submit it here: https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/index.php/contact/

RESOURCES:

Going Against the Textbook

Neuro Linguistic Programming & Saying No (feat. Suzanne Culberg)

Nutrition Nugget: Purslane

vendredi 2 août 2024 • Duration 13:49

Nutrition Nugget! Bite-size, bonus episodes offering tips, tricks and approachable science. This week, Jenn is talking about Purslane. While you’ve probably never heard of it, you have likely seen it before. Purslane is the weed that you may find between the cracks of a sidewalk, but it is actually a superfood. Packed full of micronutrients, minerals, and antioxidants, this may be a great option to add into your nutrition repertoire. Tune in to learn more about how to identify purslane, where to buy it, and great ways to add it to your meals. Like what you're hearing? Be sure to check out the full length episodes; new releases every Wednesday. Have an idea for a nutrition nugget? Submit it here: https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/index.php/contact/

RESOURCES:

Jenn Trepeck's Episode on Weight Loss and Wellness For Real

Movement & Self-Worth vs Diet Culture (feat. Katie Bramlett)

Episode 261

mercredi 31 juillet 2024 • Duration 41:38

Do you constantly put pressure on yourself to look a certain way, or weigh a certain weight? Are you willing to do anything just to lose weight while ignoring how your body and mind feel? What if we told you that isn’t the best way to honor yourself and it isn’t even the best way to reach that goal! Tune in today to understand a different perspective around your activity, self worth and the options available to you.

This week Jenn is joined by CEO and Co-Founder of WeShape, Katie Bramlett. After years of having a successful company, Katie couldn’t get aligned with what they were promoting, so she decided to take it in a different direction, creating WeShape. Her new business focuses on movement and self worth instead of diet culture. In this episode, she talks about what diet culture tells us about our self worth, and how someone can start finding body liberation. She discusses how to connect with your body to determine what movement is in alignment for you, and how to honor yourself along your fitness journey. Tune in to learn how to determine your individualized fitness journey.

The Salad With a Side of Fries podcast is hosted by Jenn Trepeck, discussing wellness and weight loss for real life, clearing up the myths, misinformation, bad science & marketing surrounding our nutrition knowledge and the food industry. Let’s dive into wellness and weight loss for real life, including drinking, eating out, and skipping the grocery store.

IN THIS EPISODE:

[5:14] What is Katie’s background and how did she get started with WeShape?
[10:22] What are some indications that diet culture is influencing our thinking?
[12:32] What does diet culture tell us about self worth?
[17:10] How does Katie define self worth?
[23:20] Where can someone find body liberation?
[26:55] How can you untangle the movement from the desire to change your body?
[28:29] How does self betrayal play into our typical diet culture approach to working out?
[31:00] How does WeShape work through their four pillars?
[36:08] Katie shares her final thoughts around self worth and movement.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Learning to understand what your body needs, what feels good in your body, and what is the right type of movement for you, is so important, as everyone is different and no one fitness routine is right for everyone.
Get curious with yourself, start asking yourself hard questions to uncover what you want as an individual. Ask yourself if you are living for you or for someone else’s version of what they think you should be?
It has been ingrained in us that our value is based on our appearance, however that doesn’t have to be your story. You can find your self worth in the ability to express your most authentic self, regardless of other people’s opinions. Your weight does not equate your worth.

QUOTES:

[7:14] “When we look at the data and science around diets, around weight loss and weight gain, and yo yo dieting, we often see that they don’t work, and people often gain the weight, if not more, back. I have a theory and belief it’s because people are using that vehicle to validate their self worth, and that work is done outside of weight loss.” - Katie Bramlett
“I have a theory that people are using that vehicle (weight loss and diets) to validate their self-worth.” - Katie Bramlett
“I’m not saying weight loss is bad. I’m saying when we lead with that, the fruits of that effort are often short-lived.” - Katie Bramlett
“What we’re really looking for is this self-worth piece and we think that that’s connected to this body.” - Jenn Trepeck
[17:12] “For me, I define self worth as the ability to express my most authentic self, regardless of other people’s opinions.” - Katie Bramlett
[36:07] “I just want to offer kindness to everybody because in a lot of ways this was normalized for all of us, and so getting more critical and more judgemental to yourself or participating in it or being in it is not going to help, so kindness can go far and we have choices.” - Katie Bramlett

RESOURCES:

WeShape Website and 2 Week Free Trial

GUEST RESOURCES

WeShape YouTube

Feeling Lighter Pod YouTube

WeShape Instagram

Feeling Lighter Podcast Instagram

The Feeling Lighter Podcast Apple

WeShape TikTok

WeShape Facebook

GUEST BIO

Katie Bramlett is the CEO and Co-Founder of WeShape and Host of The Feeling Lighter Podcast by WeShape. With a background in Psychology and excellent skills with Infrastructure and Operations, Katie concentrates on the goal that you should strive to feel better in and about your body, not focusing on how to change your body. With over twenty years of experience, Katie is passionate about social change and is leading WeShape’s brand mission of bringing awareness to the toxic weight loss culture. Her entire company and product is rooted in intention, movement, community, and beliefs. She aims to help people bring self love and emotional intelligence to fitness and to create self awareness through meaningful conversations.

Nutrition Nugget: Thunderbird Real Food Energy Bars

vendredi 26 juillet 2024 • Duration 12:23

Nutrition Nugget! Bite-size, bonus episodes offering tips, tricks and approachable science. This week, Jenn is talking about Thunderbird Real Food Energy Bars. While the ingredients are simple and real food, are they really the best choice to have on hand? Jenn walks through the nutrition facts of a few different bars to determine who these energy bars may be best for. Tune in to learn if this is something you should have stocked in your desk drawer or just eat on occasion. Like what you're hearing? Be sure to check out the full length episodes; new releases every Wednesday. Have an idea for a nutrition nugget? Submit it here: https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/index.php/contact/

RESOURCES:

LAST CHANCE: Tickets to Salad with a Side of Fries LIVE in NYC on July 25, 2024

Untying the Knot of Fitness & Body Composition

Episode 260

mercredi 24 juillet 2024 • Duration 48:10

When you think about your health, what is it that you picture? When you push yourself to workout, what do you say to yourself? Do you exercise because you hate your body and want to change it? Do you think about how you look or how many pounds you want to lose? If you find yourself focusing on fitness because it’s supposed to change your body composition, you may be missing the bigger picture of what health means.

This week Jenn is talking about untying the knot of fitness and body composition. Many times, we can get stuck in a cycle of obsessing over what we look like in the mirror, and the results will determine whether we are “healthy” or not. But what if we looked at all the other factors that go into health? During this episode, Jenn discusses how psychology plays into our feelings around our fitness regime, the hierarchy of movement, and what the other parts of health include. She describes how she utilizes tracking with her clients so they can see what their habits are when they are feeling their best. Tune in to learn how to reframe your thoughts around exercise and appreciate the miracle of the body you have.

IN THIS EPISODE:

[7:28] Why is there confusion with fitness and body composition?
[12:00] How does psychology play into our feelings around our fitness routines?
[20:18] How can you determine what your desired outcome actually is?
[25:29] What’s the first step to reframing our feelings around fitness and health?
[28:35] What is the hierarchy of movement?
[30:15] What are the other factors of health?
[34:19] How does Jenn utilize tracking with her clients?
[37:58] How can you separate movement from the way your body looks?
[42:27] Jenn shares her thoughts around BMI and motivation.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Health isn’t just fitness and nutrition. Expand your definition of what it means to live a healthy life to include your mental health, happiness, energy, and sleep quality.
To determine what habits set you up for success, track your stress level, mood, sleep, energy, confidence and then look to see on which days you felt the best, what habits you were doing.
Your body is an absolute miracle. Creating awareness and reframing your thoughts around your body and appreciating all the things it does for you, allows you to look at a new narrative.

QUOTES:

[27:04] “When I first start working with a client, we don’t talk about the movement component in depth for about a month and it’s on their radar anyway. It’s almost like by not hyper focusing on it, and giving them other tools and things that we’re building on each week, it inherently starts to diminish some of that importance on that activity or the intensity of that activity.” - Jenn Trepeck
[28:01] “Just as we know it’s not human to be sitting all day, it's also not human to sit all day and go berserk for an hour.” - Jenn Trepeck
[30:04] “There isn’t one thing we’re going to do for our health that is going to trump or outshine or outdo the other pieces of health.” - Jenn Trepeck
[40:11] “What if during our movement, we could just sort of have a moment of wonder at how amazing this human body is, and thank goodness we don’t have to think about which muscles move to make a movement happen and to breathe and to make sure the heart beats, and all of these things, like the body is an absolute miracle.” - Jenn Trepeck

RESOURCES:

The Ultimate BioHack Episode

Longevity Equation Episode

Blue Zones Episode

Biostack over Biohack Episode

Jenn Trepeck's Episode on Weight Loss and Wellness For Real

Tickets to Salad with a Side of Fries LIVE in NYC on July 25, 2024

Nutrition Nugget: The Calcium Paradox

vendredi 19 juillet 2024 • Duration 11:47

Nutrition Nugget! Bite-size, bonus episodes offering tips, tricks and approachable science. This week, Jenn is talking about the calcium paradox. Through her research she found that there have actually been four different calcium paradoxes over the years. She touches on each of them in detail in this episode. Listen in to understand the details, but remember at the end of the day, when hearing new information, look at the whole picture, focus on balancing nutrition and ensuring that you are getting all the vitamins and minerals that your body needs. Like what you're hearing? Be sure to check out the full length episodes; new releases every Wednesday. Have an idea for a nutrition nugget? Submit it here: https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/index.php/contact/

RESOURCES:

Bone Health and the Problem with Bone Density Episode

Circa Your Circadian Rhythm Episode

Tickets to Salad with a Side of Fries LIVE in NYC on July 25, 2024

Make it Last! (feat. Heather Heynen)

Episode 259

mercredi 17 juillet 2024 • Duration 44:50

Do you struggle with binge eating, and no matter what you’ve tried, you just can’t stop? Or maybe you’ve tried to lose weight by eating less and then threw in the towel because it was just too hard? This week, Jenn is talking to therapist Heather Heynen about how to make progress for the long run, not just for a short period of time.

Today, Jenn is joined by therapist Heather Heynen to discuss overcoming binge eating, restricting, and yo-yo dieting once and for all. She explains some common causes behind eating disorders for many people, and the steps that can be taken to heal our relationship with food. Heather breaks down some somatic practices that you can try, as well as how to name your feelings so you are able to lower the temperature on them and recover without leaning on something else, like food or substances, to numb those feelings. She shares the valuable difference between state and story, and why changing your story can change your habits...for good! Tune in to learn more about these wonderful tools!

IN THIS EPISODE:

[6:28] How does binge eating, restricting, yo-yo dieting and anxiety all play into Healther’s work today?
[8:15] How often does Heather see these issues as a mental health therapist?
[10:00] What are some of the biggest mistakes Heather sees people making when it comes to trying to change their behavior?
[12:38] What are somatic practices and why are they so much more effective?
[16:01] What is big T trauma vs. little t trauma?
[20:05] Where do you start with healing your relationship with food?
[24:49] How do these tools lead to long term behavior changes?
[26:27] If you process your feelings more in your head, what can you do to work through it?
[28:39] What is state vs. story?
[32:02] How can we help children feel their feelings or tolerate distress better?
[34:39] What lessons has Heather been able to learn through her solo bike packing trips?
[38:24] How can you cultivate giving yourself grace?

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

When you learn how to feel and experience your emotions, you will no longer need other things, i.e. food or substances, to numb and avoid those feelings.
Long term results come from consistency, being patient with yourself, giving yourself a lot of compassion and grace throughout the process.
You either hold your emotions in your body (energy) or in your head (thoughts). Learning how to process both of them can lead to freedom from unwanted habits.

QUOTES:

[8:32] “The biggest disordered eating pattern is binge eating disorder, overeating, emotional eating, that sort of thing. In my practice, I do specialize in treating that, so I personally see it, but if we look at statistics, that is definitely the biggest type of disordered eating that we have going on.” - Heather Heynen
“I think anybody can do anything for a finite period of time...then it becomes a function of how we can create the things we can do for an infinite amount of time." – Jenn Trepeck
[13:03] “Our thoughts create our feelings, our feelings drive our behaviors, our behaviors give us our results, so you can understand why working with the thoughts and shifting to the more helpful ones is really important when we’re talking about sustainable behavior change.” - Heather Heynen
[13:42] “Our feelings, our emotions really are energy within our bodies, and if we don’t learn how to process emotion, it gets stuck. It gets stuck within the body and it can lead to physical issues with the body, it does lead to weight gain, that’s another physical component. It can lead to a lot of anxiety and depression, so processing emotions is really important.” - Heather Heynen
[24:58] “Binge eating is related to emotion, meaning we are eating to try to numb, we’re eating to try to change an emotion that we’re feeling. We don’t want to feel whatever it is that we’re feeling. So if that is one of the biggest reasons that we eat, we get triggered to binge all these things and we want to stop that long term, then learning the skill of feeling our feelings, even the horrible, awful feelings, just learning to feel them and experience them, it’s amazing.” - Heather Heynen
[28:56] “Learning to have this more helpful narrative, helpful stories, can really help us create a state of being that’s a lot more peaceful. But the other side of the coin is that if we can create a more peaceful state, then our story happens to be more helpful as well.” - Heather Heynen

RESOURCES:

Jenn Trepeck's Episode on Weight Loss and Wellness For Real

Heather Heynen’s Instagram

GUEST RESOURCES:

Heather Heynen's Website

Heather Heynen's Facebook

Heather Heynen Wellness YouTube

Weight Loss and Wellness For Real Podcast

GUEST BIO:

Heather Heynen is a Licensed Professional Counselor-Mental Health, Qualified Mental Health Professional, Life Coach, FMS Certified Exercise Professional, Health Coach, Podcaster & Writer. Heather has been working in private practice for over 20 years as a licensed mental health therapist, life coach & health coach. Along the way, she worked for some years as a part-time personal trainer, owned a Cross-Fit gym and created an online weight-loss & maintenance program.

Heather is 50 years old and a mother to one child. She loves to travel and is an avid rock-climber, mountain biker and has taken on multiple solo multi-day bike-packing challenges over the past few years.

She is a recovered binge-eater, restricter, yo-yo dieter and suffered with anxiety for years. This led her to creating and hosting the podcast Weight Loss & Wellness For Real and also creating online courses all with the purpose to help others find food and body freedom as well as purpose and joy in life. Her mission is to bring whole-person health (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) to individuals so they can live their absolute best lives.

Nutrition Nugget: Jet Lag

vendredi 12 juillet 2024 • Duration 13:09

Nutrition Nugget! Bite-size, bonus episodes offering tips, tricks and approachable science. This week, Jenn is talking about jet lag. Did you know there is a difference between jet lag and travel fatigue? Jenn dives into the difference, how to manage travel impacts, and the best tips for how to improve jet lag after a flight or prevent it altogether. Tune in to learn how to battle post travel exhaustion. Like what you're hearing? Be sure to check out the full length episodes; new releases every Wednesday. Have an idea for a nutrition nugget? Submit it here: https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/index.php/contact/

RESOURCES:

Circa Your Circadian Rhythm Episode