Episode 212

Birth Control Part 2: Ditching the Pill (feat. Rach Hoeppner)

Published on: 23rd August, 2023

Are you ready to say F birth control? Tune in if you want to safely get off birth control, learn what your symptoms may be telling you, and focus on alternatives to hormonal birth control.

This episode is part 2 of the 2-part conversation about birth control. Part 2 features Holistic Nutritionist, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, and Women’s Health, Hormone, and Fertility Specialist, Rach Hoeppner. Rach shares what is actually happening within our bodies while on hormonal birth control as well as the unknown side effects. She gives guidance on how to come off birth control and steps from her program, Better Than Birth Control, which focuses on detoxification and gut health. The information Rach covers in this episode is so eye opening, and a must listen for any woman in your life. Tune in and share with your friends and family so we can create awareness about what hormonal contraception is doing in the body and how harmful hormonal birth control can be.  

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:

●   [6:12] What led Rach to become a holistic health nutritionist?

●   [12:22] Rach shares how she works with her clients. 

●   [14:44] What is hormonal birth control actually doing in our body?

●   [19:22] Rach discusses some of the unknown side effects of birth control. 

●   [24:35] Why should you not stop hormonal birth control cold turkey?

●   [26:39] What is Post Birth Control Syndrome?

●   [29:10] How does your body protect you and your essential organs from an overflow of hormones? (hint: fat cells)

●   [34:50] Rach shares the roadmap steps in her program: Better Than Birth Control. 

●   [42:50] While focusing on detoxification and gut repair, how long might it take for a cycle to return?

●   [45:25] How do we know if the symptoms we're experiencing are a result from hormonal birth control versus the symptoms of what potentially led us to start hormonal birth control in the first place? How are the symptoms different from perimenopause? 

●   [51:22] What are a couple key lifestyle elements to think about while going through the detox and repair process?

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

●   For your cycle to fully return to the way mother nature intended it to, it may take 1 month per year of you taking birth control. So if you were on birth control for 10 years, expect it to take 10 cycles to return to normal.

●   Many young girls and women get put on birth control to help with symptoms they are experiencing such as heavy bleeds, cramping, or acne. All of these symptoms have an underlying cause that birth control is not going to fix. Birth control strictly puts you into a medicated menopause, and the symptoms will return when you get off birth control. 

●   The extended use of hormonal birth control has the ability to shrink your ovaries by up to 50%. And the size of your ovaries has a direct correlation to your number of fertile years.

QUOTES: 

“As of 2017-2019, it was something like 60% of women aged 15-49 were on some form of hormonal birth control...odds are, this applies to most people.” - Jenn Trepeck

“By the time I was 23, I was on six different medications and I felt awful. I just felt terrible all the time. I remember going to doctors and being like, what is causing this? Why am I so sick and these medications aren't making me better? I felt like I was just getting doors closed in my face and no doctor ever questioned my hormonal birth control ever.” - Rach Hoeppner

“I think one of my biggest takeaways, Jenn, is that women are terribly underserved and highly overmedicated and all medication does is work to mask symptoms.” - Rach Hoeppner

“I like to remind women that hormonal birth control is actually medicated menopause. And if it was labeled that way, I do not think people would take it as willingly.” - Rach Hoeppner

RESOURCES:

Birth Control Part 1 Podcast Episode

Seven Day Detox Podcast Episode

The Body's Natural Detoxification Pathway Podcast Episode

Become A Member of Salad with a Side of Fries

Jenn’s Free Menu Plan

A Salad With a Side of Fries

A Salad With A Side Of Fries Merch

A Salad With a Side of Fries Instagram

GUEST RESOURCES

Real Health With Rach Website

FREE Pathways of Detoxification Support Guide

Better Than Birth Control Course

Real Health With Rach Instagram

Real Health with Rach Facebook

 GUEST BIO:

Rachel Hoeppner is a Holistic Nutritionist, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, and Women’s Health, Hormone, and Fertility Specialist. She entered the field of holistic health after being underserved by conventional medicine that put bandaids on her symptoms in the form of medications. Through her training and with years of experience, Rach was able to heal her PCOS, hypothyroidism, severe cystic acne, and extreme anxiety naturally without medication, including hormonal birth control. Now in her private practice she is passionate about helping women detox from hormonal birth control, identify the true causes of their symptoms, and live in harmony with their hormones to look and feel their absolute best!

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About the Podcast

Salad With a Side of Fries Nutrition, Wellness & Weight Loss
Nutrition tips that actually work. Real-life healthy eating, balanced diet tools, and weight loss tips you can use today with coach Jenn Trepeck.*

If you have searched for nutrition tips, tried to keep a healthy lifestyle, or felt stuck following popular weight loss tips, this podcast is for you. Get straightforward wellness advice that works in real life, plus strategies for a balanced diet, sustainable healthy eating, and a smarter approach to fitness and nutrition. Is your diet making you hungrier, crankier, or less healthy? Tune in and find out.*

Free gift: Schedule a 15-minute curiosity call with Jenn to explore what is possible for you. https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/contact/

Welcome to Salad with a Side of Fries, where wellness meets real life. Award-winning host Jenn Trepeck, health and lifestyle coach and author of Uncomplicating Wellness, cuts through the noise with clear answers you can trust. Ranked in the top 1.5% of podcasts worldwide, the show won Ear Worthy’s Best Health Podcast in 2024 and 2025 and was nominated for Best Independent Podcast both years. Jenn also won Women Who Podcast’s Stellar Interview award in 2025 after being named one of Podcast Magazine’s 40 under 40 in 2022.

Jenn’s motto is “wellness without the weirdness.” With more than 17 years coaching after solving her own food struggles, she knows how confusing the industry can be. Each week you get the foundations of a balanced diet, sustainable healthy eating, metabolism basics, and long-term holistic health, plus straight talk on fad diets and supplements.

What you will get by listening:
✅How to eat and how to cheat, guilt-free
✅Nutrition tips that work in the real world
✅Weight loss tips that are effective, never restrictive
✅How to build a balanced plate at home, on the road, and eating out
✅Smart strategies for sustainable habits that include your favorite foods
✅Evidence-based insights on fitness and nutrition
✅Conversations about holistic health that go beyond food
✅Wellness advice you can use right away


About Jenn Trepeck:
Jenn is a health coach, speaker, and consultant who blends humor with practical science. She has helped thousands improve energy, metabolism, and confidence in their choices through one-on-one coaching, group programs, her book, and this podcast.

Connect with Jenn and the show:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenntrepeck/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saladwithasideoffriespod
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jenntrepeck
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JenniferTrepeck/
Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/425796548337541/
Website: https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/

If you are ready to trade guilt for freedom, confusion for clarity, and boring salads for fries on the side, press play. Health gets doable here.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This podcast and its guests are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

About your host

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Jennifer Trepeck

“My passion for nutrition and helping others stems from “kicking my food issues” with my own weight management saga.” ~ Jenn

I believe that the greatest accountability is paying it forward! That’s why I teach the nutrition education we are all supposed to know but no one ever taught us, along with the science behind food, fitness, and health.

After I graduated from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, I founded Better Life Now LLC while working full-time in hedge funds. In 2019, I took my practice from side-hustle to full-time self-employment and launched my podcast, Salad With a Side of Fries. On the show, we offer science-based tips and tricks for how to achieve wellness and weight loss for real life – because who wants a life without fries or dessert?!

Topics we tackle on the podcast include debunking fad diets, food myths, misinformation in marketing, bad science, and general nutrition. I encourage guests whose expertise is different from my own focus on weight management to bring their unique, fact-based perspectives to talk about subjects they are educated in and passionate about.

Due to my decade-long experience of working with clients, I have gained insight into the health and food industry and the how-tos of building a business.

Some specific health and wellness topics I can speak to include debunking fad diets, exposing the BS we are fed by the food and diet industry, how the people around us can positively and negatively impact our health journey, and shifting mindsets in order to overcome inappropriate barometers of success to instead achieve happy, healthy, and meaningful change.

On the subject of business, I can help you by teaching my critical pieces every entrepreneur should know, how to make your side-hustle into your full-time job, ways to sustainably achieve success without burning out, contemporary networking, and how to prioritize wellness while pursuing your projects.

When I find some free time, I’m typically working out at Physique57, discovering hidden gem restaurants in NYC, or traveling to spend time with friends and family.

I’d love to have an in-depth conversation with you, whether it’s leveling up in business or debunking food myths!