Episode 325
Book Talk: Uncomplicating Wellness
Wellness without rules isn't just a concept; it's a revolution in how women can approach their health. Are you tired of conflicting advice, restrictive diets, and the overwhelming noise of wellness culture? It's time to ditch the broken tools you've been given and discover that you're not broken; you just need a different approach. This conversation explores how to rebuild body trust, embrace personalized wellness, and reclaim your life at every stage.
Host Jenn Trepeck of Salad With a Side of Fries hosts an honest roundtable discussion about her new book, Uncomplicating Wellness. Jenn explores women's health journey through different life stages, from post-surgery recovery to menopause, tackling everything from stress management to how to build trust with your body again without the pressure of perfection.
What You Will Learn in This Episode:
✅ Why wellness without rules works better than rigid plans, and how to stop calorie counting and focus on protein, quality fats, and fiber instead for sustainable results across every life stage
✅ How to cut through the noise of social media wellness culture and identify which supplements, morning routines, and health trends actually serve your personalized wellness goals versus what's just marketing hype
✅ The power of self-advocacy in healthcare—learning to ask the right questions, listen to your body, and build your care team when traditional doctors don't have all the answers for menopause wellness, gut health, or chronic conditions
✅ Simple stress management techniques that actually work (like the breath-fogging trick) and why small, consistent actions create momentum better than beating yourself into compliance ever will
The Salad With a Side of Fries podcast, hosted by Jenn Trepeck, explores real-life wellness and weight loss, debunking myths, misinformation, and flawed 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.
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00 Introduction to Jenn’s book, Uncomplicating Wellness and the launch party and mini summit details (Register to attend here: https://bit.ly/UWminisummitreg)
02:36 Four women share their one-word relationships with wellness culture from "exploratory" and "evolving" to "work" and "menopause"—revealing how personalized wellness looks different for everyone
07:59 First impressions of Uncomplicating Wellness: How the conversational tone, digestible content, and permission to explore the book non-sequentially differ from typical diet culture books
15:53 How wellness culture noise shows up differently across life stages—from post-ACL surgery recovery to menopause wellness, and why social media's supplement obsession creates dangerous confusion
21:46 The book meets you where you are, but the information can carry you throughout different stages of life and ditching the rules that no longer serve you
30:22 Reclaiming your life through ownership and responsibility, why healthcare shifted responsibility away from patients, and how proactive self-advocacy in healthcare empowers sustainable change
34:26 Stress management in real life, using breath control techniques, the power of validation and acceptance and how words matter
40:43 The snowball effect of wellness without rules: how starting with one thing creates momentum that shows up in unexpected places throughout life, and the must-read chapter recommendation that "You're Not Lazy"
45:15 Final encouragement and book club opportunities: the group celebrates the conversational tone of the book and recommends the launch party
48:20 Jenn announces bonus podcast playlists for each chapter, plus live book club events starting November 13th in New York City
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
💎 Wellness without rules starts with ditching calorie counting and focusing on the foundation: protein, quality fats, and fiber—three simple pillars that help you feel grounded and in control without the obsessive tracking or restriction
💎 Social media's wellness culture is often a loud minority of self-proclaimed gurus with no real credentials. Learning to be innovative and savvy about who you follow protects you from dangerous misinformation about supplements, morning routines, and quick fixes
💎 Self-advocacy in healthcare means recognizing that doctors aren't taught lifestyle alternatives, so building your care team with health coaches and other practitioners helps you ask better questions and find options beyond just prescriptions
💎 Small consistent actions create real momentum, whether it's adding pink Himalayan salt to water for better hydration, taking one breath before responding to stress, or starting with just one food swap
RESOURCES:
Become a Happy Healthy Hub Member
A Salad With A Side Of Fries Merch
A Salad With a Side of Fries Instagram
October 29th Mini Summit Registration
QUOTES:
13:23 "As I've been talking about the book, it's not a plan, it's not another diet or wellness book the way we think of them or what is presented to us." - Jenn Trepeck
22:24 "I think we assume that the person on social media has the same objective that we do. We don't really know and we don't know where they're coming from." - Jenn Trepeck
30:11 "You're not broken. You have been given broken tools." - Jenn Trepeck
36:30 "What I love about what you just shared is that it demonstrates so genuinely what happens when we do a different thing and observe and get curious and see how it all plays out, instead of trying to force a square peg in a round hole." - Jenn Trepeck
44:10 “It starts with one thing and it snowballs, and then it shows up in all these other places in our lives that's beyond what we could have expected.” Jenn Trepeck
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