Episode 264

Live from New York...It's Salad with a Side of Fries!

Published on: 21st August, 2024

We can’t believe we have hit 5 years of Salad With a Side of Fries! This episode highlights audience questions from the Live podcast recording in NYC. Tune in to hear the answers to those questions that can benefit anyone on their health journey. If you’re new to Salad with a Side of Fries, this is a great episode to start with.

In this episode, you will hear questions that audience members asked Jenn during her Live podcast recording in NYC to celebrate 5 years of Salad With a Side of Fries. Audience members get the opportunity to ask their questions and receive live coaching from Jenn. Questions include how blood sugar works, how to manage insulin resistance, if you should drink soda, why someone may have a sudden weight gain and so much more. Whether it’s your first time with us or you’ve been a listener for the last five years, tune in to hear questions from everyday people that you are likely wondering for yourself. 

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: 

  • [6:15] What made Jenn start her podcast?
  • [10:37] Jenn explains why burning fat and storing fat are related to blood sugar. 
  • [14:30] What happens when you are insulin resistant? 
  • [15:50] Why is fat important and what types should be added to your diet? 
  • [22:10] Which is worse - regular soda or diet soda?
  • [23:35] How can you determine the first thing that you should change when it comes to your health? 
  • [25:54] How do you determine how much food you should eat? 
  • [29:14] What can cause sudden weight gain? 
  • [33:14] Where do you find the best support for your health journey (health coach, nutritionist, etc.)?
  • [37:33] What are some things that Jenn has given up in her diet and why?
  • [42:46] Jenn addresses intermittent fasting and how it works with the body.
  • [47:59] If you are drinking alcohol, what’s the best way to approach it? 

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

  • Protein and fiber at every meal makes removing fat no big deal (and eat some quality fat too). 
  • What’s one thing you want to change about your health today or prevent in the future? The answer to that question is what you should start with on your health journey. One thing at a time, one step at a time, one thing to move your health forward. 
  • Balancing blood sugar is key to removing fat. Start your meal with protein, fiber, and fat, then add in high-glycemic carbs and the dessert to keep yourself from spiking your blood sugar too high. If you start with high-glycemic carbs or sugar, your insulin spikes and then gets stored as fat. 

QUOTES: 

  • [10:37] “Whether you are burning fat or storing fat is a function of blood sugar.” - Jenn Trepeck
  • [12:24] “When we eat too little, when we cut out whole food groups, when we dramatically cut calories, our body doesn't realize that there's a refrigerator full of food that we’re choosing not to eat. And it says, you won't kill me, I will survive. So anything it gets, it stores as fat because fat is fuel stored to be used later.” - Jenn Trepeck
  • [45:01] “Because we’re all losing it as water, muscle, and bone, gaining it back as fat, losing it as water, muscle, and bone, gaining it back as fat. So over time, we could end up at the same number on the scale as we were before, but by our body composition, we’re actually fatter at that number, which means our health is not the same.” - Jenn Trepeck

RESOURCES:

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

Next Episode All Episodes Previous Episode

Listen for free

Show artwork for Salad With a Side of Fries  Nutrition, Wellness & Weight Loss

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

Profile picture for Jennifer Trepeck

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!