Episode 270

You Are Not Alone: Relapse Rate

Published on: 2nd October, 2024

If you’ve ever lost weight only to gain it back, you are not alone! This weight re-gain is referred to as relapse and it’s extraordinarily common and this is a must listen! Jenn explores the complexities of breaking the yo-yo dieting cycle, understanding relapse rates in weight management and what we can do to reduce our own relapse rate. 

This week, Jenn discusses the psychological and behavioral challenges of maintaining weight loss, emphasizing the importance of mindset and the tendency to revert to old habits. Drawing parallels to alcohol and smoking breaks, they highlight societal stigma and personal identity issues. The episode emphasizes the need for a holistic approach to lifestyle changes, focusing on sustainable habits and self-awareness to achieve long-term health and wellness.

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: 

  • [01:53] The concept of relapse rates in weight management and behavior change.
  • [03:01] Jenn shares the recipe and tool members get this week..
  • [07:38] The importance of mental and behavioral shifts for maintaining weight loss.
  • [10:35] Weight management relapse rates to those in alcohol recovery.
  • [12:16] What are some of the stigmas associated with weight loss and identity?
  • [23:06] Why individuals regain weight, focusing on the physiological changes during weight loss.
  • [25:05] How low blood sugar affects behavior and the tendency to revert to old habits.
  • [26:01] The importance of quickly noticing when old behaviors resurface to minimize relapse duration and addressing the challenge of changing self-identity from being a dieter to a healthier individual.
  • [30:14] Shifting perspective on cheat meals from frequent indulgences to occasional treats for special occasions.
  • [37:00] What are the tools and behaviors that can help reduce our relapse rates?

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

  • Understand the importance of consistency and sustainable habits to avoid the pitfalls of repetitive weight loss and gain.
  • Recognize the mental and behavioral hurdles that come with keeping the weight off, and develop strategies to address them.
  • Remember what the parallels are between weight management and other behavior changes, such as quitting smoking or reducing alcohol consumption, but unlike those situations, the goal here is not a relapse rate of zero.

QUOTES: 

  • “Maintenance is the least sexy thing there is, and what can happen is we accomplish this success and then we stop doing the things that got us there.” - Jenn Trepeck
  • "When I work with my clients, it's 12 weeks to build the tool belt so you can go live the rest of your life. It's building the tool belt to handle whatever comes our way.” - Jenn Trepeck
  • “There's a misconception of how change works. We're led to believe, and we want to believe, that we flip a switch or check the box and then onward! That's not really how it happens...at all!” - Jenn Trepeck
  • "We end up losing the weight as water, muscle, and bone. The scale stops moving, we get frustrated, we go back to those eating habits, and we gain the weight back as fat."  - Jenn Trepeck
  • "Our objective is not zero relapse; it's to make the relapse shorter, recognize it faster, and have a shorter, quicker path to moving forward." - Jenn Trepeck

RESOURCES:

Become A Member of Salad with a Side of Fries

Jenn’s Free Menu Plan

Celebrating 3 Years with the 5 fat factors

Willpower Won’t Power

How to Cheat

Take your foot off the gas (Reverse Dieting)

A Salad With a Side of Fries

A Salad With A Side Of Fries Merch

A Salad With a Side of Fries Instagram

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About the Podcast

Salad With a Side of Fries Nutrition, Wellness & Weight Loss
What to eat and when to cheat! Let's decipher between all the “diets” out there. You know what to do but it itsn't working. In fact, your diet could be making you fatter.

Ever wondered if cryo-freezing your fat cells would really work? Should you try acupuncture? A hypnotist? If you do, how do you know if someone’s good?

Salad with a Side of Fries is the podcast that will answer all these questions and more! Talking wellness and weight loss for real life, because most of us are going to drink, eat out, skip the grocery store and who wants a life without fries or dessert?! Host Jenn Trepeck’s expertise as an optimal health coach, in practice for over a decade, along with experts in various modalities will clear up the myths, mis-information, bad science and marketing to reveal the truth of HOW TO EAT and HOW TO CHEAT!*



*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This podcast, its content and 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!