Stop letting diet culture and social media define what wellness means for you. It's time to cut through the noise, ditch the "shoulds," and create your own personal wellness blueprint that actually fits your life. Ready to redefine wellness on your own terms?
In this episode of Salad With a Side of Fries, host Jenn Trepeck tackles the big question: what is wellness? How do you move beyond BMI charts, diet industry trends, and Instagram influencers to define wellness that prioritizes energy, longevity, and improves quality of life? From understanding health outcomes versus disease prevention to building healthy habits that support both physical health and mental health, this episode gives you the tools to filter wellness noise and focus on what truly matters. Discover how to set health goals that honor your body, mind, and spirit—and learn why a wellness journey should never mean opting out of life.
What You Will Learn in This Episode:
✅ How to create your own personal wellness definition that goes beyond weight loss and BMI to include energy, longevity, and quality of life
✅ Why the diet industry and social media influencers may not be pursuing the same health goals you are—and how to filter their advice accordingly
✅ The difference between preventing disease and achieving optimal wellness, including how to move from zero (absence of illness) to the positive numbers on the health outcomes spectrum
✅ Practical ways to assess your wellness journey by examining what's standing in the way of your desired experiences, from playing with your kids to traveling in your 80s
The Salad With a Side of Fries podcast, hosted by Jenn Trepeck, explores real-life wellness and weight-loss topics, debunking myths, misinformation, and flawed science surrounding 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 Defining wellness for 2026, and understanding what it means before setting health goals
05:27 Doctors focus on disease prevention rather than optimal wellness and longevity, and what questions should your doctor be asking
13:14 Why today's diet industry has rebranded as "wellness" and how to recognize marketing versus substance
16:00 The marathon training trap: why social media algorithms push content that may not align with your personal wellness goals
19:26 The flawed premise behind belly fat articles and why stress management matters more than specific foods
24:16 What wellness is NOT: BMI, disease states, cleanses, or opting out of social wellness and life events
27:30 Jenn's wellness definition: having energy to live your life, mental bandwidth, and freedom to choose rather than just survive
30:29 Using wearables and tools like heart rate variability to inform your wellness journey and empower better choices
35:05 Critical questions to define personal wellness: what do you want in life, and what's standing in your way right now
41:25 Discussion of perfectionism versus discernment and making choices
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
💎 Wellness isn't a number on a scale or your BMI—it's the energy to live your life fully, the ability to sleep through the night without pain, and having mental bandwidth to show up for your job, family, and joy. True wellness definition prioritizes freedom over restriction.
💎 The diet industry has rebranded itself as “wellness”, pushing everything from protein-packed products to functional supplements. Filter this noise by asking: Does this align with MY health goals, or someone else's? What works for marathon runners may not serve your personal wellness vision.
💎 Western medicine focuses on getting you back to zero (absence of disease), but optimal wellness exists in the positive numbers—this is where longevity, vitality, and actual health outcomes live. Don't wait for your doctor to tell you there's a problem before prioritizing your health.
💎 Create your wellness journey by identifying what experiences you want in life and what's standing in the way. Whether it's getting off the toilet independently at 90 or traveling with friends in your 80s, your daily choices today determine your future capabilities.
RESOURCES:
Become a Happy Healthy Hub Member
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
About Uncomplicating Wellness
Text ‘Book’ to 833-801-0500
The Kids are Not Alright. Are We? #skinnytok #tiktoxic (feat. Dr. Jillian Lampert)
Nutrition Nugget: Mosh Bars
Nutrition Nugget: Creatine
Top 5 Tips for Digesting Nutrition News
BMI is BS
Top 10 of 2025
QUOTES:
13:08 "I wish I had a different word for it because I think today, wellness is just a code word for today's diet industry." - Jenn Trepeck
25:30 "If your plan has you opting out of life, it's not your plan for life." - Jenn Trepeck
27:42 "Wellness is the energy to live your life. It's the ability to chase your kid up the hill and roll down laughing. It's sleeping through the night without pain. It's thinking about something other than food all day." - Jenn Trepeck
37:07 "What you do today has everything to do with where we'll be 12 weeks from now. So what's standing in the way of us being able to get up off the toilet by ourselves when we're 80, when we're 90, when we're 110?" - Jenn Trepeck
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