Plan to Feel Great

Plan to feel great

Plan to Feel Great!

Today we’re talking about a topic that doesn’t feel all that mellow yellow: the experience of peeing when you don’t want to be peeing. It’s called urinary incontinence (UI), and it affects A LOT more people than you might guess! Though this topic is a little taboo, we’re going to have some fun with it, and by the end, you’re going to know what to do about it for yourself or your loved ones. UI occurs when you suddenly get a strong urge to pee and you just can’t get to the toilet quickly enough. It’s caused by your bladder sending you the “urge” signal and failing to be controlled by your pelvic floor muscles. In this episode, I’ll share pro tips on what to do in these scenarios and how to train your muscles, so that you can remain happy and splash-free!

Remember that 90s pop song where the woman sang, "I've got the power!"? She's right. She does, and you do, too! There may be many things in life that we don’t have control over, but there is quite a lot that we DO, especially when it comes to your health. When you take responsibility for creating changes that are within your power, you move from the passenger seat to the driver’s seat. And then you're free to put the pedal to the metal! Recognizing and wielding your power can seem like a daunting task, but it's essential if you want to get closer to goals like living pain-free, losing weight, or sticking to your healthy-eating goals. Tune into this week's episode for a few easy tips on how to do it!

Raise your hand if you know you drink the proper amount of water each day! How much is the proper amount, you ask? Roughly 0.5 oz to 1 oz of water per pound of body weight per day. (Do you still have your hand raised? Good!) This amount may seem like a lot, but it’s what our bodies need to perform optimally. Dehydration occurs when you use/lose more fluid than you take in, and your body doesn't have enough water and other fluids to carry out its normal functions. Episode 31 of my podcast is all about how water can make you feel (and look!) your absolute best, so fill up a water bottle and press play on this week's episode!

Sometimes it seems like our BAD habits occur so easily and effortlessly, don’t they? Why aren’t we as compelled to eat broccoli as we are to eat cupcakes?!  But there is a way to get ourselves to participate in healthy habits without even thinking about it… and that is to make them automatic.  I work with my clients a lot on their habits, because it’s one of the best ways to improve your mental and physical health; changing the little things that you do on a daily basis can help you lose or maintain your weight, live pain-free, have healthy relationships, and so much more.  I have one trick that is majorly effective in helping you incorporate good habits into your life; check it out in this week's episode! 

Arthritis is swelling and tenderness in your joints. Osteoarthritis, one of the most common types which more than 27 million Americans suffer from, causes a breakdown in your cartilage - the hard, slippery tissue that covers the ends of bones where they form a joint. When cartilage is good, it cushions the ends of the bones and allows nearly frictionless joint motion. But when cartilage is damaged, it can result in bone grinding directly on bone, which causes pain and restricted movement. Ouch! I help clients with this ailment frequently, and one thing I’ve noticed is that many patients have a doom and gloom attitude (as well as a lot of misconceptions) about arthritis.  Well, here's some news: arthritis is no longer your grandma's joint pain!  The medical community has come a long way regarding the treatment and prognosis of arthritis, so the idea that it is a condition that you can't help, that it's just going to get worse, and you'll be sitting around knitting sweaters for the rest of your life or popping pills everyday is DATED. This episode is all about giving you hope! We talk about factors that might put you at risk for osteoarthritis (such as family history, weight, and previous injury) and what you can do about them, as well as what to do if you’ve already got it. Remember: physical therapy should be your FIRST line of defense against osteoarthritis!

Which statement sounds more believable: "I am trying to improve my back pain," or "I am reducing my back pain by doing deep core strengthening and back extensions every day for 10 minutes at 7:30 am and 7:30 pm"? The difference between these two statements is specificity. Being specific gives you direction, helps you stay on track, and helps you to know when you're getting closer to your goal! So if you are trying to create a plan to reach a goal, resist the temptation to be vague with your goals. For instance, if you’re trying to "eat healthier", how will you know when you’ve succeeded? With a goal that vague, did you succeed because you ate one apple, or did you succeed because you did meal planning? It’s imperative to be specific, so that you can create DAILY habits that push you toward your goal.  Consider changing just one thing at a time. The salad challenge that my Facebook group participated in was specific: "I will eat a salad every day Monday through Friday for lunch." And we smashed through that goal! So as you see, the more specific we get, the easier we attain our goals. Learn more about it in this week's episode! 

When you go to the movie theater, is it a given that you buy popcorn? What about on your morning commute: do you pass a doughnut shop and pop in for a coffee and a few glazed holes? How often do you pause to think about whether you really, actually want these things, or whether you’re indulging in them simply because they are there?  Hey, there’s no shaming going on here! Rather, I want you to become more aware of the *cues* in your life.  As a doctor of physical therapy, I use verbal and physical cues all the time and I’m always impressed by how powerful they are! So many things can be cues -- places, objects, and even  people -- that it’s important to take a step back and recognize what they are and the effect they can have, especially when they trigger cravings. But it’s important to evolve to the point where we identify the subtle cues that we follow without considering whether we actually want what is being offered. This episode takes a look at this topic, and could very well help you unhook from a few cues in your life! If you have a cue that you’re stuck on and want some help, join my free Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/plantofeelgreat/; it’s the perfect place to speak up, and I’d love to help you.

Sleep and health, pain and weight loss are intricately connected. Sleeping well and feeling rested are essential!

Got negative people in your life who are trying to rain on your goals? Our first instinct may be to avoid them, but depending on how close they are in your life, that’s not always possible. So It’s important to learn how to deal with these kinds of people in a healthy way.  The reason is because (you guessed it) neuroplasticity! Our brains respond to what we put in them -- not just books and education, but also the people and media in our environment.  Our actual brain pathways are influenced toward more positive thoughts or more negative thoughts, and our environment also affects our drive toward goals. Meaning whatever your goal, whether it’s to run a 5K or save up for a cruise, having naysayers around you actually, literally does affect your chances of reaching that goal! Sometimes it pushes us harder to achieve the goal. But other times, it extinguishes that fragile glimmer of a goal before it even has a chance to grow.  This episode shares tips on how to deal with naysayers in your life. I also talk about how to clarify the naysayer’s actual intent: maybe they’re actually trying to push you forward, but don’t know how to do it. Either way, you’ll gain strategies on how to protect your goals, how to convey what’s important to you, and how to gain healthy space if you need it. After all, your brain is fertile soil; protect what grows in there! :-)

If you’ve been listening closely to the last two episodes, you now understand that you can work out your brain the way you work out at the gym! It’s called neuroplasticity and it’s likely something that you practice already on a small scale, but with conscious effort, you can maximize its results. Never say “I can't” but instead to say “I'll try” because your brain is wired to deliver whatever you feed it. And for my clients, I find that when they're mentally OPEN to stretching a little further, for instance, they actually often DO. Your life can be the same way! Whatever you're working toward, whether it's rehabbing after injury, trying to run a 5K, or lose weight, words like “I'll try” get your brain thinking of all the ways that you CAN do it, rather than getting caught up in why you can’t. This alone can increase your results exponentially! Learn more about this, and how you can shake off fixed stereotypes or misconceptions that we have about ourselves, in this episode!

This week's episode dives deeper into the heady (pun intended) topics Dr. Alicia Flach and I covered in episode 22. As a professor of neurological physical therapy, we talked about how the brain's pathways change and new pathways are created through what we do, what we think, and the environment around us. That means the power is within us! Since it's possible to retrain your brain, let's explore that deeper. Whether your goal is to run faster, reduce back pain, lose weight, or whatever else, if we can change our brains, we can change our lives. Permanently. Every time you practice your goal, you are building new pathways, new wiring that instructs your brain to perform a task in better ways. So this episode dives into how you can start using neuroplasticity to change what you do on a daily basis to help you live your ideal life!

This week’s episode dives deep into neuroplasticity - the brain’s ability to change and reorganize itself and the way it functions! My dear friend and colleague, Dr. Alicia Flach, a professor in neurological rehabilitation at the University of South Carolina, has spent her career helping patients with stroke and spinal cord injuries find a way to get back some of the abilities that were lost. In so doing, she has spent countless years learning about the capabilities of the human brain. This field of neuro rehab is where a lot of the study in neuroplasticity started, and our conversation in this episode gives you background on how you yourself can use neuroplasticity to create changes in your own brain! We often think that large leaps in brain capability tend to happen during childhood, or in people who’ve had neurological injuries, but the truth is, the brain is an amazing tool capable of growth during any stage in life. All kinds of stimuli contribute to the expansion of new neural pathways in the brain, but some of the more interesting parts of our conversation explored the positive (and negative) power of feedback, as well as the fact that since your brain is changed by your experiences, and your thoughts are part of your experiences... the more you think positively or negatively, the stronger your neural pathways become. Meaning we can switch which pathways are growing through positive self-talk. It’s actual science! This episode explains all of this further, and much more; go ahead and tune in!

In episode 21 of the podcast, we’re exploring exactly what it means to play to your strengths. It really is the best strategy in life, because the things that we focus on are the things that grow, right? After all, many of us have heard the quote, “water the plants that you want to grow.” So if you have two flowers, and one is a beautiful rose and the other is a thorny weed, why would you spend day after day watering the weed if that’s not the flower that you want to grow big and strong? Yet many of us do that very thing when it comes to life. We avoid things that are good for us because we didn’t take the time to get creative about how to achieve the result we want into our lives. We get hung up on why something isn’t working rather than thinking of a fresh idea to get the ball rolling. For instance, a commitment to fitness doesn’t HAVE to mean buying gym membership; fitness can include a regular walking group, a dance class, or even an aerial aerobics class! They sky is the limit. Finding a way to have a good time, have some fun, and doing things that come naturally to you (rather than trudging through things that you hate) will make it much easier to stick to changes you want to make in life. Dive in to episode 21 for more tips, examples, and affirmations!

In this episode, we dive deep into how you can get things moving… and no, we’re not just talking about exercise. We’re talking about another kind of moving, one that keeps you regular, one that starts in your gut and ends in your porcelain throne! Though it might not be dinner party conversation, constipation is a condition that affects nearly 63 million Americans, according to the American Gastroenterological Association. For some people, constipation is little more than an occasional nuisance; for others, though, it is a daily misery, and can have serious outcomes. This podcast connects you with a doctor (me!) whose main goal is to help you achieve health and happiness -- and having all your systems in order is definitely part of that! Did you know that some medications, like opioids, often trigger constipation? It’s true! This episode takes a look at that and explores other triggers as well, but most importantly, we discuss simple, natural, and laxative-free ways to get (and stay) on track! Whether you’re dealing with constipation now, or in the future, this information is worth its weight in poop --er, gold! You’ve got the power. And daily life can be stressful enough without also fighting an uphill battle in the bathroom. Cheers to your continued good health!

We’ve all heard of the word rehab, right? It means to recover or heal after an injury or addiction. But what about the word prehab? In short, prehab means to get in shape before anything unsavory occurs. And that’s the topic of episode 19! The essence of prehab is building your base, which is a phrase commonly used in the running world that means to get your body systems built up so that they perform optimally in times of stress as well as in times of rest. The advantage of building your base is that you prepare for the road ahead - whether it’s the road of athleticism or the road of life. Since so much of healthcare is reactive instead of proactive, building a strong foundation is a way to stay ahead of the game and live life without limitations. Dive into this episode to learn how building a base can benefit your life!

We all want beautiful, glowing skin, and there are more products out there than ever before promising that dream. That's why it's so helpful to have Dr. Holly Glover on this episode to talk all things skin care. How often should you wash your face and exfoliate? What is the most effective in-office treatment for anti-aging? What are the biggest skincare mistakes that people make? Are spray tans OK? Can skin cancers be prevented? When should you to see your dermatologist about freckles and moles? These topics and more are fully explored! Dr. Glover also answers listener's questions about over-the-counter options and clinical procedures for sun spots, hyperpigmentation, skin resurfacing, wrinkles, and bags under the eyes. She discusses adult acne treatments and related dietary recommendations, like avoiding sugar and dairy.  Learn about the effects of microdermabrasion, micro needling, lasers, chemical peels, botox, fillers, and other anti-aging options. Press the play button - Dr. Glover answers it all!

Episode 17 tackles the giant elephant in the room that is currently squashing many of us: perfectionism. I happen to be a recovering perfectionist myself, and I still struggle with it. It’s something that many of my patients struggle with, as well; time and time again, something that comes up in my notes over the years is that progress (in whatever area of life) is being impeded by the desire to be perfect.The truth is, though, doing things imperfectly is better than not doing them. And once we find a way to conquer our “all or nothing” attitudes, or habits of over-planning, or our tendencies to drown so deeply in the details of anything that we hardly get anything done, we can finally shed our desire for perfectionism and get things DONE. This episode explores that fully, and offers solutions.

Have you ever wondered why some people get cavities, while others with a major sweet tooth might not? It actually could be genetics! That’s a bummer to learn, but there are factors that you can control to prevent cavities like plaque and acidity in your mouth. This week’s episode of Plan to Feel Great! features an interview with Drs. Andy and Ambre Kragor from Kragor Orthodontics, and explores everything from when to bring your kids to the dentist and how to get your kids to brush correctly, to the importance of early intervention from an orthodontist to prevent facial problems and pulling teeth later. Eek! You don’t want to miss these gems so you can keep your pearly whites pearly… and in your mouth. The tooth is (pardon the pun), good dental health is one of those "pay now or pay later" kind of things. Invest wisely from the beginning, and your teeth will love you for decades!

Have you noticed that when you feel stressed out from your job or responsibilities, your shoulders start to feel more tense or your stomach gets (and stays) tight? That’s called muscle tension, triggered by pain or stress, and you should understand the connection between these three things so you can avoid longer-term impacts. The good thing is, there are a few simple techniques to manage this stress/pain/muscle tension cycle, such as the simple progressive relaxation exercise that I teach you in this episode! Using examples like the physical pain of stubbing your toe (ouch!) or the emotional stress of dreading something, it is my hope that you start to understand the connection between stress and pain and muscle tension, so that it becomes easier to break the cycle, once and for all.

As a follow up to episode 13 on the topic of physical stress, this episode is an interview with an experienced counselor about emotional stress.  Not only can we get through it, we can thrive and become stronger than ever. Heather McKenzie says our emotions are like signal lights on the dashboard.  She suggests not looking at emotions as good or bad but merely as indicators of what’s going on beneath the surface. She gives us insight into the causes of stress, ways to address stress and prevent more long-term anxiety.  We also talk about how to be more naturally resilient in stressful situations. Finally, she shares techniques to use when stress feels overwhelming both later on (when reflecting on the situation) and in the moment of peak stress.

Sometimes it seems like everyone is trying to live a “stress-free” life. We forget that stress makes us stronger. Stress causes growth - both physically and mentally.  Without stress, we would constantly be in our comfort zone. But we don’t change and improve within our comfort zone!  When it comes to physical stress...it’s not the stress that causes injury, it’s not using or overusing our bodies that wears them down.  It’s time to shift the focus to HOW we use our bodies so that we can prevent and rehab injuries and get stronger!

Many people are starting from a place of overwhelm when trying to solve their health and weight loss problems.  In this episode, Dr. Lauren Crigler shares some patient/client problems that she and her husband, Dr. Britton Crigler, discuss in the evenings.  They have documented consistent patterns in the roadblocks that people face and the successful strategies that they use. This episode presents 7 steps that are essential in finding a  weight loss or treatment plan that works for you.

Minimalism reduces the clutter and chaos in your life.  With less stuff, you get your time back. You can use that time for exercise, meal planning, and healthy cooking...or whatever you want!  It’s a lifestyle that allows you to focus more on the things that matter to YOU. Becoming a minimalist (even half way!), can improve your mental and physical health.  Learn how to minimize your kitchen - pantry, refrigerator and freezer - to help meet your health and weight loss goals. This is especially helpful if you are an overeater or an emotional eater.  Also, check out the before and after pictures on episode website. Sometimes less is more when it comes to your health.

Today's episode is an interview with Linde Ferrero, an experienced addiction counselor, about alcoholism.  Linde explains the spectrum of addiction, the disease process, how to spot signs of alcoholism in yourself and others, and how to help. This episode increases awareness about blackouts, functional addiction, and the addictive thinking pattern.  Ever wonder if, when and how to do an intervention? This interview offers a close look at the courage, love, and hope required to face addiction, intervention, and recovery. Plan To Feel Great brings you education, inspiration and an action plan. Subscribe today and plan to feel great!

Are you addicted to sugar?  Is sugar addiction real? What are the signs of addiction?  Do you have strong irresistible cravings, lose control around the substance or consume more than you intended to? Every time you “get high,” your blood sugar level spikes and then crashes, leaving you craving more! Learn to avoid hitting rock bottom by taking a few steps to stop the cycle and break the sugar habit.  You don’t have to give up your favorite foods, you just have to change your default mode when it comes to sugar.  Plan To Feel Great brings you education, inspiration and an action plan.  Subscribe today and plan to feel great!

Many of us start and stop during exercise routines and other health behavior changes.  While it’s easy to see that as failure, Dr. Crigler points out that it’s also a form of interval training! Repeatedly pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone increases VO2 max and makes your heart stronger.  Physical interval training can also provide the psychological motivation to push harder while working toward other goals in your life. Your physical and spiritual heart will both become better at adapting to change by increasing the intensity of your training. If you’re just getting started, use the interval routine suggested in this episode.  Don’t forget to subscribe so you can follow along and Plan To Feel Great!

Dr. Lauren Crigler interviews Andrea Janecki, a recently divorced mother of three young children. She talks openly and honestly about the emotional, financial and legal aspects of divorce. Andrea tells us how she guided her children through the process and how your “family” members are the people who treat you like family, regardless of what it says on paper. While her insights could be applied to any struggle, those going through separation and divorce will really want to lean in and listen carefully. This interview offers a behind the scenes look at what divorce can look like and how you can come out stronger, happier and healthier. Plan To Feel Great brings you education, inspiration and an action plan.  Subscribe today and plan to feel great!

Those who are closest to you have the power to help you reach your health and weight loss goals, but they also have the power to undermine your best efforts.  Start to identify situations that are making it harder for you to stay on track and how to get your loved ones on your team. Learn how to support others and get them to love you healthy too! Plan To Feel Great brings you education, inspiration and an action plan.  Subscribe today and plan to feel great!

Treating yourself and your body like a best friend makes it easier to heal and lose weight. Dr. Lauren Crigler gives you 3 simple steps to change your mindset and increase your love and gratitude for your body.  Plan To Feel Great brings you education, inspiration and an action plan! Subscribe today and plan to feel great!

Your behaviors are strongly connected to your mindset - including your self-identity.  Positive self-identities cause positive actions directly and indirectly. Learn 3 things to ask yourself to determine if a thought is worth keeping, don’t make these mistakes! If you want to harness the power of self-identity to make change easier and reach your health and weight loss goals, episode #4 is for you!

If working toward your goals seemed daunting and impossible in the past, you need a better plan.  We created targeted goals in episode 2, now we just need a GREAT plan. In this episode, you’ll learn to look at your past experiences more critically. Let’s vow to only make plans that make sense, are sustainable and bring you joy.  I’ll give you my Guaranteed Success Point strategy and teach you how to build accountability into your plan. Then, it’s go time!

In episode 2, learn to create detailed goals that are achievable and make sense for you. Let’s make some amazing goals that you can picture in your mind and get excited about! Subscribe today for more to come!

Episode 1 sets you up for success with your goals to become healthier... and physically and mentally stronger. You’ll learn to discover your default mode and begin to shift your mindset to create lifelong success. Subscribe today for more to come!

Dr. Lauren Crigler has documented her success in orthopedic and pelvic physical therapy and weight loss for over 15 years.  Now she wants to help YOU break down barriers and improve your health forever.  If you are ready to Plan to Feel Great, please follow, rate and subscribe!