Finally Fearless with Dr. Mel

It's tough asking for help, right? So when you're struggling with stuff like pain, leaking, even fitness and getting healthy in general, you're gonna trust the person in front of you who's the supposed professional, right? Not so fast. Unfortunately, there is a lot of money (and ego) to be had in the health and wellness realm, and guess what: doctors are not exempt. I don't know if it's an ego thi...

Are you approaching your fitness (and life) goals based off of fear or caution? WTF is the difference anyway? As we approach the end of the year and a fresh start to a new one, we will be bombarded by all sorts of products and services that basically scare us into handing over our money. But how does this response feed into a cascade of responses that are actually doing our health and fitness a di...

Did you know that how you go affects your pelvic floor health and peformance? Whether you're experiencing issues with leaking / feeling like you have to pee "all the time," or just want to prevent these from happening in the first place, getting good bladder habits down is one way to get started on any (and every) pelvic health journey! If you pee, poop, and fart, have a penis or a vagina, have ki...

Ever feel like you "should" be at a certain point in your life by a certain age? How do you feel if you aren't there yet? Ever feel like you don't do things the ways in which you're "supposed" to? How do you feel when other people question that? In today's episode, we are chatting all about meeting expectations as a woman: who are we listening to, who should we actually be listening to, and things...

Did you ever think about how we go from the most care-free, celebrate-your-inner-child holiday (ahem, I'm talking about Halloween) to this stressed AF, I hate everything about myself and my body minefield as we head into (and through) the rest of the year? I was thinking about this over the weekend, and it's really unfortunate that, during what should be a time when we make happy memories and enjo...

How do/did you honestly feel about being pregnant? About having kids in general? About your body changing during the process? Did you ever feel guilty for not having the flashy reveal parties or the elaborate pregnancy photos? Did you ever feel guilty because you weren't riding a wave of elation throughout your pregnancy and post-partum journey despite what you're seeing on social media? If you an...

Social media is a blessing and a curse; in today's episode, we are talking more about the curse side of things. This past weekend, my fiance brought my attention to some dude (with a very large following) who was posting about how you're diseased if you have a period. Look, I have limited tolerance for idiots spewing trash for the sake of selling their product/course, BUT I really have no toleranc...

Pushing your body and mind on an 8 hour hike in a downpour while falling over rocks into a stream really gets the brain going lol! In all seriousness, though, there are 5 lessons that I learned on this hike that I think are pretty relatable to all of us, whether we are hikers or not. In today's episode, we are looking into what happens when we get into our own heads too much, try to cut corners in...

"How long will I need PT?" This is a question I get asked very often, most times before I even evaluate the person. The thing is, so many factors play into how long you'll be a participant in PT. Today, we will be diving in to the top 3 things that will play in to how long your PT stay is. And if you take away anything from this episode, I want it to be that YOU also absolutely have a say in your...

"Try PT and if it fails, you can get surgery." The famous words uttered by almost every MD when referring someone to see a PT. There is so much wrong with this statement, including setting you up to believe you'll fail before you even get the ball rolling (self-fulfilling prophecy, anyone)? But on the flip side, sometimes you don't fail PT: PT fails you. As our healthcare system becomes more profi...

"5 Stretches to help with lower back pain!" "3 Top stretches to combat neck pain FOREVER!" God, make it stop!!! These headlines are circulating everywhere on social media from fitness and movement professionals (unfortunately, physical therapists included). However, stretching the crap out of your hamstrings or your neck isn't actually doing what you think it is. Today, we are talking all about wh...

We all know that exercise adds years to our lives and staves off (some) disease...but, when a "good" exercise program is deemed so because of how much weight you lose while on it, this may actually be damaging to not only your physical health, but your mental and emotional health as well. Personal trainers and physical therapists are awesome in that their main job is to get people to experience th...

I know you've been there: you're doing all the crunches, all the sit-ups, all the planks and it seems as though you're not getting any stronger. You feel like you're expending all this energy smashing away at your abs and spending so much time on your fitness, but for what? Today we dive into the top tips that I give nearly all of my clients when it comes to working their core. Some of these peopl...

"How are you so confident?" I get this question a lot via emails, DMs, and speaking with people 1:1.  The cold hard truth: I'm not. At least not always. One of the things I value in life is transparency: and that is exactly what you're gonna get in today's episode. Just like you, I'm not always 100% happy with what I see in the mirror. I have used workouts and diets to try and control my body...

A few months ago in my IG story, I reposted something saying how kids should know about the pelvic floor...and people lost their absolute minds. I was attacked in the DMs, saying how I was perpetuating teenage sexual activity and increasing incidence of early promiscuity. Blew my mind. Then I got to thinking about the teenagers I've worked with in the past, how they were finally heard...and finall...

Does any of this sound familiar?⁣⁣ "I don't want to undo all my hard work."⁣⁣ "I'll never get my body back."⁣⁣ "I know sex will never feel the same."⁣⁣ "I'm gonna have to buy stock in adult diapers cuz I'll need them."⁣⁣ FACTS: your body losing strength and resilience after having a baby isn't because of the birthing event itself. It's because you were never taught HOW to use the structures that a...

I'm seeing "women's health" products and "pelvic floor physical therapy" clinics popping up everywhere; with "pelvic floor" being the new hot topic, it was only a matter of time before companies (and yes, even medical providers) started preying on people's pelvic pain points. These companies' claim to fame are often biofeedback devices, aka machines that "help you do your kegels," or, even worse,...

As things slowly start going back to "normal" (whatever that means), you may be starting to feel ready to tackle your career and your workouts. Let's go into this new phase with a plan of attack instead of just going through the motions, ensuring that we are actually contributing to our best lives instead of navigating away from it. Today's podcast episode will outline 3 ways you can stop "failing...

Stress is a way of life for many of us; sometimes, we equate being stressed out and busy as being "successful." Sure, some amounts of stress are totally normal and actually help us build resilience; however, when that stress becomes chronic and we don't know how to mitigate it, if could have some serious repercussions on our overall health and yes, even our pelvic floor! If you're like "well, I'm...

"Just love yourself, no matter what." Let's get it straight: I love a lot of what has come out of the body positivity movement. More people are comfortable with wearing what they want when they want, not apologizing for what they look like, and fearlessly flaunting the ish out of themselves. I LOVE IT!! But, there is a mark that the entire body positivity movement is missing that may actually be h...

We all know that issues like leaking and pelvic pain can warrant a trip to the pelvic floor PT. But what if you aren't having any glaring issues down there? Do you need to worry about your floor? And if so, is there anything else involved besides kegels? We are talking about all of this and more in today's episode! Join the waitlist for the Finally Floored Fall Cohort: https://landing.mailerlite.c...

Diastasis recti, or DRA, is something that happens in appx 2/3 of postpartum people. If you're postpartum, you've probably heard of this and wondered if it's something you should be concerned about. You've probably also considered buying an off-the-shelf fitness program that promises to get your "pre-baby body" back 🤢🤮. But what exactly is diastasis recti and is it really a big deal? What are so...

It's no secret that our postpartum aftercare has something left to be desired: add to the mix the abysmal ways we treat folks who have undergone a cesarean section and it's like "HOW IS THIS REAL LIFE?!?" If anything, postpartum folks get told to rub some vitamin E on their scar...and that's about it. We are led to believe that we can go back to doing all the things 6 weeks post-op: but is this re...

Toning workouts are all the rage with women. "I just wannabe toned." WTF is a toning workout anyway?? Usually, "toning" is used to describe a workout program that uses very light resistance and has you doing a bajillion reps of the same exercise so that you can "sculpt lean muscles." Sounds great, doesn't it? But why are these workouts probably not all that they're cracked up to be and what can yo...

You know the feeling: after carrying around a child for what seems like forever, you've finally given birth and FINALLY got cleared for exercise from your OBGYN. But what exactly should you be doing? "Exercise" means a billion different things to a billion different people: what you think of as "exercise" could mean something totally different to your OBGYN. So what gives?! Today we are talking al...