Eager to Be Healthy - a Health and Happiness Podcast

Michael Scott Eger
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The Eager to Be Healthy Podcast — hosted by Michael Scott Eger, health coach and wellness advocate — brings you inspiring health and happiness conversations that empower you to live a more vibrant, balanced life. Join us for aspirational, real-talk episodes featuring everyday people who've overcome struggles with health, chronic illness, happiness, mental wellness, and personal growth. We dive deep into nutrition, healthy eating, food sensitivities, gluten-free living, being active, fitness motivation, social dynamics, relationships, love, sadness, emotional resilience, and the joy of building a perfect life — one that's truly happy and healthy. The most powerful stories come from laypeople just like you — ordinary folks figuring out how to eat better, move more, feel better, and thrive without perfectionism. No experts-only vibes here — just authentic, relatable journeys that show transformation is possible. I'm Michael Scott Eger, your host and guide. I help people eat better and have way more fun doing it. Growing up pre-internet, pre-cell phones, and pre-gluten-free era, I battled severe illness from childhood — multiple surgeries by age 15, endless doctors, and no real answers. In 1987, I discovered food was the root cause. Changing what I ate changed everything: better energy, clearer hearing, stronger school performance, and a new lease on life. Over 30+ years of personal experimentation and helping others, I've built real knowledge on holistic wellness, natural healing through diet, and sustainable lifestyle changes. I healed myself first so I could pay it forward — because I know the deep pain of being sick and want no one else to suffer. That's the heart of the Eager to Be Healthy Wellness Network — a community dedicated to wellness, nutrition tips, healthy living, happiness habits, and supporting each other on the path to feeling great. Tune in for motivating, down-to-earth discussions on health transformation, mind-body connection, joyful eating, and living with more energy, purpose, and happiness. Subscribe now and start your journey to be Eager to Be Healthy! Eagertobehealthy.com

  1. 2 days ago

    Eager to be Healthy - Dr. Quinto Pauletti - Running on Empty at the Top

    Most of Dr. Quinto Pauletti's patients aren't sick. They're exhausted, foggy, and told their labs look normal. Doc Q runs a concierge practice in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He's barely been sick a day in his life, and he never saw his own father walk. His dad had MS and died when Doc Q was 12. That's what pulled him into healthcare. We start with sleep, the first pillar, and why night shift is so rough on your body clock. I work nights, so this one's personal. Then stress: adrenaline is the fast alarm, cortisol is the slow burn, and life gets harder when the stress never lets up. We also get into the blood sugar markers most panels skip, fasting insulin and triglycerides, why Doc Q sees cholesterol as a symptom of something else, and why NAD and peptides need a solid foundation first. His rule: the healthier you get, the fewer supplements you need. Doc Q's book, Running on Empty at the Top, comes out October 27. Take his free assessment at runningonemptyquiz.com and find his practice, Q Concierge Doctor, at doc-q.com. Full write-up, transcript and sources: eagertobehealthy.com This is a value-for-value podcast, no ads and no sponsors. If this episode was worth something to you, support the show: eagertobehealthy.com/support Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes based on health content. Takeaways - Normal isn't always optimal. If you feel off, keep asking. - Sleep is pillar one. Dark room, same bedtime, same wake time. - Stress is pillar two. Adrenaline sprints, cortisol runs the marathon. - Ask for fasting insulin and watch your triglycerides - Build the foundation before the fancy stuff - As you get healthier, your supplement list should shrink Chapters 00:00 Welcome 00:27 Meet Doc Q 01:35 Have you always been healthy? 03:42 Have you always been happy? 05:49 Concierge care, in person and online 07:15 Running on adrenaline 09:24 Night shift and your body clock 10:35 Geeking out on biomarkers 11:34 The full picture 13:28 Fasting insulin and triglycerides 15:08 Blood sugar and cholesterol 16:05 Burnt-out high performers 17:42 Fewer supplements, not more 19:02 Stress, the next big lever 20:47 Adrenaline vs. cortisol 23:34 One gland, two jobs 24:02 The short fuse 25:34 Why he wrote the book 28:39 Calm, clear, challenge 30:00 Foundation before the fancy roof 30:54 Where to find Doc Q 31:35 Closing Guest: Dr. Quinto Pauletti · doc-q.com Host: Michael Scott Eger · eagertobehealthy.com Support the show: eagertobehealthy.com/support

  2. 20 Oct

    Eager to be Healthy - Lexi Reid - It's Hard Being Grown-Ups All the Time

    Lexi Reid has a PhD in plant molecular biology. When the pandemic hit, she worked from a folding table in her bedroom, helping a Canadian company push emergency ventilators through quality and regulatory review. She worked all the time. And she stopped being able to paint. She used to sell her art in galleries. Now she'd walk into her studio, stare at the supplies, and walk back out. What got her moving again was doodling during a Zoom call. Her breathing slowed. Her shoulders let go. Nobody needed a finished product. Today Lexi is a creative wellness coach. She helps high-achieving women, a lot of them in science and tech, use short drawing exercises to ease stress. We talk about why play feels unproductive, why paper beats a tablet, and why it's hard being grown-ups all the time. You don't have to be an artist. Lexi's free weekly newsletter and her free drawing challenge are at mindartwellness.com. You can also find her on LinkedIn. Full write-up, transcript and sources: eagertobehealthy.com This is a value-for-value podcast, no ads and no sponsors. If this episode was worth something to you, support the show: eagertobehealthy.com/support Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes based on health content. Takeaways - Burnout can numb the things you love. Lexi couldn't finish a painting for most of the pandemic. - Her block was an expectation: if I'm in the studio, I have to make something. - A pen, cheap paper and five minutes can slow your breathing. - Draw in time with your breath. Jagged lines turn soft as you settle. - Play isn't wasted time. It's how the stress response winds down. - Walking, dishes and folding laundry let your brain idle and work on old problems. - Coaching looks forward. Art therapy can look back. Lexi refers people who need therapy to a trained art therapist. Chapters 00:00 Welcome 01:54 Building ventilators from a bedroom 03:18 Have you always been happy? 06:25 No separation between work and home 09:18 Burnout and the blank studio 12:24 Why drawing was easy and painting wasn't 14:05 When art turned into a product 17:13 A pen, paper and your breath 19:55 Going analog 23:17 Letting your brain idle 27:45 How people find her 29:30 Coaching vs. art therapy 31:58 What working with Lexi looks like 33:41 It's hard being grown-ups all the time 34:46 Closing Guest: Lexi Reid, creative wellness coach · mindartwellness.com Host: Michael Scott Eger · eagertobehealthy.com Support: eagertobehealthy.com/support

  3. 16 Oct

    Eager to be Healthy - Mark Steven Porro - Hospice Said Goodbye. Mom Had Other Plans.

    Right after her 89th birthday, Mark Steven Porro's mother decided she was done. No illness, no pain. She just stopped. Her doctor called hospice, a priest gave last rites, and all six kids flew home to say goodbye. She lived three and a half more years, and Mark, a bachelor in his fifties, moved back into his childhood home in New Jersey to care for her. Mark is a designer, actor and writer who once played an assistant DA on Hill Street Blues. He tells how he treated caregiving as a role he played, so his own discomfort never landed on her. He got her out of bed and walking after a year, renovated her house with her help (she taste-tested the carpet samples), and created a Day of Beauty that ended at the mirror with one question: who is that pretty girl? We also get into his dad's half-popped popcorn that became Grandpa Po's Originals, life in Pézenas, France, and the advice every caregiver hears and skips: take breaks. Mark learned that one the hard way, with a stress-related medical emergency of his own. Mark is the author of A Cup of Tea on the Commode: My Multi-Tasking Adventures of Caring for Mom, in paperback, large print, ebook and audiobook, with an annotated edition on the way. His next book, Slightly Unsalted, is about his dad. Find him at acupofteaonthecommode.org. Full write-up, transcript and sources: eagertobehealthy.com This is a value-for-value podcast, no ads and no sponsors. If this episode was worth something to you, support the show: eagertobehealthy.com/support Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes based on health content. Takeaways - Play the role. Keep your discomfort out of the room. - Small tasks give back dignity - Movement still matters, even after a year in bed - Wanting to feel pretty doesn't fade with age - If a task makes you squeamish, hire a pro and just be there - Take breaks. Put your own oxygen mask on first. Chapters 00:00 Welcome 00:24 Meet Mark Steven Porro 01:38 Have you always been healthy? 02:45 Have you always been happy? 04:06 From the ballet to Hill Street Blues 06:16 Thick skin in Hollywood 08:37 Wine is cheaper than water 09:51 On vacation since he moved to France 11:22 Officially retired, now an author 12:19 Following every pivot 14:01 Dad's half-popped popcorn 17:51 Moving home to care for Mom 20:46 Hospice said say goodbye 24:46 Getting Mom walking again 26:09 Playing the caregiver role 29:35 "Why are you doing this?" 33:21 Why exercise matters 34:44 Giving back dignity 35:42 The carpet sample 37:02 Writing the book 40:11 A new wardrobe 42:00 Day of Beauty 42:59 "Who is that pretty girl?" 45:11 Tips for caregivers 47:48 Finding a good pro 49:15 The room where he writes 50:16 Next book: Slightly Unsalted 51:32 Where to find Mark 54:47 Closing Guest: Mark Steven Porro · acupofteaonthecommode.org Host: Michael Scott Eger · eagertobehealthy.com Support the show: eagertobehealthy.com/support

  4. 13 Oct

    Eager to be Healthy - Rebecca Lazzelle A Thousand Faints and the Word She Won't Use

    Rebecca Lazzelle has fainted more than a thousand times. Doctors told her she was growing too fast, had low blood pressure, maybe POTS. It took a phone call with her sister, months of tracking, and a two-week experiment with no gluten to finally find the cause. Off gluten, her fainting dropped from about 10 times a month to about three. Rebecca talks openly about her second marriage, which ended in addiction, codependency and domestic violence, and why she says "healing" instead of "healed." She shares what it was like to catch herself scanning a concert crowd for her ex after he'd moved out of state, and how she wrote her memoir by dictating the first draft on a road trip. We also get into two rounds of Whole30 and the reintroduction step most people skip, the sugar hiding in dressings and bread, her cross-reactivity to quinoa and oats, and whether a gluten enzyme really helps. Rebecca explains the Emotion Code and Body Code energy work she practices, why she calls it physical therapy for your subconscious, and why it belongs alongside traditional care. Rebecca is the author of What the F*** Was That? A Memoir of Betrayal and Reclaiming Myself and the mindfulness journal You Can F***ing Do This! Find her at rebeccalazzelle.com, where you can book a free discovery call. Full write-up, transcript and sources: eagertobehealthy.com This is a value-for-value podcast, no ads and no sponsors. If this episode was worth something to you, support the show: eagertobehealthy.com/support Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes based on health content. If you're dealing with domestic violence, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is free, confidential and open 24/7: call 800-799-7233, text START to 88788, or visit thehotline.org. Takeaways - Your normal might not be normal. Ask someone you trust. - Track your symptoms. Patterns lead to answers. - Get tested for celiac before you cut gluten - Reintroduce foods one at a time and write it down - Sugar hides in sauces, dressings and bread - Healing is ongoing - New tools work best alongside your care team Chapters 00:00 Welcome 00:24 Meet Rebecca Lazzelle 01:31 Have you always been healthy? 04:27 Have you always been happy? 06:04 Healing is a gerund 07:42 "How many times have you fainted?" "Zero." 09:19 When her body said no 10:42 Soccer, CrossFit and BodyPump 13:02 From no soda to rice and beans 15:03 Whole30 and an anti-inflammatory cleanse 17:10 Gluten-free noodles and sugar in recipes 19:49 Sugar is in everything 22:17 Donuts vs. the coffee drink 23:51 What's in the Whole30? 24:51 Why reintroduction matters 26:54 Two weeks off gluten 28:18 Quinoa, oats and cross-reactivity 29:13 Does a gluten enzyme work? 30:59 What energy healing is 33:14 A memoir dictated on a road trip 34:52 How sessions work 36:26 Where to find Rebecca 36:51 Energy work alongside medicine 37:51 A "charcuterie board of retreats" 39:41 Closing Guest: Rebecca Lazzelle · rebeccalazzelle.com Host: Michael Scott Eger · eagertobehealthy.com Support the show: eagertobehealthy.com/support

  5. 25 Sept

    Eager to be Healthy - JR Rennie - When the Paycheck Stopped and the Calling Started

    JR Rennie spent nearly forty years running a custom software company. In 2015 the revenue dried up almost overnight. He kept the doors open so his employees and clients were covered, and he stopped paying himself. Ten years later that income is still gone. What he found instead was a calling: BrushFires Ministry, which he and his wife Buffy run to help believers discover the work they were built to do. In this conversation we talk about what happens when the plan stops working. JR shares why he chose his team over his own paycheck, the day he said out loud, "I know you're behind this. What do you want?", and how months of prayer, scripture, and writing turned frustration into peace. He is honest about the hard parts too: marrying young, raising a son who has lived with epilepsy for forty years, and why faithful people still face tests. JR unpacks the new wine and new wineskins metaphor, explains why he never prays for patience, and gives his short answer to how to be happy: love God and love other people. Michael shares the car crash that reminded him he was never alone. Find JR at brushfires-digital.com. Free registration includes four books and a Romans 12 spiritual gifts assessment. The Design WorkShop helps you put your purpose into words. Full write-up, transcript and sources: eagertobehealthy.com This is a value-for-value podcast, no ads and no sponsors. If this episode was worth something to you, support the show: eagertobehealthy.com/support Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes based on health content. Takeaways - Happiness follows circumstances; joy grows from loving God and loving others - A hard season can point you toward your real calling - Faithful people still face tests, and God stays present through every one - Shema: listen with the intent to act - Serving others is the surest way out of your own misery - Your purpose has no expiration date - Daily bread covers your needs; gratitude covers the rest Chapters 00:00 Welcome 01:30 Have you always been healthy? 03:08 The year the revenue stopped 03:48 Employees first, paycheck last 06:55 Where faith came in 08:09 Faithful people still get tested 11:59 How his prayer life changed 13:14 Michael's car crash 18:09 Why JR never prays for patience 19:19 Love God, love others 22:01 The fruit of the Spirit 24:08 No expiration date on your purpose 27:19 "Your best days are ahead of you" 28:33 New wine, new wineskins 31:48 A ministry without a congregation 33:02 Happy comes from happenstance 34:47 Shema: listen with intent to obey 37:55 Waiting in survival mode 39:25 Daily bread, not filet mignon 40:33 Where to find JR 42:23 Closing Find JR Rennie: brushfires-digital.com Free: four books and a Romans 12 spiritual gifts assessment with registration Host: Michael Scott Eger · eagertobehealthy.com Support the show: eagertobehealthy.com/support

  6. 8 Sept

    Eager to be Healthy - Elizabeth Kipp - Pain Is a Signal, Not a Life Sentence

    Elizabeth Kipp is a chronic pain management specialist, addiction recovery coach, Ancestral Clearing® practitioner, and bestselling author of The Way Through Chronic Pain: Tools to Reclaim Your Healing Power. After more than forty years of severe chronic pain, anxiety, and panic attacks, and more than thirty years of prescribed opioid and benzodiazepine dependence following back injuries and surgeries, she got herself out first. Then she built the map so other people could follow. In this conversation we talk about chronic pain as a nervous-system problem, not just a tissue problem. Pain is a signal the brain interprets. Stay in it long enough and the pathways rewire: more stress response, more hypersensitivity, more fight-or-flight. Long-term opioids and benzos can mask that signal without resolving it, and they often tax gut motility, breath, sleep, and the very neuroplastic recovery you need. Elizabeth walks through de-identifying from pain: moving from "I am my diagnosis" to "this is sensory information moving through my body." She covers safety as a physiological requirement (you cannot digest well in fight-or-flight), trauma-informed breathwork and somatics for rapid down-regulation, Ancestral Clearing® for inherited survival stress that keeps the nervous system stuck, and practical recovery tools she used herself: sleep rhythm, anti-inflammatory nutrition, yoga, Tai Chi, and rebuilding trust in her own body. Find Elizabeth at elizabeth-kipp.com. Book: The Way Through Chronic Pain. Free resource: 5 Ways to Relieve Stress, Anxiety, & Fear (https://bit.ly/5WaysToRelieveStress). This is a value-for-value podcast. Support the show at eagertobehealthy.com/support. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes based on health content. Takeaways - Doing fine with chronic pain is not the same as being well - Pain is a brain-interpreted signal; chronic pain rewires the nervous system - Long-term opioids and benzos often mask symptoms without resolving root signaling - De-identify from pain: sensory information, not identity - Safety first: digestion, breath, and recovery fail in fight-or-flight - Ancestral Clearing® and trauma-informed breathwork can release stuck survival patterns - Small daily practices (sleep, food, breath, movement) rebuild capacity Chapters 00:00 Welcome 01:26 Have you always been healthy? 07:21 Nervous system, safety, and walking on eggshells 11:11 Decades on opioids and benzodiazepines 12:58 The brain cannot tell one pain from another 14:09 Sleep, breathwork, yoga, and anti-inflammatory food 18:17 Benzo withdrawal and rebuilding appetite 28:00 Inputs you can still control 35:13 Taste buds change when sugar leaves 39:57 Detox in a toxic world 44:50 The Way Through Chronic Pain 48:58 Where to find Elizabeth 50:30 Closing Find Elizabeth Kipp: elizabeth-kipp.com Book: The Way Through Chronic Pain: Tools to Reclaim Your Healing Power Free: bit.ly/5WaysToRelieveStress Host: Michael Scott Eger · eagertobehealthy.com

  7. 2 Sept

    Eager to be Healthy - Dr. Radhika Achari - Doing Fine Is Not the Same as Being Well

    Dr. Radhika Achari is a board-certified behavior analyst with more than fifteen years of clinical work. She has spent her career helping other people build better lives. Her education in wellness did not happen only in a clinic. It happened through years of IVF, and then through raising a neurodivergent son. In this conversation we talk about the difference between doing fine and being well. Radhika grew up physically healthy and active. The self-care part came later. A lot of us treat self-care like a fire extinguisher. We grab it after everything is already burning. She wants fireproofing instead: the boundaries you set before you are resentful, the rest you take before you are depleted. Motherhood was not the plan she practiced for. Unexplained infertility. IVF. Hope and grief on a loop. A son through IVF. A daughter eighteen months later. Then a diagnosis that was not a surprise, and still not the plan. Functioning and being happy are not the same thing. You cannot pour from an empty vessel. What she built from that is Analyze and Act, and an eight-week program called Bridge to College Independence. Parent track and teen track. Remote. She helps families hand over the real stuff on purpose: appointments, school, identity, when and how to disclose. The work is as much about parent burnout as teen skills. Autonomy, practiced early, becomes who you are. We also get into Spoon Theory, the word "yet," task analysis, and why a palm tree outlasts an oak in a storm. I told her the truth about my own social awkwardness, the anxiety loop, and what changed after I learned to forgive myself. No book. Website: analyzeandact.com. Free college readiness checklist. One-on-ones, and the eight-week course. Always consult your own provider before you change something real. This is a value-for-value podcast. Support the show at eagertobehealthy.com/support. Takeaways - Doing fine is not the same as being well - Self-care as fireproofing, not a fire extinguisher - Functioning and happiness can live in two different rooms - Hand independence to a teen on purpose, before college - "Yet" turns a wall into a ladder - Track what fills you and what drains you. No shame. Just data. Chapters 00:00 Welcome 02:14 Have you always been healthy? 05:18 Have you always been happy? 06:36 IVF, motherhood, and a plan that would not hold 11:36 How her son's diagnosis actually shows up 19:26 Analyze and Act / Bridge to College Independence 26:00 Autonomy, self-forgiveness, and the doomsday spiral 28:45 Spoon Theory and the social battery 32:33 ACT, "yet," and breaking a mountain into steps 39:34 Biggest life skill: oak trees and palm trees 42:04 Where to find her 43:05 Closing Find Dr. Radhika Achari: analyzeandact.com Host: Michael Scott Eger · eagertobehealthy.com

  8. 19 Aug

    Eager To Be Healthy - Lorraine Sanborn - Staying Young with a Dog Named Cali

    Lorraine Sanborn, a healthy aging educator, shares her journey of health transformation and resilience at the age of 72. She discusses the importance of positive social networks, self-care, and the role of companionship in maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle. Lorraine also reflects on her experiences as a caregiver and the valuable life lessons she has learned, promoting aspirational health for individuals over fifty. Takeaways Resilience and positive mindset contribute to healthy aging.Companionship and pet care play a significant role in promoting an active and fulfilling lifestyle. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to Healthy Aging03:10 Early Years and Health Journey06:00 Life Changes and Resilience09:04 Positive Social Network and Mental Health12:00 Physical Health and Self-Care14:58 Lessons and Relationships18:00 Companionship and Pet Care21:10 Caregiving and Aging Issues23:58 Life Lessons and Aspirational Health27:02 Promotion and Conclusion

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About

The Eager to Be Healthy Podcast — hosted by Michael Scott Eger, health coach and wellness advocate — brings you inspiring health and happiness conversations that empower you to live a more vibrant, balanced life. Join us for aspirational, real-talk episodes featuring everyday people who've overcome struggles with health, chronic illness, happiness, mental wellness, and personal growth. We dive deep into nutrition, healthy eating, food sensitivities, gluten-free living, being active, fitness motivation, social dynamics, relationships, love, sadness, emotional resilience, and the joy of building a perfect life — one that's truly happy and healthy. The most powerful stories come from laypeople just like you — ordinary folks figuring out how to eat better, move more, feel better, and thrive without perfectionism. No experts-only vibes here — just authentic, relatable journeys that show transformation is possible. I'm Michael Scott Eger, your host and guide. I help people eat better and have way more fun doing it. Growing up pre-internet, pre-cell phones, and pre-gluten-free era, I battled severe illness from childhood — multiple surgeries by age 15, endless doctors, and no real answers. In 1987, I discovered food was the root cause. Changing what I ate changed everything: better energy, clearer hearing, stronger school performance, and a new lease on life. Over 30+ years of personal experimentation and helping others, I've built real knowledge on holistic wellness, natural healing through diet, and sustainable lifestyle changes. I healed myself first so I could pay it forward — because I know the deep pain of being sick and want no one else to suffer. That's the heart of the Eager to Be Healthy Wellness Network — a community dedicated to wellness, nutrition tips, healthy living, happiness habits, and supporting each other on the path to feeling great. Tune in for motivating, down-to-earth discussions on health transformation, mind-body connection, joyful eating, and living with more energy, purpose, and happiness. Subscribe now and start your journey to be Eager to Be Healthy! Eagertobehealthy.com

Information

  • Creator
    Michael Scott Eger
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    29
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Michael Scott Eger