We're talking about big life transitions, leaving the military, learning to trust God more and the internal wrestling we often experience mentally, emotionally and spiritually amidst uncertainty and change. I share an update on this pregnancy, entrepreneurship, and the exciting things my best friend Anna Saucier and I have been cooking up behind the scenes that you won't wanna miss ;)

I want to invite you to reach out to connect if any of the coaching or team/organizational consulting work we're doing resonates with you! Email me at megan@armedtotheheart.com

JOIN US FOR SHIFT -- a virtual retreat-like workshop series for women who want to break the burnout cycle and create a sustainable, successful, and more fruitful work-life, grounded in Christ-centered healing. JUN 25-28th covering work-life balance, integrative healing, trauma-informed leadership, business & ethical marketing, and shifting out of the hustle culture that keeps us exhausted & stuck in stress, pressure, and inadequacy. 

Today we'll dive into 3 tips and invitations if you're feeling like you're just trying to keep up and have very little breathing room or time to rest, in the midst of everything you're carrying and doing.

Whether you’ve stuck with what you set out to do for Lent, or feel like you're failing in it…I invite you to come as you are today. I know you want to give your best to your family, to your work, to glorify God in all that you do, but it's hard to feel like you're doing enough.

Let's find some relief together, by creating space to receive Jesus more fully, along with the peace and rest he desires to give us in this hard, busy, messy, and beautiful everyday life.

**Want to journey deeper in this with other like-minded women of faith? My incredible friend Anna Saucier is leading a Virtual Retreat on Thurs, March 21st called Release: a last-week-of-lent-internal-spring-cleaning Virtual Retreat that'll be practical, prayerful, and playful. It's $55 and will go from 10am-3pm CST, with a lunch break in the middle. She is so gifted at creating welcoming, connective, loving, supportive, life-giving spaces for meaningful growth in community and with the Lord. Would love to see you there!

A simple, but profound invitation of "let me be with you."

It's so easy to compartmentalize our faith, to keep pushing through and doing the best we can to manage all that life is throwing at us from every direction...but how can we let him into everything we do to carry it with us, to be our strength? In our motherhood, our work, our to-do-lists, and everything in between...

The truth is, he wants to be with us in all things. He wants to be with us in the joyful, the hard and painful, the monotonous. Nothing is too big or small or insignificant to him. He cares about all the details of your life, because he cares so deeply about you. He sees all the things you do that go unseen, and feel thankless.

This is what we're exploring today -- how to expand our openness toward the Lord, and how much more BEAUTIFUL, fulfilling, and meaningful life can be when we aim to do everything we do in, with, through, and for God.

There are so many voices of the world, environments we're in, and our culture that shame and guilt us, that reinforce these narratives that we're never enough no matter how much we give or how hard we try or how much we do, that we're a failure, and we're so unworthy of love, until we fix all these things that are wrong with us. And only if and when we measure up in each of these ways, we're good enough.

My goal today is to help you get more deeply rooted in how the Lord sees you, and your identity in Him. To speak some encouragement and truth into your heart in places you need it most.

The tough truth is that it doesn't matter how fit we are, or how much fitness we're able to maintain, if we're imprisoned by it.

For those of us who want to maintain our health & fitness and take pride in it, it can be hard to find the right balance.

The holidays are a time when society speaks very harshly & judgmentally about food & exercise. The narratives & opinions out there are filled with a bunch of really harmful messages & associations that can drive a ton of anxiety, guilt, shame, & pressure. Everything from making “healthier versions” of our favorite treats, to avoiding them altogether, indulging in “treats”, saving up for or making up for extra calories, cheating, letting go, being “bad” or “good”, and all the “shoulds” in the air.

I was VERY trapped in these painful cycles for years, and in early motherhood before God brought me through so much healing. Both personally, and as a coach in the holistic health & fitness space, I’ve sought to create more distinction between all these pressures & triggers to protect my peace & help the women I work with find more freedom, joy & appreciation for movement, food, & heal their body image and concept of their self worth. In these last couple years of motherhood and military service, I’ve come a long way on this journey but the holidays can still reopen some wounds.

My prayer is that these 12 Tips are a healing balm for your heart & mind as you navigate these societal messages, so that you can fully enjoy the holidays, and reclaim the joy around your experience of fitness & food to celebrate with your loved ones, but WITHOUT all the guilt & shame.

(This series on fitness and food was recorded last year. So many of you loved these and found them really helpful, so I wanted to share them again!)

1:1 Coaching Call (I can support you through fitness, pregnancy, postpartum, or anything you may be struggling with in motherhood or military life!)

Postpartum Fitness Program (4 month Training Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Work-Life Balance Masterclass: An $37 on-demand, self-paced video training series & workbook that'll help you lighten your load -- reduce stress, overwhelm, & build more balance even in the most demanding seasons of work & family life. If you need somewhere to start to give you more breathing room and help you move out of the constant burnout, exhaustion, and guilt, I've got you!

Let's connect at megan@armedtotheheart.com

Last episode we dove into 8 simple but powerful ways to find balance in staying on track with your goals while enjoying the holiday celebrations.

This Part 2 focuses on the 7 biggest mistakes you may be making when approaching the holiday season, and simple strategies to avoid them.

Pop in those headphones as you prep your Thanksgiving meal, and settle in my friend!

Today you’ll learn the main mistakes that are most likely keeping you stuck, overthinking, and stressed with food — what to release, shift, & what to do/focus on instead so you can find your balance to nourish yourself fully AND enjoy food this Thanksgiving & Christmas season to make lasting memories with the people you love!

I'll give you practical steps, strategies, tips & how to ditch the guilt, shame spirals, & anxiety in enjoying the celebrations, while still staying on track — even when your routines, norms, eating, drinking, sleep, & exercise habits are shifting due to travel or so many holiday events.

We’ll cover how you can have more mental space to enjoy the holiday celebrations without feeling out of control, over-restricting then overindulging or binge eating.

Peace with food is possible & you don't deserve anything less!

You deserve the freedom to actually treasure the memories & moments with your family and pursue those goals & dreams of yours with dedication, with a healthy balance physically AND mentally.

(This series on fitness and food was recorded last year. So many of you loved these and found them really helpful, so I wanted to share them again!)

1:1 Coaching Call (I can support you through fitness, pregnancy, postpartum, or anything you may be struggling with in motherhood or military life!)

Postpartum Fitness Program (4 month Training Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Work-Life Balance Masterclass: An $37 on-demand, self-paced video training series & workbook that'll help you lighten your load -- reduce stress, overwhelm, & build more balance even in the most demanding seasons of work & family life. If you need somewhere to start to give you more breathing room and help you move out of the constant burnout, exhaustion, and guilt, I've got you!

Let's connect at megan@armedtotheheart.com

This is Part 1, where we focus on 8 simple but powerful ways to find balance in staying on track with your goals while enjoying the holiday celebrations (no, it’s not by counting macros or tracking everything you eat)

Pop in those headphones as you prep your Thanksgiving meal, and settle into this 2-part Episode, where we’ll cover:

•  The single most harmful message to be aware of around food, nutrition & fitness during the holidays that keeps us stuck in negative shame & guilt spirals
• The #1 most helpful strategy to combat the tendency toward an all or nothing mindset.
•  The real reason you tend to overindulge or binge eat during the holidays (spoiler, it’s not because you lack willpower, self-control, or motivation), and how to regain your balance when you fall into any extremes
•  How you can begin to let go of your rigid food rules and enjoy the holiday celebrations without feeling out of control or guilty
•  How to get the nourishment you need while allowing yourself the flexibility to also enjoy your favorite treats
•  The #1 way to stick with your eating preferences, even when everyone around you is eating differently

As we’ve been shedding light on in the latest episodes, the holidays can cause certain triggers to surface or intensify. If you’ve been struggling with your relationship with your body image or food in any way, and/or working hard toward your fitness goals, you may be starting to feel stressed as we approach the holiday season, knowing just how challenging this time of year can be with so many social events and family gatherings where food is the center of the celebration.

So, how can we realistically & reasonably navigate all of the unique challenges of this season — from holiday gatherings, extra sweets, and even peer pressure from our family or friends? 

 Today we’re gonna lift the shame around these topics - break through feelings of guilt around nutrition, your body, & fitness, and learn how to manage the inevitable triggers that can come up around food & our bodies during the holidays.

 Let’s help you find your balance to nourish yourself fully AND enjoy food this Thanksgiving & Christmas season to make lasting memories with the people you love!

Peace with food is possible & you don't deserve anything less!

 You deserve the freedom to actually treasure the memories & moments with your family and pursue those goals & dreams of yours with dedication, with a healthy balance physically AND mentally.

Can't wait to hear how you apply these tips, and hope you have a happy, healthy Thanksgiving & Christmas season as you celebrate with family & friends!!!

1:1 Coaching Call (I can support you through fitness, pregnancy, postpartum, or anything you may be struggling with in motherhood or military life!)

Postpartum Fitness Program (4 month Training Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Work-Life Balance Masterclass: An $37 on-demand, self-paced video training series & workbook that'll help you lighten your load -- reduce stress, overwhelm, & build more balance even in the most demanding seasons of work & family life. If you need somewhere to start to give you more breathing room and help you move out of the constant burnout, exhaustion, and guilt, I've got you!

Let's connect at megan@armedtotheheart.com

Tune in for 15 simple ways to still prioritize your health & fitness, while fully enjoying the holiday season.

This series on fitness and food was recorded last year. So many of you loved these and found them really helpful, so I wanted to share them again!

The holidays are a special time of year, but can also bring a ton of extra stress just due to the busyness, all the celebrations, expectations, and travels that pull us in many directions.

It can be a challenging time to maintain our fitness & stay consistent, even with all the best intentions to keep up a routine. We can also experience the additional pressures & guilt that can come with indulging more during the holidays than usual, and feel pressure to make up for the way it's throwing a wrench in our normal nutrition & fitness habits, or compensate for the extra calories or sweets we're eating, through our exercise.

It can be a struggle, and also a triggering time in body image, our relationship, with food, and fitness.

I don't want stress about losing progress in your fitness or an underlying pressure & sense of guilt make it harder to fully enjoy the season and be present with your loved ones. You don't have to give up until New Years, or beat yourself up & be overly rigid & restrictive in your expectations of yourself either. So these tips will empower you to integrate fitness into your busy holiday plans while finding a balance that feels good & right for you!

Holiday-proof your fitness by leaning on these 15 Easy, Practical Tips/Hacks for making movement a consistent — and positive — part of your holiday season.

Can't wait to hear how you apply these tips, and hope you have a happy, healthy Thanksgiving & Christmas season as you celebrate with family & friends!!!

1:1 Coaching Call (I can support you through fitness, pregnancy, postpartum, or anything you may be struggling with in motherhood or military life!)

Postpartum Fitness Program (4 month Training Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Work-Life Balance Masterclass: An $37 on-demand, self-paced video training series & workbook that'll help you lighten your load -- reduce stress, overwhelm, & build more balance even in the most demanding seasons of work & family life. If you need somewhere to start to give you more breathing room and help you move out of the constant burnout, exhaustion, and guilt, I've got you!

Let's connect at megan@armedtotheheart.com

This is what my soul was longing to share with you.

Exactly how Jesus has been meeting me in the hard, in the mess, in the muck of everyday life and all the transitions of this season. How He's been giving me strength for every battle. How He's been bringing so much restoration, healing, hope, and the profound peace, joy, and freedom that comes from Him, in it all.

And how the Lord wants to do exactly the same for you.

It's real, it's me. And may God speak to the depths of your heart through these words, today.

And if this speaks to you, I'd love to have a heart to heart for real. Let's connect at megan@armedtotheheart.com

Learn more about / see how you can support the Military Academy Pregnancy Support nonprofit here: https://militaryacademypregnancysupport.com/

Work-Life Balance Masterclass: An $37 on-demand, self-paced video training series & workbook that'll help you lighten your load -- reduce stress, overwhelm, & build more balance even in the most demanding seasons of work & family life. If you need somewhere to start to give you more breathing room and help you move out of the constant burnout, exhaustion, and guilt, I've got you!

Today I'm giving you a powerful, simple exercise to release the extra pressures you're carrying -- those high expectations you hold yourself to, the weight of not measuring up and guilt around not getting everything done on your to-do-list...all the ways you're "shoulding" all over yourself, lol. ;)

This 5-10 min journaling exercise was so helpful for me this week and opened up so much space in my heart and mind to release the things that were weighing me down that the Lord didn't want me to carry anymore, give myself much more grace, and expand my capacity to experience deeper joy and be more present.

I pray this blesses you sister!

Download your Free Guide with 10 Must-Ask Questions to Help you Build a More Fulfilling Balance Between Family and Work

$37 Work-Life Balance Masterclass: An on-demand, self-paced video training series & workbook that'll help you lighten your load -- reduce stress, overwhelm, & build more balance even in the most demanding seasons of work & family life. If you need somewhere to start to give you more breathing room and help you move out of the constant burnout, exhaustion, and guilt, I've got you!

Want to chat about working together or figure out your next right steps? Reach out at megan@armedtotheheart.com and we'll set up a 30 min time for a Clarity Call.

Today we're diving into 3 tips for how to slow down and start moving out of this place of constant busyness, reaction or survival mode, and constant DOING to learn how to BE, and build more balance.

Maybe you're the kind of person who thrives in chaos and high-pressure environments, who does well at a fast pace managing a lot on your plate, holding it all together. You get a lot done, and make a big impact doing it.

But when you're really honest with yourself, something doesn't feel quite right. Maybe you're not feeling truly fulfilled. Maybe it's wearing on you and you're just exhausted, or always feeling stressed, and wish you had more to give your family. Maybe you're struggling to experience the depth of joy you really want to because you're always feeling pulled toward something or like things are hanging over your head when you really want to shut it off and just be present -- the next tasks on your to-do-list, checking your phone, work and home responsibilities. You've worked so hard to get where you are, but can't enjoy any of it.

This is the silent suffering so many of us experience as women. I remember feeling so stuck and trapped in it, like there was no way out. But there is hope my friend! Today I'm gonna give you 3 simple steps of where to start when you  want to slow down, but you're used to running a million miles an hour.

Download your Free Guide with 10 Must-Ask Questions to Help you Build a More Fulfilling Balance Between Family and Work

$37 Work-Life Balance Masterclass: An on-demand, self-paced video training series & workbook that'll help you lighten your load -- reduce stress, overwhelm, & build more balance even in the most demanding seasons of work & family life. If you need somewhere to start to give you more breathing room and help you move out of the constant burnout, exhaustion, and guilt, I've got you!

Want to chat about working together or figure out your next right steps? Reach out at megan@armedtotheheart.com and we'll set up a 30 min time for a Clarity Call.

10 Must-Ask Questions if you desire greater balance between who you want to be for your family, and the impact you want to make in the world.

If you're wishing you had more to give your kids, your marriage, your home, but also have that heart and drive to make a difference in your work and your community, this is for you sister.

• Maybe you're feeling like work is consuming your whole life, and you're feeling burnt out.
• Maybe you love what you do, but you also feel like something is missing, or like you're made for more.
• Maybe you're needing more stability or flexibility, and the freedom to lead a life more aligned with your values and priorities.
• Maybe you're feeling like your family is sacrificing too much, and you're feeling the weight of guilt for how much time your work is stealing from them, and your heart is telling you it's time for a change.
• Maybe you're not sure what the next steps are, you're terrified of all the unknowns, or you're navigating the decision of where to go next, or a process of transition and change.

Wherever this finds you, grab your favorite drink, settle in and let's dig in together to explore these important questions, and dream together to discover what God is speaking to you, and design your life and contribution with Him.

If you haven't downloaded the PDF that goes through these 10 Questions, you can do so HERE.

Work-Life Balance Masterclass: An on-demand, self-paced video training series & workbook that'll help you lighten your load -- reduce stress, overwhelm, & build more balance even in the most demanding seasons of work & family life. If you need somewhere to start to give you more breathing room and help you move out of the constant burnout, exhaustion, and guilt, I've got you!

Want to chat about working together or figure out your next right steps? Reach out at megan@armedtotheheart.com and we'll set up a 30 min time for a Clarity Call.

Today I'm giving you an easy, step-by-step framework you can use to renew your mind, and cultivate mental & emotional command as the Lord calls us to (Romans 12:2). This will transform the way you show up in every area of life and handle challenges with much more grace.

Whenever you're struggling with negative emotions -- feeling stressed, overwhelmed, anxious, frustrated, discouraged, inadequate, insecure, or anything that's weighing on you, this will help you decrease the harsh inner critic, process how you're feeling, and bring relief.

I walk through these 6 simple, yet powerful steps with clients in coaching sessions, and have personally embraced this as muscle memory over the last few years - it's made all the difference in the world. Applying these tips will empower you to break free from a mindset that's keeping you stuck, spiraling thought patterns, or unprocessed emotions that are affecting the way you show up for your family and as a leader.

Grab a journal and pen, and let's dig in sister!

Work-Life Balance Masterclass: An on-demand, self-paced video training series & workbook that'll help you lighten your load -- reduce stress, overwhelm, & build more balance even in the most demanding seasons of work & family life. If you need somewhere to start to give you more breathing room and help you move out of the constant burnout, exhaustion, and guilt, I've got you!

Want to chat about working together or figure out your next right steps? Reach out at megan@armedtotheheart.com and we'll set up a 30 min time for a Clarity Call.

Ready to Jump into a 1:1 Power Hour? 1 hr Coaching Call for Mindset, Work-Life Balance or Pregnancy & Postpartum Fitness, for military women & beyond

So if you're in the trenches like I am, this is for you sister.

Maybe it's a season of major life or career transition, maybe you're trying to figure out, plan, prepare for, and take the next steps. Maybe it's the next chapter in military, a big move, hoping and praying to start or grow your family, an unplanned pregnancy, or the last trimester of pregnancy. Maybe you're staring down a deployment on the horizon for you or your spouse.

Maybe it's the pressure you feel to have all the details carefully mapped out, everything planed to a T, and be perfectly prepared for whatever may come. If you're feeling the stress, emotions, overwhelm or the anxiety of wondering, is everything going to be ok? Is my family gonna be ok? How is this all gonna work out? Or as you're undergoing all this change and instability you just want it all to fall in place. I see you -- I'm right here with you.

So if you want to remain grounded in the Lord's peace through it all, this is for you.

I love you sister. And I encourage you to share this episode with a friend whose heart may need to hear this too.

Work-Life Balance Masterclass: An on-demand video training series & workbook that'll help you lighten your load -- reduce stress, overwhelm, & build more balance even in the most demanding seasons of work & family life. It's a do at your own pace/time resource to serve you in this season and a great starting point for moving out of the constant burnout, overwhelm, and guilt.

Get in touch: megan@armedtotheheart.com

Can't wait to see who wins the giveaway ($97 value!)

All my love,

Megan Gephart

Gain access to my new Work-Life Balance Masterclass for just $37! This is an on-demand video training series & workbook that'll help you lighten your load -- reduce stress, overwhelm, & build more balance even in the most demanding seasons of work & family life. It's a do at your own pace/time resource to serve you in this season.

Ready to Jump into a 1:1 Power Hour? 1 hr Strategy & Mindset Coaching Call for Work-Life Balance or Pregnancy & Postpartum Fitness, for military women & beyond

Want to explore if it'd be a good fit to work together but not sure where to begin? Send me an email at megan@armedtotheheart.com and we'll set up a 30 min time for a Discovery Call.

Distraction steals our time, presence, productivity, and ability to live out God's purpose for us at home, in our work, & every area of life.

So grab that notebook and pen -- today we're talking about what it looks like in the battleground of our lives, hearts and minds, and what we can do about it.

The enemy wants us to be distracted all day long:

• To be pulled from where God wants us to focus, & get bogged down in things that don't matter.
• To be too spread thin in our time and energy.
• To steal our capacity to focus on our family & the people right in front of us.
• To fall victim to lies & deception
• To be distracted by shiny objects, or overly swayed by what the world tells us we "should" be doing, or other people's expectations & opinions of what we should pursue / what "success" looks like
• To constantly be stressed and anxious, reactive, dwelling on mistakes, beating ourself up or ruminating on the past, or worried about the future.
• For our minds to be stuck on all the things we don't have or are overwhelmed with.

The devil wants so many things to be swirling around our heads -- our to-do lists, incessant phone notifications, social media or even the news to pull us from the blessings and joys of the moment, our families, where we're uniquely called to serve, and what we're meant to give.

So let's walk through practical tips to combat this form of spiritual warfare. Let's do this together sister.

Gain access to my new Work-Life Balance Masterclass for just $37! This is an on-demand video training series & workbook that'll help you lighten your load -- reduce stress, overwhelm, & build more balance even in the most demanding seasons of work & family life. It's a do at your own pace/time resource to serve you in this season.

Want to explore if it'd be a good fit to work together? Send me an email at megan@armedtotheheart.com and we'll set up a 30 min time for a Discovery Call.

Ready to Jump into a 1:1 Power Hour? 1 hr Strategy & Mindset Coaching Call for Work-Life Balance or Pregnancy & Postpartum Fitness, for military women & beyond

Whether you're in a crazy busy, hard season juggling work and family life, in a time of transition like pregnancy, postpartum, military moves, long distance in marriage / time apart from or as a family, discerning or preparing for change, especially in leaving the military or your job, or dealing with any uncertainty, unpredictability, or instability, this will resonate deeply with you.

This episode also includes:

• An announcement of an exciting new offer for how I can serve & support you in work-life balance
• I share a really hard decision we recently made in military/family life
• My plans to take most of July off to focus on reintegrating back together with my family before this next season of the Podcast
• Some exciting news to stay tuned for, about the Army Women's Initiative Team (I want to hear from you so I can be a voice for any ideas on continued change to support women who serve!)

Gain access to my new Work-Life Balance Masterclass for $37! This is an on-demand video training series & workbook that'll help you lighten your load -- reduce stress, overwhelm, & build more balance even in the most demanding seasons of work & family life. It's a do at your own pace/time resource to serve you in this season.

Want to explore if it'd be a good fit to work together? Send me an email at megan@armedtotheheart.com and we'll set up a 30 min time for a Discovery Call.

Grab a Power Hour: 1 hr Strategy & Mindset Coaching Call for Work-Life Balance or Pregnancy & Postpartum Fitness, for military women & beyond

So today we're gonna dive into 15 hacks to find more energy, even in demanding seasons. Especially if you're up all night with your babies, EVEN when you're not getting that much sleep given mom life, busy work schedules, keeping up with the home, and managing all the things.

Over the last few years of being woken up throughout the night by my babies, and the craziness of solo parenting often, managing the home, balancing active duty Army life with my small business and advocacy work, these practical tips are what's enabled me to maintain optimal energy to do what God is calling me to do -- and I know it'll help you do the same.

Grab your favorite notebook and pen, and let’s dig in together!

---

Want to explore if it'd be a good fit to work together? Send me an email at megan@armedtotheheart.com and we'll set up a 30 min time for a Discovery Call.

Grab a Power Hour! 1 hr Strategy & Mindset Coaching Call for Work-Life Balance or Pregnancy & Postpartum Fitness, for military women & beyond

Join us for honest conversations about navigating the challenges of marriage, motherhood, military life, mental health and PTSD, how we can live out our faith and calling within our homes & beyond, as busy Christian women.

Lissa shares so many beautiful, practical tips for how we can be more intentional in our relationship and improve our connection with our spouse, how to discern where God is calling us in this season, how to find more time for the things that matter most to us, and how to keep our priorities in order in the busyness of our daily lives.

Learn more about & support the FIGHT OAR DIE cause to provide community-centered mental health resources for military veterans and service members.

Connect with Lissa on her Podcast, Redeem Her Time

Lissa's Free REDEEM Her Time Life Roadmap

Want to schedule a Discovery Call to explore if it'd be a good fit to work together? Send me an email at megan@armedtotheheart.com and we'll set up a 30 min time.

Ready to Jump into a 1:1 Coaching Session? 1 hr Strategy & Mindset Coaching Call for Work-Life Balance or Pregnancy & Postpartum Fitness, for military women & beyond

Maybe you've got impossibly high standards for yourself and are very critical with your failures and mistakes. You expect a lot of yourself. You want to do everything right, and give 100% to all that you do. You feel that pressure to do it all, and do it all perfectly.

You're not alone. I struggle with this. My clients struggle with this. My friends struggle with this.

It's quite the double-edged sword. On one hand, it motivates us to perform at a high level. It can help us achieve a lot of meaningful things, and make a big impact. To be someone others can count on to do great quality work. But on the other hand, it can make us feel stuck in insecurities, stress, anxiety, and be harmful internally.

We can have this pervasive sense of pressure & never being good enough. And it can really deeply impact every area of our life.

So today let's help you know what you can do to combat and manage your perfectionism & negative self-talk, so it's not managing you.

*REGISTER HERE for my Free Time Management & Stress Management Workshop Thurs JUN 8 at 8pm EST! (Recording will be made available for those who register)

You'll learn:

1.  The 3 KEYS to Effective Time Management

2.  The Secret to What Time Management is ACTUALLY all about (realizing & embracing this will make ALL the difference in the world in your ability to be more productive & present)

3.  The SINGLE most powerful exercise you can do in just 10 minutes to free up HOURS of your time & energy

4.  2 quick, easy techniques you can use to relieve stress whenever you're feeling anxious about all the things that need to be done

Want to schedule a Discovery Call to explore if it'd be a good fit to work together? Send me an email at megan@armedtotheheart.com and we'll set up a 30 min time.

Ready to Jump into a 1:1 Coaching Session? 1 hr Strategy & Mindset Coaching Call for Work-Life Balance or Pregnancy & Postpartum Fitness, for military women & beyond

**Break Free from Burnout Work-Life Balance Program coming soon!! JOIN THE WAITLIST to be the first to know and get an exclusive discount and bonus offer when it's released!! :)

We wish we could be more present, and give more time to our babies, marriage, and home.

So what do we do, if we feel like there's just never enough time for our kids and marriage, and we're struggling to balance the time we really want to spend with them & give them, with our demanding work schedule and workload.

If you have a strong drive to make an impact in the world, but don't want it to come at the expense of your family, I see you.

Here are 3 simple, but powerful shifts you can make.

EVEN if your work schedule or circumstances can't change, these practical tips will truly empower you to find more time, make the most of the time you DO have, and help you give your family your best.

*REGISTER HERE for my Free Time Management Workshop Thurs JUN 8 at 8pm EST! (Recording will be made available for those who register)

You'll learn:

1.  The 3 KEYS to Effective Time Management

2.  The Secret to What Time Management is ACTUALLY all about (realizing & embracing this will make ALL the difference in the world in your ability to be more productive & present)

3.  The SINGLE most powerful exercise you can do in just 10 minutes to free up HOURS of your time & energy

4.  2 quick, easy techniques you can use to relieve stress whenever you're feeling anxious about all the things that need to be done

Want to schedule a Discovery Call to explore if it'd be a good fit to work together? Send me an email at megan@armedtotheheart.com and we'll set up a 30 min time.

Ready to Jump into a 1:1 Coaching Session? 1 hr Strategy & Mindset Coaching Call for Work-Life Balance or Pregnancy & Postpartum Fitness, for military women & beyond

**Break Free from Burnout Work-Life Balance Program coming soon!! JOIN THE WAITLIST to be the first to know and get an exclusive discount and bonus offer when it's released!! :)

Do you feel like there's never enough time for everything you need to do?

• Do you wish you had more time for your family?

• Does your mile long to-do list weigh on you often & prevent you from feeling like you can be TRULY present?
• Do you feel like - between all the directions you're pulled in - there's ZERO time left for yourself? Or your husband?

Are you just too dang busy...

To deeply connect with God in prayer?

To pour into your family & marriage in the ways you want to?

To do the things that truly bring you joy?

To even have a moment to rest?

To exercise in the ways you'd like to?

To take care of your physical & mental health?

To nurture your friendships?

I see you friend. Let's help you find more time for the people and things that matter most to you.

*REGISTER HERE for my Free Time Management Workshop Thurs JUN 8 at 8pm EST! (Recording will be made available for those who register)

You'll learn:

1.  The 3 KEYS to Effective Time Management

2.  The Secret to What Time Management is ACTUALLY all about (realizing & embracing this will make ALL the difference in the world in your ability to be more productive & present)

3.  The SINGLE most powerful exercise you can do in just 10 minutes to free up HOURS of your time & energy

4.  2 quick, easy techniques you can use to relieve stress whenever you're feeling anxious about all the things that need to be done

Want to schedule a Discovery Call to explore if it'd be a good fit to work together? Send me an email at megan@armedtotheheart.com and we'll set up a 30 min time.

Ready to Jump into a 1:1 Coaching Session? 1 hr Strategy & Mindset Coaching Call for Work-Life Balance or Pregnancy & Postpartum Fitness, for military women & beyond

**Break Free from Burnout Work-Life Balance Program coming soon!! JOIN THE WAITLIST to be the first to know and get an exclusive discount and bonus offer when it's released!! :)

This - like the last episode - is part of a recent coaching call with Carlie, one of my clients who is a college professor.

Maybe your heart to make a difference causes you to overcommit or overextend yourself too. You tend to take on more than you're asked. You have high expectations of yourself to always give 100%. You tend toward perfectionism. You want to help lead change, and may be super passionate about what you do, and willing to sacrifice for it, but it's easy to run yourself into the ground continuously in the process.

I experienced this a lot in my first few years in the military, in the advocacy work I've done for mothers who serve, entrepreneurship, and ministry, until God started showing me that I don't have to stay stuck in these cycles.

I see burnout often in the women that I coach.

But I want to encourage you that you don't have to sacrifice what's most important -- your family, your marriage, your faith, or your sanity to make the impact you're called to make in the world.

So let's go behind the scenes today and hear how Carlie and I worked through some of these challenges that come with fighting these battles -- internally & externally.

Want to schedule a Discovery Call to explore if it'd be a good fit to work together? Send me an email at megan@armedtotheheart.com and we'll set up a 30 min time.

Ready to Jump into a 1:1 Coaching Session? 1 hr Strategy & Mindset Coaching Call for Work-Life Balance or Pregnancy & Postpartum Fitness, for military women & beyond

**Break Free from Burnout Work-Life Balance Program coming soon!! JOIN THE WAITLIST to be the first to know and get an exclusive discount and bonus offer when it's released!! :)

Postpartum Fitness Program (4 month Training Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Free Guide: Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

In this call we help Carlie work through some guilt around taking time to exercise when there's still so much work and things that need to be done.

Carlie and I have been working together for a little over a year to help her heal from burnout and build a more sustainable work-life balance, with Jesus at the center, and I felt so compelled to ask her if she would be open to me sharing the recording of this coaching call on the Podcast.

Because as high-achieving Christian women with huge hearts to make a difference, who want to give our family and everyone around us our best, it can be so hard to find time to take care of ourselves too.

She was so happy to share this call, to help other women feel less alone.

So if you too have a demanding job and mile-long to-do list but have a hard time (or feel guilty for!) finding the time to take care of yourself too amidst everything on your plate, grab a notebook and let's do this together.

I pray this blesses you big!

**Break Free from Burnout Work-Life Balance Program doors will be opening soon!! JOIN THE WAITLIST to be the first to know and get an exclusive discount and bonus offer when it's released!! :)

Want to schedule a Discovery Call to explore if it'd be a good fit to work together? You don't have to stay stuck! Send me an email at megan@armedtotheheart.com and we'll set up a 30 min time.

Book a 1:1 Coaching Session : 1 hr Strategy & Mindset Coaching Call for Work-Life Balance or Pregnancy & Postpartum Fitness, for military women & beyond

Postpartum Fitness Program (4 month Training Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Free Guide: Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

It can be really common to have high hopes for holidays like Mother's Day then feel disappointed, under-appreciated, and hurt if it didn't live up to our ideals, and expectations.

So let's walk through a process that'll help you have a more beautiful, meaningful Mother's Day, and feel deeply seen, known, loved, and valued this weekend, and always.

In this episode I help you bring to awareness what's beneath the surface, and give you some tips for communicating more easily and openly with your husband to avoid getting stuck in unmet, unspoken expectations, comparison, disappointment, resentment, and emotional disconnect.

I share the #1 most important thing you can do to feel like your cup is full, and overflowing, even if your relationship is struggling, motherhood is feeling really dang hard and discouraging, and you're not receiving as much love and affirmation as you would have liked to.

Let's dive in and have a heart to heart. ]]>23eb66f9-276f-434f-af11-4a49098af8b5_7IAb5vves3Sat, 13 May 2023 04:05:42 GMTTake just a few minutes with me to pause and explore what your hopes, dreams, expectations, and needs are for Mother's Day.

It can be really common to have high hopes for holidays like Mother's Day then feel disappointed, under-appreciated, and hurt if it didn't live up to our ideals, and expectations.

So let's walk through a process that'll help you have a more beautiful, meaningful Mother's Day, and feel deeply seen, known, loved, and valued this weekend, and always.

In this episode I help you bring to awareness what's beneath the surface, and give you some tips for communicating more easily and openly with your husband to avoid getting stuck in unmet, unspoken expectations, comparison, disappointment, resentment, and emotional disconnect.

I share the #1 most important thing you can do to feel like your cup is full, and overflowing, even if your relationship is struggling, motherhood is feeling really dang hard and discouraging, and you're not receiving as much love and affirmation as you would have liked to.

Let's dive in and have a heart to heart. ]]><p>Take just a few minutes with me to pause and explore what your hopes, dreams, expectations, and needs are for Mother's Day.</p> <p>It can be really common to have high hopes for holidays like Mother's Day then feel disappointed, under-appreciated, and hurt if it didn't live up to our ideals, and expectations.</p> <p>So let's walk through a process that'll help you have a more beautiful, meaningful Mother's Day, and feel deeply seen, known, loved, and valued this weekend, and always.</p> <p>In this episode I help you bring to awareness what's beneath the surface, and give you some tips for communicating more easily and openly with your husband to avoid getting stuck in unmet, unspoken expectations, comparison, disappointment, resentment, and emotional disconnect.</p> <p>I share the #1 most important thing you can do to feel like your cup is full, and overflowing, even if your relationship is struggling, motherhood is feeling really dang hard and discouraging, and you're not receiving as much love and affirmation as you would have liked to.</p> <p>Let's dive in and have a heart to heart. No00:13:30fullDo you feel like work is taking over your life?

Are you burnt out & tired of giving all you've got in your work, but feeling like it leaves just the leftovers for your family and marriage, and barely any time for the rest of your life?

With a demanding job, and all it takes to care for your little ones & keep the home running, you're really struggling to find time to maintain your own mental & physical health because there's never enough time leftover for yourself (and when you do try to take a moment, you feel guilty because there's still more on that to-do-list or you get interrupted because someone needs you again!)

Do you wish you actually had time to rest and decompress or do more of what brings you true joy, but the workweeks feel like there's no time to breathe as you're trying to keep up, then the weekends are nonstop too, between getting as much quality time together as you can with your family, but also catching up on all the housework and prepping everything for the next week?

If you're anything like me, you dream of waking up every day full of energy and passion because you know you're living out God's call for you, fully present to & serving your family in the ways that are most important, and making a real impact through your work.

But in reality?

You're caught somewhere between always feeling guilty, torn, stressed, overworked, like you're failing somewhere, or like no matter how much you give, it's never enough.

You're tired of giving so much of yourself to your family & work and caring so much, yet feeling so depleted, frustrated, and isolated in the struggles.

You may even wonder deep down, 

"Is this really even worth it?"

"Something's gotta give."

"Is this what God is asking of me?"

"What am I doing wrong? Why can't I get it together?"

Sister, I just want to pause and wrap my arms around you for a moment.

 I see you. You are not alone. I was you.

I trust that God has brought you here for a reason.

I'm here to give you some hope that you don't have to stay stuck. He has an amazing plan for you.

Your family needs what you alone can give them. And the world needs what you have to offer.

So let's help you to heal from this burnout and find more balance, so you can do the work the Lord has made you for, but WITHOUT sacrificing what matters most.

Grab a notebook & pen or get ready to write these into the notes of your phone! I'm guiding you through 10 Key Reflection Questions that'll bring you immense clarity, and show you the next steps toward the balance your heart is longing for.

**Break Free from Burnout Work-Life Balance Program for High-Achieving Christian women in the military & other male-dominated environments coming soon!! JOIN THE WAITLIST to be the first to know and get an exclusive discount and bonus offer when it's released!! :)

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Book a 1:1 Coaching Session : 1 hr Strategy & Mindset Coaching Call for Work-Life Balance or Pregnancy & Postpartum Fitness, for military women & beyond

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Free Guide: Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Are you longing for more consistent, intentional time with the Lord?

Does prayer sometimes feel like just another thing to keep up with, or another thing on the to-do-list that you feel guilty if you don't get to?

Or do you feel a sense of guilt when you DO take time to slow down & pray, because you're not being more "productive" with that time given how much there is to do?

Maybe you have a pretty good prayer life, but know you could be more intentional and disciplined with it.

I see you sister.

We're gonna chat today about how to fit prayer into the busyness of life and motherhood.

If you struggle to find time for prayer, you're not alone.

Maybe you constantly feel like with all the directions you're pulled in, you're trying to keep up with everything, but prayer is one of those things that tends to fall to the wayside.

Maybe you want to be more intentional with your prayer routine and faith life but don't quite know where to start and how to fit it into your busy schedule when you barely have a moment to breathe and are already so dang short on time.

Maybe you wish you could sit down with your Bible or prayer journal for some quiet time with a cup of coffee or tea and a nice candle, but you're constantly getting interrupted by your little ones and it feels impossible to find the time to deeply, meaningfully connect with God.

Today we're covering 7 simple ways to find more time for prayer in our busy lives. I hope this blesses you today, and gives you the encouragement you need to live out your faith in everyday life.

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**Break Free from Burnout Work-Life Balance Program for high-achieving Christian women in the military & beyond coming soon!! JOIN THE WAITLIST to be the first to know and get an exclusive discount and bonus offer when it's released!! :)

Book a 1:1 Coaching Session : 1 hr Strategy & Mindset Coaching Call for Work-Life Balance or Pregnancy & Postpartum Fitness, for military women & beyond

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Free Guide: Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

It's common, but doesn't have to be your normal.

No matter how long ago you had your baby, or if you're pregnant & preparing for postpartum, or newly postpartum but haven't yet resumed intimacy, this episode will de-stigmatize this and give you practical tips to navigate & improve any pain you feel. It's something so many of us go through, yet we feel so alone in, because it's not really talked about.

Painful or uncomfortable sex after baby (both early postpartum, but also for extended periods of time) is one of those things that's common, but it doesn't have to be normal.

I suffered through this for nearly 2 years silently before I learned the factors that were contributing to it, and that it didn't have to be that way. I thought it was just part of the sacrifices that come with motherhood, & something I was gonna have to live & deal with for the rest of my life. I felt so much shame around it, and thought there was something wrong with me.

I don't want any other mama to feel like you just have to push through, or feel so alone like I did.

So today we're gonna go there -- we're talking through 6 Simple Strategies to Reduce Pelvic Pain with Sex after Baby. I pray this gives you hope, encouragement, and a way forward if you've been struggling with this too.

All my love sweet friend. Praying for you in this.

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***I'm holding a Mother's Day SALE for the next 2 weeks!

Grab 25% off either a 1:1 session or my Postpartum Program with the Discount Code: MOTHERSDAY23

Book a 1:1 Coaching Session : 1 hr Strategy & Mindset Coaching Call for Work-Life Balance or Pregnancy & Postpartum Health & Fitness, for military women & beyond

Free Guide: Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

**Balance Blueprint Course coming soon!! Stay tuned. :)

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

When you think of a perfect mom, what do you think of?

What makes you feel like you’re doing it all right, or makes you feel put together?

What makes you feel like enough? What makes you feel like you’re doing enough?

There is so much pressure to be a perfect mom.

Many of us feel like no matter how hard we try, it’s never enough.

• The guilt of not spending more time with our kids.
• The thought “my child deserves better” on repeat in our minds.
• Trying to hold it all together, keeping a smile on our face on the outside, but just feeling like a hot mess.
• Feeling ashamed if we’re having a hard time keeping up with everything.
• If our home isn’t as spotless as everyone else’s seems to be.
• Beating ourselves up about anytime we lose our cool and aren’t as calm & patient as we want to be with our kids.
• Wondering how other moms are managing it all so much better than us.
• Stretched thin in the juggling act, but feeling like you’re failing in all of it.
• In survival mode trying to keep everyone alive.
• Feeling so guilty, because we’re not as present & loving as we want to be for our kids.
• Worried we’re not giving them enough, wishing we could do more for them.

Today we’re walking through 5 steps to help you identify and release the unrealistic standards of perfection that are keeping you stuck in vicious cycles of guilt, shame, overwhelm, & discouragement as a mom, and clarify EXACTLY where God is calling you to focus in this season, to be the mom you want to be.

Let's help you let go of the burdens you're not meant to carry.

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**Break Free from Burnout Work-Life Balance Program coming soon!! JOIN THE WAITLIST to be the first to know and get an exclusive discount and bonus offer when it's released!! :)

Book a 1:1 Coaching Session : 1 hr Strategy & Mindset Coaching Call for Work-Life Balance or Pregnancy & Postpartum Fitness, for military women & beyond

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Free Guide: Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

CAN'T WAIT to share this incredible guest interview with you today, where we dive into so many practical parenting tips that have empowered me so much through motherhood & fostered a much more connected, peaceful relationship, without the constant yelling, power struggles, exhaustion & overwhelm.

Kelly Shoup is a Pediatric Occupational Therapist & Parenting Coach who has 20+ years of experience helping parents wrangle little ones, plus parenting her own kids, with a long record of success. She has supported our family in the most difficult seasons of military life to help us not just survive but truly thrive together. I know you will learn so much from her too, and be so blessed by this episode.

We cover:

• How to help our kids through transitions & constant changes of military life
• How to reduce power struggles & meltdowns & make everyday routines smoother with our kids
• Tips for how to stay calm & feel less overwhelmed as parents to help our kids better regulate, and so we don't lose our cool when they're having a tantrum, being violent or not listening, when they're just breaking down in the evenings after everyone has had a long day at work & daycare/school, or we're frustrated and exhausted by their behavior on top of everything else we're juggling
• How to understand what our children's behavior is communicating, what is developmentally normal & healthy for them & how to support them through it
• How to move from harsher obedience, control & compliance-based parenting to a more gentle, connection-oriented, present and playful approach that dissolves so much of the power struggles before they even happen and allows for such deep connection with our children
• How to support your kids in developing their self-confidence & self worth
• Leaning on God & His grace through it all, to be the best mamas we can be

...and more

This episode is full of GOLD that will make all the difference in your relationship with your children -- especially if they're strong-willed like mine!

Be sure to share this with a friend who will benefit from all these amazing tips too. We're not meant to do this alone.

**Tired of Meltdowns & Constant Power Struggles? Take Kelly Shoup's free Sensory Profile Quiz and discover what your child's behavior is communicating.

Learn more from Kelly on her Podcast, Making Sense of Parenting

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**Break Free from Burnout Work-Life Balance Program for high-achieving Christian women / working mamas in the military & beyond coming soon!! JOIN THE WAITLIST to be the first to know and get an exclusive discount and bonus offer when it's released!! :)

Book a 1:1 Coaching Session with Megan: 1 hr Strategy & Mindset Coaching Call for Work-Life Balance or Pregnancy & Postpartum Fitness, for military women & beyond

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Or maybe in the trenches of all the changes & demands that come with the different seasons of motherhood?

It can feel like we're constantly drowning in the stress & anxiety of it all. It can easily overwhelm us.

Especially in the military, with so much constant change, instability, uncertainty, and how much stress that can bring on top of the heavy loads we're already carrying as busy mamas or busy women, it is a LOT.

So how do we deal with this and get through it, to come out stronger on the other side?

This episode was born of where I am currently -- in the thick of some big transitions & being away from my babies...just having finished 6 months of solo parenting being stationed apart from my husband, and now he moved home to us but I had to leave and I'm the one apart from my family because of a 2 month training course.

So today I'm sharing the #1 thing you need to focus on when you're going through change. And this will make ALL the difference in the world.

-----

Whenever you're ready, here’s a few ways we can work together:

**Balance Blueprint Course coming soon!! JOIN THE WAITLIST to be the first to know and get an exclusive discount and bonus offer when it's released!! :)

Schedule a Coaching session: Book a full 1 hour 1:1 Call

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

**Balance Blueprint Course coming soon!! Stay tuned. :)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

So we wait, what feels like FOREVER, for this 6 week appointment with our OB or midwife. Often anxious about what's safe or unsafe, some symptoms we might be experiencing, OR feeling really good and starting to grow impatient, maybe even feeling like we're exempt from having to wait for the clearance because our recovery has been smooth so far, we were able to maintain a lot of fitness through pregnancy, we're a strong athlete and we had a fairly "easy" birth experience.

Regardless, by this point we're usually dying to get back to the gym or running so we can start to feel more like ourselves again -- in our identity, routine, and body.

Then the appointment comes, we get the "all clear," & we're like, that's it?

Am I really good to go?

You likely didn't receive any more specific guidance on what your return to exercise should look like than the vague advice to "Just ease back in," or "You're cleared for exercise," "Just listen to your body."

But how do we return to fitness and all the things we want to do safely?

Are we good to go back to everything we were doing before?

Lifting heavy? Running? That CrossFit class? The fitness test? Unit PT? That half marathon or triathlon coming up?

What if we have a Diastasis?

Or what if we've been experiencing leaking, or pelvic pressure, pain, or discomfort, hip, or low back pain?

This appointment may not even evaluate any of those things -- it can feel woefully inadequate.

You deserve more care, support, and information than this. I'm here to share all the things we aren't taught, that we should be given at this point in our recovery process.

We're covering all of this and:

• The 3 Biggest Mistakes Moms Make after the 6 Week Postpartum Clearance (I made these too!) and how to avoid them
• What the 6 week clearance ACTUALLY means vs. what we often interpret it to mean
• What to Expect & What I Wish I Knew
• What your doctor most likely didn't tell you, that's CRITICAL to know as you're getting back into exercise

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Are you a mama who wants to get back to Lifting, Running, and the Military Fitness Test quickly after baby so you can feel stronger & more like yourself again? Looking for a step by step plan to help you get there? My signature 18 week Postpartum Program is for you!

Just need a quick Coaching session to help you form a personalized strategy for your fitness goals through pregnancy or postpartum? Let's do a Power Hour so we can help you overcome anything you're struggling with, and you can walk away with a clear plan & more confidence! Schedule a 1 hr, 1:1 Call HERE

FREE PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum (for Military Mamas + Beyond)

I cannot imagine a more meaningful individual to bring on for you as the first guest interview because she inspired everything that I do, and the mission I hold dear to support military women navigating motherhood and fitness through those seasons.

In this conversation we covered:

• Our personal shared struggles finding our identity again as a mother and athlete, and the intersection between our and many mothers' experiences of anxiety, depression, and our changing bodies & fitness abilities
• How to navigate the pressures we feel to get back to fitness & get our bodies back quickly -- especially in the military or as driven athletes
• The red flags you should look for to filter out negative or toxic influences, and how to find trustworthy pre & postnatal fitness information
• How to channel your drive & competitiveness in a positive direction through pregnancy & postpartum so you have a balanced approach to your goals & performance in fitness, work & motherhood
• Tips for how to be part of the change you want to see for pregnant & postpartum women in your community as coaches, leaders, & professionals 

ANNOUNCEMENT! The Pregnancy & Postpartum Athleticism Certification Course is on SALE NOW!! Learn more and get started HERE if you feel called to be part of this movement.

***SAVE $300 off the normal price by enrolling by APRIL 21! If you enroll through my affiliate link above, I will gift you a free 1:1 coaching call to help you make a plan for how you can get started toward your goals. Email me at megan@armedtotheheart.com if you have any questions!

This is an AMAZING opportunity to join our international team of coaches & professionals who are making a difference in the military community and beyond.

Are you a mama who wants to get back to Lifting, Running, and the Military Fitness Test quickly after baby so you can feel stronger & more like yourself again? My signature 18 week Postpartum Program is for you!

FREE PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum (for Military Mamas + Beyond)

Our minds are spiritual battlegrounds.

So many of us struggle with crippling negative self talk. The harsh inner critic that makes us never feel like enough, that drives shame, insecurity, self-doubt, anxiety, fear & overwhelm. We want to hear God's voice more clearly, to feel more at peace, more joy, and to feel less discouraged & defeated in the challenges & demands of daily life.

What you'll learn today will help you see more clearly what is a spiritual battle, so you can empower yourself with the tools you need to fight it well. So you can use the right tools, for the battle at hand.

I pray this blesses you big today. All my love sister!

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Whenever you're ready, here’s a few ways we can work together:

**Break Free from Burnout Work-Life Balance Program for high-achieving Christian women in the military & beyond coming soon!! JOIN THE WAITLIST to be the first to know and get an exclusive discount and bonus offer when it's released!! :)

Schedule a Coaching session: Book a full 1 hour 1:1 Call

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

**Balance Blueprint Course coming soon!! Stay tuned. :)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

I’m sharing a vulnerable personal story with you, and 6 tips to help you through this struggle.

I pray it blesses you mama!

Wanna get back to Lifting, Running, and the Military Fitness Test quickly after baby so you can feel stronger & more like yourself again? My signature 18 week Postpartum Program is for you! Learn more HERE. You can get started whenever you're ready.

FREE PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum (for Military Mamas + Beyond)

You want your stomach to look and feel like it did pre-pregnancy, you want to close your ab gap, flatten your stomach & see those changes in your body that will help you gain more confidence in it again.

Maybe all the info out there about Diastasis makes you nervous about what you should or shouldn't do postpartum, but you're also staring down the PT test which may require some of those things that are supposedly not 'Diastasis safe', like Pushups, Sit ups, Planks, and Pull ups, so it leaves you feeling even more stressed about how to get back to everything you want to do in fitness.

Today we're covering the most important things you need to know about Diastasis Recti, and also help you filter out some misinformation about it too:

• What is Diastasis Recti?
• The main factors that contribute toward and affect the 'mommy pooch'
• The 3 main elements that influence the healing process for Diastasis & the postpartum core & exactly what you should focus on to close your gap and restore the strength & function of your core to stimulate the most change the fastest
• What you DON'T need to worry as much about or fixate on, that the messaging out there is telling you 
• The Do's and Don'ts: how to know whether the exercises you're doing are Diastasis safe, & if your body is ready for them

If you want to feel more confident in your body again, & train strategically to get more results in your core and overall strength & fitness, you're in the right place!

****Looking for a roadmap, a step by step plan to heal your Diastasis Recti & get back to Fitness Postpartum? Wanna get back to Lifting, Running, and the Military Fitness Test quickly after baby so you can feel stronger & more like yourself again? My signature 18 week Postpartum Program is for you! Learn more HERE. You can get started whenever you're ready.

FREE PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum (for Military Mamas + Beyond)

I felt called to just share what's been on my heart personally over the last couple days.

This is a raw, real conversation that'll give you a window into what's helping me find balance in this season, manage my time, and stay focused on what's most important.

I share how I'm navigating working mom life, solo parenting during this time of long distance, and preparing for our upcoming dual military life transitions as I gear up for time apart from my family with an upcoming training course, and my husband's PCS, and juggling this with my small business and this ministry too.

I'm sharing the real-time struggles vulnerably and EXACTLY what's helping me overcome them because I want you to see what this process to find more balance can look like for you right now, and what is possible for you too -- no matter how much is on your plate.

-----

Whenever you're ready, here’s a few ways we can work together:

Schedule a Coaching session: Book a full 1 hour 1:1 Call

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

Many of us struggle with this. We wanna be more present. We want to have more time with our little ones. We wanna have more time FOR our families.

Working full time, we often don’t feel like we’re giving them enough, or able to be the mom we want to be because work takes so much of our time & we’re exhausted & drained by the time we come home from our long days.

Even when we are with our babies, playing with them, our minds can be elsewhere, stressed & anxious about our to-do-list, or all the things that need to get done around the house to keep up.

We’re often left with mom guilt, wishing we could have more time to spend with our kids, and not feel like we’re behind in everything else.

So today we’re going to go dive into 15 different ways we can be more present.

I hope these lessons learned the hard way, bless you & your family. 🤍

Whenever you're ready, here’s a few ways we can work together:

Schedule a coaching session: Book a full 1 hour 1:1 Call

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing more balance, with Jesus at the center. It is an amazing community of support, tools to manage & reduce stress & burnout, and accountability as we grow together.

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

You want to give 100% to all you do, and have incredibly high expectations of yourself.

You've always taken a lot of pride in your fitness and want to keep that part of you even through pregnancy & postpartum.

This is a beautiful thing. But sometimes it can accidentally turn self-sabotaging, and become dangerous or not really serve us as much during these uniquely challenging seasons when our bodies, lives, & identities are changing. The hard reality is that there is a lot outside of our control, and we might feel like we're losing the athlete we once were, or all we've worked so hard for. We may feel like we're losing ourselves in motherhood.

Or the frustration that can come with starting from ground zero postpartum and feeling that intense urge to just get back to everything so we can feel more like ourselves again and feel more comfortable in our bodies again when we look in the mirror.

You're not alone mama.

So in this episode I reveal the 3 ways I see this drive being harmful, and how you can avoid that to really set yourself up for success in your pregnancy and postpartum fitness journeys. Let's instead learn to leverage this natural drive FOR you & your goals, rather than compromising them.

Just need a quick Breakthrough Coaching session to help you get clear on your approach to exercise through pregnancy or postpartum? Let's do a Power Hour so you can walk away with a clear plan & more confidence in your strategy to get after your goals! Schedule a 1 hr, 1:1 Call HERE

***Looking for a Postpartum Program you can trust, that'll help you rebuild to get you back into running & where you want to / need to be?

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

BOOK A FREE 15 min DISCOVERY CALL:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing more balance so they can lead a life aligned with their priorities, with Jesus at the center. It is an amazing community of support, tools to help you in your holistic health & fitness, and accountability so you can live out your calling more fully.

It's easy for our own mental or physical health to get put on the back burner while we're taking care of everyone else.

Our kids demand so much.

Work (especially in the military) can feel like it's taking over our whole life.

If you feel like you're struggling to, or even feeling guilty about taking time to exercise, or having a hard time figuring out how to fit other forms of self care in, if you're like, I've got ZERO time for myself, and the idea of self-care leads to even more overwhelm, guilt, or frustration...

If you've ever thought to yourself, it feels selfish taking time for my own needs because it steals from my family or others who are depending on me, this is for you.

There have been many seasons where I've felt constantly exhausted & burnt out in motherhood. During pregnancy, postpartum, with all our military life demands, solo parenting, really busy work schedules, seasons of frequent field training, it's easy for burnout to be our norm as military moms.

We're often trying so hard, giving all we've got, but it often can still never feel like enough. So if you're feeling stretched thin in every way, physically drained, and emotionally exhausted, these 5 tips for shifting out of burnout will help you know where to start, so you can feel more like yourself again, and ultimately have more balance and time for what matters most.

**Balance Blueprint Course coming soon!! JOIN THE WAITLISTto be the first to know and get an exclusive discount and bonus offer when it's released!! :)

Whenever you're ready to work together:

Schedule a coaching session: Book a full 1 hour 1:1 Call

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing more balance, with Jesus at the center. It is an amazing community of support, tools to manage & reduce stress & burnout, and accountability as we grow together.

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

It’s so hard to find time for ourselves as busy moms. It's easy for our own mental or physical health to get put on the back burner while we're taking care of everyone else.

Our kids demand so much.

Work (especially in the military) can feel like it's taking over our whole life.

If you feel like you're struggling to, or even feeling guilty about taking time to exercise, or having a hard time figuring out how to fit other forms of self care in, if you're like, I've got ZERO time for myself, and the idea of self-care leads to even more overwhelm, guilt, or frustration...

There have been many seasons where I've been burnt out in motherhood. During pregnancy, postpartum, with all our military life demands, solo parenting, really busy work schedules, seasons of frequent field training, it's easy for burnout to be our norm as military moms.

We're often trying so hard, giving all we've got, but it often can still never feel like enough. So if you're feeling stretched thin in every way, physically drained, and emotionally exhausted, these 5 tips for shifting out of burnout will help you know where to start, so you can get a little time for yourself, feel refreshed again, and ultimately have more balance and time for what matters most.

Whenever you're ready to work together:

**Balance Blueprint Course coming soon!! JOIN THE WAITLIST to be the first to know and get an exclusive discount and bonus offer when it's released!! :)

Send me a quick email at megan@armedtotheheart.com to schedule a FREE Discovery call!

Schedule a coaching session: Book a full 1 hour 1:1 Call

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing more balance, with Jesus at the center. It is an amazing community of support, tools to manage & reduce stress & burnout, and accountability as we grow together in our calling.

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

This is something that's been on my heart through every season of motherhood.

For the first couple years in the Army, I felt extremely stifled in my ability to do this and questioned whether it was possible to keep my priorities in order while still serving...

I felt like I was failing as a wife and mom, and couldn't be who I wanted to (or that God was calling me to) be for my family because of all that the military demanded. I felt like there was this huge misalignment and I was so afraid I couldn't actually live out my faith in uniform.

I felt so off balance. Not only was I drowning in stress & overwhelmed by everything that was demanded of me in managing motherhood and military service together. I felt stuck and trapped in the Army. I was worried my husband, baby, and home were getting the leftovers of me and that wasn't ok to me.

But God answered my prayers, revealing the purpose of where He had me then, as He's still doing today. He showed me that whether we're in the military or beyond, we CAN live out our faith in an integrated way, leaning on His grace to find more balance & be the wife, mom, & leader He is calling us to be, if we keep Christ at the center of all that we do.

So today you'll learn:

• A 3-Part Framework to doing God’s will and keep Jesus at the center of your life
• 3 Signs to clarify if you’re on the right path or if your priorities or balance is off
• 3 Steps to Apply right away to help you get on track to become more aligned and live out your faith in daily life

   

WANT TO EXPLORE WORKING TOGETHER?

Send me a quick email at megan@armedtotheheart.com to schedule a FREE Discovery call!

Whenever you're ready to schedule a coaching session: Book a full 1 hour 1:1 Call

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing more balance, with Jesus at the center. It is an amazing community of support, tools to manage & reduce stress & burnout, and accountability as we grow together in our calling.

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

In this 2-part episode I walk you through a Blueprint to find more Balance: 6 tips & strategies that you can implement right away to give you some relief from the stress & overwhelm of being pulled in so many directions.

If you're feeling like you're working so hard to hold it all together and juggle everything on your plate but just always feeling exhausted or spread thin...

If you feel like your to-do-list is constantly hanging over your head, and it feels really hard to be present and give 100% to everything...

If you feel like there's never enough time for everyone that needs you & all that needs to be done...

If you're doing so much, but feel like you're doing none of it really well...

I want to give you hope that there's a way out of this place.

You can manage your time, manage your mind, and manage your stress, instead of letting it managing you.

So let's help you move closer to the balance you are searching for today.

This framework is one you can use over and over again, whenever you feel off balance or need to recalibrate given the new demands that come in different seasons of life. I pray it blesses you!

Whenever you're ready to work together:

Send me a quick email at megan@armedtotheheart.com to schedule a FREE Discovery call!

Schedule a coaching session: Book a full 1 hour 1:1 Call

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing more balance, with Jesus at the center. It is an amazing community of support, tools to manage & reduce stress & burnout, and accountability as we grow together in our calling.

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

In this 2-part episode I walk you through a Blueprint to find more Balance: 6 tips & strategies that you can implement right away to give you some relief from the stress & overwhelm of being pulled in so many directions.

If you're feeling like you're working so hard to hold it all together and juggle everything on your plate but just always feeling exhausted or spread thin...

If you feel like your to-do-list is constantly hanging over your head, and it feels really hard to be present and give 100% to everything...

If you feel like there's never enough time for everyone that needs you & all that needs to be done...

If you're doing so much, but feel like you're doing none of it really well...

I want to give you hope that there's a way out of this place.

You can manage your time, manage your mind, and manage your stress, instead of letting it managing you.

So let's help you move closer to the balance you are searching for today.

This framework is one you can use over and over again, whenever you feel off balance or need to recalibrate given the new demands that come in different seasons of life. I pray it blesses you!

Whenever you're ready to work together:

Send me a quick email at megan@armedtotheheart.com to schedule a FREE Discovery call!

Schedule a coaching session: Book a full 1 hour 1:1 Call

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing more balance, with Jesus at the center. It is an amazing community of support, tools to manage & reduce stress & burnout, and accountability as we grow together in our calling.

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

When exercising pregnant it can be hard to know when to adjust, when most of the advice we hear is to just keep doing what you were doing, or listen to your body without any specifics -- or it's all conflicting messages.

So in this episode you'll learn:

• 12 Red flags / Warning Signs to keep an eye out for your/baby's health & safety
• 8 Key Yellow Lights that will help you know what is too much for your body & pelvic floor
• 15 Ideas of Alternative Types of Cardio other than Running if you want to explore different options to maintain fitness that give you the conditioning benefits of running, but without as much impact on your core & pelvic floor
• The most important things you need to know about your Core & Pelvic Floor with running through pregnancy (that will also set you up for a smoother postpartum recovery!)

• How to Adjust your Running Routine through each Trimester.

• A process I coach women through on how to make the right decisions for you in your training approach/strategy through pregnancy & postpartum

When I learned all of this through my certification as a Pregnancy & Postpartum Athleticism Coach it was so eye opening. It gave me an immense peace of mind. With my first pregnancy, even though I wanted to keep pushing & challenging myself in fitness I had so much anxiety about what's safe & what's not, because there's so much conflicting information out there on google and everyone says different things and gives you different opinions...so I just erred on the side of caution.

But let's help you confidently continue exercising so you can have the healthy, fit pregnancy you're hoping for, and set you up for a successful comeback postpartum (and lifelong fitness!)

*Just need a quick Breakthrough Coaching session to help you get clear on your approach to exercise through pregnancy or postpartum? Let's do a Power Hour so you can walk away with a clear plan & more confidence in your strategy to get after your goals! Schedule a 1 hr, 1:1 Call HERE

***Looking for a Postpartum Program you can trust, that'll help you rebuild to get you back into running & where you want to / need to be?

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

BOOK A FREE 15 min DISCOVERY CALL:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing more balance so they can lead a life aligned with their priorities, with Jesus at the center. It is an amazing community of support, tools to help you in your holistic health & fitness, and accountability so you can live out your calling more fully.

I reflect on the moment when we have to transition to the maternity uniform, and all the emotions that come with this, and deep dive into the challenges of being a mom in uniform.

It's hard to go through pregnancy & postpartum in the male-dominated environments we're in, often surrounded by an organizational culture where motherhood isn't necessarily welcomed, valued, or normalized.

Many of us are wrestling with how to be a great mom AND leader at the same time, how to reconcile our dreams & goals with who we want to be for our family.

There are so many pressures we feel & fears we may be navigating, internally & externally.

We're not only navigating the challenges to find balance, but many of us are also feeling those pressures to prove we're still valuable, even through pregnancy, that we can come back strong & still perform postpartum. You may be experiencing anxiety around other people's opinions & perceptions of you when/if you become pregnant, or be worried about the potential career impacts of pregnancy. 

If you're feeling this too, or maybe feeling torn or afraid of starting or growing your family because of timing or other reasons, feeling shame or guilt around putting your family first, or just feel a bit alone as a mom in your work environment, listen into this episode.

I pray that you feel seen, loved, and encouraged today on your journey sister.

WANT TO WORK TOGETHER?

Send me a quick email at megan@armedtotheheart.com to schedule a FREE Discovery call!

Whenever you're ready to schedule a coaching session: Book a full 1 hour 1:1 Call

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing more balance, with Jesus at the center. It is an amazing community of support, tools to manage & reduce stress & burnout, and accountability as we grow together in our calling.

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

Are you exhausted & burnt out, feeling like it's your job to take care of everyone and everything but having no time to rest & recharge?

You're so spread thin between the demands & obligations pulling you in every direction, that you worry you can't truly live out your priorities, and give your family what they deserve or be the mom you really want to be.

It leads to near-constant frustration, discouragement, and guilt.

You're striving to find that sense of calm while trying to juggle everything on your plate, take care of your family, perform well & make an impact at work, and give your best to all that you do, but wondering if balance is even possible.

Because you're running a million miles an hour, and it's hard to see a way out.

Oh man, do I see & understand you friend.

Let's talk about where to start. I believe this is THE most important place to begin when it comes to managing our time, and living out God's calling for us.

WHENEVER YOU'RE READY FOR THE NEXT STEP:

Send me a quick email at megan@armedtotheheart.com to schedule a FREE Discovery call!

Whenever you're ready to schedule a coaching session: Book a full 1 hour 1:1 Call

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing more balance, with Jesus at the center. It is an amazing community of support, tools to manage & reduce stress & burnout, and accountability as we grow together in our calling.

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

I know when in the trenches of the hard, the exhaustion, the sacrifices, when our time, our body, our lives are not really our own anymore...it's hard to truly enjoy motherhood because we're just trying to survive how demanding it is.

Though we have so much love for our children, we may even start to feel resentment building over the sacrifices, the disproportionate burdens we're carrying as moms, then feel guilt & shame on top of this.

When everything changes so quickly, and our priorities & lives shift to focus on our babies...many of us may feel like we've lost ourselves, our identity, and who we once were, somewhere in the process of becoming a mother.

Or we've lost our joy, our spark.

Our sense of purpose, both within or outside of being a mom.

I know I felt this way in my first couple years of motherhood, & I felt so alone in it.

So let's talk about it today, and how we can reclaim it, while embracing the noble call motherhood is -- and how God is shaping you into who you're meant to be through it.

WANT TO WORK TOGETHER?

Send me a quick email at megan@armedtotheheart.com to schedule a FREE Discovery call!

Whenever you're ready to schedule a coaching session: Book a full 1 hour 1:1 Call

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing more balance, with Jesus at the center. It is an amazing community of support, tools to manage & reduce stress & burnout, and accountability as we grow together in our calling.

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

Especially postpartum when we're just trying to feel more like ourselves again and regain the strength & confidence in our bodies as we return to our normal exercise routine, performing on the military PT test, passing the height & weight standards, etc. And when we're short on time, we have to optimize the time we DO spend working out, to see those gains we're after.

Today I'm giving you the ONE principle you NEED to know, and walk you through 12 different, easy ways to apply this in your exercise sessions so you can crush those goals, and BUST through any plateaus, walls you're experiencing, or improve any core & pelvic floor symptoms you're managing like Diastasis Recti, leaking pee when running or jumping, pelvic pain or discomfort, etc.

This is a framework you'll want to know to level UP your fitness, but also options for how to scale back and adjust or modify your exercise through the stages of pregnancy & postpartum, or even as you improve after injuries.

Be sure to share this with a friend who you want to encourage in their fitness too! Strong women lift each other up. :)

*Just need a quick Breakthrough Coaching session to get you UNSTUCK? Let's do a Power Hour so you can walk away with a clear plan & more confidence in your training strategy based on your goals! Schedule a 1 hr, 1:1 Call HERE

***Looking for a Postpartum Program you can trust, that'll get you to where you want to / need to be?

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

BOOK A FREE 15 min DISCOVERY CALL:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing more balance so they can lead a life aligned with their priorities, with Jesus at the center. It is an amazing community of support, tools to help you in your holistic health & fitness, and accountability so you can live out your calling more fully.

We're taking an honest look at the main culprit of our unmanaged stress & overwhelm. This is preventing us from finding more balance -- it's draining our time, energy ability to be present with our family, our health & well-being, & capacity to pursue our goals & calling.

I'm shedding light on what this is costing you, and the practical action steps you can take & simple shifts you can make to break free to reclaim your time, peace, and sense of fulfillment.

This has been life-changing on my own growth journey as a working mom, amidst all the challenges that come with dual military life and the juggling act, and for my clients, and I can't wait to hear how it impacts you too.

WANT TO CONTINUE THE JOURNEY OR WORK TOGETHER?

Send me a quick email at megan@armedtotheheart.com to schedule a FREE Discovery call!

Book a full 1 hour 1:1 Coaching Call

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing more balance, with Jesus at the center. It is an amazing community of support, tools to manage & reduce stress & burnout, and accountability as we grow together in our calling.

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

The painful truth is that these are many of the most common things we see -- all over Google, Facebook groups, our standard issued Military Pregnancy & Postpartum Fitness resources, in the general Health & Fitness space (especially the Fit Influencer realm) and in daily conversations between moms...I believed all these things too before I went through my training as a certified Pregnancy & Postpartum Athleticism Coach and continued pursuing continuing education from there.

We have to keep getting better, more updated guidance out there for moms everywhere, but ESPECIALLY for women who serve because our careers depend on our ability to recover quickly, and get back to rigorous fitness standards postpartum.

If you're pregnant or postpartum, you don't want to miss these episodes.

Be sure to share this with a friend who deserves this quality info too!

***Looking for a Postpartum Program you can trust, that'll get you to where you want to / need to be?

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing more balance, with Jesus at the center. It is an amazing community of support, tools to find much more balance, and accountability.

Tune into this 2-part Episode where we're busting the 20 most common myths & outdated (even harmful) pieces of advice I see out there on postpartum fitness.

The painful truth is that these are many of the most common things we see -- all over Google, Facebook groups, our standard issued Military Pregnancy & Postpartum Fitness resources, in the general Health & Fitness space (especially the Fit Influencer realm) and in daily conversations between moms...I believed all these things too before I went through my training as a certified Pregnancy & Postpartum Athleticism Coach and continued pursuing continuing education from there.

We have to keep getting better, more updated guidance out there for moms everywhere, but ESPECIALLY for women who serve because our careers depend on our ability to recover quickly, and get back to rigorous fitness standards postpartum.

If you're pregnant or postpartum, you don't want to miss these episodes.

Be sure to share this with a friend who deserves this quality info too!

***Looking for a Postpartum Program you can trust? 

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, get back to the military fitness test & fitness goals, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing more balance, with Jesus at the center. It is an amazing community of support, tools to find much more balance, and accountability.

Today's episode builds on those 6 steps, with 5 ways to make cooking even easier & simpler, and the 6 biggest pitfalls I've fallen into and see that keep us stuck, overwhelmed, or make it hard to be consistent in our healthy habits like meal planning & prep -- even when we have big fitness goals or all the best intentions to stick with it.

I used to spend HOURS searching Pinterest and blogs to find quick, easy, healthy recipes to try, until I found a system that actually works.

I know how stressful it can be to be the one to carry so much of the physical and invisible mental load of being the one responsible for planning, shopping, cooking, and keeping track of all the meals for you and your family. Of trying your best to feed your picky little ones what they'll actually eat, trying to maintain a milk supply while also trying to lose weight postpartum and get back to the military fitness standards or get after your health & fitness goals, and getting food on the table as quickly as you can after a long day of work to leave some time for quality time as a family before the bedtime routine, slaving away over the stovetop while your babies are crying for you & hanging on your legs when you have barely any energy or patience left in your tank because you haven't had a break all day...I get it.

I did not realize how hard I was making this on myself, until I finally figured out a system that cuts out all the extra time & energy I was spending, and helped me feel a million times less stressed about how to fit nutrition into my busy life. So that's what I'm sharing with you today to give you these shortcuts & hacks too.

If you're ready to SIMPLIFY nutrition for you and your family and fit this into your crazy life to minimize the stress and anxiety around "what's for dinner", and pour into your family & your fitness goals by prioritizing eating healthy, then this 2-part series is for you!

***Quick favor!! Has this Podcast blessed you? If so, I'd love to get to know you better through this short, 2-question anonymous survey! It's a quick poll that'll help me learn more about what's most on your heart & mind, so I can serve you best.

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing more balance, with Jesus at the center. It is an amazing community of support, tools to find much more balance, and accountability.

I used to spend HOURS searching Pinterest and blogs to find quick, easy, healthy recipes to try, until I found a system that actually works.

I know how stressful it can be to be the one to carry so much of the physical and invisible mental load of being the one responsible for planning, shopping, cooking, and keeping track of all the meals for you and your family. Of trying your best to feed your picky little ones what they'll actually eat, trying to maintain a milk supply while also trying to lose weight postpartum and get back to the military fitness standards or get after your health & fitness goals, and getting food on the table as quickly as you can after a long day of work to leave some time for quality time as a family before the bedtime routine, slaving away over the stovetop while your babies are crying for you & hanging on your legs when you have barely any energy or patience left in your tank because you haven't had a break all day...I get it.

I did not realize how hard I was making this on myself, until I finally figured out a system that cuts out all the extra time & energy I was spending, and helped me feel a million times less stressed about how to fit nutrition into my busy life. So that's what I'm sharing with you today to give you these shortcuts & hacks too.

If you're ready to SIMPLIFY nutrition for you and your family and fit this into your crazy life to minimize the stress and anxiety around "what's for dinner", and pour into your family & your fitness goals by prioritizing eating healthy, then this is for you!

I'll see you inside Part 1! :)

***Quick favor!! Has this Podcast blessed you? If so, I'd love to get to know you better through this short, 2-question anonymous survey! It's a quick poll that'll help me learn more about what's most on your heart & mind so I can serve you best.

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing more balance, with Jesus at the center. It is an amazing community of support, tools to find much more balance, and accountability.

Specifically, 10 tips to have a less stressful, easier move.

Picking up and moving our families every couple years is not for the faint of heart. But it’s our life in the military. And we often don’t have any choice or control over it.

In just this year we have 3 moves. In our almost 5 years of marriage 2.5 years have been spent apart due to military demands.

So you’re in the thick of a big move, preparing for your next PCS, or navigating the ups and downs of military life, I see you, and this episode is for you.

The constant unpredictability & instability of our day to day lives in the military, the long distance & time apart from our spouse and/or kids, the frequent uprooting of our families & being far from our support systems or having to rebuild our village every time, it can wear on us and bring with it a whole lot of stress & anxieties.

One of the biggest things that has weighed on me through our time in the Army is the worry that my family is bearing the cost of my service. Worrying whether they’re going to be ok, worrying the military won’t take care of our family. Feeling constantly torn apart, & not sure how it’s all going to work out.

So let’s talk about the hard, and I’m going to give you 10 tips to navigate these challenging seasons. I pray this blesses you, and helps you manage the stress & chaos with more peace and grace.

***Has this Podcast blessed you? If so, I'd love to get to know you better through this short, 2-question anonymous survey! It's a quick poll that'll help me learn more about what's most on your heart & mind so I can serve you best.

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing more balance, with Jesus at the center. It is an amazing community of support, tools to find much more balance, and accountability.

We want to exercise consistently & eat healthy, but as a busy mamas who are pouring ourselves out for everyone else it can be hard to figure out how to find the time to take care of ourselves too, when we're pulled in so many directions.

When we're already feeling like we're not spending enough time with our kids due to our work, we don't want to feel guilty for taking more time away from our family to workout.

It can be easy to feel motivated right away when we set goals & resolutions, but have a hard time sticking with our workouts consistently, when life happens and keeps getting in the way, or when work & family life is already so demanding.

So today we're diving into 10 practical tips for how to find more time for exercise, without sacrificing who you want to be as a mom.

Let's help you make those healthy habits stick. I'll see you inside!

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing more balance, with Jesus at the center. It is an amazing community of support, tools to find much more balance, and accountability.

There are many times we may feel torn between our families and our work. We want to be the best we can be as a mom AND as leaders. We may feel like one is at the expense of the other, leaving us wondering if it's worth it or possible to find balance and do BOTH well.

Maybe it's stressful to manage given all your work is demanding of you, frustrating & hard when you don't have support from your unit, maybe you feel anxious about upcoming field training, missions away from home where you'll be gone for extended periods of time, or even deployments on the horizon that pull you from your family and you're not sure if that means you'll have to sacrifice your breastfeeding goals or wean before you feel ready. Maybe you're tired of feeling like your family is bearing the cost of your career progression or success in work.

You're not alone sister.

Through this episode I share a number of personal experiences, and stories of the women I've coached to walk you through how to find more peace and keep your family first, even in circumstances and situations where you feel stuck or you wish you had more freedom to choose, so you can be more empowered to protect what's most important to you.

These are some of the biggest lessons I've learned in how to be the best mom I can be while still giving my best to the team, and secrets to finding more of that elusive balance, even when a lot is out of our control as military women.

*Did this speak to your heart today? Want to schedule a super low pressure Discovery Call to talk through your situation and see if it'd be a good fit to work together?

Let's connect! Send me an email at megan@armedtotheheart.com

Book a 1 hour, 1:1 Coaching Call

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women within & beyond the military who are pursuing greater work-life balance, with Jesus at the center.

When we're juggling so many demands -- returning to work after maternity leave and getting settled back into a stressful job, trying to lose our baby weight & get back to where we want to be in fitness postpartum, trying to enjoy the limited time we do have with our baby after long days at work, figuring out if it'll be possible to continue pumping through field training operations, and trying to stick with our breastfeeding goals without sacrificing our mental health -- we need all the hacks to keep our supply up, and make what's often a challenging journey a bit easier.

These are all tips & strategies that have helped me keep going strong and increase my output even when balancing a lot as a military mom, and I know they can do the same for you!

Through the 12+ hour workdays, tons of field training time & time apart from my baby and husband, numerous military moves, sleep deprivation and the ups and downs of daily life, breastfeeding and pumping has been a rewarding labor of love.

Yet I know it's been far from easy. And maybe your journey has felt similar.

I pray this series has given you tons of helpful tips, practical takeaways, and encouragement as you navigate breastfeeding in uniform.

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women within & beyond the military who are pursuing greater work-life balance, with Jesus at the center.

Whether it's long days at work, nights & weeks or even month away from home due to field training, TDY, deployments, or other military requirements, we can often feel torn from our babies as moms in the military.

Balancing breastfeeding/pumping and duty is incredibly challenging.

Not only is it heartbreaking being away, but it can make us doubt whether it's possible or worth it to continue breastfeeding and pumping for them, even if we deeply desire to.

So today we're continuing the series and I'm diving into my biggest tips & best practices for the unique, often remote situations where you do want to keep it up, so you can keep going strong -- even through everything the military throws your way.

You can do this mama! Let's help you figure out how, and make a plan that works for you, and allows you to feel confident you're giving your all to both your family, and the mission without having to sacrifice this part of your journey.

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women within & beyond the military who are pursuing greater work-life balance, with Jesus at the center.

Pumping as a working mom is quite challenging. Pumping in the military, even more so.

And sometimes those visible & invisible barriers can make us feel forced to choose between.

We may be dealing with unsupportive or unaware leaders, so the burden is falling on us to educate them & initiate the often terrifying, uncomfortable conversations to ask for a lactation room when we’re the first ever, and we’ve barely even had any women in our unit before.

We may be told to just go pump in the bathroom or may be feeling like a hassle, inconvenience or a liability when asking for accommodations to be factored into mission planning for a range, field training, or other operations.

We may worry we’re letting the team down, be stressed about how we're going to keep up with our job demands, or be anxious about perceptions & potential career impacts if we have to take time from work to pump every few hours.

We may feel pressure to “hide” our motherhood to be accepted & respected, or feel so much pressure to downplay our motherhood if we want to be successful in our careers.

So today's episode is an honest conversation full of my best tips to navigate these dynamics and realities of motherhood & breastfeeding in uniform. I share a few vulnerable stories of moments I’ve overcome my own fears, how I’ve made it work to continue breastfeeding my babies when I feel those tensions, and how we can normalize motherhood to be the best moms AND leaders we can be at the same time.

It is possible do both and do both well, and continue breaking down barriers for all the women who follow.

*Has this Podcast impacted you? Please take 1 min to leave a Review, and share this episode with a friend! Let's keep helping mamas like you know they're not alone, and getting better support out there for women who serve.

Recommended Resources:

Breastfeeding in Combat Boots: Regulations & Resources for All Branches of the Military: LOTS of great tips & info here!

Your local Mom2Mom Global Chapter may have good in-person support and even have a military "branch" of the chapter to join!

For my Army mamas - Lactation Support paragraphs of this Article we wrote

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing greater work-life balance, with Jesus at the center. We support each other and hold one another accountable, and it's so beautiful knowing we're not alone and building our village of women both within & beyond the military.

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

*Be sure to subscribe to the show so you don't miss this whole series!

Today we're covering my top practical tips & tricks for a successful breastfeeding & pumping journey as a military mom.

• How to know & trust you're making enough for your baby
• How to maintain your milk supply & breastfeeding relationship as a busy working mama, even if you have to be away from baby often for long workdays, field training time, or other missions
• Tips to maintain supply while exercising; balance your fitness & weight loss goals and breastfeeding so you're not sacrificing your supply when trying to get back to fitness and meet the height & weight standards
• Keeping up & improving your milk supply even with a demanding job & return to work, and how to avoid common pitfalls
• How to deal with the pressure, anxiety, stress, guilt or feelings of failure that can come with trying to keep up with breastfeeding goals, especially when it gets really hard to stick with it
• What to do & where to turn if you're running into a lot of roadblocks
• How to deal with feeling forced to end your breastfeeding journey not on your own terms because of time you'll have to be apart from your baby, or other circumstances

I'll see you inside!

A couple recommended resources:

Breastfeeding in Combat Boots: Regulations & Resources for All Branches of the Military: LOTS of great tips & info here!

Learn more about Paced Bottle Feeding & how it can Protect your Breastfeeding Relationship

Your local Mom2Mom Global Chapter may have good in-person support and even have a military "branch" of the chapter to join!

And in case you need the reminder today, you're doing an AMAZING job. You are exactly the mama your little one(s) need. Lifting you up sister and here for you!

Breastfeeding, Pumping, Lactation Support in the Military, all things related to this! *Be sure to subscribe to the show so you don't miss this whole series!

I've been there too. Trying to make breastfeeding work while juggling the demands of crazy work schedules, field operations, TDY & time away from baby, PCS', parenting alone, etc. Scrambling to figure out how store milk during field training time, how to PCS with a freezer full of pumped milk, or how to bring breastmilk along when traveling by plane. Figuring out how to handle breastfeeding or keep breastfeeding past 1 year, given the CDC rules. Stressing over keeping up your milk supply and worrying whether you're making enough to meet your baby's needs. Wondering if there are policies to protect us in pumping because you feel like you don't have the support you should from your unit, or are being told to go pump in the bathroom or your car, or worse, that you aren't allowed to take time to pump.

Wherever this finds you -- years into your breastfeeding journey, just beginning, or preparing for it and hoping to make this work, I pray this brings you both encouragement & practical tips to help make it easier to navigate all the challenges that can come with balancing your breastfeeding and pumping goals, with the demands of military life.

We've come a long way in the recent years in increasing the support required for this by policy, but I know oftentimes we're still far from where we need to be and fighting uphill battles.

In this series, we'll cover the biggest challenges I see us all going through on this journey as moms in the military:

• How to maintain your milk supply
• Tips to balance your fitness & weight loss goals and breastfeeding so you're not sacrificing your supply when trying to get back to fitness and meet the height & weight standards
• Returning to work & finding time to pump with a demanding job & schedule (without guilt)
• Overcoming any stigmas around pumping in male-dominated environments
• How to have conversations & advocate for yourself/your family/others to ensure you're supported by your leaders and peers and have a place to pump
• How to make it work to maintain your supply & make a plan to store & transport your milk even during field training, duty away from baby, or other remote or "austere" operational environments with no running water, little to no electricity/refrigeration.
• How to deal with the pressure, anxiety, stress, guilt or feelings of failure that can come with trying to keep up with breastfeeding goals, especially when it gets really hard to stick with it
• What to do & where to turn if you're running into a lot of roadblocks
• How to deal with feeling forced to end your breastfeeding journey not on your own terms because of time you'll have to be apart from your baby, or other circumstances

I'll see you inside!

A couple recommended resources:

Breastfeeding in Combat Boots: Regulations & Resources for All Branches of the Military: LOTS of great tips & info here!

Learn more about Paced Bottle Feeding & how it can Protect your Breastfeeding Relationship

Your local Mom2Mom Global Chapter may have good in-person support and even have a military "branch" of the chapter to join!

And in case you need the reminder today, you're doing an AMAZING job. You are exactly the mama your little one(s) need. Lifting you up sister and here for you!

When we're working full time, in really demanding jobs, navigating the craziness of military life, and trying to keep our heads afloat in these hard seasons of mothering young babies where we're often spread very thin, it can be hard to find the time to raise our children up in the ways we want to, or as we feel God is calling us to.

It can be hard to be truly present with them in those limited times we are together as a family, especially carrying weight of a heavy to-do-list on our shoulders as the glue holding our family & home together too. It can often feel like work & military life, and managing the home tasks & chores is taking over our life, and we're just trying to survive to get to each weekend where we can breathe again, and also catch up on all the things we couldn't get done during the work week.

In the early years of my life as a military mama I just wished I had more time to be present with my little ones. I constantly felt like I was failing, and not giving them enough, not giving them what they deserve.

I didn't want my family to get my leftovers, and was crying out to God, how can I be the mom I want to be and also serve? I know you're calling me to lead my family in faith, but how do you want me to integrate this into our fast-paced lives where I'm barely keeping up? How do I do this when they're little before they can sit still or really understand?

I pray these 10 tips for how to raise your children in faith will equip you to keep making the most of the time you DO have to plant those seeds, & build a strong foundation of faith in your home that'll remain with your children for the rest of their life.

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call: Looking for more support & accountability as you lead your family in faith? Let's connect and help you overcome whatever challenges you're facing so you can live out this calling.

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

It can be easy to feel like we're thrown into our days as working moms, like we're just trying to manage the never ending to-do-list, not drop any glass balls we're juggling, and survive one stressful thing / moment after the other, with little room to breathe until we get to the weekend.  And often as leaders we can feel like we're putting out fires, or even being pummeled all day, just responding to urgent demands & expectations from all different directions. Or if we're working from home or a small business owner, we can feel similar -- like it's just hard to be as productive and focused as we want to be. Then by the time we get home, we don't get to rest because our babies need us! It can feel exhausting because we're on duty 24/7 in some form or another.

If you're anything like me, you want to feel fulfilled in both a strong sense of purpose in work, and to be able to come home and be fully present for your family so you can pour into your kids and marriage, and raise them as God is calling you to. You likely desire to give 100% to all you do and are giving your best, but may be feeling drained and burnt out from all of it, or like you're failing in one or multiple areas of your life at any given time.

Sister you're not alone.

Let's chat about how we can make some simple, small shifts that make all the difference in the world for more productive and peaceful workdays. Be sure to grab journal and pen or take notes on your phone today if you’re multitasking listening while doing the dishes or at the gym! :)

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing greater work-life balance, with Jesus at the center. We support each other and hold one another accountable, and it's so beautiful knowing we're not alone and building our village of women both within & beyond the military.

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

And as military moms returning to our demanding job and schedules, dealing with stigmas, and feeling all the pressure to bounce back to the height & weight and fitness standards, it can be even harder to find balance. Yet even with all of its challenges, the 24/7 pouring yourself out, the huge changes & transitions that come, the inevitable sleep deprivation, the finding your footing & purpose again in work, and arduous postpartum fitness journeys, I do believe it’s possible to thrive both personally & professionally.

If someone told me this as I was postpartum with my first, I don’t know if I would’ve believed them. I felt like I was failing as a mom, and in every area of my life. But having a vastly different set of tools, strategies, education, perspective, virtual support system & depth of faith the second time around, even while stationed across the world from my husband while managing a newborn and toddler on my own & returning to Army work, preparing our family for another big military move, and managing my small business, I was no longer drowning in motherhood and all the demands. I felt a remarkable sense of peace, composure, and calm.

My energy levels were high in spite of getting little sleep, I was patient with myself & my body through my recovery which allowed me to FULLY heal and prevented incontinence this time as I got back to performing well on the PT test again and preparing for a 14 mile ruck and other physical demands, I was consistent with nutrition but also had a healthy relationship with food and my body, versus the toxic relationship I’d formed my first postpartum experience. I trusted my intuition as a mother. I had learned to protect my peace so I was no longer falling victim to so many things that stole my joy with my first. I had learned how to lean on others for support in my mental & emotional health. I learned how to actually find time to rest & let go of the hustle, even with a million things on my to-do-list. So many simple shifts, which made ALL the difference in feeling like I could actually enjoy this time, be the mother I wanted to be, find fulfillment in my work even through the adjustments, and not lose myself, constantly beat myself up, or fall into burnout & depletion along the way.

No matter your circumstances, no matter what your previous postpartum experiences may have been like, I promise it is possible for you to have a beautiful, empowering postpartum too.

In this 2-part Episode I’m revealing what I believe are the most important ways you can set yourself up to thrive too as you go through this chapter.

I pray this blesses you friend! Let’s dive in.

**An article we wrote for Army women / leaders, that I mentioned in the Episode: Athena Thriving II - A Unit Guide to Leading Pregnant & Postpartum Soldiers *Of note - there have been a couple updates to this from the new Army Directive, 2022-06, and recent parental leave policy extension. But this is still a great, comprehensive resource. So encouraging to see continued positive change!

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing greater work-life balance, with Jesus at the center. We support each other and hold one another accountable, and it's so beautiful knowing we're not alone and building our village of women both within & beyond the military.

And as military moms returning to our demanding job and schedules, dealing with stigmas, and feeling all the pressure to bounce back to the height & weight and fitness standards, it can be even harder to find balance. Yet even with all of its challenges, the 24/7 pouring yourself out, the huge changes & transitions that come, the inevitable sleep deprivation, the finding your footing & purpose again in work, and arduous postpartum fitness journeys, I do believe it’s possible to thrive both personally & professionally.

If someone told me this as I was postpartum with my first, I don’t know if I would’ve believed them. I felt like I was failing as a mom, and in every area of my life. But having a vastly different set of tools, strategies, education, perspective, virtual support system & depth of faith the second time around, even while stationed across the world from my husband while managing a newborn and toddler on my own & returning to Army work, preparing our family for another big military move, and managing my small business, I was no longer drowning in motherhood and all the demands. I felt a remarkable sense of peace, composure, and calm.

My energy levels were high in spite of getting little sleep, I was patient with myself & my body through my recovery which allowed me to FULLY heal and prevented incontinence this time as I got back to performing well on the PT test again and preparing for a 14 mile ruck and other physical demands, I was consistent with nutrition but also had a healthy relationship with food and my body, versus the toxic relationship I’d formed my first postpartum experience. I trusted my intuition as a mother. I had learned to protect my peace so I was no longer falling victim to so many things that stole my joy with my first. I had learned how to lean on others for support in my mental & emotional health. I learned how to actually find time to rest & let go of the hustle, even with a million things on my to-do-list. So many simple shifts, which made ALL the difference in feeling like I could actually enjoy this time, be the mother I wanted to be, find fulfillment in my work even through the adjustments, and not lose myself, constantly beat myself up, or fall into burnout & depletion along the way.

No matter your circumstances, no matter what your previous postpartum experiences may have been like, I promise it is possible for you to have a beautiful, empowering postpartum too.

In this 2-part Episode I’m revealing what I believe are the most important ways you can set yourself up to thrive too as you go through this chapter.

I pray this blesses you friend! Let’s dive in.

**An article we wrote for Army women / leaders, that I mentioned in the Episode: Athena Thriving II - A Unit Guide to Leading Pregnant & Postpartum Soldiers *Of note - there have been a couple updates to this from the new Army Directive, 2022-06, and recent parental leave policy extension. But this is still a great, comprehensive resource. So encouraging to see continued positive change!

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My LIVE Group Coaching Mastermind of like-minded women pursuing greater work-life balance, with Jesus at the center. We support each other and hold one another accountable, and it's so beautiful knowing we're not alone and building our village of women both within & beyond the military.

Maybe you're afraid of what others will think of you, maybe you don't want to ruffle feathers or hurt others' feelings, maybe you don't want to be a burden to others or be seen as a liability, maybe you're afraid of how it would impact the relationship, or other unknowns.

When I became pregnant unexpectedly right away as I began my military career, I felt very alone navigating military motherhood without any peers to turn to for support and camaraderie. It was hard to know where to even begin.

What helped me find my own voice, grow in courage, and start getting involved in advocacy work at higher levels was the example of others who were willing to advocate for me. I started to speak up in little ways, when I knew something wasn't right, instead of not saying anything out of fear. Then this grew into my passion for advocating for my fellow sisters in arms, especially mamas out there in the military so we can thrive in both personal and professional life, without having to choose between. So today I'm sharing what I wish I knew then.

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

Today I’m sharing the details about an exciting opportunity for those who want to be part of the change you want to see for women who serve!

The Army is now standing up it’s first Women’s Initiative Team in history, and looking for service members and DA civilians to be part of it.

This will be a 30 member general body team that studies issues, develops actionable policy changes, & makes recommendations to senior leaders to support women’s recruitment, retention, & advancement across the total Army. If you’re passionate about advocating for equal opportunity, quality of life, and other support structures for our sisters in arms, I encourage you to apply!

The application is open through 31 JAN 2023, and all ranks, compos, MOS’, and other demographics are eligible. This will be an additional duty, conducted virtually.

Women’s Initiative Team Application Requirements:

• Biographic & Demographic data (e.g., name, position, organization, time remaining in current role, MOS, Component, rank, race/ethnicity, and gender)
• Soldier Record Brief or 1-page Bio (for DA Civ)
• Command/Supervisor nomination memo acknowledging membership constitutes official duty
• Statement of Interest (Optional)

Email applications to:

usarmy.pentagon.hqda-asa-mra.mbx.army-wit-executive-secretariat@army.mil

Please share this episode with a friend to spread the word more!

Are you longing for more balance as you pursue those big goals & dreams, and motherhood at the same time?

In this series I get vulnerable with you and share where I was stuck in the early years of my motherhood -- running on survival mode, drowning in all the demands of my plate. Feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, and burnt out, giving so much of myself to my family, my fitness, and all I did in the Army and even in my small business, but also feeling like I was a failure in all of it.

I was giving all I had, but it never felt like enough.

I was worried my baby & husband were getting the leftovers of me & bearing the cost of my military service, and I was doubting whether it really was possible to pursue those dreams on my heart, while still being the mom I wanted to be. It felt like one was always at the expense of the other.

I was trying so hard to hold it all together, could never find a single minute to truly rest, and everyone kept telling me I was superwoman, but I just felt like a mess on the inside, running on fumes and barely keeping up.

If you've ever been here too, this 2-part episode is for you friend. We're diving into where we often find ourselves in our common struggles as women working so hard to serve our families & others, and the 8 Key Foundations I believe we all need to live out our calling, WITHOUT constant overwhelm, becoming spread too thin as our default, or unintentionally sacrificing what's most important.

I pray this gives you a renewed hope today that there IS more than this, if you lean into these 8 bedrock pieces.

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

Today I'm getting vulnerable with you and sharing where I was stuck in the early years of my motherhood -- running on survival mode, drowning in all the demands of my plate. Feeling exhausted, overwhelmed, and burnt out, giving so much of myself to my family, my fitness, and all I did in the Army and even in my small business, but also feeling like I was a failure in all of it.

I was worried my baby & husband were getting the leftovers of me & bearing the cost of my military service, and I was doubting whether it really was possible to pursue those dreams on my heart, while still being the mom I wanted to be. It felt like one was always at the expense of the other.

I was trying so hard to hold it all together, could never find a single minute to truly rest, and everyone kept telling me I was superwoman, but I just felt like a mess on the inside, running on fumes and barely keeping up.

If you're here too, this 2-part episode is for you friend. We're diving into where we often find ourselves in our common struggles as women working so hard to serve our families & others, and the 8 Key Foundations I believe we all need to live out our calling, WITHOUT constant burnout, overwhelm, depletion, or sacrificing what's most important.

I pray this gives you a renewed hope today that there IS more than this, if you lean into these 8 bedrock pieces.

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call: 

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

It’s important to me to continually improve the resources available for you and ways I serve you. So as we enter the new year, I want to hear from YOU! 

So there are 2 ways you can help me out with this market research so I can learn more about you and support you the best I can through your journey (or you're welcome to do both!):

This 3 min Survey where you'll be entered to win a $25 Starbucks Gift Card

OR

A 15 min 1:1 Call with me, where EACH participant will receive a $10 Starbucks Gift Card.

If you are a busy mama in the military, and you’re struggling navigating the challenges of pregnancy & postpartum, either with maintaining or getting back to fitness, or with work life balance, I want to hear from you!

If you're not in the military but want to participate you’re welcome to, just share more about you in one of the sections of the form or in the email so I have more context!

What to expect on the call: I’m looking to sit down with 5 of my listeners on the phone or Zoom this weekend/week for a super informal conversation to ask just a few questions and learn more about you.

This will be super chill, no strings attached, this is purely to learn more about where you're at on your journey and what you’re going through, so I can create content that addresses your biggest struggles, frustrations, and questions and supports you best.

It's been so much fun so far connecting with a few of you and hearing what's on your heart!

As a thank you for your time, I’m giving a $10 Starbucks Gift Card to those who participate so be sure to be one of the first 5 ladies to reach out to me! Please email me at megan@armedtotheheart.com and we can set a quick call up! :)

If you don’t wanna hop on the phone, would you mind taking a couple minutes to fill out this short and sweet survey to help me learn more about you? Whatever's on the top of your mind. Your time is valuable to me, and I don't want this to take you more than 2-3 min. Again, everyone who completes it will be entered for the chance to win a $25 Starbucks Gift Card.

Thank you so much for being part of this community.

I can’t wait to hear from you, and keep improving this Podcast to serve you more deeply. All my love and prayers for you sister!

Now that we're a few days into the New Year, you likely have a goal or dream that's on your heart. An area of life you want to improve, change, or take to the next level this year. Maybe you haven't quite written it all down, or don't yet feel like you have clarity on a solid plan or strategy to get there, or avoid falling off the train after a few weeks when motivation goes down.

That's what this simple process will help you do -- get clear on exactly what your goal is, know why it matters, break it down into actionable steps, decide how you'll measure progress, and to understand what are the things that are gonna hold you back, and how can you prepare ahead of time to set yourself up for success so that you have much higher likelihood of ACTUALLY achieving the goal and sticking with your commitment to yourself, do continue to pursue & persevere in your God-given calling, even when it gets hard or when it even feels impossible.

When life happens and gets in the way (as it always does!)... Whether it's wrestling with perfectionism or self doubt, the demanding seasons of pregnancy or postpartum, when you’re managing kids’ constant sicknesses, when work gets crazy busy, when you’re in a big transition like cross country or across the world moves, when you’re navigating time apart from your husband and have to manage more on your own, when you're super sleep deprived because you have little ones who are up often through the night or a teething baby, when you’re grieving loss, etc.

Ready to dive in? Grab your notebook & pen, a drink that makes you smile, and let's do this!

Are you signed up for my free Goal-Setting with God Workshop yet?  Can't wait to see you on January 8th! Together let's build upon this process so you can gain more clarity & renewed hope toward your goals & dreams for this coming year, confidence in where God is calling you to focus (versus being distracted by all the shiny objects), and the peace of mind of having a plan for those inevitable roadblocks & challenges (in both circumstances & mindset) that WILL come up. (Babies are always welcome on Zoom -- half of the time I'm nursing my little one too :) Recording will be made available for those who register but are unable to attend the live workshop).

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call: Looking for more support & accountability as you set your goals & plans for the new year? We can give you so much clarity in just a single 1:1 strategy / mindset call.

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

Here we'll walk through a powerful, Christ-centered process to reflect on failures, areas of improvement, gaps, & shortcomings, looking for the lessons God wanted us to learn, and asking Him for forgiveness to receive His mercy wherever needed. I believe failure is a great learning opportunity, if we're open to seeking the wisdom from it. Our challenges, setbacks, & trials are leading to triumphs, and testimonies.

In this episode I guide you through:

• A Simple Evaluation Protocol with 3 questions to ask yourself to Assess any area of your life
• A 7-Step / 7-Question Deeper-Dive Process to get to the Root of what most often causes us to fall short of our goals
• Techniques and practical tips to release the shame, guilt, & tendency to beat yourself up when examining our failures or areas of improvement so we can give ourselves more grace & approach it with a lens of compassion & curiosity instead of self-criticism & condemnation, while drawing out those lessons learned

To get the most out of this series:

Be sure to 1) Subscribe to the Podcast so you don't miss the new episodes that'll be coming out this week!

2) Register HERE for the upcoming FREE Goal-Setting Workshop on JAN 8th -- together let's build upon & implement this process so we can set you up with confidence, clarity, & renewed hope toward your goals & dreams for this coming year, and help you have a plan for those inevitable roadblocks & challenges that WILL come up.

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call: Looking for more support & accountability as you set your goals & plans for the new year? We can give you so much clarity in just a single 1:1 strategy / mindset call.

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

Here we'll walk through a process to capitalize on the momentum you've gained through your growth, wins, & successes this year. Without pausing to reflect on & celebrate our accomplishments and areas of gratitude, we're neglecting to honor the journey and our growth, we're missing valuable GOLD for how to learn from those successes to build upon them next time, and not giving glory to God in all of it.

I pray this helps you reflect on what God was doing in & through you, and the fruit He was bearing in your life & relationships.

Most of us (me included!!) are quick to run to the next thing or focus on our imperfections, weaknesses & gaps and beat ourselves up about those, but instead of just jumping straight into what needs to improve or all the things that may have not quite gone the way that we hoped, or where we may have fallen short of our goals this past year, let's take a moment to honor the journey and celebrate the good work God is doing within our hearts, and lives.

This will lay the groundwork for our assessments of our areas of improvement, failures, and lessons learned next, and it will help give clarity to the goals we want to set, things we hope to change in the coming year, and where the Lord is calling us to focus. 

To get the most out of this series:

Be sure to 1) Subscribe to the Podcast so you don't miss the new episodes that'll be coming out this week, as they build upon each other!

2) Register HERE for the upcoming FREE Goal-Setting Workshop on JAN 8th -- together let's prepare our hearts for what God has in store for each of us and our families this year.

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call: Looking for more support & accountability as you set your goals & plans for the new year? We can give you so much clarity in just a single 1:1 strategy / mindset call.

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

I'm gonna give you some tough love today and a different way of thinking about New Years resolutions/goals as we finish up 2022 and enter 2023, in light of all the messaging you're likely being inundated with, and those pressures to hit the ground running at a fast pace.

In this episode I share some traps we often fall into, and important reminders to keep in in your heart as you approach this new year, to help you filter out the narratives & messaging that won't serve you so you can stay grounded & feel more empowered to pursue those big dreams, without sacrificing or losing sight of what matters most.

Our hope is not in the New Year -- but in the one, who makes all things new.

Our worth is not in those goals we set or accomplish -- but in Christ who gave himself up for us.

Give yourself the time & space to reflect, ground your identity in the Lord, & discern your goals & intentions for this New Year, making sure they're filtered through God's word and the truth of who you are & who He calls you to be.

You get to set your own pace, you get to choose your goals, you are not behind, failing, or missing out if you don't have everything figured out as we hit January 1st.

You don't have to compare yourself to or keep up with what other people are doing or make your new goals out of guilt, shame, or obligation.

Let's ensure they're truly aligned, values-based, and God-centered.

***Be sure to 1) Subscribe to the Podcast so you don't miss the new episodes that'll be coming out this week on this topic, and

2) Register HERE for the upcoming FREE Goal-Setting Workshop on JAN 8th -- together let's prepare our hearts for what God has in store for each of us and our families this year.

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call: Looking for more support & accountability as you set your goals & plans for the new year? We can give you so much clarity in just a single 1:1 strategy / mindset call.

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

Especially postpartum, we usually end up focusing on losing weight, and often turn to the scale as a main metric of our progress, and a measure of our worth.

It can be helpful data for some, but it is SO far from the full picture, and is often not actually an accurate representation of our health & fitness. And it is FAR from a measure of our worth. Yet we often allow it to define us & how we feel about ourselves & our bodies.

In this episode we'll dive deep into:

• Body image & healing our relationship with exercise & food as we set new goals, resolutions, & intentions.
• Why it may be detrimental to focus on weight loss
• Why those #s on the scale are inadequate in painting a picture of progress
• 20 ideas of what to pay attention to instead

You can improve your health & fitness, and grow in confidence, strength, & performance, WITHOUT losing sight of what matters most along the way, and with God at the center. Optimizing our holistic health enables us to pour into all we're called to, to serve our family & beyond, even more fully & faithfully, and lead by example.

Let's do this together!

***Join in my upcoming free New Years Goal Setting with God workshop on JAN 8th! Learn more & save your seat here.

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call: Looking for more support & accountability as you work to break free from these cycles? Having support and being coached & mentored through this has made all the difference in the world for me, and for so many of my clients. There's no shame in struggling with this -- we're all on this journey & God wants to free us from this prison together. Don't let fear cause you to close in and isolate even more. We're not meant to walk alone.

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

No matter if we had a beautiful or stressful Christmas, the intensity of the holiday season, the highs & lows of all its events & expectations, our jam-packed schedules, the preparation to return to work & normal daily life again, and being out of our routine can leave us feeling a bit depleted, or all over the place physically & emotionally.

Not to mention, we all want to kick off the New Year strong in our goals & resolutions, and are probably feeling pressure or underlying anxiety to do even MORE & hit the ground running at a fast pace again.

Today I'm sharing 10 tips you can apply right away to help you get out of the physical & emotional fatigue to feel more refreshed, grounded, and energized.

These will help you get out of the slump to feel more ready to enter the new year with a strong, solid, aligned, (and more sustainable!) start.

*Be sure to join us in my upcoming FREE New Years Goal-Setting / Resolution Workshop on JAN 8th! Grab your spot HERE. Can't wait to see you there!

Thinking about scheduling a 1:1 Coaching call so we can give you space to work through whatever you're personally experiencing, and build you a strategy & mindset to support you through it? You can sign up for a call HERE, or email me at megan@armedtotheheart.com to schedule a free 15 minute Discovery Call first.

Related Episodes:

Ep. 33: A 6-Step Process I come back to often whenever I feel overwhelmed or need to get organized & feel more in control of my to-do-list and everything on my plate

Ep. 26: My Top Hacks for Simple Meal Planning & Prep to Cook & Eat Healthy with much LESS time & energy

Ep 27 / 28: Are you Addicted to your Phone or Social Media? How to Break your Attachment & Discern its Role in your Life so you're NOT sacrificing your Family, Faith, or Well-Being

Ep. 25: How to Set Loving Boundaries to Protect Your Mental Health & Priorities

Ep. 15: 12 Simple Tips to More Easily Manage Stress & Overwhelm in Transitions or Hard Seasons of Motherhood, & Work / Military Life

To Work with Me:

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

The world & culture takes the focus off Christ, and commercializes this holiday, putting the focus on consuming, but we're called to live differently and not forget or be so busy that we neglect the TRUE reason for the season.

Today I'm sharing 10 tips for how to prepare Him room, amidst our busy schedules, full plates, and all the pressures we feel to do more & have a picture-perfect Christmas.

Maybe peace & joy feels impossible for you this Christmas. Maybe things feel stressful & chaotic. We want it to be a beautiful life-giving, magical time, but many of us get to the end of Christmas and feel exhausted, depleted & empty because we were pulled in so many directions & pouring ourselves out for our family & everyone else that we can't find true rest & time to slow down & savor the moments, or worried about so many things, & the holiday we envision is so different than our reality.

So as the pace of our lives is likely getting faster, more hurried & frantic as we get closer to Christmas & are in the thick of final preparations & service to our families, and as we attend all the events & celebrations, let us not be in such a rush that we miss the richness of the season, and all that our Lord & Savior wants to birth within us.

He is so tenderly, patiently waiting for us in the manger. He wants to fill us with His mercy & love. It doesn’t matter how prepared our homes & underneath the tree is, if our souls aren’t prepared to receive Christ. Will we deny Him room in the inn of our hearts, homes, & schedules, or allow Him to dwell with and in us?

Did this episode speak to your heart? If so, be sure to share it with a friend to spread the love of Christ & message of hope & mercy this Christmas.

***Join in my upcoming free New Years Goal Setting with God workshop on JAN 8th! Learn more & save your seat here.

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call: Looking for more support & accountability as you work to break free from these cycles? Having support and being coached & mentored through this has made all the difference in the world for me, and for so many of my clients. There's no shame in struggling with this -- we're all on this journey & God wants to free us from this prison together. Don't let fear cause you to close in and isolate even more. We're not meant to walk alone.

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

So let’s talk about how we can navigate it with much more peace. You don’t have to be a victim to your environment or circumstances.

Extended family relationships can be complicated, chaotic, messy, they can either feel like places of love, home, & community or places of negativity, discomfort, tension in communication, & insecurity. Or maybe (more likely) a combination! Because none of our families are perfect on this side of Heaven.

We may be facing or dreading…

• Unsolicited or passive aggressive comments from family & opinions about our decisions, parenting, bodies, etc.
• Political disagreements or differing values, maybe they don’t share your faith
• Feeling labeled, or having a hard time not reverting back to who we used to be as a child, & how we used to treat each other, even though we’ve since grown a lot
• Navigating personalities, drama, & relationships still in need of healing
• Judgement, criticism, comparison, competition, making jokes that are more jabs than jokes because our families know our vulnerabilities & we may have tolerated certain things for years
• Unrealistic or unmet expectations, or upended plans due to sickness or other reasons
• Hiding in the bathroom to just get a break…

We’re called to be a light — a woman who radiates the joy, peace & love of Christ. But we don’t become this woman without preparation, intentionality & asking God for the grace we need!

We can’t control other people or all our circumstances but we don’t have to be a victim & absorb negativity, let it drain & deplete us, or steal our joy; we can take responsibility for our own actions & start changing the culture around us, beginning with who we are.

May this help you bless those around you even more fully this Christmas, and continue breaking down those barriers standing in the way of the peace the Lord wants to bring you this season.

***Join in my upcoming free New Years Goal Setting with God workshop on JAN 8th! Learn more & save your seat here.

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call: Looking for more support & accountability as you work to break free from these cycles? Having support and being coached & mentored through this has made all the difference in the world for me, and for so many of my clients. There's no shame in struggling with this -- we're all on this journey & God wants to free us from this prison together. Don't let fear cause you to close in and isolate even more. We're not meant to walk alone.

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

Christmas and the holidays can be a vulnerable season mentally/emotionally, & trigger a ton of different temptations to compare ourselves & our lives to others. Whether it's:

• Tendencies to compare our behind the scenes to others' perfect-looking highlights on social media
• Wishing we had what others had
• Longing for a different, fitter, thinner, or more beautiful body
• Comparing our homes & families to the women around us
• Comparing our children to others & wondering if they're developmentally on track or worrying we're failing them & falling into MORE guilt & shame as moms
• Pressure to keep up with everyone else & what others are doing, fear of missing out
• Feeling behind on our goals/where we hoped to be by now, or feeling inadequate in any area of our life

Any of this sound familiar? I know it does for me. I've come a long way on this journey, yet the holidays often bring these emotions & our insecurities to the forefront.

The truth is that comparison steals our joy, sanity, time/energy, money & so much more. Whether it's frustration, discouragement, resentment, jealousy, or inadequacy, it's hard to not let negative, anxious thoughts drive us into places we really don't want to go mentally & emotionally, & get stuck ruminating & dwelling there, pulling us further from the peace & joy we want to feel during Christmas.

Comparison, and competing with other women, criticizing ourselves (all that negative self talk we tend to fall into!) and others is a poison. It is distracting us from our call, causing us to doubt God’s goodness, our own identity & worth, causing us to attach to false idols, and sabotaging our capacity to receive the blessings & joy we are meant to experience in Christ.

We’re made for connection & belonging with, celebration of, & collaboration with other women, but comparison causes us to isolate & put up walls between us & others. We rob each other, just as much as it's stealing from us.

Enough is enough. Let's put a stop to the hold comparison has over your life, mental health, & relationships with God & others. And let's begin this Christmas.

***Join in my upcoming free New Years Goal Setting with God workshop on JAN 8th! Learn more & save your seat here.

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call: Looking for more support & accountability as you work to break free from these cycles? Having support and being coached & mentored through this has made all the difference in the world for me, and for so many of my clients. There's no shame in struggling with this -- we're all on this journey & God wants to free us from this prison together. Don't let fear cause you to close in and isolate even more. We're not meant to walk alone.

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

We can often feel like we’re never enough, no matter how much we give, how hard we try & how much we do. Like it’s impossible to measure up, lying awake at night wondering if we’re doing it right, feeling like we’re falling short of what we should be doing or what everyone else is doing, afraid we’re failing our kids, feeling shame around our mistakes or rough days, or worried we’re not giving them as much as they deserve.

If guilt, self doubt, negative self talk, or the overwhelming expectations & pressures to be a perfect mom or do it all perfectly feel like constant companions for you this Christmas or on your journey, you’re not gonna want to miss this episode where I'll give you tools to manage it.

I break down 3 things keeping you trapped in guilt you were never meant to carry, simple steps to manage common triggers, and walk through how to begin breaking free from these vicious cycles to step into the peace, joy & confidence the Lord wants you to experience through the challenges & blessings motherhood brings.

I pray God speaks to your beautiful heart through this episode, & that it lightens your load today sister.

***Join in my upcoming free New Years Goal Setting with God workshop on JAN 8th! Learn more & save your seat here.

---

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call: Looking for more support in breaking free from these cycles? Having support and being coached & mentored through this has made all the difference in the world for me, and for so many of my clients. You don't have to do this alone or take the long way friend!

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

Motherhood often feels like we're running a marathon, and I know one of the hardest things is how exhausting it can feel being on 24/7, and how we often can barely find a moment to ourselves.

But let's explore some ways we might unintentionally be sabotaging our own ability to manage our time, & take care of ourselves too as mothers while we're taking care of everyone else, and actually enter into rest fully and freely.

***Have you downloaded my free guide, Overcome the Overwhelm? This will help you find more peace & less guilt in the juggling act, and more time for what's most important (yes to more time to rest!!!).

***Join in my upcoming free New Years Goal Setting with God workshop on JAN 8th! Learn more & save your seat here.

---

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call: Let's meet you wherever you're at and get you unstuck or feeling more confident in your next steps to overcome any struggles in this. Support can be truly key in breakthroughs and accountability -- I know firsthand how much it has allowed me to work through the things holding me back in this.

Renew: My signature Group Coaching Community of growth-minded Christian women & mamas (in the military & beyond!) who want to balance work & family life and live out who God is calling them to be. In this small group, we're learning how to slow down TOGETHER and it's a beautiful safe space for the journey. We aren't meant to do this alone.

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

Most of the time, we allow the situations around us or what's happening to us dictate our emotional state, which tends to easily make us feel disappointed that it's not looking quite like the picture perfect celebrations and traditions we envisioned.

But there'a another way! Let's help you be more empowered with the tools to not fall into this trap.

My son made a special guest appearance in this one since he wanted to be with me while I was recording, so you don't want to miss what he has to say about Christmas too. :)

All my love for you friend!

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” ~Romans 15:13

***Join in my upcoming free New Years Goal Setting with God workshop on JAN 8th! Learn more & save your seat here.

---

BOOK A FREE DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (Feel like your to-do-list is never-ending, and pulled in a million directions? Grab my FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

This is a 6 step process I come back to often to find my footing again whenever I'm feeling overwhelmed, like I'm drowning in stress & all the demands on my plate from different directions, or like there's not enough time for everything that I need to get done.

It's 100% possible to move from overwhelmed, exhausted, guilty, & stretched way too thin, to feeling much more in control, peaceful, & present. Give this a listen to find out how!

This is full of practical tips for you to find more freedom in your time & lighten your load, but above all, keep your eyes fixed on Christ. He will help you focus on what truly matters and give you all the time & grace needed for what you're meant to do and who you're meant to be, then help you let go of the rest. :)

***Join in my upcoming free New Years Goal Setting with God workshop on JAN 8th! Learn more & save your seat here.

Be sure to download my free guide, Overcome the Overwhelm, to follow along with this Episode as you implement the steps & tips!

Today I'm gonna share 10 tips to help you figure out how to slow down and rest. YES, even (and especially!) when you're way overbusy, overworked or overcommitted, and have a million things on your plate and calendar.

When there's never have enough time for all the things that need to get done.

I know above all this Christmas season, you desire to be fully present and enjoy the real peace and joy this season can bring. But that can feel almost IMPOSSIBLE and an elusive dream with all the directions December can pull us in, the stress & overwhelm that can come with all the events we have going on, the pressure to give our family the most magical, perfect Christmas experience, and the way our to-do-list tends to get even MORE overloaded (as if it wasn't already WAY too long to begin with as busy mamas!!).

So if you don't want to feel like you're running on survival or reaction mode, or just trying to keep up this holiday season and want to actually slow down to just BE with the Lord and the ones you love...

If you feel like you can never find time to rest and FULLY enjoy those precious moments that feel so fleeting, if you're ready to let go of the hustle to experience all He promises us, but aren't quite sure how to, given how full your load already is, pop those headphones in, grab your journal and your favorite coffee, tea, or holiday drink, and settle in for this heart to heart my friend.

***Have you downloaded my free guide, Overcome the Overwhelm? This will help you balance work, mom life, your marriage, faith, and all that's on your plate, while finding more time for what's most important (yes to more time to rest!!!) with less guilt + more peace. God has so many beautiful gifts in store for us, when we slow down enough to receive them. :)

***Join in my upcoming free New Years Goal Setting with God workshop on JAN 8th! Learn more & save your seat here.

---

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call: Let's meet you wherever you're at and get you unstuck or feeling more confident in your next steps to overcome any struggles in this. Support can be truly key in breakthroughs and accountability -- I know firsthand how much it has allowed me to work through the things holding me back in this.

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

The Postpartum season is one of most challenging timeframes to navigate, especially as a mom in the military, or as someone who really takes pride in their fitness & has high expectations of yourself, like I do.

• Maybe you can't help but feel disheartened because you’re starting from square one all over again. It can be easy to feel like so much fitness has been lost even if you had a super fit pregnancy or exercised throughout.
• If you're a military mom you're likely feeling some pressure to lose weight fast & meet certain fitness test goals or standards on set timelines, and you want to prove you can come back strong & perform really well, even after pregnancy.
• Are you eager to return to your normal fitness, but also don't want to make anything worse for your core or pelvic floor?
• Maybe you're looking for reassurance that you WILL be able to get back to all that you want to do again & where you want to be, even if you feel like your body is foreign to you right now?

Let's be honest. We all want a faster postpartum recovery. We all want that quick bounce-back. We’re all usually dying to get back into our normal workout routine even before we get to the 6 week doctor's clearance.

We wanna get back to lifting heavy, running again, body composition standards and performing on the military fitness test, workouts in our favorite gym community, PT with our team, or whatever brings us life. To feel strong, & more like ourselves again. To get our bodies back. Lose all our baby weight. Fit in & feel beautiful & confident in our clothes and skin again. To prove that pregnancy doesn’t mean we’ve lost our fitness.

Maybe you too have a love/hate relationship with the idea of "bouncing back". You may not like the pressure & expectations, but you do want to get back quickly! You want those results. I see you friend. I get it and I get you.

It can be so hard to give yourself grace, and not beat yourself up about how far you are from where you want to be.

And when you're already juggling life with a newborn, finding your rhythm as a family again, super sleep deprived, returning to work, trying to manage breastfeeding / pumping if you choose to, and so much on your plate, let alone figuring out how to deal with any complications or aspects of motherhood you didn't expect, or healing physically and mentally/emotionally from a birth that didn't go as you planned, you don't have time or energy to waste trying to figure out how the heck to sort through the confusing, conflicting, and outdated guidance out there to make the quickest progress toward your goals.

With the messaging that's so common & so many dangerous minefields of postpartum fitness advice that can lead you astray, to include some pretty terrible information that's unfortunately prevalent across our military community still, it's hard to know who or what to trust.

So let's give you the lowdown on the keys you should focus on to have a successful postpartum recovery, optimize your results and timeline (without compromising your long-term health & performance!) and get after your big goals mama!

Don't miss these practical, actionable tips, strategies, & mindset shifts for you to heal and feel better.

***Join in my upcoming free New Years Goal Setting with God workshop on JAN 8th! Learn more & save your seat here.

---

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

1:1 Coaching Call (I can support you through fitness, pregnancy, postpartum, or anything you're navigating in motherhood, military life, or faith!)

FREE PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My signature Group Coaching Community of growth-minded Christian women (in the military & beyond!) who want to balance work, family life & healthy/fitness and live out who God is calling them to be!

The Postpartum season is one of most challenging timeframes to navigate, especially as a mom in the military, or as someone who really takes pride in their fitness & has high expectations of yourself, like I do.

• Maybe you can't help but feel disheartened because you’re starting from square one all over again. It can be easy to feel like so much fitness has been lost even if you had a super fit pregnancy or exercised throughout.
• If you're a military mom you're likely feeling some pressure to lose weight fast & meet certain fitness test goals or standards on set timelines, and you want to prove you can come back strong & perform really well, even after pregnancy.
• Are you eager to return to your normal fitness, but also don't want to make anything worse for your core or pelvic floor?
• Maybe you're looking for reassurance that you WILL be able to get back to all that you want to do again & where you want to be, even if you feel like your body is foreign to you right now?

Let's be honest. We all want a faster postpartum recovery. We all want that quick bounce-back. We’re all usually dying to get back into our normal workout routine even before we get to the 6 week doctor's clearance.

We wanna get back to lifting heavy, running again, body composition standards and performing on the military fitness test, workouts in our favorite gym community, PT with our team, or whatever brings us life. To feel strong, & more like ourselves again. To get our bodies back. Lose all our baby weight. Fit in & feel beautiful & confident in our clothes and skin again. To prove that pregnancy doesn’t mean we’ve lost our fitness.

Maybe you too have a love/hate relationship with the idea of "bouncing back". You may not like the pressure & expectations, but you do want to get back quickly! You want those results. I see you friend. I get it and I get you.

It can be so hard to give yourself grace, and not beat yourself up about how far you are from where you want to be.

And when you're already juggling life with a newborn, finding your rhythm as a family again, super sleep deprived, returning to work, trying to manage breastfeeding / pumping if you choose to, and so much on your plate, let alone figuring out how to deal with any complications or aspects of motherhood you didn't expect, or healing physically and mentally/emotionally from a birth that didn't go as you planned, you don't have time or energy to waste trying to figure out how the heck to sort through the confusing, conflicting, and outdated guidance out there to make the quickest progress toward your goals.

With the messaging that's so common & so many dangerous minefields of postpartum fitness advice that can lead you astray, to include some pretty terrible information that's unfortunately prevalent across our military community still, it's hard to know who or what to trust.

So let's give you the lowdown on the keys you should focus on to have a successful postpartum recovery, optimize your results and timeline (without compromising your long-term health & performance!) and get after your big goals mama!

Don't miss these practical, actionable tips, strategies, & mindset shifts for you to heal and feel better.

***Join in my upcoming free New Years Goal Setting with God workshop on JAN 8th! Learn more & save your seat here.

---

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

1:1 Coaching Call (I can support you through fitness, pregnancy, postpartum, or anything you're navigating in motherhood, military life, or faith!)

FREE PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My signature Group Coaching Community of growth-minded Christian women (in the military & beyond!) who want to balance work, family life & healthy/fitness and live out who God is calling them to be!

We all know how tough it can be to find the time, energy & motivation to exercise with a baby (or multiple little ones) at home, during times when life just gets crazy, sickness hits the whole family or life just feels like it’s getting in the way, and during the changing routines or travels of the holiday season.

So tune in today for 20 fun, super simple, low or zero-equipment ways to integrate fitness into your busy life as a mama.

Whether you’re short on time, gearing up for traveling over the holidays without access to your usual gym / equipment, out of your routine because of sick kids, in the thick of pregnancy or postpartum, a big military move or other transitions, or if you know your normal routine won’t work as well for you in this season, these practical tips will help you minimize barriers to fitting workouts into your / your family’s life.

You do NOT have to spend hours at the gym, or stress or obsess about exercise during the holidays to still maintain your fitness and make incredible progress toward your goals.

These are my favorite ways to find balance, keep things exciting & engaging, and just practically make it work and keep fitness a consistent, positive part of my daily & weekly rhythm!

I want you to be able to give yourself grace and also have a buffet of creative, fun ways you can make your workouts work for you when life is crazy, so you can keep fitness a priority and enjoy it, in ANY season of life.

It doesn't have to be all or nothing. Through motherhood especially, the more you can embrace having fun with your fitness, getting creative with it, and letting it be messy and imperfect, the better it'll be and the more you'll actually be able to sustainably stick with your goals (especially through pregnancy & postpartum!)

So grab a notebook and I'll connect with you inside!

***Join in my upcoming free New Years Goal Setting with God workshop on JAN 8th! Learn more & save your seat here.

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

1:1 Coaching Call (I can support you through fitness, pregnancy, postpartum, or anything on your heart in motherhood or military life!)

FREE PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew: My signature Group Coaching Community of growth-minded Christian women (in the military & beyond!) who want to balance work, family life & health/fitness and live out who God is calling them to be!

Do you struggle to put your phone down?

Do you feel pressure to check your phone 24/7, or be accessible all the time?

Do you feel like you end up often mindlessly scrolling social media, or feel pressure to compare yourself to others and keep up with what everyone else is doing?

Do you feel like it’s getting in the way of your ability to be truly present to your family?

Do you find yourself turning to it when you’re stressed to decompress, numb & distract yourself?

If you’re building a small business especially, do you too feel constant pressure to post & engage on social media, and keep up with all the trends to make sure you’re doing enough?

You’ve known deep down that this doesn’t feel right. That you’re too attached to it. That you should be able to live peacefully without a phone in your hand, always feeling like you have to refresh or check it, stay caught up, or pressure to post all the time.

It’s not your fault. But I’m going to empower you to face this head-on, with eyes wide open.

Listen in to this 2-part episode full of hard truths in tough love.

I give you:

• 5 practical steps to break free from this addiction
• 7 examples of different boundaries you can set
• 10 simple strategies you can apply in the moment when you feel pulled into social media

I’m getting raw and real with you on how damaging social media has been in my own life (personally, in work, and in my small business), and the journey God has taken me on to break this debilitating addiction.

I reveal why I’m doing an Instagram detox for the next month, and why you should consider it too to free yourself from the hold it has over you, your life, your relationships, your time, your goals, body image, and your self worth.

I believe strongly in the potential and blessings social media can bring, and how it can be a force for good. I’ve seen & been part of creating tremendous change & meaningful connection through social media, especially in advocacy work for pregnancy, postpartum & families in the military.

But we don’t talk enough about its dangers and pitfalls, yet many of us are caught up in its influences without full awareness of how much it’s causing us to sacrifice what matters most.

So let’s explore how it’s negatively impacting us, and why we get stuck in cycles of addiction and attachment to our phones and social media.

Listen in to find out how to put a STOP to social media’s control over you & your life, and how you can take your precious moments & priorities back.

***Join in my upcoming free New Years Goal Setting with God workshop on JAN 8th! Learn more & save your seat here.

Whenever you're ready to take a next step:

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call: Let's meet you wherever you're at and get you unstuck or feeling more confident in your next steps to overcome any struggles in this. Support can be truly key in breakthroughs and accountability -- I know firsthand how much it has allowed me to work through the things holding me back in this.

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

Do you struggle to put your phone down?

Do you feel pressure to check your phone 24/7, or be accessible all the time?

Do you feel like you end up often mindlessly scrolling social media, or feel pressure to compare yourself to others and keep up with what everyone else is doing?

Do you feel like it’s getting in the way of your ability to be truly present to your family?

Do you find yourself turning to it when you’re stressed to decompress, numb & distract yourself?

If you’re building a small business especially, do you too feel constant pressure to post & engage on social media, and keep up with all the trends to make sure you’re doing enough?

You’ve known deep down that this doesn’t feel right. That you’re too attached to it. That you should be able to live peacefully without a phone in your hand, always feeling like you have to refresh or check it, stay caught up, or pressure to post all the time.

It’s not your fault. But I’m going to empower you to face this head-on, with eyes wide open.

Listen in to this 2-part episode full of hard truths in tough love.

I give you:

• 5 practical steps to break free from this addiction
• 7 examples of different boundaries you can set
• 10 simple strategies you can apply in the moment when you feel pulled into social media

I’m getting raw and real with you on how damaging social media has been in my own life (personally, in work, and in my small business), and the journey God has taken me on to break this debilitating addiction.

I reveal why I’m doing an Instagram detox for the next month, and why you should consider it too to free yourself from the hold it has over you, your life, your relationships, your time, your goals, body image, and your self worth.

I believe strongly in the potential and blessings social media can bring, and how it can be a force for good. I’ve seen & been part of creating tremendous change & meaningful connection through social media, especially in advocacy work for pregnancy, postpartum & families in the military.

But we don’t talk enough about its dangers and pitfalls, yet many of us are caught up in its influences without full awareness of how much it’s causing us to sacrifice what matters most.

So let’s explore how it’s negatively impacting us, and why we get stuck in cycles of addiction and attachment to our phones and social media.

Listen in to find out how to put a STOP to social media’s control over you & your life, and how you can take your precious moments & priorities back.

***Join in my upcoming free New Years Goal Setting with God workshop on JAN 8th! Learn more & save your seat here.

Whenever you're ready to take a next step:

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Email: megan@armedtotheheart.com

1:1 Coaching Call: Let's meet you wherever you're at and get you unstuck or feeling more confident in your next steps to overcome any struggles in this. Support can be truly key in breakthroughs and accountability -- I know firsthand how much it has allowed me to work through the things holding me back in this.

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

Tune in today for my best tips & time-saving strategies for simplifying nutrition & meals for you & your family!

I’m ALL about getting healthy, quick meals on the table that support our health/fitness goals, that we enjoy, and the kids ACTUALLY want to eat.

But trying to plan a variety of delicious, healthy meals for your family can feel overwhelming.

And no, you shouldn't have to spend HOURS in the kitchen prepping over the weekend, to just have a bunch of repetitive meals to microwave throughout the week, as we often see with meal prepping. No thank you!

These tips & strategies truly free up our time & mental space, I can’t wait for them to do the same for you.

These methods & hacks for meal planning & prep have been lifesavers for me & my family in getting healthy, nourishing, delicious meals on the table, & staying on track with nutrition during the busy weeks & demanding seasons of work life, personal life, pregnancy, postpartum, & everything in between.

Can't wait for you to get after these tips!

Whenever you're ready to take the next step:

1:1 Coaching Call: Let's meet you wherever you're at and get you unstuck or feeling more confident in your next steps. We can breakdown whatever roadblocks are in your way to help you make much quicker progress toward your goals!

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, to get back to all the things you want to do like the gym or your military fitness test, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Instagram @armedtotheheart

megan@armedtotheheart.com

This is the #1 source of stress during the holidays for most of us. So let's tackle it so you can experience the peaceful, joyfilled Christmas that you're hoping for!

We’re about to cover:

• What boundaries are
• What boundaries are NOT (busting some myths & common misconceptions!)
• Why they're important & what your lack of boundaries is costing you (and your family/the people who matter most to you)
• Why it's so dang hard to set & maintain them
• How to overcome these challenges & resistance you might experience (internally & externally)
• How to know where you should implement or adjust your boundaries
• Exactly HOW to do so with confidence & compassion going into the holidays (or anytime!)

Be sure to grab your journal and a pen, and get ready to dive deep together! Can't wait to hear how the Lord moves in your heart to give you more clarity & courage in boundaries that will help you protect your peace & what's most important sister.

***Join in my upcoming free New Years Goal Setting with God workshop on JAN 8th! Learn more & save your seat here.

Ready to work together?

1:1 Coaching Call: Let's meet you wherever you're at and get you unstuck or feeling more confident in your next steps to bring to life the holiday experience you desire for you and your family. It is possible my friend. Don't sell yourself short of what God wants to bless you with if you create more room to cooperate with His grace!

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Instagram @armedtotheheart

megan@armedtotheheart.com

Last episode we dove into 8 simple but powerful ways to find balance in staying on track with your goals while enjoying the holiday celebrations.

This Part 2 focuses on the 7 biggest mistakes you may be making when approaching the holiday season, and simple strategies to avoid them.

Pop in those headphones as you prep your Thanksgiving meal, and settle in my friend!

Today you’ll learn the main mistakes that are most likely keeping you stuck, overthinking, and stressed with food — what to release, shift, & what to do/focus on instead so you can find your balance to nourish yourself fully AND enjoy food this Thanksgiving & Christmas season to make lasting memories with the people you love!

I'll give you practical steps, strategies, tips & how to ditch the guilt, shame spirals, & anxiety in enjoying the celebrations, while still staying on track — even when your routines, norms, eating, drinking, sleep, & exercise habits are shifting due to travel or so many holiday events.

We’ll cover how you can have more mental space to enjoy the holiday celebrations without feeling out of control, over-restricting then overindulging or binge eating.

Peace with food is possible & you don't deserve anything less!

You deserve the freedom to actually treasure the memories & moments with your family and pursue those goals & dreams of yours with dedication & determination, with a healthy balance physically AND mentally.

DON'T MISS IT! BLACK FRIDAY SALE is LIVE! Take 25% off any of my Programs/Services below with the discount code BLACKFRIDAY from NOW, through NOV 28th!

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

1:1 Coaching Call (I can support you through fitness, pregnancy, postpartum, or anything on your heart in motherhood or military life!)

This is Part 1, where we focus on 8 simple but powerful ways to find balance in staying on track with your goals while enjoying the holiday celebrations (no, it’s not by counting macros or tracking everything you eat)

Pop in those headphones as you prep your Thanksgiving meal, and settle into this 2-part Episode, where we’ll cover:

•  The single most harmful message to be aware of around food, nutrition & fitness during the holidays that keeps us stuck in negative shame & guilt spirals
• The #1 most helpful strategy to combat the tendency toward an all or nothing mindset.
•  The real reason you tend to overindulge or binge eat during the holidays (spoiler, it’s not because you lack willpower, self-control, or motivation), and how to regain your balance when you fall into any extremes
•  How you can begin to let go of your rigid food rules and enjoy the holiday celebrations without feeling out of control or guilty
•  How to get the nourishment you need while allowing yourself the flexibility to also enjoy your favorite treats
•  The #1 way to stick with your eating preferences, even when everyone around you is eating differently

As we’ve been shedding light on in the latest episodes, the holidays can cause certain triggers to surface or intensify. If you’ve been struggling with your relationship with your body image or food in any way, and/or working hard toward your fitness goals, you may be starting to feel stressed as we approach the holiday season, knowing just how challenging this time of year can be with so many social events and family gatherings where food is the center of the celebration.

So, how can we realistically & reasonably navigate all of the unique challenges of this season — from holiday gatherings, extra sweets, and even peer pressure from our family or friends? 

Today we’re gonna lift the shame around these topics - break through feelings of guilt around nutrition, your body, & fitness, and learn how to manage the inevitable triggers that can come up around food & our bodies during the holidays.

Let’s help you find your balance to nourish yourself fully AND enjoy food this Thanksgiving & Christmas season to make lasting memories with the people you love!

Peace with food is possible & you don't deserve anything less!

You deserve the freedom to actually treasure the memories & moments with your family and pursue those goals & dreams of yours with dedication & determination, with a healthy balance physically AND mentally.

DON'T MISS IT! BLACK FRIDAY SALE is LIVE! Take 25% off any of my Programs/Services below with the discount code BLACKFRIDAY from NOW, through NOV 28th!

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

1:1 Coaching Call (I can support you through fitness, pregnancy, postpartum, or anything on your heart in motherhood or military life!)

For those of us who want to maintain our health & fitness and take pride in it, it can be hard to find the right balance.

The holidays are a time when society speaks very harshly & judgmentally about food & exercise. The narratives & opinions out there are filled with a bunch of really harmful messages & associations that can drive a ton of anxiety, guilt, shame, & pressure. Everything from making “healthier versions” of our favorite treats, to avoiding them altogether, indulging in “treats”, saving up for or making up for extra calories, cheating, letting go, being “bad” or “good”, and all the “shoulds” in the air.

It doesn't matter how fit we are, or how much fitness we're able to maintain if we're imprisoned by it.

I was VERY trapped in these painful cycles for years, and in early motherhood before God brought me through so much healing. Both personally, and as a coach in the holistic health & fitness space, I’ve sought to create more distinction between all these pressures & triggers to protect my peace & help the women I work with find more freedom, joy & appreciation for movement, food, & heal their body image and concept of their self worth. In these last couple years of motherhood and military service, I’ve come a long way on this journey but the holidays can still reopen some wounds.

My prayer is that these 12 Tips are a healing balm for your heart & mind as you navigate these societal messages, so that you can fully enjoy the holidays, and reclaim the joy around your experience of fitness & food to celebrate with your loved ones, but WITHOUT all the guilt & shame.

Reminder: BLACK FRIDAY SALE is LIVE! Take 25% off any of my Programs/Services below with the discount code BLACKFRIDAY from NOW, through NOV 28th!

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

1:1 Coaching Call (I can support you through fitness, pregnancy, postpartum, or anything on your heart in motherhood or military life!)

Tune in for 15 simple ways to still prioritize your health & fitness, while fully enjoying the holiday season.

As we've been discussing, the holidays are a special time of year, but can also bring a ton of extra stress just due to the busyness, all the celebrations, expectations, and travels that pull us in many directions.

It can be a challenging time to maintain our fitness & stay consistent, even with all the best intentions to keep up a routine. We can also experience the additional pressures & guilt that can come with indulging more during the holidays than usual, and feel pressure to make up for the way it's throwing a wrench in our normal nutrition & fitness habits, or compensate for the extra calories or sweets we're eating, through our exercise.

It can be a struggle, and also a triggering time in body image, our relationship, with food, and fitness.

I don't want stress about losing progress in your fitness or an underlying pressure & sense of guilt make it harder to fully enjoy the season and be present with your loved ones. You don't have to give up until New Years, or beat yourself up & be overly rigid & restrictive in your expectations of yourself either. So these tips will empower you to integrate fitness into your busy holiday plans while finding a balance that feels good & right for you!

Holiday-proof your fitness by leaning on these 15 Easy, Practical Tips/Hacks for making movement a consistent — and positive — part of your holiday season.

Can't wait to hear how you apply these tips, and hope you have a happy, healthy Thanksgiving & Christmas season as you celebrate with family & friends!!!

Reminder: BLACK FRIDAY SALE is LIVE! Take 25% off any of my Programs/Services below with the discount code BLACKFRIDAY from NOW, through NOV 28th!

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

1:1 Coaching Call (I can support you through fitness, pregnancy, postpartum, or anything on your heart in motherhood or military life!)

Reminder: BLACK FRIDAY SALE is LIVE! Take 25% off any of my Programs/Services below with the discount code BLACKFRIDAY from NOW, through NOV 28th!

Renew: My signature Group Coaching Community of growth-minded Christian women (in the military & beyond!) who want to balance work & family life and live out who God is calling them to be!

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

1:1 Coaching Call (I can support you through pregnancy, postpartum, or anything on your heart in motherhood or military life!)

But most of us are already starting to feel a bit overwhelmed, overloaded, overextended & overcommitted with all the expectations, events, traditions, & mounting to-do-list as we plan & prepare for the busy schedules & our FULL plates coming month.

Instead of overflowing with joy & peace, many of us are finding our minds overflowing with demands & pressures running a million miles an hour to make it all happen & to please everyone, on top of balancing an already hectic work schedule & family life.

If you're anything like me, you desperately crave time to just slow down & create space to actually enjoy it all.

Do you wish instead of feeling crazy busy, overwhelmed, or stressed about all the holiday events & gatherings, you could slow down to actually enjoy the simple, beautiful moments with your family, find more time to rest, & remember the true meaning of Christmas, WITHOUT being weighed down by all the stressors & pressures pulling you in a million directions, or burnt out & exhausted by the end of the year?

This is my prayer too friend.

Let's reclaim our time, peace, & presence, to focus on what's most important.

You can rewrite your holiday story.

No matter what your current plans or circumstances are, it's not too late! This IS possible for you.

***Ready to apply these steps? You don't have to do it alone! JOIN ME in community in Prepare Him Room, my upcoming 5-Day Live Virtual Retreat to Ditch the Holiday Stress & Hustle to Focus on What Matters Most. We're gonna dig deep & implement these tips together. Join me for just 20 min a day over these 5 days to make some powerful shifts that will transform your holiday experiences. God has so many blessings prepared for you this season -- I can't wait to journey with you inside, and slow down together so our hearts & hands are ready to receive them.

BLACK FRIDAY SALE - take 25% off any of my Programs/Services below with the discount code BLACKFRIDAY from NOW, through NOV 28th!

Renew: My signature Group Coaching Community of growth-minded Christian women (in the military & beyond!) who want to balance work & family life and live out who God is calling them to be!

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

1:1 Coaching Call (I can support you through pregnancy, postpartum, or anything on your heart in motherhood or military life!)

So what can we do when we’re experiencing this? Today I’m giving you a simple, but profound question, the ONE go-to question to ask yourself whenever you’re feeling discouraged or inadequate.

Applying this has been so helpful for me & my coaching clients, so I pray this practical tip blesses you too! I wish I learned this earlier in life & motherhood. It is SUCH a game-changer to dissipate so much of the negative self-talk.

1) JOIN ME in community in Prepare Him Room, my upcoming 5-Day Live Virtual Retreat to Ditch the Holiday Stress & Hustle to Focus on What Matters Most. to feel more empowered to reduce the stress, overwhelm & pressure that we can often feel around the holidays, so you can really focus on your beautiful family, faith & find true rest, to experience the peace, joy & blessings God desires for you this Christmas season! 

2) Did you hear the exciting news? I’ve discerned that God is calling me to reopen my 1:1 Mindset Coaching! There will be limited slots available, so if you either know you want to grab one of these, want to learn more about what this will look like, or want to jump on a no pressure, no strings attached discovery call together to see if it’d be a good mutual fit & gain some clarity on where we can begin, please reach out at megan@armedtotheheart.com :)

MORE RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE, whenever you're ready:

Join my intimate community of growth-minded women who want to balance work & family life and live out who God is calling them to be! Renew is a deeply transformational, 6 month program where we support & hold each other accountable in applying so much of what I've discussed in this Podcast so far, and far more. If this show has resonated with you, I invite you to take this next step with us. Forming a village and investing in your own growth always pays dividends for your mental health, for your family, & all those you serve!

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Join me in my Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

I sure have. For so many of us, this is the story of our life in the military, and in entrepreneurship.

I and so many of the women I coach are on this journey too, either reconciling their identity and dreams & desires for their career, fitness, and more with their family life and motherhood.

We often wonder if it's possible, feel like it's unsustainable & get disillusioned when we're trying to balance it all and it's way harder than expected or we're feeling pressured to sacrifice what matters most as the cost of "success".

We want so badly to believe it IS possible to be a great mom and pursue those dreams at the same time, but it can sometimes feel discouraging in a society or environment that doesn't deeply value motherhood or support mothers well, and where we often feel forced to choose between, or feel like one is always at the expense of the other.

Sometimes we can even feel guilty about wanting to have "it all" in the first place, because there are narratives on both ends that make us feel like it has to be an either/or, or that pursuing our dreams is selfish in motherhood.

Today I'm sharing 5 mindset shifts to help you be encouraged if you're feeling like it's difficult to balance being a mom, and the other areas of your life.

We're uncovering why and how I believe motherhood and dreams DO go together, and how children are the greatest REASON to dream, instead of motherhood meaning we should or have to give up on our dreams.

I pray that whenever you're afraid your dreams are not possible, or unsure of the path to make it work without compromising who you want to be for your family, or wrestling with your identity, this strengthens & inspires you to let the Lord keep leading you in His will, and to trust that He can do the "impossible".

With God, babies and dreams can, and ALWAYS will go together.

*If you're looking for more clarity, balance, joy, & less guilt and overwhelm as you pursue your dreams as a mom, and wish you had a tight-knit community of incredible like-minded, faith-oriented women who GET IT and can support & encourage you through the joys, struggles, fears, doubts, and everything in between, JOIN US today in my Renew Small Group Coaching Program!

MORE RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Join me in my Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

BOOK A 1:1 COACHING CALL 

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Instagram @armedtotheheart

megan@armedtotheheart.com

So many of us, on a daily basis, feel alone in the struggle of keeping up with the home, all the ways we’re needed by our family, and everything else on our plate. It feels like we never have a second for ourselves, with all the directions we’re pulled in and the expectations and pressures on us.

We’re balancing so much as mamas and busy women. And so many of us are carrying around this constant guilt, like we’re always failing, or as soon as we catch up or finally get ahead or feel at peace with checking things off our to-do-list & getting into a rhythm, we fall behind again.

I first want to reassure you the truth that You. Are. Not. Alone.

I shared this mindset shift with the incredible women I’m blessed to be walking with in my group coaching community, Renew, this past weekend on our Zoom call and they each expressed how helpful it was to think about our mile long to-do list and endless home tasks differently. As I nursed William and we shared this heart to heart in that moment, I could immediately see a burden was lifted off their shoulders. They felt renewed peace & confidence in their calling.

Give this short episode a listen, friend. I pray it brings you a breakthrough, and more peace and consolation in the juggling act, like it did for us last Sunday.

***JOIN ME in community in Prepare Him Room, my upcoming 5-Day Live Virtual Retreat to Ditch the Holiday Stress & Hustle to Focus on What Matters Most. to feel more empowered to reduce the stress, overwhelm & pressure that we can often feel around the holidays, so you can really focus on your beautiful family, faith & find true rest, to experience the peace, joy & blessings God desires for you this Christmas season! 

**And if you’re longing for a longer-term community to surround you who you can be real with and who lift each other up in the joys & struggles and help each other stay rooted in Christ…you want to build your village, whenever you’re ready, come join us in RENEW! You can learn more & register right away HERE for access to our weekly calls and resources in the program, or reach out to me to just come and see what it’s like first, or ask any questions before making your decision. I want to make sure it’s the right mutual fit! :)

MORE RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Join me in my Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

BOOK A 1:1 COACHING CALL 

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Instagram @armedtotheheart

megan@armedtotheheart.com

We’re in the thick of our next military move as a family, and God has been teaching me so much through the challenges and opportunities in this transition.

So for anyone who’s in a demanding, high stress season of motherhood, life, or in a stage full of big changes too, I’m sharing some things that have been making life a bit easier & more joyful, as practical steps to help you feel more balanced & grounded when life is plain crazy busy, hard, or feels overwhelming.

I hope these tips bless you, if you’re in the trenches like me.

May God continue to equip you to grow stronger & more grace-filled through each of the battles you’re fighting. I pray this lightens the load you’re carrying!

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew Group Coaching Program + Community (my signature coaching experience for dream-chasing women who want to balance family + career with Christ at the center, overcome burnout & exhaustion while making the impact they're called to, pursue integrated health & be supported by a likeminded, growth-oriented community of women. Join us inside our intimate small group today, for as low as $30, or reach out to me to just come and see what it's like inside to see if it's a good fit!)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Join me in my Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

BOOK A 1:1 COACHING CALL 

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Instagram @armedtotheheart

megan@armedtotheheart.com

I felt called to share this, especially to help those who are also on their postpartum journey like I am.

As military women navigating pregnancy & postpartum, the emphasis on physical fitness in our profession can be a source of pride & empowerment, but also a source of stress & anxiety for us.

Because the truth is, we have to put our bodies through a lot pretty quickly after having a baby to meet the timelines, return to the standards, & get back to everything we need to do. And many of us have high expectations of ourselves to perform well & lead by example.

So if you're in the trenches of either postpartum recovery, or the rollercoaster of military life or mom life, and you're trying to make progress in your fitness or prepare for what’s up ahead...if you’re looking for some encouragement, this is for you.

We’re gonna talk about what physical, mental, emotional, & spiritual strength can look like in an integrated, practical way.

Let’s dive deep into how we can allow God to work through everything, big & small — even our physical fitness tests and the physical challenges of our everyday lives as mamas, & women who serve.

Join me in my Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

BOOK A 1:1 COACHING CALL 

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew Group Coaching Program + Community (my signature coaching experience for dream-chasing women who want to balance family + career with Christ at the center, overcome burnout & exhaustion while making the impact they're called to, pursue integrated health & be supported by a likeminded, growth-oriented community of women. Join us inside our intimate small group today, for as low as $30!)

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Instagram @armedtotheheart

megan@armedtotheheart.com

What if there's another way?

Today I'm sharing the Top 10 Pitfalls I see postpartum women falling into, that I experienced too.

Whether this is your first baby or you want a better postpartum experience this time, I see you.

I don't want other mamas to have to go through so much of what I've since discovered (through a lot of HARD lessons) is avoidable pain.

What's most heartbreaking is that each of these amplify the risk of postpartum depression & anxiety, heighten mom guilt, shame, & feelings of inadequacy, impact bonding with baby, the breastfeeding journey, make navigating our return to work & work-life balance more complicated, and bring a lot of unnecessary self-doubt & guilt into motherhood. But no one really prepares us for these aspects.

Our postpartum recovery, adjusting to life with a newborn, and mom life and the juggling act of all the things on our plates is tough enough...especially in today's world & society that doesn't structurally support mothers, or in the military where we're still fighting a lot of uphill battles. We don't need it to be even harder!

I personally went through every single one of these. They almost BROKE me. And for too long, we've been told debilitating conditions physically, mentally & emotionally following pregnancy are just things we have to put up with. So you are not alone, and THAT is why I do what I do.

Because you can write a different story my friend! You are made for more. You don't have to accept this. God has greater plans for you to not just SURVIVE, but THRIVE through postpartum. It IS possible.

So take a deep breath mama. You were never meant to do this alone.

You deserve to be whole.

Your family deserves a mama who is whole.

I'm here to walk with you through this so you can experience the true peace & joy of the beautiful, and sanctifying postpartum experience that you're meant to receive.

Join me in my Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, and have an empowering postpartum experience where you & your family can truly thrive)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS RESOURCES:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

BOOK A 1:1 COACHING CALL 

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

RESOURCES FOR MORE BALANCE IN FAMILY & WORK-LIFE:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew Group Coaching Program + Community (my signature coaching experience for dream-chasing women who want to balance family + career with Christ at the center, overcome burnout & exhaustion while making the impact they're called to, pursue integrated health & be supported by a likeminded, growth-oriented community of women. Join us inside our intimate small group today, for as low as $30!)

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Instagram @armedtotheheart

megan@armedtotheheart.com

Do you long for deeper physical, mental, emotional, & spiritual intimacy but not know where to start, how to communicate how you’re really feeling, or struggle finding time to deeply connect with each other?

-Maybe you’re finding yourself disappointed your husband isn’t really seeing you, meeting your needs, or appreciating all that you do.

-Maybe you wish he’d step up more around the house so you don’t have to feel the pressure to do it all or carry so much of the load.

-Maybe your crazy schedules & the emotional disconnect, or the physical changes through pregnancy & postpartum are impacting your physical intimacy.

The transitions into and through parenthood bring HUGE changes into our marriage relationship and all of a sudden it's easy to miss the WE that we had before, and how easy it used to be to feel more connected.

And whenever we’re tired, stressed, overworked or overwhelmed from caring for kids, managing work, the home, & life, it’s natural to feel the strain. Like there's less deep connection & more tension.

You are not alone. This was us too. This can be a big struggle but there is so much hope. This is one of the topics that comes up most often in my coaching.

Even if things are going fairly well and you're great teammates, God doesn’t want you to settle for feeling like passing ships or roommates.

It’s possible to reconnect, grow in intimacy, & experience transformation in your marriage so your marriage feels alive again!

Give this short episode a listen to learn 6 powerful questions to spark deeper connection with the heart of your spouse — this is an easy way to find the time to nurture your marriage & stay more connected, even with little babies & busy work-lives.

I pray this blesses your relationship as it has ours.

----

*If you want to work through these struggles & take your marriage & teamwork to the next level with Christ at the center, I can help you.🙏

Every marriage has hard seasons. There’s no shame if you’re in one.

It’s an immense honor to hold space for my clients & help their relationships become more full of life, love, & grace.

You are worthy of this, & God wants to lead you to these breakthroughs! 

Let’s have a heart to heart. Message or email me to schedule a free 30 min Discovery Call.

RESOURCES:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew Group Coaching Program + Community (my signature coaching experience for dream-chasing women who want to balance family + career with Christ at the center, overcome burnout & exhaustion while making the impact they're called to, pursue integrated health & be supported by a likeminded, growth-oriented community of women. You can get started & join us for as low as $30!)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

BOOK A 1:1 COACHING CALL 

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth)

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Instagram @armedtotheheart

megan@armedtotheheart.com

So many of us want to be able to give 100% both at home & in our work.

But often as working moms - especially in the military - we can feel weighed down by guilt, or feel conflicted & like we're falling short, no matter what we do.

Guilt in either putting our family first in a professional environment that expects us to always put the "mission first", or worrying we're not giving enough to our family & that they deserve more.

In the first couple years of being a mom in the military, I felt like in order to be successful in the Army, I'd have to neglect my family. And I wasn't going to accept that cost.

I didn't want my husband or children to get the leftovers of me.

Does this weigh heavily on your heart too?

How can you honor your priorities in the midst of your circumstances, even if you can't change those things?

Even if/when you feel forced to choose between the things that are most important to you? 

In this episode, this is what we're diving into.

I give you 7 tips on how to reduce the guilt and tension you're feeling when trying to balance work and home life.

I want to empower you with these steps to feel more peace and balance in your life, to show up as you desire to in each area - as a mom, as a wife, and in your work.

The Lord doesn’t want us to feel completely overwhelmed within our circumstances. He wants to give us the grac to do all that He calls us to, and to do it well, when we lean on Him.

Join me in inviting more peace and balance into our daily lives.

If you haven't yet, I invite you to enter to win the GIVEAWAY that goes through Sunday Oct 23! Take a second to leave a review on Apple Podcasts with how this show has impacted you, and share your favorite episode on your Instagram stories and tag me @armedtotheheart Can't wait to see who will win 50% off my Postpartum Program or a free 1:1 Coaching call! :)

RESOURCES:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew Group Coaching Program + Community (my signature coaching experience for dream-chasing women who want to balance family + career with Christ at the center, overcome burnout & exhaustion while making the impact they're called to, pursue integrated health & be supported by a likeminded, growth-oriented community of women)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

BOOK A 1:1 COACHING CALL 

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth)

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Instagram @armedtotheheart

megan@armedtotheheart.com

Give this a listen, and see how you can enter to win some amazing prizes! Can't wait to celebrate with you, hear from you, and help this Podcast reach more women in the military & beyond who are looking for encouragement too as they balance family, work & fitness, while living out their faith amidst the challenges of everyday life.

This has been such a joy serving you, and can't wait to see how God continues to work through this to move in your heart and bring transformation in your life and motherhood.

Praying for you!

All my love,

Megan Gephart

In the last podcast episode, we journeyed through 6 steps for how to identify what God is calling you to, so you can discover your unique God-given purpose. The mission He has prepared uniquely for YOU!

But even when we receive & gain clarity on our call, let's be honest...it’s NOT easy actually living it out. We can feel stuck, discouraged, and experience a lot of fear, doubts, insecurities, guilt, or weariness. 

There are layers of limiting beliefs and barriers that may be holding you back from the fullness of what you're meant to receive and give to your family, work, & beyond. When God invites us into His plan, the truth is the enemy will try to keep us down.

These 10 are the ones that come up most frequently in my life, for women that I coach, and for those I am in community with.

Together, let’s begin to let go of these things that are holding you back.

You are worthy of more freedom, joy, peace & purpose, and it IS possible for you friend!

I pray this equips & empowers you to step more confidently & courageously into who God has created you to be, and all that he calls you to do.

Grab your journal & favorite drink, and let’s dig in sister!

Are you craving a community of like-minded, growth-minded women to walk with in this?

If so, I invite you to join my Renew Group Coaching Program + Community — my signature coaching experience for dream-chasing women who want to balance family + career with Christ at the center. It is such a gift journeying with each of these amazing ladies and lifting one another up, as we grow into who God is calling us to be. Now is the best time to surround yourself with a community of women who are breaking free from these roadblocks together. I just opened a new way of getting started, for as low as $30!

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Strong & Resilient Postpartum Program - (18 week+ Fitness Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor, regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth & be equipped with the tools to thrive through the postpartum chapter as a mother, instead of just surviving)

Today I'm taking you on a journey to discover and clarify YOUR unique, God-given mission.

I know very intimately what it feels like to wonder who you are, why God has you where He has you, to pour yourself out and give your all to all that you do, but still not feel fulfilled or enough in all of it.

Many of us feel burnt out, exhausted, our days governed by stress, overwhelm, and the urgency & chaos of all that's demanded & expected of us. We feel trapped & guilty because of how hard the balancing act is or how torn we are between our work & family.

This episode is for you if you're feeling like:

• You're meant for something more or something different
• If you're weighing the decision of should I change paths
• If you're tired of spinning in circles wondering what you were created to do
• You're sick of doing something that doesn't light you up & want to find & do what you love instead
• Your work or daily life feels too draining or doesn't feel meaningful enough to you
• You feel stifled by the demands of your current situation or job
• You're exhausted or frustrated & like it's not worth it or may not be possible, because you feel forced to compromise your family, your values, or what matters most for your work
• If you want your work & contribution to be a CALLING, and not just a job, this is for you.

I believe that uncovering our God-given calling is about where our gifts, passions, needs of the world intersect. I also believe our unique story is a window into our purpose & the mission we're meant to fulfill as part of God's plan.

So many of us find ourselves a bit lost in motherhood. The priority, identity shifts, time & freedom we lose, all the massive changes can feel overwhelming and be really hard. In some ways we're mourning the loss of our old lives, marriages, relationships, fitness, body, careers, our sense of self.

We wonder, Who am I now? How can I pursue my dreams now that I'm a mother? Is that even possible or do I have to give up on these dreams to be the mom I want to be?

I can't want for you to discover where & how God is calling & equipping you to serve.

God has BIG plans for you and your family. It IS possible to build God's kingdom while building your family, and today I can't wait for you to bring more clarity to who He's calling you to be so you can live out those dreams as a vessel for Christ.

**P&PA Coach Course Sale! Have you ever felt called to serve, support, & make a difference for pregnant & postpartum mamas in the military or beyond? The Pregnancy & Postpartum Athleticism Certification Course (THE gold standard!) is on sale through MIDNIGHT TONIGHT (OCT 14!) for $300 off.

DETAILS & ENROLL HERE by Friday at midnight to take advantage of the lowest price the course will ever be offered at. This was the catalyst for finding my own calling & purpose, within the military. Come fight the good fight alongside us!

RESOURCES:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew Group Coaching Program + Community (my signature coaching experience for dream-chasing women who want to balance family + career with Christ at the center, overcome burnout & exhaustion while making the impact they're called to, pursue integrated health & be supported by a likeminded, growth-oriented community of women. Join today for as low as $30!)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

BOOK A 1:1 COACHING CALL 

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth)

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Instagram @armedtotheheart

megan@armedtotheheart.com

It can be easy to feel discouraged, guilty, or even defeated in the juggling act of trying to figure out how to make it work, even when we really want to. It can be so hard to find the time to take care of ourselves or even take a shower, because our children's needs are so urgent. Between being so sleep deprived, fussy days where baby won't let us set them down, constant nursing, toddlers hanging on us, or the million interruptions, it can feel impossible to get a good workout in.

But it is possible and I want to encourage you in some practical ways to make it easier, in spite of these realities of our busy, sometimes overwhelming, exhausting, & chaotic mom life!

So in this episode, I dive into my Top 10 Tips for How to Find the Time, Motivation & Energy to Exercise Postpartum with a Baby At Home (or multiple little ones you're wrangling!). I hope this helps you overcome some of the biggest challenges you're facing too.

Sending you love & lifting you up my friend! If you're loving the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts and share this with a friend! It's the best way to help more mamas who would benefit from it too. :)

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

BOOK A 1:1 COACHING CALL 

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth)

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

OTHER RESOURCES:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew Group Coaching Program + Community (my signature coaching experience for women who want to balance family + career with Christ at the center, pursue integrated health & be supported by a likeminded community of women)

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Instagram @armedtotheheart

armedtotheheart@gmail.com

Many of us end up googling things like,

What's pregnancy safe, what’s not, what can I keep doing, how much weight can I lift, how much can I push myself, how should I adjust my workouts as my pregnancy progresses, how can I get rid of this pelvic pain or stop peeing my pants while running?

If we’re in the military, or if fitness is an important part of our life, we can feel a lot of pressure to have strong, fit pregnancies. We have standards to meet & fitness tests to train for on set timelines, and it can be hard to see our bodies changing or scale back when we've worked so hard for the gains we've made. We need to successfully return to fitness & get back to performing at a high level after having a baby.

But unfortunately most of the info out there is still super outdated! I’m here to change that because you deserve better.

Together, let’s reduce the stress, anxiety, & overwhelm that can come from trying to navigate pregnancy & postpartum in an environment where there's not often a lot of other women - let alone moms - or quality guidance & support available.

You deserve to feel confident in how to strategically adjust your exercise, empowered to have a healthy pregnancy, and get back to everything you love and need to do after birth.

***Interested in becoming a certified Pregnancy & Postpartum Athleticism Coach too so you can be who your community needs? Stay tuned for the enrollment opening soon at the sale price of $300 off!

FURTHER RESOURCES ON PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS:

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

BOOK A 1:1 COACHING CALL: Feel more confident in your training strategy, how to adjust given your specific goals & considerations, build a mindset to support you through the hardest parts like body image, or get you unstuck given any physical symptoms or challenges you're facing!

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth)

OTHER RESOURCES & SERVICES:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew Group Coaching Program + Community (my signature coaching experience for dream-chasing women who want to balance family + career with Christ at the center, overcome burnout & exhaustion while making the impact they're called to, pursue integrated health & be supported by a likeminded, growth-oriented community of women)

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Instagram @armedtotheheart

armedtotheheart@gmail.com

Have you ever felt pressure to wait to have a baby until you achieve a certain level of career success, are more established in your job, farther along in your marriage, to time your pregnancies "perfectly" around your life & job, or try to figure out the most "ideal" time to start or grow your family? 

Have you ever felt like it's hard to trust God in the unknown, in uncertainty, or understand why certain things happen in our lives that are SO different from our own plans?

In our society, the military, & many job environments there are so many stigmas against motherhood, situations, cultural realities, and even policies that make us sometimes feel forced to choose between our family and our career.

I know especially in the military and in other demanding jobs, it's easy to fear whether pregnancy will take away from our professional success, opportunities, time, marriage, fitness, bodies, or other freedoms. To be afraid of or feel guilt around what it might cost, judgment, or negative perceptions from others if we were to become pregnant -- regardless of whether it's hoped, prayed for or planned, or a huge shock & change of plans, like our son Matthew was too.

You are not alone in any of this, sister.

In this episode I get VERY vulnerable with you and share the range of emotions & fears I felt when I found out I was pregnant in the beginning of my Army career. My unexpected pregnancy seemed like THE worst possible timing because it meant I'd have to give up a global graduate scholarship I'd earned & worked so hard for, but our son ended up being THE greatest blessing we never knew we needed.

I pray my story gives you encouragement if you're feeling the urge to be open to starting or growing your family but also feel weighed down by fear. I pray it gives you renewed hope and faith in God's plans, which are always FAR greater than our own.

“'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. '” — Jeremiah 29:11

Birthday SALE through Oct 10th! Save $75 or over on my two signature programs below with the discount code BIRTHDAY27 

RESOURCES:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew Group Coaching Program + Community (my signature coaching experience for dream-chasing women who want to balance family + career with Christ at the center, overcome burnout & exhaustion while making the impact they're called to, pursue integrated health & be supported by a likeminded, growth-oriented community of women)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

BOOK A 1:1 COACHING CALL 

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth)

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Instagram @armedtotheheart

armedtotheheart@gmail.com

Especially for those of us who take a lot of pride in our fitness, or who have to return to military fitness demands, we need specific guidance on how to heal and get back to all we need to do. Yet there's a lot of confusing, conflicting messaging out there. And it can be lonely if we're not surrounded by a lot of others going through the same thing.

In this episode, we dive into Part 3 of the Postpartum Fitness series where I give you my Top 5 Tips when returning to fitness postpartum.

It’s gonna get REAL as I encourage you to shift your mindset from the toxic pressures our culture puts on us to “bounce back” after having a baby, to a mindset that will serve you better, even if you DO have to get back to fitness on a faster timeline because of your job, or because you're dying to feel normal again.

I’ll give you practical, actionable steps to build a solid, strong foundation that will carry you through the rest of your life. Because it’s great to have some big goals! It’s awesome to want to perform even better than we did before pregnancy! AND, it’s okay if you're not yet feeling comfortable or confident in your postpartum body. But we don’t want to stay there. Your worth does not lie in your outward appearance. You do not have to “fix” your body to be worthy.

You’ve done amazing things and your body has served you well. Let us reflect the love of Christ outwardly and be an example to those around us in our health & fitness, & relationships with our bodies, especially for our children.

By being intentional around these five areas of your journey, you’ll be on the right path to regaining your strength and succeeding in the goals you’ve set for yourself, without compromising what matters most.

Let's go! 

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth)

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

BOOK A 1:1 COACHING CALL 

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

OTHER RESOURCES:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew Group Coaching Program + Community (my signature coaching experience for women who want to balance family + career with Christ at the center, pursue integrated health & be supported by a likeminded community of women)

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Instagram @armedtotheheart

megan@armedtotheheart.com

If you want to confidently return to running, lifting or CrossFit, training for the military fitness test, rucking, other tactical demands, or physically & mentally build up to performance & competitions like marathons or Ironmans, to know how & when to push yourself to get stronger postpartum, & to also be encouraged to give yourself more grace as you're adjusting to this new season of fitness & motherhood, this episode is for you.

I give 4 tips for what to do if you’re dealing with symptoms like leaking pee when running, jumping or lifting, or complications like a feeling of heaviness in your pelvic floor during exercise.

It’s not easy getting back to where we want to be Postpartum. But I believe our Athleticism, our fitness, our potential…doesn’t have to end when motherhood begins.

You deserve to get back to whatever you enjoy, or need to do, WITHOUT frustrating symptoms mama!

We can do this together.

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth)

BOOK A COACHING CALL 

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

OTHER RESOURCES:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew Group Coaching Program + Community (my signature coaching experience for women who want to balance family + career with Christ at the center, pursue integrated health & be supported by a likeminded community of women)

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Instagram @armedtotheheart

armedtotheheart@gmail.com

In Part 1, I provide my top tips for physical recovery after birth, & how to ease back into exercise during the first 12 weeks postpartum.

I'm here to help you restore your core & pelvic floor, and rebuild a strong foundation for lifting, running, & more.

After we give birth, when it comes to getting back into shape, so many of us are thinking,

"I just had a baby, now what?"

"Where do I begin?"

We’re far from where we want to be, & where we once were. We just want to feel more like ourselves again.

So if you too are anxious to get back to your routine, & want to get stronger and feel more confident in your body again, if you’re ready to reclaim fitness for physical and mental health, I got you sister!

Let’s help you overcome any pressure, stress, confusion, or overwhelm in how to approach returning to exercise, and/or preparing for your military fitness test.

18 Week Postpartum Program (Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth, and learn to not just survive but THRIVE through postpartum!)

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

BOOK A 1:1 COACHING CALL 

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

OTHER RESOURCES:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew Group Coaching Program + Community (my signature coaching experience for women who want to balance family + career with Christ at the center, pursue integrated health & be supported by a likeminded community of women)

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Instagram @armedtotheheart

armedtotheheart@gmail.com

In this episode we discuss the challenges of trying to keep our family + faith first while serving in uniform. We dive deeply into mom guilt and the high expectations we feel in both work and at home, and our torn, conflicted hearts as working moms who desire to be the best we can be for our families, and also be the best we can be in military service or the impact we feel called to make...the fears of failing our families, falling short in our work, of letting others down, of not doing enough in either areas of our life, or living up to what God is calling us to do.

We take an honest look at how motherhood is not yet normalized in the military, and the pressures and realities of the job that cause many military women to leave the service because we feel forced to choose between our family, career, or health. We often don’t feel comfortable with the “cost” of success, and often feel like we’re losing ourselves & what matters most, or our children & marriages are bearing the cost of our service. We don’t want to sacrifice our presence with our family for the sake of our career, but also don’t know any other way, or feel we have a choice.

Join me on this journey sister, and take heart that you are not alone in the burdens you’re carrying. Together, with God’s grace, we can overcome these struggles.

RESOURCES:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew Group Coaching Program + Community (my signature coaching experience for dream-chasing women who want to balance family + career with Christ at the center, overcome burnout & exhaustion while making the impact they're called to, pursue integrated health & be supported by a likeminded, growth-oriented community of women)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

BOOK A 1:1 COACHING CALL 

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth)

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Instagram @armedtotheheart

megan@armedtotheheart.com

If you’re in the trenches navigating pregnancy, postpartum, big transitions, identity shifts, or are simply feeling stressed, torn, exhausted, pulled in a million directions, guilty, always pressured to prove yourself by doing it all and doing it all perfectly, or feel like you’ve lost yourself, your joy, or what matters most somewhere in the thick of trying to survive it all, I see you.

We are all giving & sacrificing so much of ourselves, carrying such an invisible load.

We’re pushing through, trying to keep it all together but it’s easy to feel like a failure and like we can’t give 100% at work or at home. It’s easy to feel like we’re forced to choose between being a great wife & mom or a great leader, or like we can’t be as present as we want to be in either.

It’s easy to feel isolated as a Christian woman in the military, or a mother who truly wants to put your faith and family first in an environment where that doesn’t feel truly valued.

In this episode, we dive into these shared struggles in building our family while building God’s kingdom through the military or other forms of service.

We cover why we often feel stuck, trapped, or lose our way, we debunk some myths & narratives society wants us to believe that make it much harder to find a sustainable balance, and discuss how God wants to lead us toward greater fulfillment in all He calls us to do.

RESOURCES:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew Group Coaching Program + Community (my signature coaching experience for dream-chasing women who want to balance family + career with Christ at the center, overcome burnout & exhaustion while making the impact they're called to, pursue integrated health & be supported by a likeminded, growth-oriented community of women)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

BOOK A 1:1 COACHING CALL 

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth)

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Instagram @armedtotheheart

megan@armedtotheheart.com

Take heart my friend. You are not alone. 

Here at Armed to the Heart I believe life and motherhood is a gift. I believe each of us is born with a unique mission we are meant to fulfill. I believe babies and dreams can and DO go together. I believe it is possible to pursue the dreams in our hearts and also be a great mom at the same time, WITHOUT compromising our health (mental/emotional/spiritual or physical health) when we let God lead us.

But it looks a bit different than the world (and maybe our profession) tells us success looks like.

And that's why we're here.

In this space, we’re gonna dive into the real, raw challenges of being a woman in the military who wants to keep our family first, or balancing our calling to motherhood with any other work God is calling us toward in our jobs or communities.

I’ll share tips on health & fitness through pregnancy & postpartum, practical strategies and Christ-centered approaches to balancing motherhood & work, and I’ll give encouragement in living our faith in everyday life as busy women who carry a lot, and do hard things. 

I am so grateful to be able to share this hard, but beautiful & rewarding journey of motherhood and military life together.

RESOURCES:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew Group Coaching Program + Community (my signature coaching experience for dream-chasing women who want to balance family + career with Christ at the center, overcome burnout & exhaustion while making the impact they're called to, pursue integrated health & be supported by a likeminded, growth-oriented community of women)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

BOOK A 1:1 COACHING CALL 

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth)

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Instagram @armedtotheheart

megan@armedtotheheart.com

We're pouring ourselves out without end, giving our best in everything we do for our family, work, fitness, & more. We’re pulled in a million directions, always on duty, fighting invisible battles, & trying to hold it all together the best we can. We push through, but amidst all the demands in our lives we’re often weighed down by stress & guilt. No matter what, it’s hard to feel like we’re ever enough.

We long for more time for what matters most, and for more balance, joy, & freedom in our lives. 

Welcome to Armed to the Heart. I’m Megan Gephart.

Learn more about what I believe about balancing motherhood, military life, and our dreams in this quick trailer episode.

Can't wait to build this community and see how God works through it.

RESOURCES:

Overcome the Overwhelm (FREE guide to help you balance work + mom life with less guilt + more peace, with God at the center)

Renew Group Coaching Program + Community (my signature coaching experience for dream-chasing women who want to balance family + career with Christ at the center, overcome burnout & exhaustion while making the impact they're called to, pursue integrated health & be supported by a likeminded, growth-oriented community of women)

PREGNANCY & POSTPARTUM FITNESS:

Free Postpartum Fitness Guide: How to Return to Fitness Postpartum for Military Mamas + Beyond

BOOK A 1:1 COACHING CALL 

Strong + Resilient Postpartum Fitness Program (18 week+ Plan for Busy, Active Mamas in the military + beyond who want to get stronger, heal their core + pelvic floor + regain confidence in their bodies again after giving birth)

Free Pregnancy Exercise Guide: How to Safely Exercise + Maintain Fitness Through Pregnancy

BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL OR CONNECT:

Instagram @armedtotheheart

megan@armedtotheheart.com