Proverbs 31:17 NIV “She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.”

**Transcription Below**

Megan Dahlman is the founder of Strong Mommas, a website and online community that equips women with the specific tools they need to reach their physical potential, without all of the vanity garbage. She is a Certified Strength Coach and a Nutrition Coach, and has spent years training and coaching women on how to strength train at home, how to easily choose healthy food every time, and how to maintain a Christ-centered perspective through all of it. Megan lives in Oregon City, Oregon with her husband, two little boys, horse and dog.

Megan’s Website

Megan's Podcast

Connect with Megan on Facebook or Instagram

Thank You to Our Sponsor: Kelsie Zarko with Young Living Essential Oils and Night In Boxes

Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook or Instagram or Our Website

Please help us out by sharing this episode with a friend, leaving a 5-star rating and review, and subscribing to this podcast!

Gospel Scripture: (all NIV)

Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”

Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”

Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”

Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”

Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession- to the praise of his glory.”

Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”

Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“

Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“

Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

**Transcription**

[00:00:00] <music>

Laura Dugger: Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.

[00:00:17] <music>

Laura Dugger: Today's episode is brought to you by Kelsie Zarko. She provides practical education and guidance in using Young Living essential oils and products. Kelsie is passionate about making wellness simple and she will assist you in taking an intentional approach to your health and home. You can find out more at KelsieZarko.com. That's KelsieZarko.com.

Have you been looking for creative ways to invest in your relationship with your spouse and family? You can do it from home with zero preparation with Night In Boxes. For more information, visit nightinboxes.com.

Laura Dugger: I'm excited to introduce you to Megan Dahlman, the founder of Strong Mommas. She's going to vision-cast a healthy lifestyle of stewarding our bodies for God's glory rather than selfishly seeking after vanity. [00:01:21] She's going to give us practical meal plans and postpartum body exercise ideas. Here's our chat.

Welcome to the Savvy Sauce, Megan.

Megan Dahlman: Hi, thank you so much. It's so good to be here, Laura.

Laura Dugger: Well, please just start us off by telling us more about yourself and how you decided to start your own business called Strong Mommas.

Megan Dahlman: Yes, thank you. Well, I've been married to my husband, Scott, for over 12 years now. We have two little boys. Wild boys. They're eight and five, Calvin and Peter. Then I'm also a certified strength and conditioning specialist, as well as a precision nutrition certified coach.

My background I have my degree in kinesiology, or technically exercise science. I started my career essentially training athletes for years. My background is in human performance enhancement. I spent years training athletes, anywhere from middle school, high school, college athletes, all the way up to professional athletes.

Then it morphed from there for me, for my career. I started my own training business nine years ago now, training mostly women at the time. And over the years, it's just the nature of it has led to being able to train mostly women. [00:02:40]

But something along the way just wasn't sitting right with me. I just felt like working out and eating healthy in the world that we live in always seemed to have this one overarching purpose, which was to look really good. Kind of this vanity piece that just was always there.

As a believer, someone who desires to really align my life with God and my work with God and with His values and ultimately point everything and everyone towards Him, helping people Look sexier and helping people get their fittest than a self, it just was not jiving with my soul.

There was kind of this breaking point for me that I knew that there had to be a better way, a different way to go about this or I was out. I didn't really want to be a part of this industry anymore because it felt like it was just this soul-sucking side of the industry. It didn't seem like there was anything else to this. [00:03:46]

There was one day I really remember clearly. It was one of those audible moments where you just hear God so clearly. And I could hear Him say to me, You are right where I need you to be. I didn't really know exactly what that meant at the time. Strong Mommas was never a thing in my mind, but I just knew that, "Okay, I can't leave. There's going to be something here for me. There's a spot here in this industry that's necessary."

From that moment, God started to work in my heart and showed me this vision of Strong Mommas, of essentially a program or a way of going about nutrition and fitness in a way that honors God through and through. The foundation of Strong Mommas and what drives everything about the message of it and my program is really showing women how we can be strong and healthy despite the pressures that we feel from a vanity-saturated culture. [00:04:46]

Laura Dugger: Wow. Clearly, your faith fuels your view on fitness. It just sounds like you focus less on vanity and more on stewardship. Do you have any verses that are foundational for your beliefs?

Megan Dahlman: Oh, absolutely. I actually have several. I have a lot because I think it fuels me every day to keep me pointed in the right direction and to know that, okay, this is what God wants for me personally in my life and my calling, but then also for so many other women.

One verse from the beginning that was a real eye-opener for me. One we know a lot is the Proverbs 31 woman, especially Proverbs 31:17. This particular verse was a big eye-opener for me. It says, "She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong." That verse really showed me that training and conditioning was never intended to be in opposition to godly living. It was always a piece of it.

In fact, the description that we get in Proverbs 31, this highly honorable woman, a woman that seems really hard to attain to, but it's kind of our model. [00:05:59] Her model includes physical fitness. And it actually says it in another spot too. You can't leave this component out. It has to be in there. So that was a really big eye-opener for me.

Another one that I really cling to also is Luke 10:27. Jesus says in that verse, Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, with all of your strength, and with all of your mind. And it's this concept that we worship God with our entire being and that includes our physical being too.

Our physical body is an essential component to how we posture ourselves towards Him and align ourselves with Him. And we can't leave that out. I think so much of us really focus on where's my heart at and where is my mind at and is my heart and mind and soul postured towards Him? But then we leave out our physical bodies and we're missing a huge component or a huge opportunity to worship him with something else. [00:07:04]

So those couple of verses are huge for me and they really drive me. That's for sure.

Laura Dugger: That's so great because it can be such a paradigm shift for all of us because you're right, I think We have been saturated with that vanity culture, and so we think, well, if we are prioritizing working out, healthy living, maybe that's really self-focused.

Megan Dahlman: Right, and it's not. For some of us, it might start there. But I think if we can examine our hearts and be like, what is my “why”? Why am I doing this? What is the purpose of this? In light of eternity, we can see that it doesn't get left off the table. We can still incorporate it. We can still do it, not for us, you know, not for just my own benefit, but there is a piece to this that we're doing it and it's very worshipful.

It brings God glory when we take care of our bodies and steward them because they're ultimately gifts from Him. And when He gives us something, He doesn't want us to squander it or to not take care of it. [00:08:09]

Laura Dugger: That stewardship piece, just when we are working out and having a healthy lifestyle, it seems like we have more energy to live out the gifts that He's given us. I love how you say on your website that you want women to experience their bodies the way that God intended them to. So can you just vision cast for us what does that actually look like?

Megan Dahlman: Yes. Well, we have to understand that God designed all of us so very uniquely. We all bear His image in a different way, in a very unique way. So I reflect Him and pieces of His character and His image differently than you do. And we're all unique in that respect. Yet we're all still somehow clamoring to try to change ourselves, especially physically.

We kind of tend to have an ideal body in mind that we wish that we could all become. And for many of us, that's what motivates our exercise or motivates our reason to eat healthy is because we want to change ourselves somehow. [00:09:11]

All of us women have something about our bodies that we don't really like. It could be our thighs, it could be our hips, our arms, or maybe even our nose. And often our inspiration for working out and eating better is to change who we are. But unfortunately, if that's our driving force, we're just never going to be satisfied. We're never going to feel that contentment. We're always going to keep trying.

And we see that with people that become obsessed with living in the gym or obsessed with dieting. It's this almost yearning for something that they know it's just not satisfying. If they could lose five more pounds or just one more percentage of body fat, then they're going to be happy, where we know that that's not true contentment. It's never going to satisfy.

God really wants me to be exactly who I am. He wants me to enjoy the body that He gave me and the body that He designed for me, even with all of its flaws and weaknesses. Because we all have our own flaws and weaknesses, whether it's a foot that's turned out one direction, or knees that kind of knock a little bit, or a shoulder that sits a little higher than the other.

We're all designed a little differently and we can sometimes see those as flaws. But He really wants us to take care of this body however it is, to view our body as a precious gift that was in fact very, very costly. [00:10:44] Our bodies cost a lot for Him. He gave His life for this body exactly how it is and we must take care of it.

Laura Dugger: That's very motivational to hear you say it that way. Now let's take a brief break to hear a message from two of our sponsors.

Sponsor: Kelsie Zarko began using essential oils several years ago in an effort to keep her husband and one-year-old healthy. After experiencing dramatic changes as an entire family, she became passionate about sharing this simple wellness tool with others.

Young Living Essential Oils and products can support sleep, boost your immune system, support your hormones, calm your nerves, help with your teething babies, and so much more. Young Living also offers a convenient and effective way to embrace toxin-free living with everything from cleaning products to makeup.

You can find more at Kelsieyzarko.com, or on Instagram, she's @EssentiallyKels. For a limited time, mention the code Savvy to receive 15% off any starter kit packages. Thanks for the sponsorship. [00:11:56]

Sponsor: We want to say thank you to our sponsor, Night In Boxes. They do all the work and research fun activities and then ship you a box each month so that you can invest in your most meaningful relationships.

Each Date Night In Box includes interactive activities with ambiance and a tasty treat to bring couples together in meaningful ways. For families who order a Night In Box, you will also receive a box with interactive activities and a tasty treat all centered around life lessons.

Night In Boxes hopes to bring children together with an influential adult in a creative, fun, and meaningful way. We first tried the Faith Family Box and our children were giddy when our box arrived in the mail. I loved having an intentional family night to look forward to that took no preparation from me.

In addition to receiving a custom-curated experience each month, you will also become part of a community that allows for an experience to be enjoyed beyond the box. So gift your loved one with a subscription today. Visit knightinboxes.com. Thanks for your sponsorship. [00:13:02]

Laura Dugger: You had mentioned earlier you're a mom of two little boys and so you've experienced the seasons of postpartum body. Was that what you had expected before you had kids?

Megan Dahlman: Well, yes and no. There's kind of two parts to this. It's kind of funny because as a trainer, I definitely went into my pregnancy in very good shape. That was one of my goals was to be in the best shape I could entering pregnancy because I knew it would help. It would certainly help. and it did.

But I must say that my heart was not in very good shape. I didn't realize that I would really need to battle the pressures of having a body that bounced back. I think we hear that phrase a lot. We have this pressure of bouncing back after pregnancy. And I didn't realize how pressured that would be.

Looking back, I realized I was really very overly concerned with my own body image and how quickly I bounced back. [00:14:02] And I had to kind of prove that, you know, as a trainer, I could essentially erase all evidence of ever being pregnant.

I think we often, as postpartum women, that's kind of our goal with fitness, is that we want to erase all evidence of being pregnant. We want it to look like we never went through that whole huge process. For me, my heart really changed over the years, though, especially as I've had to accept that I am, in fact, postpartum and will be postpartum forever. There's nothing that will change that.

We expend so much energy trying to make it look like this never happened, that this pregnancy never happened. In my own journey, my body definitely changed. It's very strong now. It's probably fitter and more capable of more things now than I could do before but my body is different. My breasts are different now. My skin is different now. My belly shape is different now. It just is. [00:15:03]

And there was kind of a turning moment for me where I just let that go of trying to change that. I think we look in the mirror and get so discouraged or disappointed in the way our body changes through pregnancy. We have no control over many of those things. It just is the way our bodies react to pregnancy. God really ultimately controls that and some react a little differently than others. And I think when we recognize that, okay, this is just the way my body did it. That's okay. It's really okay.

The thing that is truly the most helpful for all of us women journeying through pregnancy and beyond is to recognize how strong and capable we are even postpartum. For myself, I am physically capable of doing more things with my body than I was before my kids.

It's so exciting and encouraging to know that okay just because I had kids I'm stuck or I'm not capable of doing certain things. That's not at all the truth. Your body is not broken. I know sometimes we feel like it might be. But there are actually in fact very many real solutions to a lot of issues that we do experience postpartum. We can't ignore that fact. [00:16:26]

So there are a lot of postpartum things that we have to deal with, including, you know, kind of on a practical level. The separated abdominal issue, I'm sure many of us have been curious about that or not sure what that means or if there's any way to deal with that.

Technically it's called diastasis recti and it's a very real thing. Pretty much 100% of pregnancies develop separated abdominals. It's just part of the picture of how our bodies expand for pregnancy. Then in addition to that, many of us experience pelvic floor problems postpartum. And that's one that we tend to not talk about it because we weren't expecting it and we were kind of a little embarrassed about it, and we don't think that there's actually a solution for it. We just kind of live with it.

Then another thing that a lot of us deal with is maybe sciatica and hip issues, maybe even posture issues. So there's a lot of things that can make us feel broken postpartum and just make us feel like our bodies went through the wringer, but there are real solutions to those things. There are ways that you can be helped. [00:17:36]

But I think it's most important for us to release this idea that we need to bounce back or make it look like we were never ever pregnant. I think once we get rid of that idea, and just move forward and accept the fact that, "Okay, I'm working with a different body now. Let's see what this new body can do," that's really exciting.

Laura Dugger: That is exciting. I think that your response is so balanced because you're right, there are things that we can address. We don't have to have this learned helplessness victim mentality where we can't improve any of these issues that we're having. There are certain things that we are empowered to do, such as visiting a pelvic floor specialist or doing these certain exercises that can help repair our abdomen.

The other changes that you're saying we just need to accept, it makes me think of Jesus after He was raised from the dead and when he revealed Himself to His friends and followers, He didn't erase His scars. He still wore those and showed those. [00:18:46]

Megan Dahlman: That is such a good picture. That we can remember that our scars are not something that we need to hide or be ashamed of. In fact, they can reveal a lot about our bodies and what our bodies have been through, and that's really okay.

I do believe that it really is possible for women to love their bodies after having babies. I think some of us feel like that's never going to be a possibility, that my body just went through the ringer and there's so much. It feels so overwhelming. But it's absolutely possible to really love your body after baby. So many women feel like they want to just give up. Like, there's nothing I can do about this. It's such an overwhelming giant mountain to climb.

But don't give up on your body. Identify what the real issues are, identify if there are actual tangible things that have real solutions to them. [00:19:46] And then actively seek those solutions because those solutions really do exist.

I think in many areas of our life, we kind of wallow in our self-pity when often we don't realize that the answer and the solution is sitting right in front of us. It's important for actually us to get up and grab that solution. We will feel a million times better the moment we do.

And then you'll love your body so much more if you stop trying to reverse time. Let that whole idea go. Focus on moving forward and keep thinking about what your body can do now. Our postpartum bodies are capable of remarkable things. Sometimes we just have this idea of, well, I'll just give up and maybe just work on being moderately healthy when we could maybe experience a body that is incredibly strong and extremely healthy and really exciting too.

Most of the moms in the program that I have are completely shocked at what they're able to do after even just a couple months. They say to me, "Megan, I can't believe I'm already thinking about getting 20-pound dumbbells, 25-pound dumbbells. I had no idea I was this strong." [00:21:06] And it's so exciting and they're incredibly encouraged to know what their body is capable of doing.

Laura Dugger: I think this would be a great time then to lay out some of those solutions that we could grab. First, what are some simple eating strategies that you have for overwhelmed moms?

Megan Dahlman: This is so good because it's easy to get overwhelmed and to feel like, well, I'm just not going to worry about it until my life is a little calmer and things are a little bit more perfect and I can really put more effort into it. But there are very, very simple things that we can do even when life is really crazy.

I would say that the number one thing is just feed your body. I can't tell you how many moms skip meals. They'll feed their kids first and then realize, "Oh, I have this to do. I have this to do," and they'll actually skip eating a meal.

Make feeding your own self as important as feeding your own kids. We would never in our right minds not give our kids breakfast. That just would never cross our mind. But we do that to ourselves all the time. [00:22:14] So a good thing to keep in mind for ourselves is if it's a mealtime, you have to eat.

On the flip side, something that also helps us keep in line, if it's not a mealtime, don't eat. Because I think many of us moms, we get to the point where we skip meals, but then we munch all day long later on because we're super hungry. Well, of course, we're super hungry because we skipped our meals.

So the trick is if it's a mealtime make sure that you eat. Take the time to feed yourself just like you would your kids. And then if it's not a mealtime if it's in between a normal mealtime, don't eat. Wait until the next mealtime.

Then the next step that I would really recommend that you grab on to and this is something that you'll remember probably for the rest of your life, it's one of the easiest tips for eating well, is that each one of those meal times eat your pros. I know it sounds kind of funny, but you'll never forget that.

So if it's a breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even a snack, choose something that's a protein and something that's produce. Those two things need to be in your meal every single time. That is the foundation for every one of your meals. And when we break it down to that, we're like, Oh, that's actually pretty easy. Eat your pros. [00:23:37]

Okay, protein. What's on my plate that is a protein and then what's on my plate that's some fresh produce? And we could stop there. We don't have to be fancy about it. Don't overthink it because we feel like, well, if it's not done perfectly, if I don't have this fancy meal plan all created with all these perfectly healthy meals, it's not worth doing.

But when we bring it back, most moms can probably admit, Yeah, I can work on eating all of my meals and eating my pros, protein and produce, with each one of those meals. And that can really lift off a huge, huge burden for many moms.

Laura Dugger: Okay, and then just a few clarifying questions with that. Are you saying that you would not recommend any snacking, just three meals a day?

Megan Dahlman: No. I'm glad you asked for clarification on that. What I recommend is start with those three main meals. Make sure that those are in place. Then look at the time of day that you tend to get the snackiest. [00:24:40] I think for most of us moms, it's kind of mid-afternoon, that long gap between lunch and dinner.

At that time when you tend to be the snackiest, instead of trying to force yourself to try to say no or to restrict or to avoid food, put a meal, an intentional meal at that time of day. So for many women, their day might end up looking like breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, dinner.

Once they get into that habit of eating full meals at each time, including that snack, it's got to be pros also, it's got to have protein, it's got to have produce, over the course of time you're going to notice that your energy levels really start to even out, your body begins to get all the nutrients that it really needs, and you're going to meet all of those nutritional requirements to feel good and healthy and feel great.

So yes, definitely include a snack but be very purposeful about it. Don't just snack because you feel hungry. Think about why you're feeling hungry. Are you feeling hungry because maybe your previous meal was not high quality enough? Maybe you didn't eat enough at the previous meal. [00:25:56] And then if that's a typical time of day that you tend to get hungry, then turn that into a real meal. And it can be a snack. But turn that into another opportunity to feed your body good nutrients.

Laura Dugger: That's really helpful. My second follow-up question was just, could you give an example of a menu for eating your pros for breakfast, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner?

Megan Dahlman: Yes. Like I said, we tend to try to get too fancy with this. So I am going to give you some examples for making it really, really easy. So for breakfast, so we know that we need to have protein. A really great protein option is eggs. So if it's too hard to make yourself some eggs in the morning, I recommend having some hard-boiled eggs on hand. We should be having at least probably two eggs. That's gonna do best to meet our protein requirements. Minimum, that amount. So egg is a really great protein option.

Then we can add in some other produce with that. So if you're cooking your eggs, you can add in a couple handfuls of vegetables to that and maybe do a vegetable scramble or a veggie omelet. If that seems really far out of reach, grab a banana. So, if you're running out the door, grab a couple hard-boiled eggs and a banana, and you ate your pros, and that's easy. [00:27:22]

It doesn't also have to look like breakfast. It can be some leftover chicken from the night before and a small salad. Sometimes we think that breakfast has to look like breakfast. It really doesn't, as long as you're getting your nutrients.

A good option for lunch is kind of along those same lines. I really recommend taking advantage of the bagged salad trend right now. I think the fact that we have salads kind of already made for us is brilliant. So get yourself some bagged salads. And usually those smaller bags, that's typically two servings in there.

So pull out half the bag and then add some sort of protein to it. So whether that's some sliced-up deli meat or another hard-boiled egg on top of it, maybe some cooked chicken or even leftover steak, you can do that.

Soup is another really great option. But just double-check your soup and make sure that it actually has protein in it. Because if it's just vegetable-based, that's great, you're getting produce, but you really do need to make sure that you have protein in it.

A great afternoon snack idea is, to keep it super simple, just have maybe some sliced apples dipped in nut butter. The nut butter is going to provide you with the protein, and then the apple is going to be your produce. [00:28:42]

Some really great dinner ideas. I think dinner, for most of us, we do pretty well. We tend to, as Americans, if we're going to have a good home-cooked dinner, we tend to have a meat and maybe some sort of vegetable, but then we usually also include a lot of other stuff with it. So just make sure that when you're making dinner that the meat is really the star of the dish, and then double up on the veggies, double up on the produce that you have there. Make sure that almost half your plate is full of produce and you're going to feel really, really good if that's how you're eating on a regular basis.

Laura Dugger: That's always helpful to hear suggestions, especially if we're stuck in a rut.

Some of you have reached out to find specific books or resources that we have mentioned in one of our episodes. That's why I'm so excited to let you know about our new "Resources" tab. When you visit thesavvysauce.com, you can now click on our new tab called "Resources". There you will find all the resources we've ever mentioned on all the episodes of The Savvy Sauce. And when you purchase a resource from that list, you actually support our work at The Savvy Sauce. [00:29:49]

We also spend a lot of time preparing show notes for every individual episode, so you can still access the websites, scripture, and recommended resources when you click on any individual episode. We hope you take advantage of these features so you can apply all that you've learned.

So now let's flip it over to the exercise side of things. What kind of exercise strategies do you recommend or find work best?

Megan Dahlman: Definitely exercises that give you the most bang for your buck. I recommend staying away from spot training style of workouts where you pick one exercise to work one singular muscle group. That's going to take you forever. And for many of us moms, we just simply don't have the time or even the mental focus to do that for so long.

So if you're strapped for time, which most of us are, you have to really choose the most effective method, something that's going to give you the most bang for your buck in a short amount of time. So strength training in general, especially functional style strength training is hands-down the most effective means for doing high quality workouts in a short amount of time. [00:31:02]

So most women will automatically turn to cardio first. It's usually kind of the go-to style of exercise. Actually, when we're looking at getting a body that feels better, that's stronger, that even carries less body fat on it, that's probably one of the least effective methods for accomplishing that goal.

The most effective thing is lifting some weights and doing weights in a functional manner, moving the weights in a way that incorporates a lot of different body parts and pushes your muscles to the edge where they really do have to work hard and you move quickly so that your heart rate is up.

So you don't have to spend an hour at a time doing a workout. If you have the right group of exercises done at the right pace with the right amount of intensity, it's amazing what you can accomplish in just 30 minutes.

Laura Dugger: I like that. For anybody strapped for time, that's a good solution. [00:32:04] You also are passionate about women embracing the body that God gave them and then maximizing its potential. How can we do this and why is it important?

Megan Dahlman: Well, we always tend to think, well, if I don't have that body, you know, the one in our mind, that goal body, and I know I never will, so then I'll just give up. That's kind of how we'll think. Or I just won't give it a whole lot of effort because I know I'll never look like her.

No. You have the body that you're in right now. And going back to what we said before, the body that you have, that is a gift and it has a very unique design to it that nobody else has. And it's important that you take the body that you have right now and just ask, what can it do better? I think we seem to think like, well, what can it do perfectly?

Really, there's not a whole lot that our bodies can do perfectly. But if we start to ask, "Well, what can I do better?" that's when things can get a little more exciting. Because there's a lot of things that we can easily do a little bit better. [00:33:15]

Then if we ask ourself, "have I really truly reached my absolute physical potential? Is there something else that I can do? Do I even know what this body is capable of yet?" and then let yourself get excited about it. So set a really simple goal for yourself.

It could be as simple as, You know, I've never been able to do a true push-up on the floor. Let me work for that. I want to see if this body can actually do that and then work at it, work hard at it. For myself, over the last couple years, I've been practicing more with yoga and trying to do some inversion moves where I'm working on my handstands and headstands and funky stuff like that where I thought a couple years ago There's no way I could ever do that. But I'm doing it now. That gets so exciting when we tap into something that we didn't realize that we were capable of.

We have to remember that it's not just about you and there's something else happening in our home too. We might have kids watching us and watching how we treat our bodies. [00:34:22] We have people watching how we feed our bodies, how we move, and how we honor God with our bodies. And we are setting an example, whether that's an example of obsession, whether that's an example of being sedentary and lazy or not caring, or whether that's an example of honoring God with the way that we move and feed our bodies. So I think that's really important to realize that it's not all about us.

Then we do have to remember that as believers, everything we do, Colossians 3:23 says, to work at it with all of our heart as though we're working for the Lord, not for others. We think that working out and eating better is all about ourselves. It's self-care. You know, I think that phrase is really popular these days: self-care.

And yes, it is taking care of ourselves that's great. But there's so much more to it than that. This is something that God is asking you to do, to take better care of your body and to really push your limits physically. And if this is something you feel like he's pressing on you that you need to take care of and do, then you do it for Him. You go all in on it. You be faithful with this. Don't do this half-heartedly. You need to work at it with all of your heart, not just for yourself, not just because you might benefit from it, but do it all for the glory of God. [00:35:47]

And once we can set ourselves in that mindset, then kind of the picture opens up and we can see things from a grander perspective.

Laura Dugger: Touching on something you said earlier, I think we often will say to our children or say about them, they're capable of so much more than we give them credit for. And it sounds like you're saying that's true for us as well.

Megan Dahlman: Absolutely.

Laura Dugger: If listeners want to learn more about you and Strong Mommas, where can they find you online?

Megan Dahlman: Well, my website is great. I really encourage people to go check out my website. It's strong-mommas.com. On my site, I have a blog that I've been writing once a week for the last couple of years. So there is a lot on there. Plus I have full workouts, meal plans. A lot of stuff on there.

If they're interested in my whole philosophy on physical fitness and nutrition and it sounds so encouraging, definitely spend a good half hour on my website. It would be really encouraging. [00:36:56]

Then, of course, they can find me on Facebook, and that's just Strong Mommas. Facebook.com/strongmommas. No dash in there. And then on Instagram, it's strong_mommas. The Mommas is always spelled M-O-M-M-A-S. There's like 15 ways to spell mama. So that's what we landed with.

Laura Dugger: Perfect. We'll link to all of that in the show notes. Well, and everyone knows that we're called The Savvy Sauce because "savvy" means practical knowledge or discernment. And as my final question for you today, Megan, what is your savvy sauce?

Megan Dahlman: I love this. Something I find myself saying a lot to the women I coach and then even to myself very often is trust the process. We tend to fight whatever process we're right in the middle of, maybe second-guessing ourselves, second-guessing the calling that we have on ourselves or what we're supposed to be doing. And we try to do things differently, maybe insert our own ideas onto things.

But usually if we surrender and trust the process, and do things exactly as we're supposed to do, being obedient, humble, willing to learn and grow through the process, that's usually when remarkable things can happen. So that would be my savvy sauce, trust the process. [00:38:18]

Laura Dugger: Trust the process. I love it. Well, thank you just for sharing your years of knowledge and experience. I know that you've left me motivated and I'm sure that listeners feel the same way. So thanks for joining us today, Megan.

Megan Dahlman: Thank you so much for having me, Laura.

Laura Dugger: One more thing before you go. Have you heard the term "gospel" before? It simply means good news. And I want to share the best news with you. But it starts with the bad news. Every single one of us were born sinners and God is perfect and holy, so He cannot be in the presence of sin. Therefore, we're separated from Him.

This means there's absolutely no chance we can make it to heaven on our own. So for you and for me, it means we deserve death and we can never pay back the sacrifice we owe to be saved. We need a savior. But God loved us so much, He made a way for His only Son to willingly die in our place as the perfect substitute. [00:39:21]

This gives us hope of life forever in right relationship with Him. That is good news. Jesus lived the perfect life we could never live and died in our place for our sin. This was God's plan to make a way to reconcile with us so that God can look at us and see Jesus.

We can be covered and justified through the work Jesus finished if we choose to receive what He has done for us. Romans 10:9 says that if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.

So would you pray with me now? Heavenly, Father, thank You for sending Jesus to take our place. I pray someone today right now is touched and chooses to turn their life over to You. Will You clearly guide them and help them take their next step in faith to declare You as Lord of their life? We trust You to work and change their lives now for eternity. In Jesus name, we pray, amen. [00:40:26]

If you prayed that prayer, you are declaring Him for me, so me for Him, you get the opportunity to live your life for Him.

At this podcast, we are called Savvy for a reason. We want to give you practical tools to implement the knowledge you have learned. So you're ready to get started?

First, tell someone. Say it out loud. Get a Bible. The first day I made this decision my parents took me to Barnes and Noble to get the Quest NIV Bible and I love it. Start by reading the book of John.

Get connected locally, which basically means just tell someone who is part of the church in your community that you made a decision to follow Christ. I'm assuming they will be thrilled to talk with you about further steps such as going to church and getting connected to other believers to encourage you.

We want to celebrate with you too. So feel free to leave a comment for us if you made a decision for Christ. We also have show notes included where you can read Scripture that describes this process. [00:41:26]

Finally, be encouraged. Luke 15:10 says, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents." The heavens are praising with you for your decision today.

If you've already received this good news, I pray that you have someone else to share it with today. You are loved and I look forward to meeting you here next time.

Welcome to The Savvy Sauce

Practical chats for intentional living

A faith-based podcast and resources to help you grow closer to Jesus and others. Expect encouragement, surprises, and hope here. Each episode offers lively interviews with fascinating guests such as therapists, authors, non-profit founders, and business leaders.

They share their best practices and savvy tips we can replicate to make our daily life and relationships more enjoyable!