Free and Fulfilled-Bethany’s Wellness Story

Hi, I’m Bethany. I am the third Growing Weisser daughter, second youngest. I have been married for three years to my wonderful husband Mike. We live in Northern California and love being in the beautiful outdoors whatever way we can. I love being active. I would bounce from one activity to the next every day if I could. I love being outside, even in the dead hot of summer. We currently play co-ed soccer and I try to keep up with his tennis skills. I also enjoy running, working out, playing softball, playing yard games, basically competing in whatever possible, whether it is against just my husband or other people. I am a competitor, but I just enjoy playing and having fun too. We love being a part of our church and the vision to be in our community and be a light to make a difference. We are a part of building joy filled communities that have greater purpose and deeper relationships. Our church has the vision to be in a continuous ongoing spiritual transformation that we are all on-a journey to grow with Jesus.

I love filling my life to the fullest. I feel like there is so much life to live, so many people to meet, so many relationships to invest in, so many things to do.  I want it all. But I struggle with saying yes to way too many things. I want to have a little bit of everything.  At one point in my life, I could manage this. I could run from one thing to the next, filling up my days. But about a year ago, I hit a wall. I started not feeling purposeful in what I was doing. I was busy, but bored. I wasn’t getting the same energy and drive out of doing things, because there was just too much. And I wasn’t able to focus on the most important things. I got overwhelmed, exhausted, and burnout. And the more I tried to figure out what I wanted to do or try more things, it just felt worse. But not only was I mentally exhausted, it started affecting me in other ways.

I was physically tired. Caffeine got me through each day, which leaves you feeling awful and not properly energized. It felt like a fake high that dropped too low. I was running so high on adrenaline that my body wasn’t functioning correctly. And there have been moments in my life that I haven’t properly fueled myself for the active lifestyle that I have. Which leaves you feeling depleted, exhausted, and mentally done. I had been here before. And I had moments that I was a little scared of the road I was going down. I played softball in college and I felt like if I worked out more that I would get better. But the part I forgot was that I had to take care of my body, my mind, and my spirit if I was going to push myself harder. Beating myself up didn’t end well. And I was done. I had to relearn how to take care of myself and not be so rigid in my “healthy eating” and workout routine so that I wouldn’t end up in an unhealthy place.

Trying to jump back from complete burnout, energy depletion, and an unhealthy mindset can be a rough road. But little by little I was able to see myself as who God made me to be. And taking care of my body, my mind, and my spirit, is a way to glorify Him. I have to find joy in the little things. I need to find joy in what makes me me, not a little bit of everything. (I am still working on this, but I am on the right road).

So after feeling tired, burnt out, overwhelmed, and like I had nothing left to contribute to the world or to my husband, my sister spoke some truth into my life about really finding my purpose and refueling myself spiritually, mentally, and physically. I have always looked up to her by how she lives her life with intention and sets out to be thankful blessed and live life abundantly. She also makes really good choices for challenging her mind, exercising her body, and having a balance in her health. So when she had advice for me and told me about a new nutrition program she had started, of course I was going to listen. I wanted to do my best to consider the opportunity to take better care of myself and have what was going on in the inside help restore my energy, my joy, and my soul, along with some other soul searching, prayer, and authenticity disciplines. But join people that are all passionate about being healthy, fit, and free.

So I went for it. It was worth a shot right? I was sick of doing the same thing over and over and nothing was working. The opportunity for healthy lifestyle, to share and help others, to be in community with passionate and driven people was right where I wanted to be. It wasn’t long before I noticed changes. After my 5 day migraine from caffeine withdrawals, I started feeling better little by little. I felt like I had natural energy. I don’t remember the last time I felt energized the whole day.. I felt like the toxins were actually being released out of my body. And I felt balanced. I wasn’t hungry and snacking as much all throughout the day. I wasn’t feeling sugar rushes or hungry all day. I wasn’t thinking about if I was getting enough vitamins and healthy food because I knew that the nutrition I was putting in my body covered all that. I also loved hearing about the opportunity to share and help other people. And if that ends up bringing in a little income to help my family, great. But more importantly, I get to be myself, be in relationship, be active, and learn how to wholistically take care of myself as I journey through what it looks like to care for who I am, be free to be me, and glorify God through my life.

After making this change in my life, I feel so much more energy. I am still working on the portion of feeling really fulfilled in what I am doing, in feeling filled with joy, and feeling like I am right in the center of where God has called me. But I know I am on the journey. And I am driven. I want to experience the full life that God has for me. And I feel like making this change has been a part of that search. But health wise, I feel the difference. I feel it in my recovery after workouts. I feel it in how I wake up in the morning. I feel it in how I sleep at night. I feel it at the afternoon crash which I don’t have anymore. I feel free in my excitement to be doing something with people that share similar passions as me. I feel excited to discover the endless possibilities in this opportunity. I am still learning and discovering new things every day, but I like the road this is on. I want to live my life free in health, free in body, free in mind, and free in Christ.

I believe that everyone can find the energy and balance for the lifestyle they wish to have.

I believe there are opportunities out there that sometimes you just have to jump in and trust and see what God can do through it.

I believe that I can be free in who I am and take steps on the journey to find my true fulfillment in Christ.

I believe that nutrition and how you treat your body is important, and will make a difference on your mental, physical, and emotional state.

I believe that I can be free to be who God made me to be and fulfilled in Christ as I take one step on this journey.

Check out my website here

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