Today we’d like to introduce you to Bethany Shields

Hi Bethany, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?

My journey to entrepreneurship has been anything but conventional—it’s a blend of passions, struggles, and personal transformation that have all led me to where I am today. I loved music as a child and began private lessons in piano and voice, performing in musical theatre and anytime I got the opportunity. I continued my career in classical music as an opera singer with advanced degrees in music history and musicology, publishing and presenting internationally. I also ran a private music studio, teaching voice and piano, and spent many years as a classroom educator. Music was my world, and helping people express themselves creatively and find their own voice was at the heart of what I did.

But behind the scenes, I was living a very different story. For over three decades, I struggled with my relationship with food, trapped on the diet rollercoaster, constantly chasing the idea that shrinking my body would finally make me feel worthy. As a performer and educator, I tied my self-worth to how my body looked, and I fought feelings of shame and guilt whenever I felt like I wasn’t “measuring up.” It was an exhausting cycle of self-sabotage that left me feeling disconnected from my body.

In 2016, I underwent weight loss surgery, hoping to improve my health and finally solve the deeper issues I had battled for so long. While it was a powerful catalyst for change, I quickly realized that surgery couldn’t undo the complicated relationship I had built with food or unravel the way I used it to cope with emotional discomfort. I relied on food as a tool to numb stress, sadness, and even joy. The surgery wasn’t a magic fix, but it did kickstart the beginning of a new chapter of healing.

As I began to prioritize myself and step outside of my comfort zone, I discovered running. I started to push my body in new ways, finding a sense of freedom and strength I had never felt before. What started as a few steps turned into miles, and before I knew it, I was running longer distances and, to my surprise, stepped into a new identity as an endurance athlete in my 40s. Running, lifting, hiking and cycling gave me new ways to connect with my body, not as something to shrink, but as something capable of difficult and incredible things.

Along the way, I noticed how deeply diet culture had affected me. I realized that the messages I had internalized for so long weren’t just about food—they were about control, perfectionism, and trying to fit into an impossible mold. I knew I couldn’t be the only woman dealing with this, and that’s when I decided to shift gears and focus on empowering women to heal, just like I had.

I became a nationally board-certified health and wellness coach, specializing in behavior change psychology and nutrition for athletes. I started my company Be Better with Bethany to help women to break free from the diet mentality and learn to stop using food to cope with their emotions. While I’ve worked with many endurance athletes, my larger focus is on empowering women to heal their relationships with food, fitness, their bodies, and, ultimately, themselves.

My mission is to guide women in building self-trust, self-compassion, and self-care so they can create lasting, sustainable health habits for life. I want to help them move away from the cycle of shame and guilt that diet culture perpetuates and towards a place where they can feel strong, resilient, capable, and confident in their bodies—on their own terms.

Every chapter of my journey, from musician to educator, to athlete and coach, has shaped the work I do today. I believe that true health and strength don’t come from chasing perfection. They come from learning to trust and care for yourself deeply.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

The road has been far from smooth, and I think that’s true for most people who step into entrepreneurship or undergo significant life changes. This journey has continually provided me with lessons that have pushed me to grow, change, and carve out my own unique path. It’s been full of ups and downs, and those challenges have shaped me into the person I am today.

One of the biggest struggles has been the deep work of healing my relationship with food and fitness. It took years of introspection, therapy, and support from coaches to unravel decades of unhealthy patterns and beliefs. While I was surrounded by a huge support network, ultimately, that work was mine alone. I had to confront the guilt and shame I had internalized and learn to approach food and fitness from a place of self-compassion rather than restriction or punishment.

Transitioning into the health and wellness industry over 40 brought its own set of challenges and lessons. As I navigated my personal healing, I battled perfectionism and imposter syndrome, constantly questioning whether I was the right fit for what I was trying to build. My fear of judgment from others and potential clients taught me the vital lesson of staying focused and aligned with the women who genuinely wanted to work with me. This realization became liberating; I learned to embrace my journey and attract those who resonate with my message.

I uncovered that clinging to perfectionism was keeping me safe, but it also held me back from stepping outside my comfort zone. I discovered the importance of letting go of the need for everything to be perfect and realized that I didn’t have to do it all myself. Creating a team to help me build my bigger vision has ultimately allowed me to empower even more women. Learning to collaborate and delegate has been a pivotal lesson, enabling my business to grow and flourish in ways I couldn’t have imagined.

There were practical challenges as well. I faced the learning curve of starting a business, which included launches that didn’t go as expected, ideas that fizzled out, and going back to the drawing board to create entirely new programs. Yet, these setbacks ultimately became opportunities for adaptation and growth.

Through all these challenges I’ve gained the strength, resilience, and confidence needed to guide other women in building self-trust and self-compassion. I empower them to create sustainable health habits for life, knowing that my own journey equips me to walk alongside them on the same path. My commitment to continuous growth fuels my passion for helping others thrive through the change process.

As you know, we’re big fans of Be Better with Bethany. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?

At Be Better with Bethany, I help women over 40 create lasting, positive transformations by addressing the root causes of their health challenges. Using a framework grounded in behavior change psychology and holistic wellness, I guide clients to cultivate self-trust, self-compassion, and self-care on their own terms. My approach helps women break free from the cycle of guilt, shame, and self-sabotage that often accompanies their relationship with food and fitness. Clients come to me feeling stuck, but through our work together, they learn to nourish themselves fully, embrace what their bodies are capable of, and build resilience to life’s emotional discomforts.

What Sets Me Apart:
As a nationally board-certified health and wellness coach with advanced training in behavior change psychology and nutrition for athletes, I bring both expertise and personal experience to my work. Beyond coaching clients, I’ve worked as a coach to other coaches and fitness professionals with Precision Nutrition, which has further solidified my standing as an expert in the field. This blend of credentials and lived experience allows me to offer a deeply supportive, transformative experience for my clients.

Many of my clients have gone on to achieve incredible feats, from completing ultramarathons and Ironman triathlons to tackling world major marathons and even summiting iconic peaks like Machu Picchu and Kilimanjaro. Whether they’re preparing for these extraordinary challenges or simply looking to heal their relationship with food and fitness, I’m there to guide them every step of the way.

Through my signature 1:1 coaching program NOURISH and my MEAL PREP MAGIC Ebook, I provide tools and guidance that help women build health and strength from the inside out. I’m also thrilled to announce a new program—designed to empower women to stop coping with food through building resilience and emotional strength—will be launching in 2025. It’s all part of my mission to meet women where they are and help them thrive on their own terms, for life.

Can you share something surprising about yourself?

One surprising thing that most people don’t know about me is that before I became a health and wellness coach, I was deeply immersed in the world of musicology. I’ve published and presented a lot of research in the area of women in American pop music, with a special focus on music videos and the work of Tori Amos and other women in alternative music during the 90s. Music has always been a huge part of my life, and my background in academia helped me hone my critical thinking and creative skills—both of which have carried over into my work in health and wellness. It’s a unique blend of passions that shapes how I approach coaching today.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.bebetterwithbethany.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bebetterwithbethany
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bebetterwithbethany

Image Credits

Bethany Shields