From Punky & Chunky to Queen of JOY: My Not-So-Fit Origin Story

Bethanne Weiss
Jul 13
3 min read

Yep… that’s me. Cig in one hand, beer in the other. Plotzing on a motorcycle behind my off-campus apartment. State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz, 1984. I was 20ish. Majoring in Accounting—because my dad Manny (aka the Man-ee-ac) said it was practical. (BTW: I later pivoted to Marketing/Exercise Science when I saw the asset-moving light at the end of the tunnel.)

How many CPAs look like this? Would you trust this face with your tax return?

Posture: Questionable.

Nutrition: What’s that?

Energy level: Flat. Like my feet.

Self-esteem: MIA.

If you told that chick she’d one day become a nationally recognized wellness pro, speaker, posture whisperer, podcast host, and founder of the More JOY Less OY™ movement—she would’ve spit her beer out laughing and lit another cig.

I was more likely to tattoo a skull on my assets than move mine—or anyone else’s.

Fast-forward a few decades (and 40ish years of OY,) and here I am:

• Delivering high-energy speaking engagements

• Leading transformational FUNIQ® Total Body classes

• Helping people tweak their eats, peeps, feets, beliefs, and booty

• Hosting JOY-filled, FUN-filled Club FUNIQ™ events…all while hiking 8,000-foot high trails and still occasionally falling over nothing (some things never change.)

What did change?

EVERYTHING.

But not overnight.

Not with a diet.

Not with a cleanse.

Not with a six-week “get shredded” plan. Though I’ve partaken in all of the above—numerous times—just like you, of course. 🙄 And : None of them gave me lasting energy, strength, or the ability to stay upright while pushing a shopping cart.

What did work? Tiny Tweaks. To how I moved. To what (and how much) I ate. To how I spoke to myself. One baby step at a time—until the OY didn’t win anymore.

From fibromyalgia and fatigue...To being born with rotisserie chicken feet (seriously—archless flapjacks, caved-in ankles, and extra bones that make people scream “what ARE those?”)...To balance issues, chronic pain, and vertigo that made grocery shopping feel like a full-contact sport…

I’ve lived the earlier part of my life in chronic OY—and now at 60ish I am proving that small, simple changes can transform your body, brain, and belief system. And it gets better everyday! And I probably have at least 60 amazing years to go...woo hoo!

So before you say, “You’ve always been fit” or “You don’t get what it’s like to struggle”…Take another look at that pic.

And then take a look at this one! 25ish OY-laden me next to 60ish JOY-laden me!

The day I stopped looking for a fix and started moving with purpose? THAT’s the day everything changed.

Why am

I sharing this?

Because someone out there thinks they can’t change. Someone believes they’ll never feel better, move better, or love their soul's container (aka their body) again. Someone’s stuck in the PVOO (that’s the Powerful Vortex of OY for you newbies.)

I’ve lived it. And now I help others kick their own assets out of it—with humor, honesty, and a ton of Tiny Tweaks™.

Want to bring this JOYfully sassy energy to your workplace, wellness event, or women's group?

Hire me to speak, teach, or motivate your peeps to tweak their: Eats Feets Peops Moves Life

Or come move your fine young assets with me at a FUNIQ® Total Body Class or Club FUNIQ™ event—where posture meets booty and everything in between gets stronger, sassier, and more JOYful.

Binge the More JOY Less OY Podcast

Check out my book or Speaker One Sheet

Book me to speak or lead a class

And keep your eyes peeled for more jaw-dropping pics… you ain’t seen nothin’ yet.

You’ve got one soul’s container. Let’s move it. Nourish it. Laugh with it. And finally give it the JOY it deserves.

JOYfully (and still a little punky,)

Bethanne Wellness Weiss

Wellness Coach | Speaker | Author | Asset Activator

Queen of More JOY Less OY™

Bethanne Weiss B.S., is an American Posture Institute® posture ergonomist and balance expert, Age Safe® America Certified Senior Home Safety specialist®, motivational speaker, author, FUNIQ® Fitness Founder, ACE-Certified fitness and nutrition professional ACE-approved CEU provider, and ACE-Certified behavior-change specialist with 35 years of moving assets, changing brains, bodies, booties and preventing falls. Bethanne teaches Tiny Tweaks to your eats, your body, your brain, & your life that will have YOU moving, feeling, and looking amazing in less than 30 minutes…really!