Before they ran wellness businesses in Woodstock, New Brunswick, Asja and Ryan Harris were both members of the RCMP. Asja was a criminal intelligence analyst with the B.C. RCMP for thirteen years, eight of them in charge of the analysts on the Lower Mainland's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT). Ryan began as a general duty officer and moved to Police Dog Services, where he patrolled the Lower Mainland with his K-9 partner, Griffin. Both left the force in 2022. In the show's most local episode to date, recorded in person, host Tim Culbert and special guest co-host Cheyenne ask what it took to walk away and what the two built afterward: Asja's coaching practice, Fuel Your Best Nutrition & Wellness Coaching, and Ryan's functional fitness facility, B7 Fitness. Homicide investigation was the career Asja had always wanted, and that made her burnout hard to see. She returned from maternity leave in 2020 and kept performing well at work while heavy files, understaffing, and her son's sleep regression wore her down at home. She explains why leaving required a shift in identity and why, as a self-described overachiever, she did not believe she could change her habits while staying in the same environment. Ryan's exit took a different form: a medical retirement brought on by severe tinnitus that intensified with the adrenaline of high-risk calls. B7 Fitness started as a plan to train youth baseball players in a detached garage, and word of mouth turned it into a full gym whose members range up to 78 years old. The link between physical and mental health anchors much of the conversation. Asja has noticed that most people start exercising for their physical health or longevity and only later discover what it does for their stress, sleep, and mood. Tim and Cheyenne can vouch for that as clients: Tim credits regular classes for the energy to sustain a legal practice, and Cheyenne describes what nutrition coaching taught her about fuelling her body for demanding work. Listeners will also hear Asja's rule that "nothing good happens after 8:30," the early sign of burnout that professionals tend to dismiss, and the case for delegating any work that does not require your specific expertise. Tim connects the discussion to the national study on psychological health in the Canadian legal profession, pointing out that lawyers cannot change the system around them but can adopt practices that make the work more sustainable. Asja keeps returning to a practical point: wellness does not depend on an elaborate morning routine, and eating properly and moving in a way that feels good can have a profound effect on overall well-being. About Asja and Ryan Harris Asja Harris is the founder of Fuel Your Best Nutrition & Wellness Coaching, where she helps high-performing people avoid burnout and live happier, healthier, more fulfilling lives. She worked for the B.C. RCMP as a criminal intelligence analyst for thirteen years, joining in 2009 ahead of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. For the last eight years of her career, she was in charge of the criminal intelligence analysts within the Lower Mainland's Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT), which investigates homicides, suspicious deaths, and high-risk missing persons cases where foul play is suspected. Asja left the RCMP in 2022 after experiencing burnout. She is a certified master health coach, nutrition coach, sleep, stress management, and recovery coach, and menopause coaching specialist. Her work includes a 16-week one-on-one coaching program, a self-paced online burnout prevention course, and wellness presentations for businesses and community organizations, including her former colleagues at the RCMP. Ryan Harris joined the RCMP in 2008 and served as a general duty officer until 2017, when he became a member of the Police Dog Services section. He and his K-9 partner, Griffin, patrolled the streets of B.C.'s Lower Mainland together until their joint retirement in 2022. Ryan then returned to his hometown of Woodstock, New Brunswick, and established B7 Fitness, a functional fitness facility that offers group training for people of all ages and abilities. Asja and Ryan met in 2015 in the gym at an RCMP training facility and have competed in many CrossFit competitions as a team. Key Moments: 00:03:07 Asja describes her career as a criminal intelligence analyst with IHIT and the pressures at work and at home that led to her burnout in 2021.00:05:24 Leaving the RCMP in 2022 meant a shift in identity, and Asja explains why she felt she had no real choice.00:06:56 Ryan shares his path into Police Dog Services, the strain of shift work, and the severe tinnitus that led to his medical retirement.00:12:11 Asja and Ryan trace their move to Woodstock, where a garage gym intended for youth baseball players grew by word of mouth into B7 Fitness.00:18:16 Asja explains that most clients arrive for their physical health and discover the effect on their stress, sleep, and mood afterward.00:20:36 Cheyenne reflects on her experience with nutrition coaching and what she learned about fuelling her body for demanding work.00:23:32 Tim and Asja discuss the supportive culture of group training and why it removes the intimidation many people associate with gyms.00:25:02 Asked which habit they wish they had started ten years earlier, Asja makes the case for an earlier bedtime and Ryan points to nutrition.00:28:25 Asja names the sign of burnout most professionals dismiss: losing interest in work they were once passionate about.00:30:48 Cheyenne, Ryan, and Tim discuss setting a realistic pace and delegating anything that does not require your specific expertise.00:34:48 Asja outlines her one-on-one coaching program, her self-paced burnout prevention course, and her wellness presentations for organizations.00:37:23 Tim connects the conversation to the Université de Sherbrooke study on psychological health in the Canadian legal profession.00:38:49 Ryan explains why walking through the gym door is the hardest step and what he finds most rewarding about his work.Resources discussed in this episode: Fuel Your Best Nutrition & Wellness CoachingMindset Strategies to Burnout-Proof Your Life, Asja's self-paced burnout prevention courseB7 Fitness [link needed]National Study on the Psychological Health Determinants of Legal Professionals in Canada (Université de Sherbrooke) — Contact Tim Culbert: LinkedInCulbert Law LinkedInInstagramFacebookContact Asja Harris: Website: fuelyourbestcoaching.comInstagramFacebookContact Ryan Harris: Facebook: B7 Fitness