368: Reclaim Your Power Over the Scale in Perimenopause with Courtney Hugghins [“I Did It” Series]

Introduction 

You're listening to Biceps After Babies Radio Episode 368.

Hello and welcome to Biceps After Babies Radio. A podcast for ladies who know that fitness is about so much more than pounds lost or PR's. It's about feeling confident in your skin and empowered in your life. I'm your host Amber Brueseke, a registered nurse, personal trainer, wife and mom of four. Each week my guests and I will excite and motivate you to take action in your own personal fitness as we talk about nutrition, exercise, mindset, personal development and executing life with conscious intention. If your goal is to look, feel and be strong and experience transformation from the inside out, you my friend are in the right place. Thank you for tuning in. Now, let's jump into today's episode.

Hey, hey, hey. Welcome back to another episode of Biceps After Babies Radio. I'm your host, Amber Brueseke, and if you are someone who has ever found yourself stepping on the scale and then letting that number dictate your mood, or worse, your self-worth, you, my friend, are not at all alone. For so many women, especially during perimenopause, the scale can feel like the enemy rather than a tool. You know, you have hormone changes, body composition changes, sleep changes, unpredictable weight fluctuations. It can make it really easy for you to feel out of control. But here's the thing. The scale does not have to own you. So today I'm sitting down with MACROS 101 alumna Courtney Hugghins to talk about how she reclaimed her power over the scale in the midst of perimenopause. And so we're diving into the strategies she used to shift her mindset, how to normalize those daily fluctuations, and how to let go of the shame and the frustration that that little number that flashes on your screen can bring up for us. So whether you're struggling with weight loss or belly fat or just feeling like your body isn't your own anymore, this episode is for you. Let's dive in. 

Amber B 02:06

I'm so excited to have on the podcast, Courtney. Welcome. 

Courtney Hugghins 02:10

Thank you. 

Amber B 02:11

Let's just do a quick introduction, a little bit about you and who you are.

Courtney Hugghins 02:16

Sure. So Courtney Hugghins, I am 49 and considered perimenopausal. I'm a mom of twin girls who are off in college. I'm a realtor in the North Texas area and at 49 I'm actually a newlywed. I've been married less than a year. I was widowed about seven years ago and kind of finding my new normal.

Amber B 02:36

Oh wow. What an exciting last couple of years. 

Courtney Hugghins 02:39

Yeah, no doubt. A lot of change. 

Amber B 02:41

A lot of change. A lot of change. How old are your twins? 

Courtney Hugghins 02:46

They're 20. They're sophomores in college. 

Amber B 02:48

Okay. So how has that transitioned? My daughter is graduating from high school this year and she's my first. So I'm kind of like nearing that. How has that been for you? 

Courtney Hugghins 03:00

It's wonderful to see them soar. It's going to make me cry. Soar and go and be and do and learn. They've done great. It was ripping the band-aid off because my kids left all at once. So the first, it's hard. You miss them. The house is so quiet. 

Amber B 03:20

I believe it. 

Courtney Hugghins 03:21

You miss the messes to some degree.

Amber B 03:23

Yeah. No, I believe it. 

Courtney Hugghins 03:24

Yeah.

Amber B 03:25

I start to think about my daughter leaving and I cry right now and she hasn't even left yet.

Courtney Hugghins 03:29

Right. Right.

Amber B 03:30

I can only imagine having two leave at the same time and be an empty nester. That's going to be hard. Okay, cool. Well, let's start. Lots of change in the last couple of years. But let's start talking a little bit about maybe your fitness journey, your eating habits and things like that. Before you came and joined MACROS 101, what were you struggling with the most? 

Courtney Hugghins 03:52

The up and down cycle. Gain weight, lose weight. Gain weight, lose weight. Not knowing how to maintain, how to get there and how to stay there. It’s a struggle.

Amber B 04:02

Yeah. And what had like “worked” for you in the past? And I say quote-unquote because I always like to make this point that just because you lost weight on something doesn't mean it actually worked because if you didn't maintain it long term, then it didn't actually work. But I'm curious what “worked” for you in the past before? 

Courtney Hugghins 04:23

I had done Weight Watchers and did well with it and found it to be an easy enough program to follow. But then you kind of get to the whole concept of a goal weight that I've learned is not necessarily the right thing. And then you get there and there's some guidance around how to maintain, but it's pretty loose. I felt like, cool, good luck. And here I am back again. Just repeating that.

Amber B 04:47

Just repeating that up and down cycle. And so really wanting to learn what it was like to not only lose but actually maintain. Was there anything else that you were struggling with or is that the big one? 

Courtney Hugghins 04:58

So much of it's mindset and addressing the self-sabotage type things and then getting into perimenopause. And I just so want to be healthy long term. Learning it's the macro science piece. What calories, what protein, what does my body need to maintain or whatever cycle I'm in. 

Amber B 05:26

Yeah. And you mentioned the perimenopause piece, which is such a huge piece. What are some of the symptoms that you've experienced? 

Courtney Hugghins 05:34

So I've been pretty fortunate because I'm good about exercising and pretty good energy and health. Definitely seeing some of the night sweats. If I'm honest, probably some mood swings. The belly fat. Some things like that. They've appeared over the last few years. 

Amber B 05:57

What has been the impact on your life? I imagine some of the symptoms are maybe more of a nuisance and maybe some of them impact you a little bit deeper. What does that look like for you? 

Courtney Hugghins 06:09

Well, I've always been a really good sleeper, so I guess I get a little annoyed by waking up more.

Amber B 06:13

Oh my gosh!

Courtney Hugghins 06:15

I mean, you know, first world problems. But waking up a little more, getting hot, and my husband might complain about the mood swings a bit. But yeah, the belly fat kind of bothers me and I worry about that being a health issue. A bigger term. So, yeah.

Amber B 06:34

How have you been, I think it's interesting that belly fat is one of the biggest complaints from a lot of women. It kind of is one of the things that leads them to seek treatment or seek help, and that's the most distressing to them. But there's all these other symptoms that can be just as distressing. And I'm wondering what that has looked like for you. Does that fall in line with your experience? Is the belly fat the most distressing, or are there other factors that are just as hard? 

Courtney Hugghins 07:04

I guess that would be my number one complaint, other than maybe just not sleeping quite as well.

Amber B 07:10

Yeah, makes whole sense. So let's fast forward into making the decision to come and join MACROS 101. What was it that you were like, yes, I want to learn how to maintain, I want to learn what this looks like, and this is the program that's going to help me be able to do that.

Courtney Hugghins 07:25

I've listened to your podcast for a long time, and it's truly one of my favorites. And I would kind of tune out when you talk about MACROS. But then I just kind of also knew that might be something that you're missing, that might be something that could be helpful. And so then when the, I guess two rounds back now that MACROS 101 came up, I thought, just do it. Just see what it's about. You've got nothing to lose. And I really have been on this journey of just trying to be healthier and learn how to truly maintain a healthy lifestyle and a healthy weight. And it was just a game changer. It was that missing piece of the puzzle for me.

Amber B 08:05

And so what does that look like in the lessons that you've learned in order to maintain? Like, what have you learned about maintenance? What have you learned that we can pass on to people who are listening who are kind of wondering the same thing? 

Courtney Hugghins 08:16

I had no, I didn't know a reverse existed. And so that was so huge because that was my key to getting to maintenance and learning what my specific maintenance range was. Learning to do daily weight and then look at average weights and measurements and photos and just take the power out of the scale, which my brain didn't really agree with that at first weighing every day. But it's so true. And just learning my body better. It's so empowering.

Amber B 08:53

Isn't that funny that, I mean, I could totally see what you're saying. You're saying, I need to take the power out of the scale. And so you want me to do what? You want me to weigh every day? That seems counterintuitive to taking away the power from the scale. What was your experience with that? 

Courtney Hugghins 09:08

You know, I still to this day, you know, sometimes if it's up, I'm like, eh, you know, it still kind of bothers you, but it's a quick moving on. It's a moving on next. It doesn't get me down anymore.

Amber B 09:24

I like that you acknowledge that because I think sometimes people get under the impression that with the work, they'll never have any of those negative thoughts or those old patterns of thinking to come back up again. And I always like to point out that the goal isn't to never have a negative thought about your body or never be sad when the scale goes up or not to have those experiences. Those are like rash right in the moment. It's normal and natural for you to go to that place. The actual goal is for you to be able to switch out of it quickly. And that's what you're saying is like, I see that. I see the disappointment and then I'm able to coach myself through it and move past it. And that's really the ultimate goal. It's where I want to get people. It's not to never have those experiences. 

Courtney Hugghins 10:05

Yeah, because that's just life. It's going to happen. It's a up and down process. And I think by doing weighing every day and measuring every week too, that also just normalizes fluctuations. 

Amber B 10:20

I'm so glad that you brought that up because I feel like when people just start, it's like when you can look at something and see it throughout all of its phases, then you start to know the normal progressions, the normal ups and downs. And then you're not as freaked out by it because you're like, oh, that's just actually really normal for me to cycle up and down. And that's another one of the benefits of weighing every day is that you get to start to know your body and you get to start to know how much I gain in certain times of the month or how different foods affect me or how drinking alcohol affects me or whatever. It's just you're starting to get curious about how these things can affect on your body. 

Courtney Hugghins 10:59

Yeah, totally. And TMI, but there's a column for did you poop today on there.

Amber B 11:04

Yeah.

Courtney Hugghins 11:05

It makes a difference.

Amber B 11:06

It makes a difference.

Courtney Hugghins 11:07

I've never checked it. 

Amber B 11:08

It makes a difference. And if you're not tracking it or you don't have any idea, you can't make those connections with your body. And I'm so glad that you brought that up of just starting to learn to know your body and how your body acts. It's so empowering to be able to have that power and control. So I'm curious, when did you do MACROS 101? 

Courtney Hugghins 11:28

So it was spring of this year.

Amber B 11:29

Spring of 2024. 

Courtney Hugghins 11:30

Yes. 

Amber B 11:31

Okay. And so when you went through, and I guess it could be past then too because you're a BEYOND member, but are you present to any a-ha moments that you had that kind of made a difference for you in your evolution and your thinking and your journey? 

Courtney Hugghins 11:46

Definitely. And I think I mentioned there was just so much to choose from, but this was just macro counting and the science of it was a very big thing to me that I knew I was missing. And then learning how much of the journey is mental and learning to recognize those thoughts. I think you've said it, your brain lies to you, right? Catch those thoughts, reframe them. I've learned that I have the fear of success and starting to work on that. And it's interesting how it affects all the aspects of your life. So that's been huge. 

Amber B 12:27

How did you realize that you had a fear of success? 

Courtney Hugghins 12:31

Listening to your coaching. 

Amber B 12:32

Oh. That'll do it. 

Courtney Hugghins 12:33

It was there. Just really like, oh, that's what that's called. That's what that is. 

Amber B 12:40

What part of you resonated with that? Or how did you identify that in yourself? Because there will be people who are listening who are like, you work fear of success. That sounds weird. But how did that resonate with you? What did you see in yourself as you heard me describe it? 

Courtney Hugghins 12:55

I have really poured into my health and well-being in the last few years. And so now I have this fear of if I also am pouring more into my business. I've maybe put a little less into that. And my fear is I'm not going to have time for all that I'm doing now. And then my fitness will suffer because in the past, that's what's happened. You get busy in other aspects of your life. 

Amber B 13:20

Yeah.

Courtney Hugghins 13:21

And so then you put yourself on the back burner or whatever. And I don't want that to happen again. So my fear is balancing all of that. And how do I do it all well? Because I've also had this limiting belief that in the main things of my life that are important to me, there's kind of five main things. I've had this limiting belief that I can't do them all well at one time. And so I'm trying to get past that. 

Amber B 13:50

How are you working through that? I guess, that’s the question. 

Courtney Hugghins 13:53

It's a work in progress. I'm journaling and I wrote down the prompts you had about what's the worst thing that could happen? What does this mean? How can I change this? And just a lot of journaling about how can I make this work? I have a daily to-do list for myself that's business, fitness, personal, spiritual. I might have one thing in each one, each day or none. It's all different. You just can't be perfect. You just got to have one day at a time. 

Amber B 14:29

Yeah, I would like to dive in, you said that there's five areas of focus of your life. What are those five areas? If you're willing to share.

Courtney Hugghins 14:39

Yeah, no. Spiritual, business, personal, family, finance, and then health and wellness. 

Amber B 14:49

I love it. So, I would love to dive into your insights on this because I think this is a very common experience of feeling like if I succeed in one area of my life, then other areas of my life have to suffer. I think that's what you're speaking to. I have five balls in the air. If I keep one of the balls in the air, I have to let one of the other balls go and I can't ever have all five balls in the air. Have you experienced that? Have you been able to keep five balls in the air? What does it look like? What have you had to let go of in order to find the balance? I would just love to hear your thoughts on that because it is a really common fear.  

Courtney Hugghins 15:22

I think I've almost accepted that it's just the challenge of life. That we just do our best each day and it goes back to maybe your messy action that we just show up each day and each day have some things prioritize other things. I kind of feel like if in a given week I've accomplished something in each area or what was most important to me in maybe three of those areas, I'm not perfect at this, but then I've done pretty well. I give myself grace and try to… I also like have the fitness things that I do and they're on my calendar. I'm like, okay, if that's a priority to you, then it's a non-negotiable. It's like that doctor appointment that I can't change or whatever and work around it, work the other things in around it. I'm like, okay, these things in my business I must accomplish today around this other or whatever. 

Amber B 16:26

Yeah. It's so good. One of the reasons I asked the question was I had heard you say that you set goals and tasks in each of the areas, each of the five different areas throughout the week, which I think is such an amazing way to try and make sure you're addressing all those areas of importance in your life. One of the things that I found and you can tell me if this resonates with you as well, is that… because I've had some of the same thoughts. If I grow my business, then I'm not as good of a parent. Or if I focus on my health and fitness, then my relationship with my spouse has to suffer. That's an idea I can't do at all. One of the things that I have found is that as I am putting time and effort and energy into one area of my life, let's say my business. I'm growing my business. I'm really focusing on that. In order to grow my business, I have to, I must, grow myself and my capacity. It's been interesting for me to see that as my capacity and my growth happens in one area of my life, it allows me to hold more in other areas of my life. I see that my capacity has grown because I wanted to grow my business, and yet it's interesting the capacity translates over into my health and fitness, translates over into my relationships. It's almost like this fallacy of… it's not a zero-sum game, I guess is what I'm saying. It's not 1 plus 1 plus 1 plus 1 plus 1 equals 5. As I expand in one area, I'm able to hold and expand more in the other areas that are also important to me. I just really see growth as something that universally helps my life, even if I'm growing in my health and fitness, or I'm growing in my spirituality, or I'm growing in my relationship, that growth in any one of those areas of my life helps me to grow and hold more in the others. I don't know if that's been one of my experiences. I don't know if you resonate with that.

Courtney Hugghins 18:12

Definitely. Definitely.

Amber B 18:13

That's been something that's been really powerful for me. Will you speak a little bit too, because I would love to dive into how macro-counting or how some of the changes that you've made in your health and fitness journey have impacted your perimenopausal symptoms. What does that look like for you? Have they gotten better? Talk me through that a little bit. 

Courtney Hugghins 18:33

Focusing on protein and that's definitely just… I've seen the muscle growth and I've seen that by actually knowing I'm in maintenance and knowing how many calories to focus on and hitting those and the importance of all of it, carbs, fat, protein, all of it. It just affected my energy level greatly and my body composition and just how I feel and how I look regardless of my… It took away the importance of weight, but I just feel good because I've learned what my body needs and to fuel it properly and to also really focus on healthy foods too. I hope that answers your question. And then just prioritizing weight. I'm a huge fan of being strong and just wanting to get stronger and that it's okay for women. It's a good thing. I want to age powerfully, not just gracefully. 

Amber B 19:36

Oh, I like that. Age powerfully, not just gracefully. 

Courtney Hugghins 19:39

I got that from J.J. Virgin. I won't take credit. 

Amber B 19:41

I love it. I love that. Is weightlifting new for you or is that something you've been doing? 

Courtney Hugghins 19:47

So, uhm, Camp Gladiator is a program that I've done for a while and love it. And it's a good accountability. I love the trainer. They focus on strength, but not necessarily the whole progressive overload concept. I've been doing the Camp Gladiator for a while, but now I've added some weight sessions to focus on true muscle growth. 

Amber B 20:12

I love that. That's fantastic. You can tell me if I'm wrong. I haven't been through menopause, but I think one of the hardest things as I talk to clients about menopause is the unpredictability and the feeling like my body is changing and I don't have any control over it. Which to some extent is true. You're losing progesterone and estrogen and I can't control how fast that happens. I wonder, for you, it sounds like you've been able to figure out, here's some of the things that I can control. I can consume protein. I can lift weights. And that has given you some semblance of, these are the areas that I have power in my life and can take back that power and that feeling of not having it in control. 

Courtney Hugghins 20:52

Right. Most definitely. 

Amber B 20:53

And then the symptoms, I think if there's two things that hopefully you're taking away from this, like eat more protein and lift weights, and that can really impact your symptoms. That can really make you feel better, make you sleep better, make you look better, make you feel better. All the things can be that piece. 

Courtney Hugghins 21:14

Yes. Definitely. 

Amber B 21:15

Did you struggle with any emotional eating? If so, what did that look like for you? 

Courtney Hugghins 21:20

Oh boy. A hundred percent. I mentioned that I was widowed almost seven years ago. My husband went through almost a year of battle with cancer. We were in the most stressful, busy time of our lives with young kids too. It was go, go, go. And then that and being the caregiver and losing him. Huge emotional eater. That was comfort to me. It was food. I was easily 50 pounds heavier five years ago. And then, I had a really great counselor and started addressing the grief. It turns out you can't just run from grief or put it on hold. 

Amber B 22:03

Yeah. Unfortunately. Just shove it down.

Courtney Hugghins 22:04

It waits for you. It's patiently waiting on you. And just starting to address that, I found that getting outside for me and moving my body was great for my mental well-being and physical well-being. COVID hit and that's when I got into Camp Gladiator because they were doing it through Zoom. Zoom is so cool. Just the mental reset that all of that has helped me to learn to get away from emotional eating. Through the MACROS 101 program, really addressing the self-sabotage, the things we say to ourselves, recognizing that I have the fear of success. Lots of emotional eating. 

Amber B 22:56

I think even just hearing you say that and then hearing that you feel like it's gotten better or you're improving or you're on the other side of it, I think is so helpful for women who are currently very much in it. Whether you're experiencing grief or you're stress eating or binging or whatever, it's just even being able to hear that somebody also struggled with that as well and was able to overcome it. I think it gives so much hope to people who are currently in it. 

Courtney Hugghins 23:21

I hope so. I hope so. Nobody's perfect. It's still there. But, like, I used to, weight watchers, you'd weigh in once a week and then I'd go have a cheat day. And it hit me, maybe four or five months ago, it hit me,  that I wasn't doing that anymore once I was in this program. 

Amber B 23:39

Wow.

Courtney Hugghins 23:40

Because you learn that you don't have to. I would have never thought I'd get away from things like that. It was just mind-blowing. So much of it's mental. 

Amber B 23:53

Those are my favorite type of wins. The wins where something has been so ingrained in you for so long that you almost don't even see it as abnormal. And then to be able to still be able to break free of it. I had an experience with a client who we had some coaching conversations and she was just telling me that she could never have candy in her house. Like at all. No candy in her house. Because if there was candy in her house, she was going to eat all of it. And she was very much in it and there was this thinking of, this is unsolvable. This is just how the things are. And with working together and over time, I remember she got on a call, maybe it was a year later, and we were doing wins and she was like, you know what Amber? I have a bowl of candy on my counter right now. And I'm like, it's fine. And I'm not eating it. And just to be able to hear somebody who, when you're in it, it's so hard to see sometimes that there's a way out. It's impossible for you to be able to change. And so I love being able to share examples like yours, Courtney, where it's like you were in it. And nobody would fault you for emotionally eating after losing a partner. 

Courtney Hugghins 24:57

Sure.

Amber B 24:58

And yet you were able to move past it and move through it. And I think that provides a lot of hope for people who are currently in it. Okay, last question for you. If you were to go back and give yourself some advice at the start of your perimenopausal journey, or maybe somebody who's listening who's at the start of their perimenopausal journey, knowing what you know now, what would you say? 

Courtney Hugghins 25:21

I kind of mentioned it earlier, the J.J. Virgin quote about just age powerfully. 

Amber B 25:28

I love that one. 

Courtney Hugghins 28:29

Like, you know, be strong. Do you, lift heavy things. And then I was always intimidated about oh, macros counting sounded hard and complicated. And just do it. It's a game changer. And to the extent that we're in control of ourselves and our bodies, it gives you just so much of that. And it's been a great asset to me going through perimenopause to learn and to have that in my back pocket.

Amber B 25:57

I love it. Awesome. Well, thanks so much for sharing your journey with us, Courtney. I appreciate it. 

Courtney Hugghins 26:01

Thank you. 

Amber B 26:02

I hope that listening to this episode made you feel a little bit more empowered, a little bit more able to take back control in your journey and really focus on the things that are within your control. I think that is the huge thing. I also really loved what Courtney had to say about trying to find balance in life because I think this is something where a lot of women struggle. And I really have seen in my life that the more I expand and grow in one area of my life, it doesn't hurt the other areas of my life. It actually enhances them and helps them. And I think you might find the same thing. 

If you are interested in coming and joining us inside of MACROS 101, head to bicepsafterbabies.com/waitlist where you can get on the interest list for the next time we run MACROS 101. That wraps up this episode of Biceps After Babies Radio. I'm Amber. Now go out and be strong because remember my friend, you can do anything.

Outro

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