Weight gain and the menopause. My story

Many people believe that weight gain and weight loss is all about calories and willpower. Me included.

In my 20s and 30s I had always maintained a healthy lean weight with regular exercise and a healthy diet, never needed to count calories. I hit my mid forties and I started to pile on weight,! within 4 months I had gained 1 stone, I felt tired, moody, low motivation and cravings especially in the evenings.

I tried increasing my workouts and cardio exercise… I felt at a loss, why was this not making any difference! For the first time in my life I had no willpower and found myself going against my lifestyle eating habits… eating crisps, starch carb foods, chocolate, eating bread. Biggest problem eating rubbish before bed. …. causing  weight gain, moodiness, frustration and no will power!

I found myself in a constant loop of battling against this, fighting to gain my will power, pushing myself in the gym, this would be a 3 week cycle. Bad diet and no exercise – gym and healthy diet – bad diet and no exercise – gym and exercise. Etc!

Eventually I started to link my problem to the pre menopause, there had to be a reason in my body change.

I did the usual went to the GP for advise.. umm not much help there!

I spent 4 years trying everything plant based and natural to get this under control, it was difficult to know if these were helping, because the hot flushes and night sweats would last about 6 weeks and wain for a few months. Over the 4 years my menopause symptoms increased causing vertigo, tooth pain, muscle aches, tiredness. I gained a total of 3 stone. I couldn’t function properly, was in pain most days, exhausted from sleep deprivation… enough was enough

I revisited the GP and insisted on blood tests for everything… surprise surprise.. completely menopausal. Discussed with the doctor HRT.

It took about 7 days for the HRT to kick in. Wow I was amazed, I was sleeping, able to function at work, not feeling dizzy and in less pain. My weight started to maintain. After 3 months I felt I had enough energy to rejoin a gym.. it felt amazing being able to workout again, my muscle were responding and I began to feel great. My body shape was toning. But I still wasn’t losing weight. I started to notice I was still in a 3 week cycle and my previous knowledge of eating habits just wasn’t working anymore and still had cravings. Researching more, I came across a hormone called Leptin!

Next blog all about Leptin.

Trigger point therapy

Trigger point therapy


When a nerve is pinched or when a bone is out of place and hits a nerve, the muscles that the nerve(s) runs through will develop Trigger Points in response to the pain and will send a pain signal where there isn't necessarily an injury, causing referred pain. For example, if you have pain in your wrist, the muscles near your elbow have probably shortened, causing the tissues to pull and thus, you feel pain in the wrist and not at the elbow. The root of the problem must be addressed in order for the injury to heal.

A Trigger Point Therapist's job is to release the Trigger Points at the point of pain and to find and 'erase' the Trigger Points at the origin. Erasing Trigger Points can be done in a variety of ways, but basically, the therapist applies pressure directly at the site of the Trigger Point for a short period of time, usually, several seconds. This breaks up the muscle fibers within the adhesion and releases the toxins that have built up. Once the muscle fibers are broken up, they begin to repair and eventually they return to their natural state, ultimately releasing the muscle memory associated with the injury and healing the pain.

Neuromuscular Therapy (NMT)

This technique manipulates the soft tissue of the body (muscles, tendons and connective tissue) to balance the central nervous system. Nerves transmit impulses (which are responsible for every movement, function and thought) to the body very slowly. Injury, trauma, postural distortion or stress cause nerves to speed up their transmission, inhibiting equilibrium and making the body vulnerable to pain and dysfunction.

Nerve compression or entrapment

Pressure or compression on a nerve by soft tissue, cartilage or bone. The nerve is unable to properly conduct its signal. There are many potential causes for a pinched nerve, depending on the location of the nerve.

Treatment involves:

1. Location, identification and treatment of trigger points
2. Postural and biomechanical correction
3. Restore neurological pathways

• ischemia (tight tissue with reduced blood flow)
• myofascial trigger points (hypersensitive points within muscles that give rise to referred phenomena, including pain)
• neural entrapment (pressure on nerves by muscles and other soft tissues), and nerve compression (pressure on nerves by osseous and other bonelike tissues, such as cartilage or  discs).
• postural assessment (assessment of the position of the body as a whole)
• and dysfunctional gait patterns (manner of movement when walking)
• with constant consideration for many other perpetuating factors, such as hydration, nutrition, breathing patterns, and psychologic stress.

NMT is highly effective for clients who present with chronic pain and is often successful in reducing or eliminating even longstanding painful conditions. Some of the techniques can also be applied to acute injuries and for post-surgical care; many help to improve performance in sport or dance and to prevent injuries due to these activities.


If you think neuromuscular therapy is the treatment for you then contact Caroline at Holistic Life Sports Injury Centre in Cheadle Hulme.

Getting the right type of sports massage

Pre-massage: A sports massage treatment can aid your warm-up and help to increase your circulation and flexibility.
Post-massage: A sports massage will increase your circulation to speed the removal of fatigue toxins, relieve your muscle spasms and prevent soreness, minimising recovery time.
Fine-tuning: A sports massage will help identify the areas of biomechanical stress in your muscles and correct any misalignments before they become problems, enhancing your endurance.
Injury Rehabilitation: Sports massage speeds your healing, increases range of motion, reduces scar tissue allowing the muscle to expand/contract normally. Involves different techniques adapted to the injury and individual.

Benefits of including Sports massage as part of your training plan.

Sports Massage techniques can help:

• Enhance body awareness
• Identify problem areas before they develop into injuries
• Remove knots in muscles formed as a result of injury or hard training
• Relax and stretch muscles that have become shortened and tight
• Improve range of motion in the joints
• Restore suppleness and elasticity
• Relieve pain and stress
• Free muscle adhesions and soften scar tissue caused by injury or overuse
• Improve circulation
• Flush out toxins that cause muscle stiffness and soreness
• Relax the body and mind
• Speed recovery and healing from exertion


At Holistic Life Sports Injury Centre, different Sports Massage techniques are used to ensure that each session is tailored to the specific needs of the sport, injury and the individual.

Cycling injuries and biomechanics

Cycling injuries and biomechanics

Cycling is unique due to its combination of postural inertia of the upper and lower body.
Set-up and positioning of the bike can help prevent injuries.  A cyclist requires both flexibility and stability, imbalances can result in overloading.

Seat height -
To high - power is reduced and injuries to pelvis, adductors, gluteals, hamstrings, calf and knee joint can occur.
To low - increases knee flexion and can cause patella bursal loading.

Bar reach and drop - Poor positioning can reduce flexibility and cause problems in the pelvis, hip and hamstrings.

Cleat positioning - important for the alignment of the hip, knee and ankle.

Seat - should be narrow enough to allow legs to pedal freely without impingement and comfort for endurance.

I would recommend getting a biomechanical posture assessment to identify any musculoskeletal misalignments.

My cycling and triathlete clients have benefitted greatly from biomechanical assessment at my centre in Stockport as well as advice on bike correction/posture to help aid their performance, endurance and less injuries.

Martin Hewitt and Mount McKinley

Helping to rebuild my clients tired muscles, Martin Hewitt who lost the use of his right arm in 2007 and went on to compete for Great Britain in adaptive ski racing, walked unsupported to the North Pole with HRH Prince Harry and led a team of injured soldiers on Mt Manaslu and Everest.  Read more at http://www.fieri.biz/leadership/expeditions/blog/