Beeston woman left sleeping 12 hours a day by transition to menopause on mission to help Leeds women in midlife

Niki Woods, 45, specialises in working with women in midlife to ensure they are at the best level they can be when it comes to fitness, nutrition and mindset.

Due to the ages of her clientele and her own personal experiences, the menopause is something she feels passionately about and is determined to support people through.

She said: “I literally got to a point where I was sleeping 12 hours a day and I had to use a Sat Nav for a basic journey.

“I didn't have the mental energy to drive my car and navigate it at the same time. I couldn't have had a long conversation, I was that depleted.

"I also had some really significant muscle weakness, fatigue, mental exhaustion, physical exhaustion, and I paid privately to have my testosterone levels checked, because I was absolutely convinced that was the issue.

"My blood test came back to show that I basically had no testosterone left in my body.”

Hormone replacement therapy is currently a hot topic as Estradiol tablets are now available over the counter to women over the age of 50 who have not had a period for more than a year, as part of HRT.

Niki had struggles accessing HRT herself and in order to ensure others know when they should be able to access it. she familiarises clients with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

Exercising, eating well and looking after mental wellbeing can also help with perimenopause and menopause symptoms and are core focuses for Niki.

She said: "I started off being a personal trainer but I felt like it needed to involve more than that. For most people, it’s about everything, it’s not just fitness.

"It’s about needing to sort their nutrition out, it’s about needing to sort their mindset out.

"I kind of transitioned and narrowed down from working with everyone to working primarily with midlife women.

“Quite often, they’ve had a lifetime of dieting, so they have lost their relationship with food.

"They don’t really understand how to eat food to support their health - as we get to perimenopause, the way that foods seems to affect us changes as well.”

Niki is keen to educate people about the perimenopause and the menopause in order to ensure they are equipped for the challenges it can pose.

She said: "The fat distribution changes, but also people become potentially a bit more carbohydrate sensitive, or they feel like the things they used to get away with, they don't seem to get away with anymore.

“What I try to teach my clients instead is to fit in real food and higher protein into their diet, but also be able to eat the same thing as everyone else.”

Beyond diet and fitness, the importance of psychology and mental wellbeing in tackling the challenges of midlife is not something Niki ignores.

She explained: "I work a lot with them on coming out of an all-or-nothing mindset.

“I work on them coming out of perfectionism, being a bit more compassionate to themselves and really focusing on all the stuff that they have progressed on and making the right choices, rather than beating themselves up about having a biscuit, which is literally what some people will do.

“If you think you are rubbish, you then end up making yourself feel like rubbish – it’s a a self-fulfilling prophecy almost.

"A lot of people talk about body image and societal pressures but I think a lot of the time people focus that conversation on young people.

"It does affect you as a woman because youth and beauty are prized. Being told you look good for your age isn't the same as getting told you look good.”

More information about Niki’s work can be accessed on her official website – nikiwoods.com.