Kick Start Fat Loss Banbury
On a sunny and breezy 25th of April at Woodgreen Leisure Centre, I met up with Sindy Matthews, who has been running the Banbury Kick Start Fat Loss club since the second of September 2013. In fact Sindy does a lot more than this; you'll find her teaching various exercise classes at Spiceball and Woodgreen Leisure Centre most days. But Kick Start Fat Loss, or KSFL, I believe it would be fair to say, is her passion project.
Before I go any further I have to mention that I have been a member of her KSFL group for about six months now, and in that time I have lost two and a half stone, and an amazing thirty inches in total from my body! I didn't even realise I had that much to lose, having joined more from a healthy living perspective than a fat loss one. The health benefits, for me, have been phenomenal, with an increase in energy, reduced fatigue, and even my hayfever vanishing! Not to mention the changes to my body, which have not gone unnoticed by my impressed wife!
Therefore, the moment I dreamed up this blog, I was very eager to arrange a chat with Sindy to find out why she does what she does, and let her explain more about KSFL in her own words.
We decided to perch on a wall outside the leisure centre, and get in a free dose of Vitamin D from the beautiful sunshine. In retrospect this may not have been the greatest idea, because the wind was quite excitable that day and did its best to obscure my recording of the conversation! But as Sindy is all about healthiness, it seemed a fittingly healthy location.
Sindy began by saying she genuinely believes KSFL is something worth doing for everyone, explaining that KSFL is very different from any other fitness or weight loss classes out there. The focus is very much on educating members to prepare and cook their own food from scratch, just as our parents and grandparents did. In a nutshell, she said, it’s about teaching people that they can have a healthy lifestyle without no need for excuses.
Before I could ask what inspired Sindy to go self-employed and start KSFL in Banbury we were interrupted by an old friend of Sindy’s who had been at the gym and was enquiring about the exercise classes Sindy teaches. Sindy politely apologised for this after she had dealt with the enquiry, but I felt I had witnessed a perfect example of the friendly, community spirit that seems to envelope her. She has a winning enthusiasm that is infectious, and before, during, and after the interview, most of the passing Banbury residents seemed to know and love her.
Resuming our informal chat, Sindy gave me the short version of her story. Straight away she admitted to having always being a yo-yo dieter, having tried Slimming World, and various other eating plans. Her wedding was coming up in 2008 and she really wanted to slim down, and although she had managed to shift some weight, she had hit a brick wall and it seemed like no more was to come off. The realisation that she was living off sugar was the turning point; fat free yoghurts, and pasta lunches were not doing her any good, and she felt the need to better educate herself.
Sindy had been following Rachel Holmes, the founder of KSFL, for many years, being someone she admires greatly. Rachel had asked for trainers to participate in a KSFL trial, before it was released to the general public, and Sindy eagerly signed up. Soon her health and weight goals were starting to be hit, and having experienced it first hand, she knew it worked and when the chance to become self-employed came along, she knew it was KSFL for her!
Asking what she loves about her job, Sindy didn’t miss a beat, immediately firing back that it was the people. The people inspire her, and they inspire each other. Everyone, she continued with an enthusiastic smile, has a story to tell, everyone has their own journey. She gestured to me, citing my example of joining for health reasons, rather than specifically fat loss, although she admitted the majority of her clients do attend for that reason. But what they find is that it’s more than that, it’s a lifestyle. With a satisfied grin she re-confirmed that it was people that made her job.
It made sense to follow-up by asking who her clients are. Who is the average KSFL member? Those with weight issues were top of the list, which makes sense, given the name of the club. She also noted some attend because they want the group support and others because they want to be surrounded by like-minded people. As Sindy put it, the group is so positive it’s infectious.
Ultimately for Sindy, whoever it is, she feels she is there to help you achieve your goals. Maybe you hit your target and leave the club, and that’s just fine with Sindy. Sometimes people stay, sometimes they go and come back, and sometimes they leave and feel confident enough to keep going alone. I got the genuine sense that all Sindy really wants is for as many people as possible to be able to cook healthy food for themselves, and understand how to exercise properly. From my own experience of KSFL, the age range of members runs from early 20’s to early 80’s! The class is predominantly female, though there are a few men, myself included obviously, who attend occasionally. Personally I wish more men would attend because there is no reason not to. There’s nothing in the exercises that is specifically aimed at one gender, and Sindy always gives multiple options for different abilities. Health and fitness is not exclusive to women, and men don’t always have to exercise just to get super ripped, and frankly, from the exercises we do I’m toning up rather nicely thanks very much!
Getting back to Sindy, I asked the question I hate asking, because it sounds like I’m doing a job interview; where does she see herself in five years? After a brief pause to ponder upon this, Sindy’s eyes lit up and she declared that her she wants her own facility, with a healthy eating restaurant and exercise studio. In an ideal world she wants everything under one roof; chiropractors, osteopaths, beauty therapists, fitness gurus, and nutritionists, so as a community we can in her words “spread the love”. I love the idea, and for one would support the ‘clean’ café where I can eat good quality, KSFL friendly food. That said, Sindy has, on evidence of my photos alone, asked me whether I’d be her chef in the kitchen!
“Oh gosh, that’s hard for me,” Sindy squealed when I asked her to promote her business in only one sentence. A few seconds of panicked silence suddenly led to her blurting out “Eat clean, train smart”, which is her slogan. That will do nicely, I replied.
To conclude my interview under my guise of Banbury Pulse, I asked if Sindy is a Banbury local, which she is, and I therefore asked what it is she likes about living here, considering that apart from a brief break, she has, like me, lived here her whole life. It’s a pretty place, she told me, somewhere where families can be raised, and where there is a great deal of community spirit. We had actually been chatting, off the record, before the interview, about the area, and one thing she had noted was how close to nature we are in Banbury; it takes only a few minutes to leave the bustle of the town and be out in beautiful countryside.
Like me, she felt Banbury has had its rough patches in the past, but that things have been steadily improving and will continue to do so. I think with people like Sindy in our midst that is most certainly the case.
To finish I would like to add my own input, because I have personal experience of KSFL. I love it because there’s no calorie counting, no prescribed meals, no pressure to starve yourself, or push your body beyond its limits. Just sensible food and regular exercise.
The variety of the lessons are an essential part of my continued attendance. Two days a week it’s kettlebells, and the other three are HIITs (High Intensity Interval Training). But you never truly know what set of exercises you’ll be doing day in day out, and there always seems to be new moves to learn, especially with the ever changing kettlebells sessions. It also doesn’t have to be done at the classes. Sindy has numerous online workouts, and even if you only do a 10 minute session at home in the morning, you will still see amazing results, as evidenced by many of my fellow KSFL crew!
In very much the same way, the variety of food you can make is a true draw for me. Sindy says fat loss and healthy living is 80% diet, 20% exercise, so this is a huge part of what makes KSFL work. I have two of the KSFL cook books, the elimination plan and clean curries. Both have provided numerous delicious meals that have been enjoyed not only by me, but by my wife, who is not a member of KSFL. Indeed the curries have been a huge hit every time I try a new one!
We are encouraged by Sindy to take a quick snap of our three daily meals and post them on the private KSFL Facebook page. This is a brilliant way to challenge yourself to make what we call ‘clean’ meals, i.e. following the rules of the KSFL diet. You could call it positive peer pressure!
The Facebook page also allows members to admit when they have had moments of weakness, which will always result in responses of comfort and support, or to share personal successes. The group dynamic is so warm and welcoming, you cannot help but be mentally boosted by everyone trying their hardest to change their lifestyle for the positive.
In my mind, although calling it Kick Start Fat Loss is accurate, (losing 2.5 stone without even thinking I was trying still amazes me), I think it could also be called Kick Start Healthy Living. That’s precisely what it has done for me. I now see this as my life; it’s just how I function. It’s not a short term fix, and I’m certain that everyone who adopts the KSFL method will never truly let it lapse fully, because the benefits are obvious to see.
I for one am so glad I met Sindy, who via KSFL and her overall positivity and enthusiasm has driven me forward on this journey to the point I am happier, healthier, and much fitter than I ever dreamed.
