Ms. Namita Nayyar: Few years back you were five sizes larger and weighed 20 kilos more in fat.You remodeled yourself on the mantra of Start Living Right and developed a fitness and dietary plan according to the most up-to-date information available, and then committed to it. Of Dutch-Lebanese descent, you became one of the leading Arab fitness models. Tell us more about this spectacular transformation of yours?
Ms. Maya Nassar: After gaining a significant amount of weight, I became very insecure and self-conscious. This inspired me to take things to the next level and prove to myself that I am capable of changing for the better. I wanted to transform from being too insecure to walk around on the beach to stepping on stage next to top fitness models.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: Fitness Modelling is all about bold photo shoots. What advice you wish to give to the women of today to be body confident in order to do such bold modeling?
Ms. Maya Nassar: My advice would be to relax in front of the camera, have fun and simply be yourself. It is important to feel comfortable and at ease. The next best thing it to choose a professional photographer that will make you feel relaxed. If you are not comfortable with your photographer, it will reflect in the images of the photo shoot. At the same time, I advise women to meet with their photographer before a photo shoot to discuss the concept, ideas and what will happen on the day of the shoot. This will make the photo shoot a great experience and help to produce top quality photos.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: Tell us about your endeavour of launching “Start Living Right app” – a top ranked Apple Store download for Lebanon?
Ms. Maya Nassar: As I trained for my first fitness competition, I documented my diet and training on my personal Facebook page. This trigged a lot of interest from my Facebook friends and gave me the idea to start a website where anyone can go and get advice about health and fitness. My website startlivingright.com became very popular and started getting around 8,000 hits a month. In March 2015, I launched a mobile version of my website with more tools and information to help anyone, anywhere in the world for free with advice and support about nutrition, health and fitness.My application became the first fitness app in Lebanon and has been ranked number one by the Apple store many times competing with international apps. My application has also been endorsed by the Lebanese minister of sports. It can be downloaded for free by searching for “startlivingright” in any smartphone store.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: Elaborate on the personalized concept of “Personal Training” that you offer online?
Ms. Maya Nassar: My mobile application contains detailed training programs which are linked to animated exercise illustrations for all fitness levels. They target all the muscles in the body from head to toe.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: Tell us how you felt before and after winning the People’s Choice Award at 2015 Pure Elite UK Championships in fitness modeling?
Ms. Maya Nassar: Before the competition, I was extremely nervous and did not know what to expect. There were many beautiful women competing against me and I did not know if I would even place. I also felt extremely anxious the entire week leading up the competition. The competition was great fun and I met so many friendly people. I always see it as me against myself. It doesn’t matter whether or not I win, all that matters is that I reached my goal and got into the best shape of my life. I ended up winning three trophies at this competition and one of them was the People’s Choice Award. It is one thing to be selected by the judges but a whole other experience to be chosen by the audience from out of more than 200 competitors. I felt extremely happy, overjoyed and relieved that my hard work had paid off.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: You have been associated with NGO Maryam & Martha to create strategies attuned to women who have sought refuge in shelters and also you serve on the board of directors of ‘Animals Lebanon’ the largest animal welfare NGO in Lebanon they are all dear to your heart, tell us how you have been able to achieve and quench your thirst of giving back to the society through this endeavor of your?
Ms. Maya Nassar: I am very passionate about women’s rights and animals’ rights and do my best to support these causes as much as I can. I enjoy changing the lives of others and believe we make a life by what we give.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: In June 2015 you travelled to Yekaterinburg, Russia to run a health and fitness seminar hosted by the magazine Miracle. Tell us more about this experience of yours?
Ms. Maya Nassar: This was an amazing experience. I spoke in front of up to 100 people for several hours sharing my experiences and talking about a subject I am very passionate about. I know how it feels to be out of shape and know just how rewarding a lifestyle of health and fitness is. This is why I love helping other people and changing their lives the same way I changed mine.
Ms. Namita Nayyar: What do you wish to say about the website Womenfitness.net and message for its visitors?
Ms. Maya Nassar: My message to your visitors is to always believe in themselves and believe that they can achieve the impossible. With hard work, dedication and consistency, anyone can reach their ultimate goal.
To know more about Maya Nassar, Check out: http://www.startlivingright.com/
To get all the latest news follow her on her social networks:
- https://www.facebook.com/startlivingright
- https://www.instagram.com/mayanassar_fitness/
- https://www.pinterest.com/startlivingrigh/
- https://twitter.com/startlivingrigh
Women Fitness Team thanks Maya Nassar for giving us her valuable time for this interview and quenching the thirst of her fans to know more about her and making this interview happen.
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