BEIRUT: As a teenager, Maya Nassar was always self-conscious about her body. One day, when she was in her early 20s, she was trying on a pair of jeans that was a bit too big for her, and it wouldn’t get past her knees, and that’s when she knew that it was time for her to change her ways.
This inspired her to become who she is today; a fitness coach, former TV show host, top fitness model, while also being a mother.
She started hitting the gym six times a week and succeeded in controlling her cravings and staying away from cheat meals. “Now I know that I was on the verge of the extreme and it wasn’t really necessary to go through such intense measures to achieve my desired weight, but it worked,” she said.
Her extreme diet made her lose 20 kgs, and soon enough she started competing globally in fitness model competitions.
“To me, it’s never about winning, the fact that I’m eligible to participate is enough for me,” she told Annahar.
She has, nonetheless, won in many competitions. She recently won the Diamonds fitness beauty pageant by Pure Elite that’s based in the United Kingdom. She also won 1st place for bikini beach body, 2nd place as an international model theme wear, and 4th place for “fit mom.”
Nothing could stop her from sporting a healthy lifestyle and a fit body.
“Even when I was pregnant, I continued to eat right and exercise on a daily basis,” Nassar told Annahar.
After she lost weight and became fit, she wanted to share her experience with others, so she launched an app and a website to inspire and help others to better their lives just as she did.
She started blogging about her training routine and competitions on her personal blog, Start Living Right. Her website led to the creation of the Start Living Right fitness application, the first fitness application created in Lebanon.
Start Living Right has been ranked number one by the Apple store several times. The app offers users a variety of fitness tools: exercise diagrams, a fat loss calculator, calorie counter, videos, and articles.
She started giving free tips to people asking for her help and motivating them to start living right too.
This wasn’t enough for Nassar, and something was still missing: a gym.
“The gym I was going to was about to close down, and that’s when I got the idea to buy it from them and transform it into my own,” Nassar told Annahar.
She then bought the gym and did what she had set her mind too.
She even started receiving messages from people all over Lebanon who wanted to consult with her regarding their lifestyle habits but lived far away from the gym.
“That’s when we started designing diet plans and giving our clients exercise that they can do with minimum equipment at the comfort of their own homes,” she said.
Nassar considers herself lucky because she receives a lot of support from loving family members around her. “You can’t do it on your own,” she said, “and after all, it’s always about finding the right balance to juggle your busy schedule on,” she added.
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Welcome to “Naya,” the newest addition to Annahar’s coverage. This section aims at fortifying Lebanese women’s voices by highlighting their talents, challenges, innovations, and women’s empowerment. We will also be reporting on the world of work, family, style, health, and culture. Naya is devoted to women of all generations-Naya Editor, Sally Farhat:
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