My Host for today is Roufaida, a personal fitness trainer. Roufaida is a 33 years old who was born and raised in Germany. She has been living in Qatar for the past 8 years and is currently working as a freelance personal fitness trainer.

Discover her keys to staying motivated, her exercise routine and her favorite go to meals.

How did you get started this field, which now your passion?

I always was into fitness, more like health and wellness. Back in my university days I stayed active by playing basketball and doing gymnastics. When I started working in Doha, I moved from the marketing field to admin. I wanted to learn more about the fitness field in a more professional way. I decided to take certified courses from IFA Co. in fitness instruction, personal training, kettle bell course, boxing, TRX and all the CPD. From there, my admiration for the field of fitness grew and it became a way of life and passion for me.

What is your on philosophy being fit and healthy?

It all starts in your brain, its a mental thing. The moment you begin to understand that this is your own body, it’s all what you have and realize that you have to take care of it to enjoy life, that should be the main driving force to staying fit and healthy.  Fitness and well being should be a way of life.

What is the right time for exercise?

Well, basically I do work out in the morning. I believe its the best time as the body keeps burning after the training is done. But that doesn’t mean not to exercise if you don’t have time in the morning. Also let me say that I like my clients to exercise minimum for one hour which will be divided to warm up, resistance machine, cardio.. and cool down. Again, if you don’t have that one hour, a 30-40 min will be fine.

For someone who is just getting into the mode of a healthier lifestyle and wants to incorporate fitness, what would your advice be?

You need to start slowly.. don’t change your food habits all at once so you give your body enough time to get used to the changes.

It will help to switch up to detox diet for 3 days to help the body get rid of all the unhealthy toxins then get back to the low-carb diet (for example). As this will create a shock to the body which will help to maintain your body weight as long as possible because people that loose weight fast, will gain it fast and you don’t want this yoyo effect.

A good detox recipe that I recommend is 2 liters of water with ginger and lemon daily for three days.

Your typical meal for: 
Breakfast: 3-4 boiled eggs, 2 of which are whole and 2 egg whites . I love granola with fruits and yoghurt, chia seeds, avocado, with all things that fills me up. My key with breakfast to stay full, get energized.

Snack: Protein bar/ Brown bread with something  light/ Pre-work smoothie

Sweet: Ice-cream

How do you keep your fitness knowledge up to date?

I read a lot, follow renowned instructors on social media and see what kind of exercises they do or new technique is out there.

Roufaida mentioned few names of the people she follows on Instagram, like:

Kayla Itnes kayla_itsines_, Reem Al-Muftah keys2balance , Obada Abdelal obada_92, Angelique angelic_angelique, Hanadi Ab Jones hhanaadi

How do you keep your clients motivated?

Once they hire me, their journey to a commitment life will start, It’s not easy but my job is to help them to get there. I always tell them “I’m only there for one hour but your responsibility is the other 23 hours”.

You mentioned that started taking yoga, that’s very different from Personal Training, where did the desire to learn and practice come from ?

My interest in Yoga started few years ago. I was fascinated by people who could do the handstand so easily, and move their body so fluidly. I watched lots and lots of youtube videos and then joined NIYA Yoga Studio. Yoga provided that sense of balance into my routine. Not only does it do magic for your flexibility, but it also relaxes your mind. People think yoga is easy and its very chill, its actually quite challenging and I like taking on challenges and learning new things.

When I look at you, I see you as an example of woman, whose priority is on self-love and working towards interior beauty rather than just the exterior. Am I right?

I believe that every woman has to think that she is her 1^st priority. I love to stay fit and I add my passion for make up to my look.

Speaking of beauty, Who is your beauty icon?

I love timeless beauty. I love Jenifer Lopez, she is 47 and look at her. Monica Bellucci is very pretty too.

Future plans, Where do you see your self in 3-5 years from now ? a dream you are looking to achieve?

I want to open a studio where we have free session for people to try what we have and join.

I would love to be inspiration to women out there. And I want to make more with make up.

 Special words for Healthy-spoons

You have to find the balance for your life, you don’t have to be super healthy like any other person. You have to see what works for your body, your mind, your schedule, and your pocket.  Because you want to be healthy, fit, tight, look and feel good. And good luck.

A special thanks to Sara Allouh, who have done this Interview on behalf of Healthy-spoons