Fitness On Toast was founded in 2013 by Faya Nilsson, a half-Swedish half-English personal trainer. Initially, it was an honest place to share healthy & unusual recipes with her clients, to offer nutritional tips, to communicate informative workout ideas, and to curate ‘fitness fashion’ looks. It’s since grown significantly beyond that thanks to her inspirational ethos, innovative content, and the dedication to beautiful imagery.
She has featured in the likes of Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Harpers Bazaar, Red, Stylist, as well as fitness publications such as Men’s Health & Women’s Health.
FitnessOnToast.com has won both the Cosmopolitan and UK Blog Awards ‘Best Lifestyle Blog’ accolade. Teen Vogue say that FitnessOnToast.com ‘delivers the perfect union of fitness and food’, and Harpers Bazaar remarks that ‘Faya is quite literally, a picture of health, posting beautiful images of her exercising all around the world’.
The site remains a platform upon which Faya continues to share the knowledge and experience she’s gained as a personal trainer with people all over the world who are just as passionate and enthusiastic about striving for a healthy, sustainable lifestyle.
“I’ve always wanted Fitness On Toast to be an unbiased, honest, organic, free-range view on ‘fitness, nutrition, travel and fashion’, in a single, friendly and accessible place. I still think it’s unique for that!”
In case you’re wondering about the name, Fitness On Toast is a light-hearted play on words – after Faya moved to London from Stockholm, she discovered (through reading clients’ food diaries) just how many meals are served ‘on toast’ ; cheese-on-toast, eggs-on-toast, beans-on-toast, … she thought she’d introduce some fitness on toast instead!
Faya Nilsson, the young and high-spirited fitness trainer and entrepreneur, walks us through her incredible professional journey in an exclusive interview with Namita Nayyar, President Women Fitness.
Full Interview on Next Page!
All content on this site is copyright of Women Fitness and no part of any article found on this site may be reproduced without an express permission and highlighted, do follow link crediting http://www.womenfitness.net/ or preferably the original page as the source. This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2017 Women Fitness
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
You are the founder of the fantastic blogfitnessontoast.com, which has won both the Cosmopolitan and UK Blog Awards ‘Best Lifestyle Blog’ accolade, along with many other awards. Walk us through your incredible journey and tell us how it all began?
Ms. Faya Nilsson:
I’ve been a personal trainer for over 10 years, and I wanted to find a way to help clients out beyond our 1-hour slot together. There was so much more ethos to share with them that just couldn’t get covered in the session, so I whipped up FitnessOnToast.com to pick up the slack. The aim was to give clients views on fitness trends, healthy recipe ideas, options for Active Travel, and fitness fashion. Over the years, the content has appealed to others beyond that original audience, and I’m extremely happy to call it my job to share that with like minded readers!
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
You are a Personal Trainer, Fitness Blogger & Author. How do you manage such a busy lifestyle?
Ms. Faya Nilsson:
I’m still getting used to the Author label (http://bit.ly/fitin3book is my recently-launched book!). Overall though, I love to feel busy, and this is a job that very much keeps you busy! Ultimately, whilst you’re self-employed and can choose your hours, it helps you to develop new skills all the time – you’re constantly learning how to communicate on different media, practicing photography, videography, familiarizing yourself with new technologies and staying at the leading edge of what society cares about right now – the health and wellness revolution! I wrote a blog post on it HERE: http://fitnessontoast.com/2015/08/24/blogging-101/ . It’s worth noting that it’s not easy, and regular press trips come with a punishing schedule that totally wipes you out, especially with jet-lag layered on top; but after a short recovery period, it’s totally worth it to meet great new people and work with some world class companies!
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
What exercises comprise your fitness regime or workout routine?
Ms. Faya Nilsson:
Overall I’m a huge advocate of weight training and train at least 3 times a week myself. Aside from that I love HIIT training, especially when dispatched outside. I’ll find a steep hill and run up and down it like a Duracell bunny! Finally, I love yoga, especially Ashtanga.
Whilst I like to mix it up, if you’re looking for my top crucial body weight exercises, they’d be…
a) The humble Squat is a compound movement (employing multiple muscle groups simultaneously), one which we all perform everyday when whilst [reluctantly] getting out of bed – the basic movement has some mighty powers! The exercise targets your legs, gluteus, and core, and is the most remarkable calorie burner when done right. The afterburn effect, which continues to have a metabolic effect long after the workout is over, is a particularly strong feature, to my mind!
b) Then there’s the classic Deadlift – An oldie but a goodie, one which targets your legs and glutes as well as your torso and lower back.
c) Finally, there are pull ups, the mother of all compound movements. This is an amazing exercise – it’s almost unparalleled in the way it helps develop a functionally strong back and arm complex. Depending on your grip positioning (wide / narrow / overhand / underhand / neutral / spread), they are very versatile indeed, and quite exhausting!
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Do you take some special diet or have a strict menu that you follow to remain healthy and physically fit?
Ms. Faya Nilsson:
I’m a pescatarian, so I eat fish and veggies. My ethos has always been heavily influenced by my upbringing in the rural Swedish countryside, and because of that, it frames everything I do in my efforts to lead a sustainable, healthy life. We enjoy thousands of miles of coastline stretching up and down the country, so fresh fish is in abundance. Given how lean a source of protein that is, it forms a large part of our diet, and is naturally rich in healthy fats, which I dig into a little more in the book. For me, ‘healthy’ is about variation and existing flavors proving healthy does not need to be bland and or boring. There’s also a fixation with baking; Swedes are famous ‘cake snobs’, and a huge majority of the world’s cardamom supply gets consumed on our pastries! So it’s about occasional enjoyment as well as healthy staples!
Videos
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Who has been your greatest influence and motivator in the field of fitness?
Ms. Faya Nilsson:
No one single person; there are so many people active in this very passionate community. There are all sorts of figures from whom I continue to take so much inspiration but athletes such as Victoria Pendleton or Jessica Ennis are massively inspiring. I follow nutritionists, travel destination sites, body builders, fashion personalities, other fitness bloggers, magazines etc. A real smorgasbord of content creators, who all contribute to that motivated feeling I take away!
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Advice to the inspiring and budding fitness trainers, they shall like to know from you, what they should do for their climb to ladder of success in field of fitness?
Ms. Faya Nilsson:
I started my career in fitness as a Personal Trainer, and used to open my local Esporta gym at 06:00 every day, cleaning machines, manning stations, and putting in 12 hours of hard toil each day. I don’t stick to a formula other than ‘do your best and work hard’. I do my online job as well as I can, not to climb for success, but to share a message about which I’m passionate, with other like-minded people and those who want to live a healthier life.
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Considering your passion for healthy eating, tell us your Top 3 Favorite Healthy Meals.
Ms. Faya Nilsson:
OK!
i) Breakfast; Eggs from the Forest (check that recipe out HERE http://fitnessontoast.com/2015/10/25/eggs-from-the-forest/)
ii) Lunch: Grilled Salmon, Lentils & Quinoa (check that recipe out HERE http://fitnessontoast.com/2013/12/08/festive-grilled-salmon-lentils-quinoa-and-avocado/)
iii) Dessert: Avocado Chocolate Mousse (check that recipe out HERE http://fitnessontoast.com/2015/05/18/avocado-chocolate-mousse/)
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Give us your Top 5 Tips for women wanting start a fitness blog.
Ms. Faya Nilsson:
Lucky you ask, as I wrote a blog post about exactly this! You can see that here: http://fitnessontoast.com/2015/08/24/blogging-101/
It’s not an easy pursuit, and many blogs which are started around this time of year have only 2-3 months of life in them before their authors discover how hard it is to keep up the energy! It is well worth continuing with it though, as it’s a journey that’s offered me a whole load of experiences I’d never have enjoyed otherwise!
Videos
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
Share with us your Top 6 Easy Weight loss tips.
Ms. Faya Nilsson:
I’m not about weight loss, and I don’t believe that it’s an ‘easy’ process. I prefer to focus on a healthy, sustainable lifestyle and there are 3 parts to that. Starting is absolutely the hardest part! When I see a new client for the first time, I always say that there are 3 parts to keep in mind when starting out, precisely as I lay out in my book Fit in 3: The Scandi Plan which simply gives you the key knowledge, and holds your hand as you start off your fitness journey!
Part 1) Training: I’d say that it’s all about being SMART; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-oriented. HIIT (high-intensity interval training) is a wonderful way to dispatch an intense workout in a short space of time, which delivers a fantastic cardio experience without having to give up dull hours to a treadmill. Also, I’d suggest trying weight training as well as bodyweight exercises which you can do anywhere! I’m talking about pull ups, squats, press-ups, and lunges; and thereafter progressing to strength training using weights.
Part 2) Nutrition: knowing what you eat, when you eat it, why you should be eating it, and how to stay on track with your aspirations – that’s all key. Understanding the ‘why’ of food will shed a whole new light on the nourishment you put into your body. This is why Fit in 3 contains 60 delicious, quick and easy recipes.
Part 3) Mindfulness: an awareness of how to de-stress, to relax, to recover, to practice activity which makes you change the pace of your day. Also, a pursuit of delicious sleep!
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
With a strong subscriber base on your Instagram and Twitter Accounts @fitnessontoast how does it feel that you are able to influence the healthy lifestyle of so many individuals?
Ms. Faya Nilsson:
It’s extremely exciting. I started on the path of fitness precisely because I love the concept of healthy living. It was my upbringing in Sweden. It continues to be my passion now. I train clients. I write a blog, and go on some fun adventures! If I can help a few people live sustainably healthy lives in the meantime, all the better!
Ms. Namita Nayyar:
What do you wish to say about the website Womenfitness.net and message for its visitors?
Ms. Faya Nilsson:
I guess just to share my ethos! To my mind, a healthy lifestyle is sustainable, balanced and aware. For years I’ve seen that the only lifestyle which delivers continuous results, and gives you an ability to live happily is a sustainable one; one that’s not about bursts of short-term dieting and a single month of working hard at the gym, but rather one where you simply work your training sessions into the normal rhythm of a week. Similarly, a healthy lifestyle is one that doesn’t restrict or demonize the things which make you happy – for me, that’s chocolate and patisseries – but rather includes them as part of an all-round inclusive diet.
The aware part is an extra layer that helps you make smarter choices; it’s about understanding the basics, such as how and when to train, how much and what quality of sleep you might like, what are ‘good fats’, how to identify different types of sugar in your foods, how to measure your activity and learn from your intake of food… In essence, if you’re training regularly, able to enjoy your treats, getting the right amount of sleep, and give yourself a solid foundation of knowledge with which to tackle a healthy lifestyle, you’re on track for the rest of your life!
To know the latest from Faya Nilsson, Follow her on
- https://www.instagram.com/fitnessontoast/
- https://twitter.com/FitnessOnToast
- https://www.facebook.com/FitnessOnToast
Or check out her website: http://fitnessontoast.com/
Women Fitness Team thanks Faya Nilsson for giving her valuable time for this interview, enlightening us and our viewers and quenching the thirst of her fans to know more about her.
Videos
All content on this site is copyright of Women Fitness and no part of any article found on this site may be reproduced without an express permission and highlighted, do follow link crediting http://www.womenfitness.net/ or preferably the original page as the source. This interview is exclusive and taken by Namita Nayyar President womenfitness.net and should not be reproduced, copied or hosted in part or full anywhere without an express permission.
All Written Content Copyright © 2017 Women Fitness