IWS Interview – May Mashhour

Inspiring Women Series are to showcase some of the successful modest women out there, who succeed not inspite of their hijab but because of it.

May Mashhour is an embodiment of positive vibes. She is an adorable mom of 3 and one of Egypt’s successful and loved entrepreneurs. She is the Founder of Clean Bars Egypt, Home-made Healthy Bars for maximum overall well-being and guiltless pleasure.

When did you start wearing hijab? Tell us a little about your journey.

I wore hijab when I was 16, a lot of my friends were also wearing it at the time, so it was an easy decision to take. My family didn’t want me to take that step yet, they said you’re still too young, and you should wait until you get married or until you’re older or you will just take it off eventually. I think this step becomes harder by time, and if I had waited maybe I wouldn’t have taken the step, especially when nowadays more people are taking it off than putting it on, even in my own family.

Some women believe that hijab would be a hurdle for them to get married, but I truly believe that when you follow what God wants, God will guide you to the best there is for you.  Right after I wore the hijab I met my husband to be, and according to him, hijab was one of the main things that attracted him to me.

You have founded one of Egypt’s first and yummiest health bars , tell us how that started?

As a child I was never active, I used to go to practice in tears, then my mom quit trying to push me. Eventually I got married, had my 3 kids, and exercise was the last thing on my mind. My husband on the other hand is a fitness freak, and CrossFit was his favorite workout. I started to gain weight, and was really depressed about it. Slowly a gap started to grow between me and my husband; we didn’t have the same interests or life style and even when choosing trips it was difficult since he would choose more adventurous locations and activities while I couldn’t keep up.

Then I decided to change. I tried every kind of exercise out there, but I didn’t change my diet. I thought exercise was enough to see results, needless to say I found out that nutrition is important and a healthy lifestyle is 80% nutrition and 20% exercise!

I finally settled on Performance Training as my favorite workout choice. I started off with a struggle at first and didn’t have great self-confidence. But with Capt. Hussein Abdel Dayem’s support at IGNITE, I persisted. I needed a lot of protein intake and there’s a limit to how much chicken one can have in a meal so I had to look for alternatives. There were no protein bars in Egypt at that time, only imported ones that were expensive and full of preservatives. With my love for the kitchen, I started to make my own Protein Bars for post-workouts and Energy Bars for pre-workouts. Friends started asking me to make them some too, and before I knew it Clean Bars was born.

You are a mom of 3, how do you manage your work with family life?

My husband is a great help, he’s my rock and inspiration. My best tip would be to start your day early, get organized and stick to a routine. In our house, we all wake up at 6am, the kids get ready for school and I drop them off then head to my workout, aka “me time”. I exercise daily from 7-8, with an exception of one day a week for recovery. Then I head back home, shower get lunch ready and start working on Clean Bars till the kids get back from school, then I’m all theirs. My husband helps out sometimes with accounting and sales. All the kids exercise daily, and little Hesham also picked up gymnastics and swimming which he’s enjoying very much. Incorporating exercise and following a healthy life style helps boost your energy levels and you find yourself doing so much within a day. It actually helps you tolerate life’s wild turns, and see problems from another perspective, making them seem smaller and easier to overcome.

What sets Clean Bars apart from any other?

Well, we are the only real, non-processed, healthy bars in Egypt. The ingredients are all natural and all our products are honey sweetened, with no refined sugars added. We’re local and homemade, so even the nut butters we use are homemade with no preservatives or hidden ingredients. People often find it hard to believe that these bars are actually healthy because of how delicious they are!

Clean Bars is also a community of support for people seeking a healthier lifestyle not just athletes. We sponsor many sport events and help our customers make healthier choices. We started with protein bars but now our products range from granola bars to healthy snacks and kids-friendly cookies and brownies. Whether its weight loss, muscle building or just a healthy diet, Clean Bars is your companion.

What is your favorite Quranic Ayah and why?

قال الله تعالى : { وَمَن يَتَّقِ اللَّهَ يَجْعَل لَّهُ مَخْرَجًا وَيَرْزُقْهُ مِنْ حَيْثُ لَا يَحْتَسِبُ وَمَن يَتَوَكَّلْ عَلَى اللَّهِ فَهُوَ حَسْبُهُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بَالِغُ أَمْرِهِ قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا } [ الطلاق : 2- 3 ]‏

As with what happened with my Hijab and finding the love of my life, whenever you feel tempted to do things you know aren’t right, be reminded to stay on track and God will give you in return manifolds of what you gave up for his sake. This is real, it’s a promise from Allah. The outcome is always better than what you ever dreamed of.

Best advice you were given?

When my friends literally pushed me to start Clean Bars (thank you ladies, I love you!) I was afraid to take the risk, but with my husband’s support and their encouragement, Alhamdu Lillah now it feels good seeing all the people pleased with our bars and knowing how it helps them in their fitness goals and lifestyle.

If you could give one piece of advice to someone struggling with hijab, what would it be?

Allah looks at your heart and intentions. People look and judge you upon your appearance. Whose opinion matters most? Work on your relationship with Allah, and make tawakol, don’t worry about tomorrow, just work on now. I feel strong because of Hijab; I tend to crave challenges and enjoy persevering, just as I do with my hijab, my workouts and my work. Seeing so many slipping while I’m still holding on gives me a great boost of love and confidence. Hijab isn’t just what you wear, it protects me from things and places that would otherwise pollute my heart and soul.

I do have my downs though, don’t get me wrong. Especially around weddings and summer time. But then I tell myself: Would taking it off make me happy? What is happiness? Isn’t it being closer to the One you love? Why would I care about what anyone else thinks? I feel so blessed by many things in my life and I can’t stop to think that I’m showered with His love and protection because I strive to please Him no matter how hard the struggle is sometimes. Look at me and many others like me, we lead healthy happy and active lives, hijab was never the barrier and never will be. Dig deeper and heal your heart, renew your intentions and stay close to the One you love. ❤️