Keeping fit while on the travel?

1. Keep your fiber consumption high

Fiber is easy to digest, keeps your system on track, and is an important part of a healthy diet. Luckily, in India, food is often high in fiber. So make sure you don't swap your roti for white bread or your poha for a morning bagel. Fruits are also great since they fill you up and happen to be healthy snacks. Unless you are a diabetic or on a strict diet, have at least two a day.

2. Eat more protein

Traveling is stressful for the body. And more traveling leads to more wear and tear. Since protein carries out the repair work, you need to make sure you consume adequate amount each day. If you are a strict vegetarian and also lactose intolerant, you need to carry a whey protein supplement with you to meet your daily protein requirement. Don't pay attention to those who say the importance of protein in our diet is overstated. If anything, many households in India, especially those opting for veggie diet, are suffering from severe protein deficiency.

3. Stock up on anti-oxidants and Vitamin B supplements

Along with protein, anti-oxidants also enable your body to combat free radicals and reverse the damage caused by daily wear and tear. Remember the acronym ACE. That's vitamins A, C, and E for you. All of which are important for your overall immunity, as well as that glow on your skin. Vitamin B supplements are also helpful in boosting your immunity.

4. Avoid packaged food

It's tempting to opt for shortcuts when you have a lot of travel to undertake. But resist it by carrying healthy snacks (fruits, nuts, etc.) with you. While it is convenient, packaged food contains too many artificial flavors and preservatives to be of much use. If you make eating that a habit, expect your health to deteriorate sooner than later and then you will have to work on fixing that instead. Why should you let things come to such a sorry pass in the first place?

Wherever you go, eat fresh food, even if it is nothing fancy. In fact, fancy and yummy should not be your criteria when looking for what to eat. Here are the points to note when you are selecting your meals and snacks:

· Should be fresh

· Should be easily available

· Your body should thank you for it

That's it. Save your energy (which you tend to use up a lot during traveling and handling life's many challenges) on something better than wondering about what to eat next.

5. Drink enough water

This one is a given. Drink at least 8 glasses of water a day and more if the weather is very hot or if you are having a particularly demanding day. This will also prevent dehydration and bloating on the plane although you may have to visit the washroom more often (but that's a small price to pay in the larger scheme of things).

Fitness mantra

1. Opt for strength training over cardio

Walking is a favourite with many of us, especially when we only have a few minutes we can devote to exercise each day. But here's one catch. While walking is great for the body and the mind, it's not the best primary exercise. When you don't have a lot of time to work out, it's best to go for the most strenuous type of exercise for best results. For that reason, a 20-minute strength training session (after a 10-minute warm-up, such as a short walk or sprint) is more effective than a cardio session of the same duration.

But what will happen if you don't have access to the gym and obviously can't carry any equipment around when you are traveling? Don't worry. Use your body weight as resistance. Here are some quick suggestions that can be accomplished in 30 minutes and will give you good results.

· The 7-minute workout: Three sets of 7 minutes each will challenge you tremendously and leave you exhausted, which is what a good exercise session should accomplish. It also has scientific backing, in case you were wondering.

· Yoga: Choose a demanding workout and hold your poses. Watch your breathing and form.

· Pilates: Choose a demanding workout. You will, obviously, build your way to it.

· Skipping rope: You can carry a rope with you wherever you go and always find the time for a few hundred jumps, right? Skipping is considered one of the best exercises and also one of the most effective ones for those trying to lose weight.

This, of course, is not an exhaustive list. But you get the idea that you ought to aim and push yourself for the best results within a short time.

2. Stretch more often

Yoga is good for frequent travelers since it helps you bend your body in all directions to keep it flexible and agile. Sitting a lot, whether on the airplane, on the train or in your chair at work, is damaging to our posture. Yoga sets that right and deep stretches also bring lightness to the body.

Look up some beginner's yoga sessions on YouTube and download a few videos to your mobile device. A great collection is available on the Internet to suit all needs and goals. Work out the sessions in your hotel room. You can accomplish a lot through yoga by investing just 30 minutes every day.

3. Breathe deeply

Traveling frequently in closed cabins and breathing in dry and stale air can snuff the glow out of your face, leaving your skin dehydrated as well. Deep breathing exercises, especially pranayama, can deal with this problem. For best results, make this a morning routine, regardless of the day of the week or whether you are traveling or not.

4. Meditate

Meditation is the best stress-buster and helps restore your focus. Create a playlist of meditation tunes and listen to them during those long hours on board a plane/train when you have nothing to do.

5. Sleep, sleep, and sleep

Nothing revives your energy level like good sleep. And the more you travel, the more you need to sleep well. If getting a full 8-hour sleep every night is eluding you, make it a habit to catch a few winks whenever you can. Mediation will also help as it improves the quality of sleep.

Incorporating the above into your routine will ensure that frequent traveling won't take its toll on you and you will stay healthy throughout your travels.