Getting in shape with a diet
 

Having never flown the distances it takes to go from Sea to London, except that long distance one to the great rice paddy many years ago, what diet changes maybe 3 days out should you go through to get yourself cleaned out and then get your strength up for the hours in the air?
Any special meal plans that all you FF use?
Should you even get that belly and digestive track of yours prepared for what appears to be drastic changes ahead and what is the best way to do it.

I don't change anything w/my diet before a trip.

No alchohol on the plane, lots of water is about all I change.

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I agree with Sweet Willie. Stay away from the booze and drink lots of water the day you are flying. Seems to work for me.

3 days isnt really very much time to get in shape, however some people enjoy going on a long walk/run before the flight. The fresh air is good for you, and you are nicely tired so you can hopefully get some sleep. Also, what I like to do, take a shower and puy on some fresh clothes befor leaving for an overnight flight. That way you will not feel quite so yucky wearing the same clothes all night.

Wear comfortable, loose fitting clothes and drink plenty of fluids. Also, bring plenty of reading material in case you can't sleep. There is nothing worse than being stuck with a bad movie selection and not being able to sleep. Plenty of books and magazines will keep you occupied. If you ae going to London for the first time, get some city specific literature, maybe a crime novel set in London or similar ? I always find this is a nice way to get into the mood for your trip.

Hope this helps and have a great flight, always glad to help a vet.

I don't know that this answers your question, but there is an anti-jet lag diet I've read about in travel mags. I've never tried it, but I've certainly seen it written about a lot and some people seem to find it very effective. Here's a link to the basic idea:

http://performance.netlib.org/misc/jet-lag-diet

My Mother In Law travels from London to the West Coast often. She tries to eat very light for the two days before she travels. I think it works out well for her because you end up changing your sleeping and eating pattern, doing all that sitting, and changing time zones. I don't think she has a 'specific diet'....just eat very light.

It's the hydration that makes the diff.....even if you do drink, or especially if you drink onboard, plenty of water makes all the difference in the world, more so than changing your food intake. I can handle the alcohol as long as I drink lots of H20- after all, when I get an upgrade to 1st class, I WILL take advantage of the free alcohol!! I am an FT'er, for cryin' out loud!! Also, load up on vitamins, they really seem to help as well.

Here's my advice on long-haul flights:

- Drink plenty of water. Bring your own bottles of water so that you will always have plenty. Even if, and especially if, you drink alcohol before/during/after your meal, follow it up with water. This is always good advice with alcohol, and especially so in the high altitude, low humidity environment of the aircraft cabin.

- Get out of your seat and stretch your legs, even when you don't have to go to the bathroom. Doing this every hour or so (when awake) will make a big difference. Request an aisle seat so that you can get up without disturbing your neighbor. On long flights, I'll take at least one "seat break" where I stand in the galley or near one of the doors for 15 minutes or so - it helps a lot.

I think a lot depends on whether or not you generally have problems with jetlag. I tend to not have problems in the outbound direction, as I'm excited about getting to whereever I'm going. The only issue I ever seem to have is on the return segment. As such, I don't worry about adjusting sleep or eating schedules in advance. But, if someone has a known issue with jetlag such that it will interfere with their trip in a big way, perhaps some of the more involved remedies that others have suggested would be in order.

One thing that hasn't often been discussed is electrolytes -- getting enough sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium.

When you drink lots of water constantly, your body runs low on electrolytes because you are urinating them away.

On a long, long plane trip, when you are drinking a lot of water, it is valuable to be eating fruit, high in potasium, and regular food which normally contains plenty of sodium.

I also tend to start eating lots of small snacks all day, rather than sitting for 2 or 3 big meals. This gets my body in a rhythm of evenly working metabolism. Continue this pattern on the plane, and when you get there, and you'll have less of the ups and downs of energy we're used to in everyday life (i.e., feeling sleepy in the afternoon after a big lunch, etc.). It allows your body to adjust to the new time zone more easily, because the body has less to reset.

I agree HIGHLY with the H2O requirement. I bring one of those big 1.5 litre bottles of water with me and usually drink the whole thing on the flight, a bit at a time. This keeps me from having to ask the waitress AGAIN for more water every hour, and I don't have to wait till she can get back to me.