Tyler Brûlé > Try the one-third dinner rule and find a flat with no lift

An apartment full of Sprüngli Easter bunnies is a dangerous thing. My grandmother's Estonian "kringel" (traditional holiday saffron, cardamom and raisin bread) with lashings of salty butter, consumed over a five-day period, is an even more lethal combo for midriff and chin territory. Fortunately, I chose to celebrate the holiday in one of Europe's most "sportif" resorts and did my best to behave accordingly.

Fast Lane's mail bag gets all manner of odd inquiries. Recent reader requests have included a demand for a comprehensive shop listing for the chinos I mentioned some weeks ago (Incotex trousers are best sourced in Italy), drinking and dining tips for Tokyo (the yuzu cocktails at Bluestone in Aoyama and a multi-course steak dinner at Imahan) and my car of choice (I ride a bike or I'm driven). My most frequent query, however, is for a rundown of my daily sport regime. It's always flattering to receive letters asking "how do you stay in shape on the road" or "what's your secret for balancing travel and diet" - particularly when readers have nothing more to go on than a tiny head shot that was taken three years ago and may well betray the fact that I look like Humpty Dumpty from the neck down. The good news is I've managed to avoid ballooning to the proportions of that nursery rhyme character; the bad news is that sticking to a regime when you're on and off aircraft daily is no easy task.

I doubt my regime would ever find its way on to the Amazon best-seller list, land me on Oprah or be sanctioned by anyone remotely linked to the medical profession but it works for me (with a 1-1½kg margin for going temporarily off piste before getting my house back in order) and doesn't involve drugs, absurd dietary sacrifices or a suite full of exercise machines covered in dust.

Here are my 10 tools and tips for keeping toned:

1. The 35-minute morning run

Central Park or the Alster, snow or sun, gravel or grass, I kick-start my day with a 35-minute run four to five times a week. On good days I'm frisky enough to throw in a few one-minute sprints, on bad days I drag myself around Regent's Park. For reasons of security I leave my iPod at home and use my session to focus on the day, week and year ahead.

2. Asics trainers

I've tried Reebok, Nike and Adidas but over the past few years I have become a devotee of Asics running trainers. I wouldn't normally have much place for footwear that features large flashes of metallic silver with electric yellow trim but for the support and comfort of their top-of- the-range trainer I make an exception.

3. Howies' long-sleeve merino wool thermal tops

With a fingernail-size logo stitched on to the side seam, Welsh brand Howies's thermal top is one of the most discreet and functional athletic garments on the market. Ideal for chilly morning runs that don't require protective rainwear, they take up little space in the hold-all, dry quickly and don't retain odour like most synthetics. Order them in bulk.

4. When in America, eat a third of what's on your plate

Unless you're bulking up for sumo school, no one needs to consume the total contents of a contemporary American dinner plate.

5. When in Europe, eat half of what's on your plate

If your workday involves breakfast, lunch, post-work drinks and dinner meetings, draw an imaginary line down the middle of the plate and only eat from one side of the meridian. As for cocktails, drink whatever you like but give the nut bowl a swerve.

6. Ben

A year ago I started retaining the services of an ex-Royal Marine named Ben to push me that little bit faster and further around the park, force me to do loathsome resistance exercises and chat about the latest in advanced weapons guidance systems.

7. The trolley or the tray?

There's nothing worse than feeling stuffed at 36,000 feet, which is why I usually pass on the tray and opt for champagne for a starter, tomato juice for my main course and two glasses of merlot for dessert and slumber insurance.

8. Become a stairmaster

I didn't set out looking for a fourth-floor flat without a lift but two years on I'm convinced I have both a stronger heart and bum as a result of real estate choice.

9. A Polar watch for pace

One of the best inventions to come out of Finland since Alvar Aalto's stools for Artec, the Polar watch, complete with pedometer function, is the best device for monitoring performance and measuring achievements.

10. Korean bodyscrubs

Not for the modest or faint-hearted, a good Korean scrub not only peels off multiple layers of skin but an all-naked, public environment is also effective for serious self-assessment.