Mental fitness as important as physical, says Salim Merchant

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Salim Merchant of the legendary duo Salim-Sulaiman has been composing music with his brother for two decades. They continue to churn out award-winning Bollywood tunes, and are perhaps best known for the title song from Chake De! India (2007), Mar jawan from Fashion (2008) and Baari barsi from the 2010 film Band Baaja Baaraat. As he juggles music, films and family, Merchant, 45, tells us how he keeps fit.

Fitness is being healthy and living each day with enthusiasm and an optimistic attitude. Everybody is different and it’s important to find the exercise that suits you. I have found that Pilates does wonders for me, so for the last six months I’ve been doing Pilates for 30 minutes a day, and another 15 minutes of weight-training.

I love to play turf cricket; I play once a week, as I like to sweat it on the field.

I eat healthy food and stay away from junk food. I believe in moderation. Most days, it’s home-cooked food for me.

I start my day with a green juice of kale or spinach with banana. I don’t believe in dieting or starvation. I avoid sugar. I do have one small piece of dark chocolate daily. I like it and it’s good for you.read more

I eat everything – rotis, rice, dal, curd, veggies, chicken. I avoid raw food and after sundown I don’t eat carbs. In the evening, I need a cup of tea with biscuits; this is my weakness. I drink 3 litres of water daily. I also have organic honey with water, every day, as it’s good for the throat.

If I’m hungry between meals, I snack on almonds, cashews, walnuts, peanuts and roasted channa. I indulge in ice-cream once in a while, which is my guilty pleasure, and butter chicken is my favourite when I eat out.

I believe that mental fitness is as important as physical fitness. I am blessed that music is my passion and my work too. Music connects me with a positive energy and connects me with my inner myself.

I’m a calm person; I don’t crib and complain. One should aim to be content and expect to work hard. Feeling positive and excited about what you’re doing matters so much. And I believe being good to others helps you stay healthy.

Finally, I set my phone aside for at least part of every day — when I’m creating my music and also when I’m sleeping.