Fighting Off Illness

I awoke this morning with a sore throat. It’s been forever since my last one, but I started to feel it percolating last night. I refuse to give in though; I don’t have time to be sick (how many times have you uttered this exact phrase?). I figure I can outsmart this. I invite you into my brain for the day; let’s walk though how, using the combination of nutrition, breathing, training and rest, I can knock this out.

My first move will be doubling up on some of the foods and beverages I ingest regularly. Not scientific, but proactive. For instance, instead of drinking a tall glass of water first thing this morning, I drank two. Because I love putting numbers on things, I’m going to assign a HBV (health boosting value) to each entry.

I’ll use a scale of -3 to + 3. A few examples:

9:30pm: Drove down PCH and road raged on a man who cut me off. Screamed at him when he wasn’t even looking in my direction (-3)

6:15am: Woke up after a blissful 8 hour sleep and turned on Dinah Washington (+3)

8:15pm: Spent 5 minutes in my hammock (+2)

Make sense? Okay, here goes my Sunday.

6:50am: Two 12 ounce glasses of H20 at room temp (+1)

7:00am: Handful of spinach, handful of arugula, three pieces of broccoli, 1 carrot (+1)

7:20am: 5 whole organic eggs with sea salt and cayenne pepper, scrambled with 2 cups of white and baby bella organic mushrooms, cooked with a pat of grass fed butter. Large French press, black organic coffee. 2 slices of Ezekiel toast with about a tablespoon of organic peanut butter (+1)

7:38am: Mug of tea. Fresh ginger, turmeric and lemon with about 8 ounces of water off the boil (+1)

7:58am: Made my sons’ breakfast; listened to Steel Pulse’s classic, “Earth Crisis” (+1)

8:30am: Sprint workout (+1)

10:30am: Power pose for 2 minutes (+1)

Update: Sore throat is completely gone. I’m feeling amazing.

10:35am: 10 minutes walking meditation, time in sun  (+1)

10:50am: Salmon filet, ¼ sweet potato, ½ beet, handful of arugula, handful of spinach, 20 ounces of water (+1)

11:00am: Commute to the movies in the car (-2)

11:30am: Movie with family (+1)

1:15pm: Giant salad with onions, jalapenos, chard, arugula, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, hummus, kidney beans, feta cheese, balsamic vinegar, chicken, quinoa, 20 ounces of water (+2)

1:45pm: Commute in the car (-2)

2:15pm: Apple, 12 ounces of water (+1)

3:00pm: 5 minutes of hammock time (+1)

3:30pm: One avocado with garlic powder and sea salt (+1)

5:00pm: 8 ounces of hot water with lemon (+1)

6:15pm: I made and had dinner with my sons. 2 chicken thighs, a large hunk of cauliflower, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, ¾ of a large sweet potato, organic Sriracha sauce, 16 ounces of water (+1)

9:00pm: In bed (+2)

The day is complete, I treated my body and mind well, and I’m feeling strong and ready to start the week early tomorrow.

Now, did I beat a cold? Probably not. More likely, my sore throat came from seasonal allergies or a dry throat. I can’t control the outcomes, but I can control my actions. I took steps I was proud of, and I trust you’ll consider taking similar ones the next time you wake up on the uncomfortable side of the bed.

Kill it this week, I believe in you.

Kap

One final thought as a Post Script. I set out today to follow the letter of my own law in an effort to feel superb, and I’m proud that I accomplished doing so. Most days, I fail here or there. My imperfections may be different than yours, but it’s all relative. My missteps pain me like yours pain you. In the end, it’s really our process that matters, and that’s what I’m encouraging you to refine. You’re inspiring me to be great, too, and I appreciate it more than you know.