I can count on one hand the times I've been sick in the past 24 months.

I'm not even just talking about being hung up in bed all day type sick.

The really bad kind of sick.

I haven't had a single one of those in as long as I can remember.

I'm talking about a little more than some sniffles, but definitely an inconvenience and annoying type of sick.

Where you don't want to go to work or go to the gym, but you're still able to.

It's been flu season by us, and there is a ton of junk going around.

I know people all around me that have been getting sick, both the pretty bad kind of sick and the annoying 'kind of bad' type of sick.

I haven't had to miss a day at work, at the gym, or even snooze an alarm due to not feeling well.

I'm not mentally tougher, and I'm not the David Goggins of not getting sick.

Do I have some superior immune system?

Maybe.

But probably not.

I'm sure there's some genetic component to it, but here's what I think it really is.

I'm very intentional about what I know my body does best with, and I say no to most things that don't align with that.

And when I ignore those things, I'm not as healthy.

How do I know that?

Because I unknowingly made myself get sick this past week.

And I think if I wouldn't have stopped it I would have gotten a lot worse.

So last week I wrote about turning 35 and the things I would focus on if my health and fitness were taken away overnight.

I mentioned how I'm feeling the best I ever have, and one of the things I've noticed is my lack of getting sick or getting hurt.

Well I ignored some of my advice, and I probably overdid it a little bit on the enjoyment side of things.

Over a few days I probably averaged 5k calories per day, enjoying:

• A 16 oz ribeye with loads of butter
• Some Culver's vanilla custard with chocolate brownies
• Home made French toast
• Legit loaded nachos
• Home made ice cream with chocolate peanut butter cups
• And a handful of other different foods.

Guess what happened?

I got sick.

And not even 'my stomach hurts because I'm not used to eating that much food' or the because I gave up sugar for a year type of sick.

But I'm talking legitimate feelings of being sick:

• My nose was running like crazy
• I had a cough
• My joints ached more
• My sleep was all messed up and I was tossing, turning, and waking up sweating
  • *This was actually confirmed by my Garmin. My HRV was super low and I probably averaged 1-1.5 hours LESS of deep sleep each night

Coincidence?

Probably not.

I might be gifted with a better than average immune system, but I've also seen this scenario play out many times in my life when I'm not intentional with caring for my body.

If you find yourself getting sick - either the 'hung up in bed all day' kind of sick, or the low level and annoying kind of sick - there are probably some lifestyle things you can change to build a more resilient immune system.

While you can't avoid ever getting sick, here are some ways you can boost your immune system (without fancy supplements, hand washing techniques, and certainly without wearing masks or living like a hermit):

1) Cut back on common triggers

There are foods that are more well known to cause inflammation in your body.

And all the sickness I was feeling after getting a little wild last week was secondary to inflammation from the foods I was consuming.

Nothing else changed, but the foods I was consuming led to inflammation.

And this literally led to my body having to use its energy to fight off an attack on my immune system.

So what triggers do you need to be aware of:

• Dairy
• Gluten and grains
• Sugar
• Alcohol

There are even other 'healthy foods' that can cause inflammation.

This is highly individualized and takes time to uncover.

What works for me might not work for you.

How do I know what those things are that work best for me?

Years and years of self-experimentation and awareness.

Unfortunately, there isn't really a shortcut for this.

This can't come from some blood test or ancestry testing.

Those things might give you some initial insight - but there is so much variability person to person that a test won't be able to tell you.

Start by limiting the foods listed above and see how you feel.

It's important to note, there is also a dosage factor with this.

If I have a little bit of cheese or yogurt I might be okay.

If I have a whole glass of milk I'll start to feel it.

If I have a big bowl of ice cream, which combines dairy and sugar, I'm certainly not feeling my best.

2) Workout and recover hard

You need to apply the appropriate amount of stress to your body.

This should involve some combination of strength training and conditioning work.

But this should also involve taking your recovery as serious as your training.

If you're always pushing it hard in the gym, and never giving your body rest, that's when sickness or injury can happen.

If that's you, consider incorporating some deload weeks.

If you're mastering recovery, but never going to the gym...or literally doing anything...

Start stressing your body some more.

Then maybe every time the wind changes directions you won't find yourself getting sick.

3) Improve your sleep-stress-sunlight

This goes hand and hand with recovery, and doesn't need a lot of explanation.

Consistent and high quality sleep, proper stress management, and more time outside in the sunlight are 3 things you can do to instantly boost your immune system (and performance).

If you don't think stress is a big deal, go find out if you have a cortisol belly.

4) Lay off the over-the-counter things you don't need, but make you feel better

Like I mentioned earlier, I'm not trying to go David Goggins on you.

I'm not talking about medications you actually need.

The things that are prescribed by your doctor and the things you actually need - keep taking those.

I'm talking about the things that simply make you feel better.

I'm not against feeling better, but I think reaching for something to relieve your symptoms every time they come on is a problem for two reasons:

1. Your immune system is designed to fight off whatever you're dealing with. I'm certainly no expert in how these things you take help get rid of headaches, joint aches, runny noses, or coughs - but I have a feeling it might interfere with how your body should actually be fighting these things off.
2. It can create a blurred awareness. If you're masking the symptoms, it's hard to know what's actually making you better or worse (see point #1). If you're frequently taking something, you might not even realize that dairy makes your congestion works, gluten makes your headache worse, or sugar makes your joints hurt.

5) Try an elimination diet

This one is probably the most extreme of all of them, but sometimes necessary.

An elimination diet (such as a Whole30), involves removing common triggers for a set amount of time.

I was amazed the first time I did this how much better I felt.

But I was even more surprised what happened when I added certain foods back in.

When I reintroduced dairy after eliminating it for 30 days, my skin instantly broke out in acne, my nose and throat felt congested, and I felt bloated. 

If you're going to do an elimination diet, it's important to strategically introduce food groups back in one at a time.

The biggest mistake I see people make, is they finish an elimination diet, and then they'll have pizza and ice cream, a big bowl of Italian food, or any kind of meal that has multiple potential triggers.

Was it the gluten or the dairy that caused me to feel this way?

The pasta or the wine?

The cream or the sugar?

Or a combo of those together?

If you're going to go the extreme route of an elimination diet, which I'm certainly not against, make sure you do the due diligence to introduce foods back in strategically.

I hope you can see how many variables can impact your immune system.

There are specific actions you can actually take to see a difference in your immune system.

You don't have to just settle for spending weeks each year feeling sick when flu season rolls around, or when your kids bring something home from daycare.

Sometimes getting sick is inevitable - but there are things in your control as well. Focus on those.