April Whole24: Days 1 - 5 Highlights

I've done charts, (almost) daily updates, and long weekly recaps... but this time, I think I'm going to keep it simple!  The first few days have been fairly uneventful and frankly, I forgot to take many food pics, but here are a few highlights from the first few days of my Whole24:

Caramelized Italian Pork Chops with Sweet Onion Jam - so easy and delicious!

• I never went through a horrible detox period (aka the hangover from The Whole30 Timeline) this time around.  I'm guessing this was because my diet beforehand wasn't awful and some well timed coffee (caffeine) and sweet potatoes (carbs) probably helped too.
• Although I didn't have any headaches or "carb flu" symptoms, my skin looked pretty crappy the first few days.  It mostly cleared up by day 5.
• I definitely experienced the "kill ALL the things" feeling on day 4.  Thankfully Dave was aware of the reason I was being a total grump and just laughed at me, which made me laugh at myself. 

• I miss chocolate!  I usually have a small piece after lunch and I'm really missing it.  I also really wanted to eat some while I was grouchy.  No emotional eating for me.
• I made this Shepherd's Pie for the first time and it came out great!  I cut the sweet potato quantity in half and added some cauliflower mash to the top.  I will definitely be making it again.
• I love kombucha!  That's all I have to say about that.

• Sleep has been a huge priority for me lately, even before this week.  I've been getting at least 7 hours, usually closer to 8, and I've really noticed a difference.  I haven't been relying on coffee and tend to only drink a small cup once in a while.
• I'm rereading It Starts With Food.  The first time I read this book, I remember feeling really excited about the information.  It goes through the science of the Whole30 and I feel like I need a refresher!
• Someone call the Whole30 police, I'm breaking one of the Whole30 rules on purpose!  I decided to keep weighing myself daily to see what actually happens to my weight throughout the program.  Quite simply, I'm a nerd.  I like collecting data, graphing the results, and analyzing the trends.

In other news, I posted about installing a fence back in November (which prompted quite the debate on facebook) and now we're finally pulling the trigger!  We decided to go with the split rail wood since it's half the price.  We think it matches the feel of our neighborhood better than the aluminum as well.  Our fence will be installed on April 15th and 16th.  I'm so excited.  I'm picturing Dave and myself enjoying a cool beverage on our back deck with a steak sizzling on the grill and the doggies romping around together in the yard below.  It's going to be awesome.

Happy Easter, Happy Passover, Happy Weekend!