LivingAfterWLS Digest
Summer Living-Having a Post-WLS Blast!
Play Fair, Play Smart, Have Fun!
May 24, 2011
LivingAfterWLS, LLC - All Rights Reserved
The "official" start of summer is just around the corner with Memorial Day on May 30. For many of us that marks a change in weather and a welcome change in daily routine. Summer brings more time out-of-doors and more gatherings with family and friends. For me summer brings the illusive pursuit of voluptuous overflowing gardens as my mind conjures magazine-worthy flower borders and vegetable beds while my high-elevation climate yields humbling mediocre results. But each year with grit determination I pursue the gardener's dream and make the most of our short season.
I have been gardening for about the same amount of time as I have been living with my weight loss surgery. As a morbidly obese person I read about gardening and admired the gardens of others but my overweight body kept me from actually gardening. I know you can relate because most of us go into surgery looking forward to doing things that our weight has made impossible to do. Since surgery in 1999 I've enjoyed many seasons of gardening and learning. The first year I didn't understand that being in the sunshine and being poorly hydrated would result in dumping syndrome -- the first symptom was dizziness. I didn't know that the sugar in barbecue sauce would make me sick and even cause dumping. And eating healthy all natural grapes one-after-another was a sure way to sugar overdose (see Grapes & Glycemic Index article below). Like a gardener working against the climate to cultivate plants that don't belong I was cultivating practices that didn't work with my WLS. This made my first summer or two after surgery frustrating and sometimes miserable. For me the learning curve - in the garden and with WLS - has been steep.
In today's Weekly Digest we share several articles full of information to improve your summer as you are LIVING after weight loss surgery. I hope your learning curve is shortened as you benefit from my mistakes! So please, take a look and refresh your skills so you can enjoy the summer and thrive!
And if anyone has advice for growing hydrangea or hibiscus at 7,000 feet elevation drop me a note!
Come Rain or Shine - We are all in this together!
Kaye
KayeBailey@LivingAfterWLS.com
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