Tuesday, October 18, 2011

A Diet Tip from Dr. Dan and a Yummy Recipe!

A little bit of background... Dr. Dan is the owner of Miracles Fitness in West Lafayette IN. He has a PhD in Health and Kinesiology. His primary areas of expertise are in personal training for special populations: athletes, pregnancy, blind, stroke recovery, Parkinsons, multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy, Fibromyalgia, Alzheimers, etc. Dan has helped me with my journey with Dercum's: from discovering intense workouts made my thighs get bigger to helping me find ways to maintain strength without worsening my DD symptoms. He regularly sends an email newsletter full of helpful hints regarding diet and exercise. Many of those can be used by us. He has graciously agreed to let me share parts of the newsletter with this site.

Here is one of Dr. Dan's diet tips:

Swap Sandwich Bread for Lettuce
Move over bread, lettuce is better.

It's time to re-define your sandwich. While bread has tradition on its side, lettuce wraps offer you weight loss and increased energy. Try my Tasty Tuna Lettuce Wraps recipe below.

Bottom line: Eating bread and other starchy foods always leads to extra pounds, so change your ways. Swap your sandwich bread for lettuce for 30 days and see how much you will effortlessly lose. I bet you'll feel more energetic after lunch too.


Tasty Tuna Lettuce Wraps
Who needs bread weighing them down? These tasty tuna lettuce wraps are so much better than a traditional tuna sandwich, and will leave you feeling light and lean. Use wild-caught Albacore Tuna packed in water.
Servings: 2

Here's what you need...
  • 1 (5oz) can Albacore Tuna, packed in water
  • 3 celery stalks, diced
  • 1 Tablespoon relish
  • 2 Tablespoons light mayonnaise
  • 2 teaspoons mustard
  • 2 teaspoons dried dill weed, plus more for garnish
  • dash of freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 cup purple cabbage, shredded
  • 4-6 butterhead lettuce leaves, washed
  1. In a medium bowl, flake the drained tuna with fork. Add celery, relish, mayo, mustard, dill and pepper. Mix well.
  2. Place lettuce leaves on plates, evenly divide cabbage on the leaves and then fill with tuna mixture. Sprinkle with dried dill weed.
Nutritional Analysis: One serving equals: 148calories, 7g fat, 434mg sodium, 7g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, and 13g protein.