Finding the fine print I'm all for adding more protein to your diet. What I have a problem with is articles like the one I recently came across in The Washington Post that give people a skewed perception of what that really means. The headline read "Seeking a stable weight? Maybe you should bring home the bacon." The story then proceeded to tout the weight loss benefits of adding extra protein to the diet -- but the first page focused almost entirely on how adding bacon to your morning breakfast sandwich is the ideal way to do so. It's not until almost the end of that page that you reach the proverbial "fine print": This advice is based on results of several studies done over the past two years showing that eating a high-protein, low-fat diet helps aid weight management, and even spurs weight loss in many cases. But the key words here are "high-protein, low-fat" -- and bacon hardly qualifies. In fact, when you finally get to the real story, you see that the studies actually used very lean sources of protein like broiled skinless chicken breasts, egg whites, beans, etc. And even the most recent study -- the one that spawned the headline I told you about above -- added protein to the subjects' diets in the form of Canadian bacon, which is much leaner than the nitrate-laden variety most people who don't read beyond the first paragraph or two will assume the article is referring to. The lesson here is two-fold: First, if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Which is why it's so important to read beyond the headlines -- and even the first several paragraphs -- of health news stories that seem to be making sensational claims. Second, there's really no free ride when it comes to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. All of the studies outlined in the Washington Post article really came to the same conclusion: The best, most effective way to lose weight and keep it off is to exercise and to eat a healthy diet that includes a good amount of lean protein -- between 5 and 6 ounces per day -- along with ample fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and small amounts of healthy fats. It's not sexy or sensational...but it's also not rocket science. These are things that each and every one of us can easily do. Our health -- and our waistlines -- will be better off for it. | 
