Book Nook: Belly busting high-protein diet

THE SIX-WEEK CURE FOR THE MIDDLE-AGED MIDDLE:The Simple Plan to Flatten Your Belly Fast!, by Michael R. Eades, M.D., and Mary Dan Eades, M.D. Three Rivers Press, 310 pp., $15.

More than a decade after publishing their 1997 bestseller, "Protein Power," the Eades -- physicians, TV experts and prolific authors -- found themselves getting pudgy around the waist with dreaded, dangerous belly fat. (Michael even had to wear a men's girdle for TV.)

Time to revisit what had worked before -- a low-carb, high-protein diet.

Like an increasing number of experts, the Eades decry conventional wisdom that eating less and exercising more is key to weight loss -- our metabolic systems slow down, sensing starvation. And they offer evidence that eating fat -- even maligned saturated fat -- doesn't make you fat.

THE SCOOPUnlike other low-carb diets, the Eades' calls for protein shakes with one meal at first. Later, you'll add more real food.

THE BOTTOM LINE If you just can't do without pizza and doughnuts, this isn't your plan.