A flabby mid-section is notoriously hard to shape up, and it often comes down to stress. Even if you eat well and exercise, leading a stressful lifelstyle can stop you losing inches.

When the body is under long-term physical stress, levels of the hormone cortisol shoot up, which can cause your body to hold onto fat around the waistline.

Cortisol effects appetite, causing you to crave sugary, high fat foods. These foods stimulate the brain to release neurotransmitters such as serotin and dopamine which, although soothe stress, are bad news for your body.

To counter the effects of cortisol, get yourself some consistent, solid sleep (ideally seven to nine hours a night) to allow your body to relax and recuperate.

You can also try stress-soothing foods such as oily fish, which helps regulate cortisol, or turkey, which boosts serotonin.

And, if that isn’t enough to make you want to chill-out and put your feet up, a recent study by Columbia University Medical Centre found the effects of stress are as damaging to your heart as smoking five cigarettes a day!