Cut just 100 calories a day.
According to research, that’s all you need to ditch to beat belly bulge. Dropping this amount from your daily intake – for instance one biscuit, a fizzy drink, or a glass of wine – will help you lose about 12 pounds a year. And it’s a cinch to stick to a plan that requires no actual dieting or deprivation.

Build muscle mass.
During a cardio workout, your body burns hundreds of calories, but your metabolism slows down almost instantly when you stop. After strength training, on the other hand, you burn fat for hours after. It’s recommended that you do three 45-50 minute sessions a week.

Run from fat.
One of the most effective ways to reduce flab around your middle is to jog it off. If steady running is not your thing, then try Interval training – constantly switching up the pace of your workout – will also help you lose weight, because it blasts more calories. For example, do two minutes of sprinting followed by a 60 second walk, then repeat for a half hour.

Eat good-for-you foods.
Your body is smart and it knows when it’s not getting any nutrients. So if you munch on processed foods like crisps and cakes, you’ll still be hungry. Munch regularly on fruits, vegetables, fish, low-fat dairy, and whole grains for an instant fix.

Have a high-protein breakfast.
Skip the sugary cereals. They’re too easily digested, which means they speed through your system. An egg-white omelette is a good choice. If you’re eating on the go, try unsweetened Greek yogurt with fruit and a dollop of honey or low fat cheese with whole-grain bread.

Don’t skip meals.
That will only set you up to overeat. Nosh on small portions every three to four hours to keep your metabolism running, so your body won’t panic, go into starvation mode, and stop burning calories – which is what happens when you haven’t eaten in a while.

Avoid a freak-out.
Stress causes the body to start stockpiling fat in the gut. Your system thinks a crisis is coming and deposits fat cells into the belly because it’s the most convenient storage space. Chill out with yoga, meditation, or massage. If you’re a stress eater, keep healthy snacks such as almonds on hand to prevent junk-food binges.

Get your shut-eye.
Lack of sleep increases the likelihood you’ll gain weight. When you’re tired, the hormones that stimulate appetite increase, while the hormones that help you feel full plummet. Aim for seven to eight hours a night.

Move more all the time.
Computers, TVs, video games, and cars keep us glued to our seats. The result: We’re less physical than ever before. To trim your tummy, do whatever you can to keep moving. Even 10 minutes can help. Studies show that you can burn up to 350 calories a day (the equivalent of your lunch!) by walking around when you’re on the phone, tapping your toes when you’re surfing the Web, doing squats when you’re brushing your teeth. Before you know it, you’ll be saying bye-bye, belly fat!

High intensity intervals are one of the best ways to burn fat – and keep burning it throughout the day.

Your session should last about 20 mins. Try 30 seconds of sprinting followed by 90 seconds of walking, repeated 10 times.

Then load up on omega-3-rich oily fish, such as salmon, served with salad leaves, tomatoes and raw peppers. Omega 3 foods keep you satiated and turn on fat-burning genes.

A recent survey discovered that the average British woman will spend 31 years of her life on a diet! If you’re looking to banish the fat, take a look at these exercising tips.

Explode the fat
Also known as jump training, plyometric exercises, involve stretching the muscles prior to explosively contracting them.

This type of training mimics the motions used in sports such as skiing, tennis and volleyball. Due to the level of intensity of this type of training, it results in high calorie expenditure.

Bear the load
Weight-bearing activities, such as walking and running, use more calories than those in which your weight is supported, like swimming and cycling, because you have to support your own body weight.

To optimise your calorie burn in the gym, swap the cycle and rower for the treadmill or stepper.

Forget the gym
Believe it or not, your 30-60mins sessions in the gym might not be the most important ingredient in your fat burning endeavours. Recent research has coined the term non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) referring to standing, moving, and even fidgeting during everyday tasks.

Scientists have found that this can add up to as much as 350 calories per day, the equivalent of a moderate intensity 60mins studio class.

So resist the phone and email at work, go talk to people face to face. Enjoy standing in queues and even on TV nights regularly get off the sofa and move around a bit!

Want to burn fat and keep the weight off for good? Read on…

Running on empty
Exercising in the morning, on an empty stomach, is a great way to shed fat.

Research shows that fasting (which is essentially what happens overnight as we sleep) leads to increased adrenalin and reduced insulin levels, creating an environment that is more conductive to the breakdown of fat for energy.

Heart attack
Alternating your exercises between upper and lower body results in an extra calorie burn because your cardiovascular system has to work harder.

Peripheral Heart Action training, as this is known, challenges the heart to keep pushing blood from one extreme to the other, in order to deliver oxygen to fuel the muscles.

A routine like this also allows you to move straight from one exercise to the next, as muscle groups get a chance to rest, so you can get your workout done quicker.

Don’t get isolated
Compound exercises require several muscle groups to work together in harmony, as opposed to moves that specifically target one muscle.

The beauty of these exercises is that they are more demanding and so will tone your muscles but at the same time burn more calories.