How to lose stomach fat is a question I get asked often. No one likes to be overweight, but sometimes, a few extra pounds can be camouflaged by the body, which causes people to become complacent about losing the excess weight. However, when those extra pounds settle around the midsection, people become very serious about taking action.

Not only is extra stomach fat unattractive and hard to hide in almost any type of clothing, it’s uncomfortable and can lead to other more serious health problems in the future, such as heart problems or diabetes.

Follow these suggestions to learn how to lose stomach fat:

Reduce Your Calories. Losing stomach fat is best achieved by losing weight. In order to shed extra pounds, reduce your calories. One pound is equal to 3500 calories, so a daily caloric reduction of 500 calories could result in a loss of one pound over the course of one week.

Eat real food. You don’t have to say goodbye to burgers and fries forever, but one of the best tips for how to lose stomach fat is to steer clear of convenience foods and fast foods. These items contain lots of unnecessary calories and chemicals that will only hamper your attempts at how to get a flatter stomach. If you just can’t shake the urge for a burger, try making a homemade version with lean ground turkey. Swap the fries for a baked sweet potato and you’ll have a meal that’s just as tasty and way healthier.

Get cardiovascular exercise. The body stores extra calories as fat, which can be used as an energy source during exertion. Regular sessions of cardiovascular exercise force the body to dig into those reserves of fat in order to keep up with the physical activity.

Stick to water . Eating meals on a weight loss plan can be pretty simple, since you can visibly take note of your serving sizes. But when you start gulping down drinks, it can be hard to gauge how much you’re actually ingesting, This means you’re likely to overindulge, leading to more fat stores. Stay away from soda, alcohol and even sugar-filled coffee treats.

Do abdominal toning exercises. As you start to lose fat from your stomach area, it’s important to strengthen your abdominal muscles by doing toning exercises. There are a variety of abdominal workout routines that can help to build stomach muscles, including traditional crunches and Pilates and yoga based poses like the plank. Also, instead of lounging on the couch while you watch your favorite TV shows, sit on an exercise ball like the TKO Anti Burst Fitness Ball Set 65cm which will help strengthen those core muscles.

Ditch mega meals. Every time you eat a meal, part of the meals calories are spent in the energy your body uses to digest the food. Other calories are saved for later use to be used for the basic functions that keep your body alive all day, such as breathing, thinking, walking and even sleeping. However, any extra calories that aren’t used for energy or metabolic functions will be stored as fat. Lessen the chances of too many stored calories by eating smaller meals at closer intervals all day. Instead of three big meals, think about 4-5 times per day in much smaller quantities.