Not only does stomach fat look bad, its strongly linked to diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease .

If your stomach is larger than 102cm as a men, or 88cm as a woman, then you have abdominal obesity.

Reducing stomach fat is the most difficult to get rid of, you need to reduce your body fat to reduce your stomach.

Here are 6 steps to get you on the right pat to a smaller stomach, and healthier life.

1. Cut the sugar

When you eat a lot of added sugar, the liver gets overloaded with fructose and this all turns into fat.

When you drink sugar-sweetened beverages, you end up eating more total calories because your brain does not “register” liquid in the same way as solid foods.

This includes sugar-sweetened cold drinks, sugary fizzy drinks, fruit juices and sports drinks.

Eat fruits, such as apple or pears, and drink water instead of these drinks.

2. Eat more protein

It has been shown to reduce cravings, boost metabolism, and help you eat fewer calories per day.

25-30% of calories of your food should consist of protein. This means that you should replace 25% of your existing diet (or reduced calorie diet) with protein.

High-protein foods include  whole eggs, fish, seafood, legumes, nuts, meat and dairy products.

3. Cut the carbs from your diet

By replacing 25% to 30% of your food with protein foods will already reduce your carb intake.

If you need to lose weight fast, then consider dropping your carbs down to 50 grams per day. This will put your body into ketosis, killing your appetite and making your body start burning primarily fats for fuel.

4. Eat foods rich in fiber, especially viscous fiber

Dietary fiber is indigestible plant matter, and eating plenty of fiber can help with weight loss.

Not all fiber is created equal.

It is the soluble and viscous fibers have an effect on your weight.

These are fibers that bind water and form a thick gel that “sits” in the gut.

This gel can dramatically slow the movement of food through your digestive system, and slow down the digestion and absorption of nutrients. The end result is a prolonged feeling of fullness and reduced appetite.

The best way to get more fiber is to eat a lot of plant foods like vegetables and fruit. Legumes are also a good source, as well as some cereals like whole oats.

5. Exercise

Spot reduction is not possible as mentioned at the start of this article. In order to reduce your stomach, you have to reduce all your fat.

Exercise burns calories, first from carbs, then the fat. Exercise at least 20 minutes each day. Aim for 30 minutes, It is claimed that your body only burns carbs in the first 10minutes.

When you exercise you must move at a steady pace (not too fast, not too slow) so your body will utilize your stored fat (not carbohydrates or sugar) as its energy source. You will need to exercise in your fat burning zone, this is the heart rate you are most likely to be burning fat in. This zone is between 55 to 70 percent of your maximum heart rate (max HR).

The more intensely you exercise the more your body turns to carbs for energy. So keep the pace steady and check your heart rate.

Just don’t reach for that chocolate, or energy drink, after exercise.

6. Track your foods and figure out exactly what and how much you are eating

What you eat is important.

However, most people actually don’t what they are really eating.

People think they’re eating “high protein,” “low-carb” or something else, but tend to drastically over- or underestimate.

If you want to boost your protein intake to 25-30% of calories, as recommended above, just eating more protein rich foods won’t be enough. You need to actually measure and fine tune in order to reach that goal.

Every bit helps in reducing the stomach. Starting at any step is a good start.