What are the primary causes of belly fat? There are many theories on this. Some say it’s poor genetics. Others claim it’s stress. And still others believe that it’s a slow metabolism.

What’s the truth?

In reality, it’s almost always a result of poor eating and exercise habits.

What’s the best diet for fat loss?

One that incorporates plenty of natural whole foods. The main rule to remember is to avoid anything processed. This is a simple but powerful strategy that many have used to drop their tummy fat.

The time you eat is also very important.

In general, just try to avoid eating during periods of inactivity. For most people, this would be late at night right before going to bed.

One of the reasons it’s often recommended you avoid eating at night is that you aren’t active enough to work off the fat and calories. Therefore the body just stores most of the nutrition as body fat. If you do get hungry during times of inaction, just eat some fruits and vegetables.

The bottom line is that your diet is just as important as your workout. Be sure to change this along with being more active.

What’s the best exercise routine?

Despite what you’ve heard, it’s not running on the treadmill for hours. In most cases the fat burning ability of running is vastly overrated, and you’d have to run for extremely long periods of time to see dramatic results.

What are the best exercises?

Body core exercises. These are the ones that target the midsection, which is obviously the area you are going after.

Quick disclaimer: one thing to remember about these exercises is that you need to do them correctly before progressing. Many get into the habit of doing them wrong and then increasing the repetitions. This can do more harm than good.

When done incorrectly, core workouts can cause back problems down the road. Just be sure you know the correct technique before jumping into your routine.

So what are the best exercises? There are a lot of great ones available, here’s a good one to start with:

Stability ball crunches

When done right, this is one of the best ways to lose stomach fat. Here’s what you do: first lay backwards on the ball, making sure the lower and middle of your back are being propped up.

Be sure to flex your knees and don’t let you feet come off the ground. Then put your hands behind your head. Finally, raise yourself up like you would in a regular crunch and then gradually back to the beginning position.

But why use a stability ball?

Because it causes the abs to flex a lot more, and the more range of motion the better. And it also exercises more muscles than regular crunches.

The key to success is to be consistent.

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