BELLY fat. Our waist tends to be one of our “problem areas” when it comes to waist loss.

It’s one of those difficult-to-target areas that sometimes even the fittest of us struggle to tone.

Well fear not. It is possible to make good improvements to your waistline in a few weeks.

So if you’re panicking about baring all in your bikini this summer, here’s how to make sure you look and feel great on the beach.

Your diet is the key to a flatter tummy. Exercise just simply won’t do without a good diet too.

To make sure you are able to burn fat from your waist you need to be avoiding refined carbohydrates and sugars, such as white bread, pasta, cornflakes, etc.

Instead you should be eating plenty of whole-grains, such as whole-wheat bread, oatmeal and buckwheat.

Lean protein is very important when trying to achieve a flat tummy and burn off abdominal fat, such as seafood, beans, tofu, etc.

Red meat and cheese tend to be quite high in fat and calories, so I prefer to get the majority of protein from the leaner sources mentioned above.

Avoiding heavy meals will help to eliminate bloating and help aid fat loss around the waist.

At the gym you need to be focussing on fat loss. So weight training will help build muscle and increase metabolism so that you can burn off more calories.

Also try to do 20 to 30 minutes of vigorous or high intensity cardio four to five times a week in the weeks before your holiday.

This will speed up your fat loss and help to burn off extra calories each day.

Interval sprints, swimming, high intensity circuits are all great for this.

The core muscles and abs are the muscles underneath your abdominal fat, improving the strength of these muscles and ensuring that you use them correctly while performing all other exercises will help get achieve a flat toned tummy.

Use all the advice above for the the weeks before your holiday and you’ll be looking and feeling great in your bikini or shorts!

l To get in touch with Claire, follow her on Twitter @CLKpt or email ckopicki@me.com