But here's what you can do instead...

I probably see this question asked 100 times a day. How can I get rid of belly fat? How can I get rid of bingo wings? So what these questions are essentially asking, is how can I get rid of fat from this particular part of my body? AKA, how can I spot reduce fat? The answer is this: you can’t.

You heard me right. If I say it 100 times, I’ll say it 100 more. There is no exercise, body wrap, pill or shake that will reduce body fat in a certain area. You could break the world record for crunches and not rid yourself of that stubborn belly fat.

When you shed body fat, you lose it from your whole body, not from one specific area. It’s like taking off your winter onesie – you lose a little bit of coverage from all of your body. If you want your stomach to look more toned or your arms to be a bit firmer, you first need to concentrate on reducing your over-all body fat.

The reason you need to do this is for an area of your body to look more toned (aka being able to see the shape of your muscle underneath your skin) you first need to trim down the body fat covering it. Like I said, you could hold the world record for crunches, but if you have some body fat covering your abs, you they won’t start to show unless you trim down a bit.

Once you’ve trimmed down your body fat, you can work on toning up your belly, arms or whatever problem area it is that you want to work on

6. Steps To Shedding Body Fat Long Term

1.       Nutrition: Eat whole unprocessed foods in the right portions. If it grows on a tree or can be dug out the earth, it’s whole and unprocessed. Every time you go to put some food in your mouth, ask yourself: “Did this grow on a tree?” “Was it dug out the earth like this.” Does chocolate grow on trees? Are doughnuts dug out the earth? This is a great way to think about how processed a food is. The more processes it has gone through to get from nature to your fork will signify how processed a food is.

2.       Exercise: It’s true what they say, “You can’t out exercise a bad diet.” If your nutrition isn't on point, you will struggle to shed body fat. The very best way to lose that belly fat (and keep it off) is with a combination of a good nutritious diet and exercise. The most effective way to shed body fat in the least amount of time is with HIIT training. For a full guide on how to use HIIT training for fat loss, click here.

3.       Avoid fad diets like the plague: Anything that promises a vast amount of weight loss in a short amount of time should be avoided like a nuclear weapon. Slow and steady wins the race. Don’t be tempted by the promise of a huge weight loss in zero time, simply because you’ve allowed your patience to get the better of you.

Ask yourself this: “Did you suddenly wake up one day and you were over weight?” Did you gain 2 stone in 2 weeks? If the answer is no, then you would be na?ve to assume that you could also lose the weight just as quickly. I feel your pain. Fad diets speak to the desperate, unhappy part of you, the part that wants results right now.

When have you ever achieved anything worth having, that truly gave you a sense of worth with zero work and effort? Never?

4.       Seek support: The choice here is vast. Join a weight loss support group, get your friends on board or get yourself a good coach. Research has shown that people are more successful at weight loss when they have someone to support them to be accountable and keep clear goals in mind.

5.       Avoid triggers: Have think about the things that are likely to de-rail you on your journey and remove them from your daily life until your resolve is strengthened. You wouldn’t expect an alcoholic to live next door to an off license and not relapse. Give yourself a fighting chance. Hit the ground running.

If sweet sugary foods are your thing, rid them from your house, don’t keep them for ‘just in case’.

If you like having a few drinks, be mindful that this can quickly dampen your brains ability to say no to other things like junk food, not to mention, having a hangover the next day, is likely to hinder your performance at the gym, or stop you going altogether.

6. Lift Weights or do body weight exercises: Lastly, to be able to tone and sculpt those problem areas you need to do some exercises on the muscles underneath. The below is just an overview of the vast array of exercises available, but I wanted to keep it simple.

For a full guide on how to start lifting weights, click here. Or head over to my resources section for specific guidance on each exercise by clicking here.

For you arms and your butt, if you are lifting weights, you should aim for 6-8 repetitions of each exercise for 3 sets with a 90 second rest in between. The weight should be heavy enough so that you are finding the last repetition on each set hard.

For your triceps (the back of your arm): Body weight dips, tricep kickbacks with dumbbells, overhead triceps extension.

For your biceps (the front of your arm): barbell or dumbbell bicep curls.

For your butt: squats, lunges (forward, backwards and side ways, with or without weight) wall sits (with one or 2 legs) hip raises (with or without weight) side leg raises (with or without weight)

For your belly: an ab wheel is a great effective piece of cheap equipment, dumbbell wood chops, planks and all their variations, Russian twists, hanging leg raises, lateral bends, to name a few.