By CHRISTOPHER McCLINTOCK
For Brentwood Home Page

Want a slimmer waistline in a few weeks' time? Spring is here and as you are running outside more and more, you’ll want to be sure you look your best.

It's certainly possible, and easier than you may have thought.

When it comes to losing that bulge around the middle, most of the advice you've probably heard is completely wrong.

It's not surprising. There are quite a few myths out there when it comes to getting a flat stomach.

For example:

"You've got to do 100s of crunches to lose that belly"

"You need to diet (i.e. starve yourself)"

"All you need is XYZ brand's diet pill."

"Do hours on end of traditional low-intensity cardio, like walking on the treadmill."

The truth is that it's not that complicated to lose your abdominal fat.

Here's all you need to know:

Eat right. This means eating properly to fuel your body, boost your metabolism and burn more fat. Avoid all junk foods, including fried foods, soft drinks and heavily processed foods. Stick to foods that have one or two ingredients max. That means good protein sources (like chicken, fish and eggs), plenty of fruits and vegetables, and healthy fats (nuts, olive oil, flaxseed oil, avocados, etc.) Also, try to eat 4 - 6 small meals evenly spaced throughout your day.

Train with weights. This one's a given. Train 3 - 4 times per week. Focus mainly on compound movements. This means the "tough" exercises like squats, deadlifts, bench presses, barbell rows, etc. These are effective at building muscle and priming your metabolism to burn fat like nobody's business. Plus, these kinds of exercises are more functional and will provide the strength you need to go about your day-to-day life.

Do cardio smartly. Once you're eating healthy and working out with weights, it's time to add in a little cardio. But not the kind of cardio you see everyone else at the gym do. The goal isn't to see how long you last walking on the treadmill. Instead, you're going to do High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT).Simply put, this means alternating between all-out exertion and resting. For example, if you're on the treadmill, you'd warm up for the first 2 minutes, then sprint as fast as you can for 1 minute. Then rest the next minute. Do this for 9 more sets of 1 minute exertion followed by 1 minute rest. Doing cardio this way burns more calories in less time, since you're "upping" the intensity factor.

So there you have it. Follow these three tips starting today and you're bound to lose some belly fat before Summer's out.

And if you're truly serious about changing your health and fitness once and for all, take advantage of your FREE Fitness Consultation (a $65 value).

During this consult, you'll receive detailed information on how to get fit that's tailored to YOUR body.

This means that you'll be on the path to burning fat and getting the slim body you've always wanted in no time at all.

Here’s to reaching your Personal Best!