Belly fat is actually the most dangerous type of fat – besides aesthetics, large waist lines are indicators of illnesses such as heart disease.

Mak Sokety, beauty expert at Sokha Tan Samai beauty school, gave five tips in response to Veasna’s question last week about losing belly fat.

1. Exercise, exercise, exercise!

According to a research, 1,000 crunches a day may get people strong abdominal muscles but, with a layer of fat on top, they will not get the results they really want. Kety said that instead of all those crunches, do exercises that engage multiple muscle groups and work the cardiovascular system.

“Try planking, where you hold yourself in a push-up position, resting your forearms on the ground,” said Kety. “Try three or four sets of holding for 30 seconds each. Getting up and moving throughout the day by going for walks will also help.”

2. Sleep

Getting about seven hours of sleep a night is one of the best things you can do for your body-shaping goals. If you want to work late at night, think again. When your biorhythms are off, you end up eating more.

“When you’re tired you produce more ghrelin, which triggers cravings for sugar and other fat-building foods,” said Kety.

“Losing sleep can also alter your hormone production, affecting your cortisol levels that cause insulin sensitivity, a prime reason for belly fat.

3. Go away from sugar

Kety said to reduce calories by filling yourself up with protein, vegetables, whole grains, while replacing bad habit snacks with good ones. For example, if you have a sugar craving, replace your calorie-laden latte with a Muscle Milk lite because it has zero sugar and a ton of protein.

4. Engage with vitamin C

Vitamin C helps balance the cortisol spikes that happen to you under stress. Besides being a good way to counteract |a cold, Vitamin C is also essential for making carnitine, a compound used by the body to turn fat into fuel.

5. Breathe one by one

He said that this is a very simple method that you can use even when doing something else. Whenever you notice you are feeling tense, check and see how you are breathing. Most people under stress either alternate holding their breath with short breaths, or take rapid shallow breaths. After you become aware of your own breathing, consciously relax your belly and slow down the breathing. This works best if you focus on slowing down the exhalation rather than your inhalation. With each exhalation you can say to yourselves “slow down”.