In this article I am going to be straight with you and give you the no-nonsense facts on what you need to eat to lose those inches of belly fat that you still have on your waist.

I am going to assume that you work out at the gym, go running or do some type of exercise or sporting activity. With that in mind, I am also going to assume that every day you spend a few moments looking at your gut in the mirror and wondering as you get older, how are you going to shift this spare tyre even though are active and you eat healthily enough (as in not junk food everyday)?

Eating is only one part of the approach to lose belly fat. There are 2 other components to fat loss:

• You adapt and broaden the intensity of your exercise

• You keep a running log of what you do

In this piece however I will be concentrating on what you eat.

So how do you adapt what you eat to lose fat in a way that you have not tried before?

To do this, simply look at what you are currently eating. Do you eat or drink any of the following things?:

• You eat a lot of white bread, chips, pasta, potato wedges or pizza every week

• You have burgers, take-away curries or Chinese food at least once a week

• You have bacon or sausage butties, fried eggs, beans, pies or pasties

• You drink about 10 pints of beer a week

• You like to eat a "wee" bar of chocolate and a packet of crisps nearly every day

The bad news is that if you eat most of these then you are going to have to change something. This is even if you also have salad, cheese, yogurts, fruit, and vegetables and consider yourself quite a healthy eater.

The good news is that you do not have to give up eating any of these foods to achieve better fat loss. This may seem a bit paradoxical but there is a very good reason behind it.

First of all I will explain what you should start doing in the next few weeks.

Begin to swap out more white processed carbohydrates for more whole grain options, like whole grain pasta or more green vegetables, like cabbage and broccoli. Do this in small steps for a number of weeks and change something in every meal you eat.

Do not however, stop eating white bread, pasta and rice in one go. Phase these gradually to a comfortable level; in fact, you may not have to give them up entirely at all.

A second important point is to stop eating sugary snacks or crisps each day.  That chocolate bar at lunch has to stop. If you take a hard look you will probably see that you are indeed having a bar of chocolate or a slice of cake at least 4 times a week if not more, and maybe not always at lunch.

You want to get this down to once a week on average. Just doing this will make a big difference to your fat loss.

When it comes to eating bacon, sausages, red meat and dairy, you can still eat these, but again try to vary your diet more if these form a very large part of it. I would recommend a take away once a month as a goal. I very rarely eat them these days.

An additional trick is to increase the number of meals you have a day, preferably to 4 for a start. I personally like this number as it is easy to manage, being only one more meal from the standard 3 a day.

When it comes to beer, you may be glad to know that you can keep drinking beer and lose your belly fat. It will not necessarily get you a six-pack but it will get you almost the full way there. The key to drinking is like before: you reduce the number of pints of beer per week to about 4 or 5 or swap a pint for a spirit. You do not completely stop, unless you have prepared yourself for this.

Psychologically, the secret weapon behind this approach to fat loss is to build a habit of replacing a more healthy food for a processed or high sugar food rather than having yourself remember to do it.

You cannot build a sustainable habit by consciously forcing yourself to always eat the right foods at the right time every day; you will not maintain it. You do not have those reserves of will power; very little of us do.

So, the idea is that by implementing a series of changes as you eat each week and then continuing with that you will start to

• Reduce highly processed food and sugary foods and increase healthier options at the same time

• Develop your own meal ideas and combinations that work for you, both as a healthy option and satisfy your sweet tooth, rather than have someone tell you what to eat

In order to achieve fat loss through eating, the stubbornness of your current diet habits can be an obstacle. In addition, there is the mental blindness that you are actually eating too much sugary and processed foods to reduce the current fat on your belly. By becoming aware and proactively changing bit by bit you will build new habit, which when combined with exercise and focus, will result in belly fat loss.

You may also notice that some of your older cravings disappear. I, myself, used to eat a piece of chocolate or a bar of chocolate every day; now I have to force myself to eat chocolate as a treat.

If you have more fat to lose then this approach may take a bit longer for you to see some results  but the principal of how to eat is still the same. You do not have to deny yourself food that your like; you just have to start introducing other healthier foods to compliment what you eat.

I also empathise with you that, if you are a man, instigating and maintaining a fat loss program may seem to be a lot of hassle. On the flip side it can be rewarding if you choose to do it, not to mention the side effects it can have on your energy, outlook and your romantic life.