Stomach fat is hideous and disgusting when it's on your belly at the beach. The only thing you can think of is, "how can I lose this stomach fat?' Unfortunately, too many folks rely on ineffective cardio workouts to burn belly fat, but recent research shows this isn't the case. More to come on the BEST way to lose stomach fat in a bit…

…But first, what causes belly fat? The simplest answer of course, is eating too much and exercising too little. But the more specific answer is that if you eat too much sugar and too many bad fats (i.e. hydrogenated fats), you run the risk of increasing your belly fat.

However, even if you do 40 minutes of cardio, 3 times per week you might not lose belly fat. In fact, that's exactly what Australian researchers found back in 2006. They had one group of women do a 12-week workout program of long slow cardio and disappointingly, they did not lose belly fat at all. Not a bit.

But, there is some good news. A second group of women were able to lose ugly stomach fat by doing a 12 week interval training study. And there's even better news. The interval training workouts only lasted 20 minutes, and were done 3 times per week. That's a powerful fat burning effect from a small amount of exercise. If you want to burn stomach fat, the best way to do it is with interval training.

And there's even more good news, resistance training can help you burn belly fat and gain muscle mass at the same time. In one research study, men and women over the age of 60 lost 4 pounds of fat and gained 4 pounds of lean mass in 12 weeks.

But nothing is going to be more effective for losing stomach fat than improving your diet. If you want to lose ugly stomach fat, you have to cut out sugar and processed foods. If you don't want to stop eating junk food, then I have bad news for you. You will never lose your ugly, disgusting belly fat if you like junk food more than you like a flat stomach. It just depends on what you want more. Do you want to lose the stomach fat or do you want to eat junk food?

Once you have made the decision to commit to eating a belly fat burning diet, then you will succeed. You have to accept that losing stomach fat is hard. But once you accept this fat loss truth, then it will be easy for you to succeed. Why? Because you are now ready to accept the work you have to do.

So here's your perfect plan for losing stomach fat. First, get rid of all the junk food in your diet. Toss out the processed foods, stop drinking soda, and start eating more whole, natural foods, such as fruits, vegetables, and nuts. For breakfast, eat Omega-3 enriched eggs instead of pancakes or breakfast cereal. Snack on fruit and nuts between meals. At lunch, eat grilled fish or chicken plus salad, vegetables, and fruit. Have another high protein, high-fiber snack in the afternoon. At night, a lean protein meal plus fruits and vegetables, and a nightly snack of raw nuts will help keep you full and give you a lot of mental energy.

If you want to lose stomach fat fast, you need to make these changes. It's a proven fact that these diet and exercise secrets work.