By now, you may be feeling frustrated about all your attempts at slimming your waistline. You may have spent a fortune on abs exercise machines, gym memberships and some weight loss pills, yet all you probably saw was a weight loss that only reflected on a weighing scale, and not on your clothes.

The ad that you see on TV for abs products all show you one thing: a model with a flat stomach and visible abs. What they don't show you are how those models really got their abs, that is, by spending hours at the gym and going on restrictive diets.

Of course, you get carried away with the promise of a sexy midsection minus the pain and long wait. You probably even think that since modern technology has provided an answer to practically every human problem there is in the world today, that perhaps these strange contraptions that "firm up" the abs of the TV models are just some of the wonders of science.

Unfortunately, there is no fast and easy route to losing belly fat. No pill or electronic device can take the place of good old exercise and diet discipline.

To lose belly fat, you need to remember the following:

* Embark on a complete body workout. You should get lost of frequent exercise if your are serious about losing belly fat.

Ideally, you must spend at least 90% of the time that you workout doing high intensity exercises that involve all parts of your body, and not just your abs. These include squats, lunges, dead lifts,presses, push ups and bench presses. Use weights for added resistance during your workout. When you work your muscles, you burn more of your fat.

The remaining 10% of your workout time should be used for abs specific exercises. Here is where you can do your crunches and sit ups.

* Skip the slow cardio routine. What you need are exercises of various intensities but of short duration that indirectly affect your abs while providing a cardiovascular effect. Examples are wind sprints, hill sprints, stair sprints, jump rope and other forms of training of high intensity.

* Diet is very important. Your body will still need to eat food, but instead of being too restrictive, you should maintain a good balance of protein, carbohydrates, and fat.

Go for whole and unprocessed foods like nuts, fruits, vegetables, seeds, organic eggs and lean meats. Incorporate dietary fiber to help clean out your gut thus keeping it lean.

Avoid food containing refined starches, refined sugars, hydrogenated oils (trans fats) and excessive alcohol as they are not easily digested and can clog your colon, making your belly look bigger.

The way to lose belly fat does not have to be complicated. No machine, contraption or wonder pill can do your human homework of shedding stored fat safely and permanently.

What you do need is a good diet and a full body exercise program to bring out your abs.