A flat stomach gives you a feeling of freedom. You don’t have to cover up, wear oversized shirts or pants with an elastic waistband to disguise it; you can wear belts, tuck in the top / wear cute tight tops, maybe even sport a bikini again. You have more energy and confidence and less back pain when you run out of breath, and you don’t have any of those embarrassing rolls when you sit down. Most importantly, a flat stomach indicates that you have minimized the very serious health risks associated with extra belly fat. When you lose belly fat, you reduce your risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and many other life-threatening conditions.

Many people think that there are only two types of fat: fat stored in your thighs and hips (creating a “pear” shape) and fat stored in your stomach (creating an “apple” shape). In reality, the body contains many different types of fat, and not all of these types of fat affect your health equally.

The first type of fat is subcutaneous – this pinch-able fat is found just under the skin. It is the fat that can be seen when someone’s tummy rocks and jerks. This type of fat does not usually affect health like other types of abdominal fat.

Another type of fat is visceral: this deep fat accumulated around the internal organs is not very noticeable. In fact, many relatively thin people have dangerous amounts of visceral fat and don’t know it. Visceral fat surrounds your liver. Due to its location, it breaks down more easily and releases fatty acids into the bloodstream, where they can clog the arteries. In fact, research shows that this fat breaks down four to five times faster than fat in other parts of the body and abdomen.

There is one more type of fat: liver fat – Your liver stores fat and sugar for later use. As a result, when you are overweight, the cells within your liver can begin to fill up with fat, creating a “fatty liver.” If your fatty liver is caused by obesity, and not alcoholism, it usually does not lead to liver disease and can usually be reversed with weight loss. You only need to lose a small amount of belly fat to improve your health in a big way. Just a 5 to 10 percent reduction in belly fat can substantially lower your risk of diabetes and heart disease.

There are few strategies to trim belly fat and have a good six pack.

1. Reduce negative stress. (Belly fat is more sensitive to the stress hormone cortisol than other types of fat in your body.)
2. Get more sleep.
3. Stop smoking.
4. Stay in control of alcohol.
5. Have your exercise plan.
6. Diet.