The holidays have come and gone, but your belly remains! Now we're inching up on swimsuit weather and your waistline is not cooperating. What to do?

First, don't panic, and don't take drastic action that will do more harm than good. It's very possible to shrink your waistline by addressing three key areas:

Belly fat has become very common sight to see in our modern-day, super-sized-meals world. While most of us are not exactly shooting for six pack abs, a flatter belly can go a long way to keeping you healthy. It's not just about looking good!

Here are ten important reasons to get rid of your belly fat for good:

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Measuring your body fat percentage is a valuable tool to chart your progress on your quest to get six pack abs. Hopefully most people realize by now that abdominal exercises don't burn fat off your stomach. Abs are made in the kitchen, not just in the gym. No matter how much you work out, if you don't eat right and achieve a calorie deficit, your abs will remain covered in a layer of adipose.

When the realization hits you that you must reduce your body fat percentage to see your abs, one of the biggest questions that pops into your mind is, "how low do I have to get my body fat percentage to see my abs?" It's a tough question and the answer may be different for men than women.

Here's what I'd recommend:

  In your quest to lose weight and get rid of your own unattractive belly fat, you may have a tendency to people watch and notice others who are overweight. Maybe it's because you can sympathize with how they're feeling and how they look -- tired!

Even the act of walking is a monumental effort, especially in the summer months of the year when the heat works to drain a body.

Sitting in your car at the grocery store, you can study people. Start paying attention to how many of the people in the crowd are overweight versus those who aren't. The numbers will shock you.

Don't even measure how many are just a little overweight, but count how many are very noticeably overweight. There will be men, women and some kids who are carrying excess belly fat. Some people will make fun of them, too.

When it comes to getting trim for summer – or any time – it helps to know how to lose belly fat. Belly fat is that stubborn excess that surrounds your midsection. It can make your clothes look lumpy and bumpy. It can also hang over your belt and embarrass you. But you don’t have to live with stubborn belly fat. There are some specific things you can do that will help you lose it. When you know how to lose belly fat, the process becomes much easier for you. Believe it or not, there are some things you can do to reduce the fat in this one specific area of your body.

Belly fat poses a problem for people who want to look good in their clothes. In some cases belly fat hangs over your belt or makes that sexy dress impossible to wear. But the true problem with belly fat is not the cosmetic problems it can cause – it’s the health problems it can cause. Excess belly fat is turning out to be more serious than fat in other areas of the body. While you may not revel in the fat that’s on your hips, thighs, butt, and arms these areas don’t pose a major threat to your health. But fat around the middle of your waist does seem to pose a health risk.

Stress is one of the most difficult challenges in the modern world. Especially when economic times are hard, it seems that stress just continues to mount. What you may not know is that stress can affect more than just your thoughts and emotions. In fact, when it comes to your body, getting rid of stress can actually help you to shrink belly fat. Stress causes hormonal imbalances in the body. In particular there is a hormone called cortisol that becomes unbalanced and causes fat to accumulate around the waistline. When you shrink your stress, you shrink belly fat. Here are some tips to help you accomplish your goals.

If you’re been fighting the battle of the bulge for some time, you know that some areas of the body can be tougher than others. Part of that is the result of genetics. Your body is preprogrammed to collect fat in specific areas. So even when you follow a proper diet and exercise program, you can’t specifically remove fat from one area. However, in the case of belly fat, there are some specific things you can do to target the area and get rid of stubborn belly fat. There are some factors that make belly fat more likely to accumulate on the body and when you attack those, you’ll find that you can have a smaller middle.

Even though exercises will not get rid of your belly fat -- only losing fat through diet and exercise will do that -- you can still do exercises to strengthen your abs and lose fat, in general. That way, when you do lose your belly fat, you'll have some nice ab muscles to show off!

As the weather warms up, the clothes get smaller. If you’re ready to try on a new bikini, there may be something getting in your way – the bulge of belly fat around your middle. Many people face the frustration of having a little extra padding around their midsection – and it can be terribly frustrating.