Do the 300 workout
The following workout was devised for the cast of the film 300 and it will strip fat from your body faster than you can say 'The battle of Thermopylae'.
Personal trainer Gavin Walsh (thebootcamp.co.uk) explains how it all works: 'The 300 workout is a simple exercise regime consisting of 300 reps,' he says. 'It's great if you're short on time and want to give your metabolism a boost. The idea is to work as quickly as you can through all 300 reps with as little rest as possible.
'The exercises target various muscle groups within the body and it therefore has a cardiovascular component, making it a very good fat loss tool. Do 25 press-ups, 25 squat-thrusts, 25 squats, 25 lunges, 50 jumping jacks, 50 bicycle crunches, 25 lunges, 25 squats, 25 squat thrusts and 25 press-ups.
Anything under five minutes is excellent, 7.5 minutes is good, 10 minutes is average and over 12.5 minutes is poor. Use it either at the end of a weights workout, after running through the park or when there isn't time to get in a full session.'
Consume more protein
The more muscle tissue you have in your body, the more fat you burn when you're not exercising, so your aim should be to pack on as much lean muscle as you can.
One way to do this is to eat more protein-rich foods such as eggs, poultry, shellfish, red meat, pulses, nuts and seeds and soya products.
Without these vital sources of protein, your muscles won't be able to repair themselves properly after you exercise, resulting in lost muscle tissue and tone.
A fast and easy way to prevent all your hard work going to waste in the gym is to gulp down a protein shake right after your session, or fix yourself a protein-rich smoothie for breakfast.
Don't diet
This isn't your excuse to live on a diet of ice cream and pork pies, but effective fat-burning means eating more, not less.
As long as you consume plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables and other healthy ingredients, eating more will keep you full up all day, meaning less unhealthy cravings and, more importantly, will keep your metabolism firing on all cylinders.
Starving yourself sends the wrong signals to your body, forcing it to slow your metabolic rate and store fat rather than burn through it. Even worse, you will soon start to burn through muscle tissue, which - as we will see - is the last thing you want to do.
Eat watermelon
According to the Journal of Nutrition, an amino acid called arginine could promote fat burning.
Scientists found that adding arginine to the diet of mice led to increased oxidation of fat and glucose - meaning more weight loss. Also, amino acids are the building blocks of protein, and we've already established how important protein is in the fat-burning process.
Watermelon isn't just a delicious thirst-quencher - it's also the best source of this amino acid around.
Go to bed early
It sounds counterintuitive, but the longer you spend asleep, the more fat you are likely to burn off.
Sleep deprivation means your body doesn't produce enough leptin, a hormone which tells your brain when you've had enough to eat. So the more shut-eye you get, the less likely you are to gorge yourself on unhealthy snacks.
Lack of sleep has also been shown to slow down metabolic rate, which means staying up late is the worst thing you can do for your waistline as it only encourages the body to slow down the rate at which it burns off fat.
Increase the intensity of your workouts
Which do you think burns more fat: a steady hour-long run through your local park or half the amount of time doing high intensity interval training (HIIT)?
Unless you move like long-distance runner Haile Gebrselassie, it's undoubtedly the latter.
Though it sounds too good to be true, switching from long plods down the same old running track (or, if you're really dull, on the treadmill) to shorter, sharper sessions will take your fat-loss to the next level.
HIIT involves carrying out short intervals of maximum intensity exercises, mixed in with some low to moderate recovery periods. Pushing yourself beyond your limits in this way is more physically demanding, but it does mean that your body takes longer to recover after a session and that your metabolism is raised - which is all bad news for your fat reserves.
Eat pistachios
It's not just the effort required to get those stubborn nuts out of their shells that makes pistachios such a good fat-burning snack!
Though many people assume pistachio nuts are fattening, they are in fact high in healthy unsaturated fat, which research shows can actually help you to lose weight.
Pistachios are also rich in manganese, which is thought to boost the body's metabolic rate (the speed at which it burns energy, or calories) and potassium, which combines with protein to build muscle and keeps us feeling fuller for longer, meaning you're less likely to snack.
Finally, these green-hued nuts are also a fine source of B vitamins, which boost our energy reserves and, again, help us pack on muscle. Just try to overlook the fact that they are great with an ice cold beer.
Go organic
It's not just your wallet that takes a beating when you buy from the organic section in your supermarket - your waistline could also be reduced.
Medical experts believe that people with the most pesticides in their fat tissue are more likely to suffer from disruptions to thyroid function, which slows your metabolism right down and makes it harder for you to burn off excess weight.
Organic products contain less pollutants and chemicals, which means your thyroid gland is less likely to be weakened, and your body's energy burning process will be allowed to continue unheeded.
Give up booze
Tightening your waistline isn't just about making lifestyle changes that flick the switch on your fat-burners to the 'on' position. It's also about cutting out factors that stop fat-burning in its tracks - such as drinking too much alcohol.
It's all about what happens in your liver when your pour booze into your system. The organ plays an essential role in breaking down fat, but plying yourself with alcohol gives it another job to do and, like many men, it's not a great multi-tasker.
While the liver focuses on dealing with the toxins in the alcohol, its ability to burn fat is greatly reduced. Some health experts also say alcohol inhibits production of the hormone testosterone, which is also an important fat-burner.
Fight inactivity
People who can't sit still can be intensely irritating, and not just because of the chronic fidgeting. Research suggests that they are also more likely to be skinnier than those of us who aren't prone to fidgeting, due to the extra calories burned off by being in a constant state of motion.
A study carried out by the Mayo Clinic, Minnesota, showed that of a group of participants who were deliberately overfed, those who gained weight did a lot less fidgeting than those whose weight remained stable.
Meanwhile, Missouri University researchers discovered that long periods of inactivity causes an enzyme which helps regulate fat levels to shut down.
Fighting inactivity by taking a walk around your office every hour or so, spending more time outdoors and less time on the sofa will help this important enzyme do its job, and ultimately keep your body fat to a minimum.
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