Type "lose weight" into Google, and you'll be met with a dizzying array of advice spanning thousands of pages.
The good news is that it could be, in part, simpler than you first realise - and can be done in your sleep.
It's all to do with the link between the fat around our middles and our stress levels.
We store this fat around our middles in times of high and prolonged stress, The Sun reports. Stress impacts our health in many ways, including how it can slow down our metabolism .
So, if you find you're storing disproportionately more fat around your mid section, then one aspect of tackling this is to reduce your stress levels.
Of course, this is often easier said than done.
However, if you can get a good night's sleep, this will help and one way to improve the quality of your sleep is to have a cup of tea before bed.
Not diet teas (avoid those like the plague), but certain types of herbal tea.
The best ones to go with are Rooibos, peppermint, Pu-er, chamomile and cinammon.
Laurence Fountain, PT and founder of Salus London, previously told The Sun that "cortisol is gong to interfere with different hormonal effects.
"Firstly, it’s going to interfere with your thyroid - meaning it’s going to be very hard to burn fat when your cortisol is high. In fact, you’re going to be more likely to burn muscle."
And secondly, "too much cortisol can also lead to an over-stimulation of the brain during sleep causing an increase of ghrelin - the hunger hormone, which is going to make it impossible for you to control your appetite and stay away from simple sugars and high-fat foods."
