When you look in the mirror, are you disappointed at the face staring back at you? Is your double chin all that you see? Are you constantly pulling at your face trying to make it disappear? Don't you wish that there was some kind of double chin exercise you could do to get rid of that unsightly layer of fat?

Well, I am sorry to say that there are not exercises to target getting rid of a double chin. But, the good news is that I can tell you how to get rid of a double chin. It comes down to one thing, reducing your overall body fat percentage. A double chin is simply an excess of fat and by lowering your body fat percentage, your double chin will go away.

The three key ingredients for getting rid of your double chin are: diet, strength training, and aerobic exercise. This may not be what you wanted to hear, but it is the truth. In order to lose that double chin, you must reduce your overall body fat. In order to do this you must have a good diet, and do aerobic exercise and strength training.

First Step: Diet

In order to maximize your results, you must reduce overall body fat. You cannot specifically target fat loss to one part of your body, so you must work on lowering your overall body fat percentage. The biggest way to control your body fat percentage is your diet.

I am not going to tell you to cut everything that tastes good out of your diet. I am a registered nutritionist and still have a sweet tooth to rival all sweet tooths! (My husband, the personal trainer, also likes to indulge in sweet treats!) I am however going to tell you to practice moderation! One or two cookies are okay, seven are not and it is possible to eat only one piece of pizza!

The key to a good diet, one that will melt fat, is moderation and counting those calories. Your diet should have about 60% carbohydrates, 35% protein, and no more than 15% fat. Easy ways to do this are to make sure that you are eating foods that have these proportions naturally. Start replacing any white foods (white bread, plain pasta, white rice) with brown foods (whole wheat bread, pasta, and brown rice). Also make sure you are getting plenty of vegetables.

At meals fill your plate 2/3 with vegetables and 1/3 with lean protein (white meat chicken or turkey, and fish). Remember moderation. An 8" or 9" plate is a lot more diet appropriate than a 12" plate. Also, it can take your body 15 minutes to tell your mind you're full, so wait before you have that second helping.

Second Step: Strength Training

Strength training is important when it comes to getting rid of fat. Muscle is a natural fat burner so since you cannot target fat loss to a specific area, you must build muscle all over in order to define and firm up your total body.

Strength training doesn't have to be done in a gym; it can be done at home. If you are unsure of what to do, there are a lot of great fitness books out there that will guide through exercises and diet.

Remember, a pound of muscle burns 10 more calories than a pound of fat without you doing any extra work! The more muscle you have the more fat you can burn!

Step Three: Aerobic Exercise

The first and second steps are very important, but you are never going to be able to get rid of a double chin without aerobic exercise. Aerobic exercise burns fat; there is no way to get around it. Again, it does not have to be done in a gym.

Find an activity that you like, that elevates your heart rate, and do it for about an hour, five days a week. Walk, run, play tennis, bike, shoot hoops, whatever it takes to get you moving and your heart rate elevated. Another plus to aerobic exercise is, it raises you caloric limit for the day. If you cheated during lunch, and you're counting the calories, you can make it up during your cardio session.