How To Lose Face Fat | How to reduce face fat

How to lose face fat | Face exercises and benefits | How to reduce face fat | Importance of overall weight loss | Is it possible to reduce face fat? | Reasons behind face fat | The difference between puffy face and fat face | What is the best way to get a slimmer face?

It’s common to gain weight around the belly. Apart from this, your face is also one area of your body where you might gain weight. With the soft chubby cheeks, the smell of their hair along with their toothless smile, a baby can look angelic. It can fill you up with sheer joy. A round fat face is extremely endearing in a child. As one grows up, going by the fitness and beauty standards of today, it starts to become a less attractive feature in one. A well-defined jawline is a representation of a fit body. Facial fat can be annoying and make one wonder how to reduce face fat?

Actually, the face fat is a result of excess fat deposits around the face area, especially around the jaw, chin, neck area, and cheeks. In medical terms, it is referred to as ‘Moon Face.’ You cannot lose face fat without controlling your overall body weight.

Weight loss is a process and it takes time. Also, you cannot lose your face fat without toning your entire body. Moreover, there is no area-specific weight loss remedy or exercise to lose face fat. You need to work out regularly, maintain a good lifestyle, and cut down on certain excesses to get that sharp and toned look. This article will guide you through everything to help you get that perfect jawline and chiseled cheekbones.

Reasons behind face fat

We all have different face shapes and facial structures. Some face shapes like oval or round tend to look chubbier even when you put on a little weight. Face muscles and our bone structure also determine the way we look ultimately.

However, everyone’s body is different, and it stores fat in different areas. Some people might have more fat on their stomach and thighs, while others might have a round face and a lean body.

Some of the reasons that you might be putting on excessive face fat are - 

🔸Ageing

🔸Overdeveloped facial muscles

🔸The side effects of steroids

🔸Lack of sleep

🔸Genetics and hormonal factors

🔸Weight gain

🔸Poor diet

🔸Lack of exercise

🔸Alcohol

🔸High sodium intake

🔸Thyroid

🔸Poor lifestyle

What is the difference between puffy face and fat face?

Waking up to a puffy, swollen face due to lack of sleep, stress, too much salt intake or just a poor lifestyle is very common for many people. Puffy face gradually goes down to its normal shape and size after some time.

Face fat, on the other hand, is somewhat permanent and results of a body type. Weight loss and consistent exercise are the only way to shed those extra kilos around your face area.

Reasons for a puffy face - 

🔸Allergic reaction

🔸Too much salt

🔸Alcohol

🔸Stress

🔸Periods

🔸Thyroid

🔸Injury

🔸Dehydration

🔸Bug bite

🔸Sunburn

🔸Food allergies

🔸Angioedema – a collection of fluid under your face skin

Ways to reduce a puffy face - 

🔸Avoid salty food

🔸Avoid processed food

🔸Stay hydrated

🔸Avoid excess alcohol

🔸Don’t sleep on your belly

🔸Put ice on your face in the morning

🔸Apply chilled cucumber slices or green tea bags

🔸Gently massage your face to promote blood circulation

🔸Use a chilled eye-roller to reduce puffiness under the eyes

Importance of overall weight loss

When you gain weight; excessive fat starts to deposit around your face. There is no specific way to target weight loss to just one part of your body. If you want to lose your excess facial weight, then losing overall body weight is the key. Once you start losing your overall weight, your face will automatically lose fat and become slim.

How to reduce face fat?

1. Stay hydrated

Staying hydrated is the key to weight loss. Water plays a significant role in weight loss. It helps to flush out harmful toxins from the body. Make sure you drink plenty of water throughout the day to boost weight loss.

2. Reduce refined carbs 

We all love some good cookies, crispy chips, and a delicious bowl of pasta. However, these refined carbohydrates (Polished cereals and Grains - Flour like Maida; White Sugar; White Rice) are full of sugar and empty calories. They lead to excessive weight gain and fat storage in the body, including the face.

3. Reduce sodium intake

Sodium makes your body retain water which in turn results in bloating and swelling of the body, including the face. Therefore, avoid heavily processed foods (especially meats like sausages, ham, bacon, etc) along with pickles and preserves (which use too much salt) to prevent excess sodium consumption.

4. Include cardio in your weekly routine

Cardio or any other aerobic exercise that increases your heart rate is perfect for losing those extra kilos. Include running, dancing, walking, swimming, or any other physical exercise that keeps your heart rate high. Cardio is ideal for faster weight loss. Therefore, you would automatically have a slimmer face.

5. Increase fibre content 

Higher fibre intake can help better with weight loss, as it keeps the body full and reduces sugar cravings. So including whole wheat, multi-grains along with green leafy vegetables, nuts, seeds, and legumes will help to reduce overall body weight.

6. Get proper sleep 

Sleep deprivation triggers stress, weight gain, increased appetite and slow metabolism. Thus good quality sleep is paramount to achieving a healthier weight range.

7. Reduce alcohol consumption

Alcohol is high in calories. Regular consumption of alcohol can lead to facial fat. Thus moderate your alcohol consumption.

8. Sleeping posture and positions for agile facial muscles

Your sleeping posture is also responsible for that bloated puffy face in the morning. Sleeping while pressing your face against the pillow can lead to fluid build-up and puffiness. Sleep on an elevated pillow to let the lymphatic fluids flow smoothly.

Squeezing your face in the pillow will put excessive pressure on your face and restrict blood flow. Additionally, you can massage your face well before you go to sleep to get that blood flowing. You can try sleeping on your back or side, to avoid putting too much pressure on your face. A correct sleeping posture can help you deal with puffiness and swelling. To sum it up, never sleep without a pillow as a flat posture can cause the lymphatic fluids to collect in your face.

Face exercises and benefits

Although facial exercises do not specifically target facial fat, they can help you to strengthen your facial muscles. Facial exercises are extremely easy to perform and you can do them anywhere anytime.

1. Puff your cheeks 

Fill your mouth with air and hold your breath for 10 seconds. Now, turn the air towards the right cheek and hold it for the next 10 seconds. Do the same with the left cheek. Repeat 10 times. This exercise increases blood circulation in your face muscles, strengthens facial muscles, and tones the face.

2. Lip exercise 

Keep your head still and try to lift the bottom lip upwards as far as you can by stretching out the jawbones. Hold the position for 15 - 20 seconds. Repeat it 15 times. This exercise gives your face an instant lift and sharpens the jawbones.

3. Chew gum 

You can do this exercise with or without chewing gum. Chew your gum or create the effect of chewing gum in your mouth. Do it for 20 seconds. Repeat 15 times. This exercise helps to reduce the double chin and sharpens the jawline.

4. Raise your brows 

Place your index and middle fingers together below your eyebrows. Rest your fingers and palm on your face. Keep your eyes open and lift your eyebrows up and down with the help of your fingers. Relax after performing the movement. Perform three sets of 30 seconds each. This exercise helps to remove forehead wrinkles also promotes blood circulation around the eye area.

5. Fish face 

Suck your cheeks in and make a fish-like face. Stay in this position for 20 seconds. Repeat 20 times. This exercise tones the cheek muscles and gives them a chiseled look.

What is the best way to get a slimmer face?

Whether you’re dealing with a stubborn double chin or especially puffy cheeks, the one tried and tested method to achieve a slimmer face is to reduce overall body fat. With this in mind, here are a few tips to get you started.

Bump up the fiber

Almost everyone is familiar with the wonderful benefits of eating a healthy diet that’s low in processed foods and refined flour. But did you know that a diet rich in fiber and complex carbs can also support sustainable fat loss? According to a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine, eating as little as 30 grams of fiber a day from veggies, whole grains, and fruits can support healthy weight loss, reduce blood pressure, and improve the body’s response to insulin.

Drink plenty of water

Drinking water not only supports a healthy metabolism but also keeps you full and reduces cravings. Plus, not drinking enough H2O can trigger the body to store more water - like in the cheeks. In short, drinking water is important, especially if you’re trying to lose face fat.

Cut back on the booze

Excessive alcohol intake can be one of the biggest culprits behind weight gain and bloating. Not only does alcohol contain mostly empty calories that can contribute to weight gain, but it can also act as a diuretic, which can lead to dehydration and water retention. Of course, cutting back on the booze won’t magically erase your double chin, but it can definitely help to reduce stubborn body fat.

Get enough sleep

Did you know that a lack of quality shut-eye can increase your body’s levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which can manifest into inconsistent eating patterns and an uptick in body and facial fat? Yup, it’s true - to reduce overall body fat, sleep is of the utmost importance. The National Sleep Foundation guideline advises that healthy adults get between seven and nine hours of restful sleep per night.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q. How to lose face fat naturally?

Ans - Like any other body part, the face fat is a function of excess fat deposit. One cannot lose weight in the face of isolation. When one loses weight all over the body, the face shrinks too. However, certain hacks like chewing gums, sucking your cheeks for a few minutes in a day, facial yoga, may complement the overall weight loss effort and keep facial muscles toned.

Q. What causes face fat?

Ans - Simply put, facial fat is caused by weight gain, which is often due to factors like a poor diet and lack of exercise. Still, aging, hormones, and genetics can also play a role. While some folks are more likely to store fat around their waistline, others store it in and around the face. As a result, these faces appear rounder and fuller. That said, the distribution of fat on an individual’s face can vary from person to person. Typically, it’s most visible in the jowls, cheeks, and neck, as well as under the chin. Excess food, irregular sleep, sedentary lifestyle, medication, hormonal imbalance, aging, alcohol consumption, poor sleeping posture, and genetics are some of the parameters that increase body fat. The same reasons are responsible for excess face fat.

Q. What is the role of genetics in facial fat?

Ans - Genetics can be an active contributor to excess face fat. However, to reduce the role genetics play, one can focus on other factors which help offset the same. Better diet, more exercise, better sleep management, less stress, less salt intake, more water intake are factors that can speed weight loss, and consequently, one can have a slimmer face.

Q. Exercise to reduce facial fat?

Ans - No exercise can reduce fat from a specific part only. Face fat reduction is directly proportional to overall body fat reduction. Only facial exercises cannot reduce face fat. However, some of them may help in toning and strengthening facial muscles. Any form of regular exercise that helps in overall weight loss, will ultimately impact face fat too.

Q. Is it possible to lose fat from just your face?

Ans - Here’s the truth - It’s not possible to spot reduce fat from any one part of your body - those facial exercises just aren’t going to get rid of chubby cheeks. To repeat: Spot reducing fat from a specific part of your body isn’t possible, and that includes excess facial fat.

The reason is simple - Spot reduction as a form of fat burning doesn’t work. It’s an outdated concept that once theorized doing specific workouts could reduce fat in specific areas of the body, such as your jawline or cheeks. For instance, doing lunges to burn fat around the thighs or ab exercises to melt belly fat. 

But here’s the reality - Fat doesn’t melt. And it technically doesn’t “burn,” either. However, I suppose “burning fat” is an accurate depiction of the process, as fat does get released from cells for energy when you’re in a calorie deficit. Unfortunately, if you’re aiming to make your face look slimmer, the systems responsible for this complex process don’t take into consideration the parts of the body we’d most like the fat to be drawn from … such as the face. In other words, if you’re on a mission to lose face fat and reach your weight loss goals, a comprehensive approach to reducing your overall body fat is your best bet, as spot reduction doesn’t actually work.   

Q. How can you tell the difference between face fat and bloating?

Ans - Sometimes - especially after an indulgent night of takeout or chocolate - your face can take on a bit of puffiness. Don’t panic. Your cheat meal didn’t cause you to pack on the pounds overnight. You’re probably just bloated.

Weight gain and excess body fat take place when extra fat deposits build up, causing your face to become more round, puffy, and full. While the reason behind weight gain varies from person to person, a poor diet, lack of exercise, and genetic makeup are typically to blame. On the flip side, facial bloating is notoriously known to fluctuate as it depends on the underlying cause. 

For example, if you’re pre-menstrual or just ate an especially salty meal, you may notice that your face is puffier than usual. Why? Because both sodium in excess and hormone changes can cause bloating. However, unlike face fat via weight gain, a bloated face will typically slim back down within 24 hours. A chubby face due to weight gain, on the other hand, takes more time and effort. This is because losing face fat requires losing total body fat.