Chubby cheeks may be cute on a baby, but they’re much less desirable on adults. The face is a common area where people say they want to lose weight. This type of specific weight loss can be difficult, but there are tips that can help you lose fat and slim your face.
As the first thing, people see of you, it’s natural to want your face to look its best. Unfortunately, it can be one of the first parts of our bodies to show weight gain. You may notice undesirable features like a double chin or sagging skin.
The key to reducing this face fat is understanding what it is.
Why Is My Face Fat?
A chubbier face is likely a symptom of general weight gain. Things like a poor diet or lack of exercise lead to fat buildup all over the body. When these fat deposits build up around the face, it gradually becomes rounder and fuller.
Face fat varies for each person. Facial appearance is also affected by genetic factors, bone structure, and muscle development. While you can’t control these, there are things you can control for a slimmer face.
How do I Lose Weight in My Face?
The best way to lose weight in your face is to lose weight overall.
Despite what infomercials may tell you, it’s impossible to target weight loss to one specific area. Instead of focusing on your face, put your efforts towards living a healthy lifestyle. Eat a balanced diet and exercise consistently. Soon you’ll be slimmer all over – your face included!
Luckily, as you lose weight in general, your face will likely be one of the first places to show it. Even just a few lost pounds can lead to slimmer cheeks and a tighter jawline.
To lose weight in your face and live healthier, try these techniques.
1. Reduce sodium
After you eat a salty pretzel or sushi covered in soy sauce, you want to drink water, right? Your body reacts to sodium the same way.
When you consume salty or processed foods, your body sends thirst signals. The water you crave counteracts the sodium. In an ideal cycle, the sodium would be flushed out of your body with the water you drank.
However, if you eat many sodium-rich foods, your body uses other means to balance salt and water. Sodium is still excreted, but water is retained.
This can have many negative health effects, but one you’ll notice right away is a puffier face. To avoid chubby cheeks, reduce the levels of sodium in your diet. Experts recommend no more than 2,300 mg of sodium per day.
2. Reduce refined carbs
To lose weight, a healthy diet is key and refined carbs should be one of the first things to go.
There are two types of carbohydrates, complex and refined. Complex carbs are whole grain, minimally processed foods like brown rice, oats, or wheat bread. They digest slowly, giving you a steady burst of energy and satisfaction.
On the other hand, refined carbs have been processed and have lost most of their nutrients. These are foods like white bread, potato chips, or pastries. They contain empty calories that lead to weight gain.
It’s not necessary (or healthy) to eliminate all carbs from your diet. Just make sure that the carbs you do eat are complex. This will help you lose weight in your body and your face.
3. Limit alcohol
You may have noticed that after a night out, your face looks a little puffier the next day. That’s because, like sodium, alcohol causes us to retain water and bloat.
When we drink, our body becomes dehydrated. To counteract this, our cells hold on to as much water as we can. This shows up as a red, swollen face.
Alcohol is also full of calories without very many beneficial nutrients. Depending on what you order, one drink could have a few hundred calories. That adds up quickly to extra pounds. For a slimmer face and healthier weight, limit your alcohol consumption.
Experts recommend no more than one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men.
4. Exercise consistently
No weight loss plan is complete without an exercise component. Daily physical activity gets your heart rate up and burns calories to keep you feeling your best.
Adults should aim for 150 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity each week. While you could meet that number with one or two long sessions at the gym, it’s best to spread it out and be consistent.
Move for 30 minutes each day, in whatever way feels best for you. Whether it’s walking, dancing, or jogging, a consistent exercise schedule develops healthy habits. You’ll be more likely to see the results you want, like a slimmer face.
5. Lift weights
Many people make the common mistake of only doing cardio exercise to lose weight. Activities like running do indeed burn calories and keep your heart healthy. However, weight training has a more significant effect on your metabolism and fat loss.
Resistance training is key to building muscle, and muscle is a fat-burning machine. They burn more energy in the body than many other tissues, including fat. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn naturally.
Weight lifting also boosts the metabolism long after you leave the gym. A 30-minute weight session will not burn as many calories as a 30-minute jog. But when you stop running, you stop burning calories. On the other hand, that weight session will elevate your metabolism to keep burning throughout the day.
If you’re new to weight, start with just your body weight. Gradually increase your weight training as you get stronger. Work with a trainer, if necessary, to make sure you are lifting with the correct form.
6. Try a lymphatic massage or facial roller
On days when you want to look your best, a lymphatic massage or facial roller could be an easy way to de-puff the face.
Facial rollers have gained popularity in recent years as a way to bring the spa home. The small T- or Y-shaped devices hold a ball or cylinder at the end that can be rolled along the contours of the face.
By stimulating the skin, promotes blood flow and helps lymph drainage. The lymphatic system is one of the ways that the body clears toxins and waste. The lymph nodes under the chin keep the face from looking swollen and puffy.
Rollers and massages both help the lymphatic system do its job more efficiently. As a result, you’re left with a firmer, slimmer looking face.
7. Do “face yoga”
Normal yoga helps weight loss and can build strength and muscle tone. “Face yoga” can have many of the same results for the face.
The concept is the same – perform and hold poses with your face to stretch and build your facial muscles. Facial aging and weight gain can be caused, in part, by loss of muscle tone. As you build those muscles back up, your face can look slimmer and more youthful.
Some common exercises could include blowing air out your lips or puffing your cheeks. Consistency is key so try to commit to doing these every day.
Keep in mind that the scientific evidence for this is still limited, but reviews are promising.
8. Stay hydrated
Staying hydrated is one of the most important things you can do to lose weight in your body and face.
Drinking water is key to decreasing caloric intake. Water with meals helps you feel satisfied and fight off hunger. This means you won’t be tempted to snack between meals. It has also been shown to boost your metabolism, so you burn more calories overall.
Choosing water over other sugary beverages makes a big difference as well. Swapping out a single sugary drink a day for water can save you almost 5000 calories per month.
Keep a water bottle with you during the day to stay hydrated.
9. Eat antioxidants to reduce inflammation
Inflammation can be a key contributor to face fat. When our bodies find something that they consider “foreign,” their first defense line is inflammation. It’s why an injury will swell up or why your face looks puffy during allergy season.
Sometimes it’s easy to tell what has caused the inflammation, and sometimes it’s not. Foods like sugar, refined carbs, and soft drinks can all cause inflammation. To prevent this, you can avoid these foods, but why not take it a step further.
On the other end of the spectrum are foods that actively fight inflammation. Foods like tomatoes, leafy greens, and nuts keep you looking and feeling your best. Try incorporating these into your diet to reduce any inflammation in your face.
10. Smile
A weight loss journey may be difficult, but don’t forget to smile!
Smiling, even when we may not feel like it, can actually improve our mood. The simple gesture causes a dopamine release in our brain. Dopamine is the chemical responsible for the feeling of happiness. You may be faking a smile, but your brain doesn’t know that.
Serotonin is also released when we smile. This hormone reduces stress and anxiety. High levels of stress have been linked to weight gain. It’s harder to lose weight when we feel stressed. By smiling and releasing these chemicals, you’re on your way to a slimmer face.
Everyone has “trouble areas” on their body. It can be extra frustrating when your face is one of them. Luckily, a few changes can eliminate extra fat on your face and keep you looking your best.