Simple & Effective Ways to Lose Weight from your Face

Simple & Effective Ways to Lose Weight from your Face

All of us want to look our best and feel full of confidence without having too much fat around our face. You may feel that you have to lose weight from your face if you notice that your cheeks are too chubby or that you have a fat face. Or, you may have noticed excess fat under your chin when trying to button up your favorite shirt or blouse.

Losing weight in your face usually involves shedding pounds from your body in general. It is difficult to target just one area of your body (like your face) for weight loss, so a program of general exercise and sticking to a healthy diet is one of the best ways to slim your face and lose facial fat as well as body fat. There are also specific ways to tone the muscles in your face to make it look less puffy and chubby.

Before we look at practical ways to lose weight from your face, there is one important question to ask yourself: do you really need to get rid of face fat?

Do You Need to Lose Weight from Your Face?

First of all, be realistic about the need to make your face look slimmer. The fashion industry is dominated by thin supermodels who generally don’t represent the average person. So, if you are thinking about embarking on a slimming program to improve your appearance and lose face fat, you might want to get a second opinion first of all.

You should also take into account your genes because some people are genetically predisposed to have rounder facial features. So, why not have a look at your family members and determine whether “chubby cheeks” or having a “fuller face” is a feature that runs in your family. If that is so, dieting and exercising are certainly great to keep yourself fit and healthy, but it may not help you lose the fullness around your face.

If you have a healthy weight and enjoy regular exercise, you should rather work on lovingly accepting your looks.

Is Your Face Chubby of Puffy?

There is a difference between having a chubby face and a puffy face. Knowing the difference between the two is first step to plan how to make your face look slimmer.

A chubby face is the result of too much fat around your cheeks, chin, and neck. However, a puffy face is more likely the result of water retention that gives your face a bloated look.

According to doctors from the State Government of Victoria in Australia, dietary choices, dehydration, consuming too much alcohol, and hot weather can be reasons why your body retains water. This can cause swelling and puffiness around your face, ankles, and stomach.1

Doctors recommend various steps to try and eliminate the surplus liquid and make your face appear thinner.

Reduce salt in your food to make your face thinner

Reducing salt and in your diet is one way to make your face thinner. Too much salt is bad for your cardiovascular system and it also increases fluid retention in your body.

Studies have shown that too much salt in your diet can cause your body to store excess water.2 This results in puffiness around your face and swollen ankles and hands.

To prevent facial puffiness, cut down on the amount of salt you add to food and carefully read the packaging of processed food to see the sodium content. Your heart will thank you for this as well.

Cut out sugar and carbohydrates to lose weight faster

Cutting down on sugar and refined carbohydrates can also help your face to look thinner. Apart from helping to lose weight, excess sugar in your diet also makes the body retain more fluid.

A study in the International Journal of Hypertension showed that spikes in blood sugar and insulin causes the kidneys to store more sodium. This leads to a buildup of fluid and may be the cause of puffiness around your face.5

Drink plenty fluids to lose weight from your face

Drinking more water may help to give your face a thinner appearance and make it look like you lost weight from your face. It is also an effective way to help you lose 10 pounds in 7 days.

Drinking plenty of fluids helps to prevent the negative consequences of dehydration. If your body is dehydrated, it starts to store fluids which can lead to swelling around your joints and face.

Although it may sound paradoxical, drinking water actually reduces water retention. The Journal of the American Society of Nephrology reported that drinking plenty of fluids helps to flush out the kidneys and can prevent a buildup of toxins.3

One way to know if you are drinking enough fluids is to check the color of your urine. There is actually a lot that the color of your urine can tell about your health.

Avoid alcohol the reduce puffiness

Avoiding alcohol is one way to reduce puffiness around your face and give your face a slimmer appearance. Excessive alcohol consumption has a negative impact on your kidney and liver function, and water retention is one side effect.4

Check your medication

A side effect of some over-the-counter and prescription medication is facial water retention which makes your face look bloated. If your face has appeared fuller since taking a certain medication, speak to your healthcare professional about other options. Maybe there is another medication that won’t make your face look so puffy.

General Diet to Lose Weight from Your Face

If your facial fat is a result of being overweight, you should start on a diet to help lose excess fat quickly. The good news is that facial fat is often the first to go. So, very soon, as you start to lose excess body fat, you will also start to lose weight from your face.

The key to getting a slimmer face with dieting is to eat fewer calories than you burn during the day. This will force your body to use energy that is stored as fat and the result will be that you lose face fat as well.

It is always advisable to speak to a medical professional before starting a weight-loss diet, especially if you have any underlying medical condition. Advice from dieticians can help you chose the perfect diet for your lifestyle and to start slimming your face and other areas where you are holding too much fat.

If you want to lose weight from your face through dieting, there are a few general guidelines that can help you shed extra pounds.

Once you have achieved your desired results, you should stick to a healthy diet and exercise regime to prevent face fat returning. Cardiovascular exercise such as running, cycling, and swimming is great for burning calories and losing weight around your face. To build up lean muscles, take up some strength training and speed up your metabolism.

Facial Exercises

One of the most important facts to remember if you want to lose weight from your face is to focus on losing weight from your whole body. You will feel healthier, look better, and be full of confidence. However, there are some facial exercises that may help to make your face thinner. These exercises tone up the 40 or so muscles in your face to give it a slimmer appearance.

Here are some great facial exercises that can help your face have a more toned appearance. Some of these exercises may make you look (and feel) slightly silly, but don’t worry, you will soon have a slender, slim face.

  • To tone the muscles around your mouth, say X and O in a row. This exercise makes your facial muscles contract and move. Do this exercise daily, repeating it as many times as you can.
  • Help get rid of chubby cheeks by toning your cheek muscles. All you have to do is make a fish face by sucking in your cheeks. Repeat a few times every day for best results.
  • Get all your facial muscles working by opening your mouth widely and roundly. Hold the position for a few seconds and relax. To help tone your muscles on your face, repeat 30 times a day.
  • Fill your mouth with air so that your face looks fat and round. Keeping your lips closed, move the air in your mouth from side to side. Do this for a few minutes a day.
  • Chewing gum is a great exercise for your face to help keep your facial muscles toned. Choose a sugar-free gum and make sure that it doesn’t contain aspartame. This artificial sweetener has been dubbed the silent killer and should be avoided. Choose a natural stevia-based gum instead.

One way to make you brim with confidence and keep your facial muscles tight is to smile. This will not only help you relieve stress naturally, but it will bring joy to those around you.

Habits That Can Make Your Face Look Either Slimmer or Fatter

  • Get enough sleep. Sleep deprivation can make you look more bloated and can affect the appearance of your face. Also, not getting enough sleep (around 7-9 hours a day is recommended for adults) causes you to eat more and crave unhealthy foods due to the hormonal imbalance that sleep deprivation causes.
  • Quit smoking. We all know that smoking is bad for you. But, it is also bad for your skin and the appearance of your face because it makes skin age faster. Smoking-related fine lines can contribute to an impression of facial sagginess. Quitting smoking doesn’t have to be so difficult if you follow these 5 ways to quit smoking naturally.
  • Check your hairstyle. If you naturally have a fuller face or chubby cheeks, chose a hairstyle that gives your face a slimmer appearance. Generally, longer hair can make your cheeks look fuller and a shorter haircut can help you look younger and thinner.
  • Makeup. If you use makeup, style yourself to make your face look slimmer. Lighter lipstick shades tend to make your face look thinner than dark lipstick. You can also learn about contouring to emphasize certain features of your face to create an impression of thinness. It’s not cheating, just using tools at your disposal to create a slimmer-looking face.

If you suffer from a double chin, then you can find some great exercises to get rid of excess fat from under your chin in my article: How to Lose Double Chin Without Chin Liposuction

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Article Sources:
  1. BetterHealth. Fluid retention.
  2. Clin Exp Hypertens A. 1987;9(7):1243-58.
  3. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2008 Jun;19(6):1041-3
  4. NIAAA. Alcohol’s impact on kidney function.
  5. International Journal of Hypertension


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