Have you ever wondered how to lose face fat for good?
It seems like everywhere we turn these days there’s a super skinny model plastered on every billboard or any magazine you decide to flip through.
Facial fat is cute as a child, but enter adulthood, sadly can be a source of ridicule and shame.
No wonder more people are curious about losing fat and are looking for ways to help chisel those jawlines.
And this doesn’t just apply to women- gone are the days when losing weight was a concern of women only.
Men are increasingly conscious of their weight and are looking for ways to achieve their ideal body weight.
Everybody is beautiful, absolutely.
But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t strive to get closer to what a target weight should be.
One of the most difficult places to reconstitute?
Your round face, strangely.
But don’t worry too much- as sometimes all it takes is a little know-how – exactly what we plan to teach you below.
What Is Face Fat?
Simple enough, but more specifically, face fat is a common term for the large, bulging fat deposits of white adipose tissue that can accumulate in the frontal aspect of the face, usually under the cheeks and chin.
The strange thing is that it doesn’t only affect overweight or obese people, but even average-built individuals too.
This has led some experts to believe that it has a strong genetic component.
White adipose tissue is also more notoriously difficult to lose than brown adipose fat, which contains higher mitochondrial numbers and makes easy work of burning calories.
“Brown fat” as it called, had important roles to play in survival in cold climates as it was effective at keeping us warm.
In short, it makes it easy to burn fat if you have more of the brown type.
How to Get a Slimmer Face – Make Your Face Thinner With These 13 Tips
1) Reduce Sodium Intake
What if you thought you had face fat, but instead it turned out to be water retention?
Sodium is notorious for promoting water retention in the body.
Puffiness ensues as a result, everywhere from your ankles, to your midsection and face.
While the degree to which this happens can vary a lot depending on how much sodium you consume daily and your genetic predisposition, it can easily be confused with being fat.
2) Water Is Your Friend
When it comes down to it, losing fat requires the same principle as weight loss anywhere else- creating a calorie deficit.
This deficit can result from diet or exercise, but better yet- a combination of the two.
Drinking water is not only important because it acts as the vehicle in which virtually all the body’s processes are done, but when consumed in sufficient quantities will have a blunting effect on appetite.
Try to down a glass or two before a meal- chances are high that you won’t have much space left to have that second plate of food.
The overall health benefits cannot be argued with.
Lastly, but just in case you need even more convincing, is the fact that water results in a brief metabolic boost that can help you burn a few more calories each time.
The change may not look significant, but positive results accrue little by little.
3) Limit Simple Sugars
Simple sugars are up to no good.
Besides their tasty goodness, they wreak havoc on your hormones and neurotransmitters, setting you up for a pseudo-addiction.
But that’s not all, simple sugar consumption is directly causing you to retain, and even gain more fat around your face.
This is owing to the effect of insulin, which is released and spikes every time blood glucose is present.
You will be hard-pressed to lose any amount of fat while your body is in “storage” mode thanks to insulin.
Puffy cheeks are a good indication of consuming too much sugar.
A good approach is to consume slower digesting carbohydrates that yield glucose slowly over the course of hours.
This way, insulin levels stay lower and your body doesn’t stay in fat storage mode all day long.
4) Restrict Alcohol to Reduce Cheek Fat
Alcohol is theoretically a simple sugar, but being sugar alcohol, it acts a bit differently in the body.
For one, it slows down fat metabolism and usage to the same extent as glucose but also increases fat gain.
Alcohol also increases stress hormone levels.
Higher cortisol levels translate to weight gain and fluid retention.
Then, it has the effect of causing excess fat accumulation around the liver chronic consumption. It also causes dehydration that will further slow down metabolism.
5) Eat More Protein
Consuming more protein each day is the number one way to hack your body into losing more weight, and without having to do anything extra!
Consuming more protein with every meal can help you lose weight in a couple of different ways.
Firstly, protein is extremely satiating.
This helps you eat less at each sitting, which by itself is good for helping with overall weight loss.
Secondly, and more importantly, is the thermic effect it possesses. See, when we eat food, it requires calories for the digestion process, or a processing fee so to speak.
This caloric requirement is highest for protein, which averages out 20-30% of total calories.
So, if in theory that protein meal contained 600 calories, you could end up with as little as 400 calories after digestion has taken place.
This makes it perfect for helping you craft that jawline and cheekbones.
6) Eat More Fiber
Did you know that eating more fiber is one of the most recommended ways to go about slimming your chubby cheeks?
Yes, but not because it does anything magical per se.
Simply because it helps to keep your appetite in check.
Fiber does two things, that it helps slow glucose absorption (and hence insulin spikes), and it holds on to water and gives the impression that you’re fuller for longer.
Fiber can also help remove excess water from your body which could cause puffiness around your face.
7) Exercises To Help Reduce Face Fat
You didn’t think that attaining a chiseled and lean face would be possible without some good old elbow grease, did you?
While entirely possible, to achieve the shape you might desire, some facial exercises can go a far way- given that you do the right ones of course!
Feel free to use a mirror to help you master the techniques if needed.
8) The Cheekbone Lifter
If you want slimmer cheeks, you must stimulate the facial muscles with exercise. This exercise is extremely easy to do:
- With your fingers, press your cheeks upward.
- Open your mouth, dropping your lower jaw as much as comfortably possible to form an O
- Hold this position for 30 seconds before resting for 15 seconds
- Repeat 10 times.
After performing this, you should feel some amount of cheek muscles fatiguing. This is a good indication of success. Say goodbye to cheek fat!
9) Cheek Squeezes
While the cheekbone lifter is great for a slimmer appearance, cheek squeezing really helps with definition. To perform:
- Tilt your head back, extending your chin forward
- Squeeze your cheeks in as far as possible (classic “fish face”)
- Hold this position for a few seconds, repeating 20 times
10) Half Cringes
Half cringes work great at targeting fat deposits between the cheeks and lips, an otherwise trouble area to target.
To perform, try to point one side of your mouth downward (right cheek followed by left cheek or vice versa)
Hold that position for 5 seconds, then alternate
Perform each side 10 times
11) Jaw Flexing
Toned cheekbones look great, but you know what makes a perfect match?
A chiseled chin and jawline. This facial exercise will help get you there. To get rid of that double chin, do this:
- Tilt your head backward, raising your lower lip above the upper one
- You should feel the muscles in your face lifting to the area just below your ears
- Hold this position for 10 seconds, and repeat 10-20 times
12) Neck Rolls
Not everyone is the same. Sure, they have some extra fat in the cheek or chin area, but in some people, the neck is their major trouble area.
Losing cheek fat is the easiest for the majority of people.
First and foremost, be sure to get checked out by an ENT if your neck seems larger than normal (to rule out thyroid disease).
Once given the all-clear, you can perform this exercise without worry.
- To perform, simply tilt your head to one side, holding for 10 seconds at a time.
- Repeat a total of 5 times for each side
This works to stimulate the muscles in the neck and can reduce fatty deposits there
13) Good Old Cardio
While face-specific exercises are great for helping to tone the muscles located there, you still need to ensure that overall body fat is low enough to accomplish this.
It is very difficult to spot reduce fat from the face only (in fact, spot-reduction is considered a fitness myth).
With that in mind, you need to create a plan for cardio exercise that will increase energy expenditure and subsequently promote fat loss potential.
A good cardio plan is to perform exercises such as jogging, running, cycling or even swimming 4-5 days per week for a minimum of 30 minutes each session.
If you can’t just try to get a few minutes.
Slowly increase the time spent doing this up to a maximum of 60 minutes.
Final Words
Losing face fat and overall fat burning is an attainable goal. It does, however, require a smart, concerted effort on several fronts to do so.
This means addressing nutrition, lifestyle, and activity detriments that could be promoting the retention of fat.
Pro Tip: Try chewing gum and yoga designed to increase your deep breath duration. These all contribute bit by bit to contour your desired face shape and allow you to get that defined jawline!