Fight against fat is becoming more nuanced and complex as the race to get fit and fabulous keeps heating up. If you are someone who is in the same boat you don’t really have to lose hope just yet. Having a high body mass index (BMI) means that a high percentage of your body weight comes from fat. But fat doesn't just get accumulated in your hips and lower abdomen, it goes to your face too. You can cover your abdomen, thighs and hips but face fat is impossible to hide. There are many issues regarding facial fat including double chin and puffy cheeks. Everyone desires that toned facial structure hidden beneath the layer of fat but for some, it is an excruciatingly difficult process.
Although it is important to know that technically it is not possible to lose weight from any specific area in the body naturally. There is no miracle potion for spot reduction. Hence, if you are overweight, you need to lose weight from all of your body. Apart from facial exercises, you need to go for regular work out and need to control your eating habits.

Facial fat can also be because of water retention in your face for which you need to limit salt or sodium intake.
Read on to know more of these easy and effective tips and tricks that may help you get that well defined facial structure.

  1. Do you really need to lose fat from the face?
  2. Spot reduction of fat is not possible
  3. Facial exercises to reduce face fat
  4. Food habits and diet to get rid of face fat
  5. Other alternatives
  6. Tips to get rid of face fat

Every individual has their own basic skeletal structure that cannot be changed. Only the layer of fat over it can be reduced or gained. You can't get rid of all the fat from your body and face as fat is essential in many ways. It is a stored form of energy and helps in providing a structure to your body. It also helps store vitamins and plays a significant role in ensuring immunity.
Genes play a big role in giving you your facial structure. Your facial structure can have different shape or size depending on your family genes. Some people have small nose while others don't. Some may have slim cheeks naturally but others have puffy cheeks according to their genes. So if your facial structure is quite similar and in the same proportion to your family members you need to think again about your facial fat.
If you have puffy eyes then it does not mean you have extra facial fat. Puffy eyes are because of other reasons like infection, allergies or over-consumption of salt. Another major reason for facial puffiness may be water retention. This can be due to the consumption of too much salt. Hypothyroidism can also lead to a heavier looking face
So, you need to analyze yourself well before you get into the techniques to reduce facial fat. Look into a mirror and observe properly for any of the above conditions. Once you are sure that you indeed have excess facial fat, you can gear up and get rid of it for good.

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Before you jump into any facial exercise routine, you must know that losing weight from a specific part of the body is not possible. Only by an overall weight loss can toned facial muscles be attained. So, if you are overweight, then you should plan a weight loss strategy for overall weight reduction. For this, you need to work out and sweat. Join a gym or exercise at home, whichever is convenient for you. Apart from this, you can also enjoy any of your favourite activities like cycling or swimming. You can even grab your earphones and go for some reinvigorating runs.
Along with these physical exercises, you must change your food habits. These two are complementary and not mutually exclusive. Stop eating processed and fried food. Reduce sugar consumption. Reducing weight in this way will not just help in giving you your desired body and face but will make you healthier and efficient. It will also help you in keeping safe from many diseases like cardiovascular disorders and enhance the quality of your life.
But to attain your desired results, the most important thing is to bear patience. You won't get your desired result overnight. It takes time to reduce weight. So maintain consistency and dedication if you want to look fit and stay healthy.

Having a firm and toned face is important to maintain a youthful look. It is considered a symbol of physical health and fitness. There are many facial exercises that can help in losing extra fat from your face and give it a stout structure. Here are some exercises you can adapt for your desired goal.

Smile exercise for reducing face fat

This exercise works out a lot of your facial muscles especially your cheek muscles. With a positive mind, get ready for the exercise. This exercise can be performed in both sitting and standing position

  • Start smiling a little. Part your lips slightly and stretch them laterally. Keep your face in the same position for at least 10 seconds
  • Expand the smile laterally. Widen the gap between the lips by pulling the upper lip slightly upward. Do this for 10 seconds again
  • Increase the muscle tension by lateral expansion of cheeks. This tension will make your lower lip shift little upward and cover the mandibular (lower jaw) teeth. Again, be like this for at least 10 seconds
  • Increase the pressure such that gums remain invisible except the interdental papilla for 10  seconds
  • Slowly start relaxing your muscles. Stop when half of the teeth are visible and stay in this position for 10 seconds
  • Continue relaxing but keep your maxillary anterior teeth visible
  • Now go back to the initial position
  • Smile again with lips slightly apart
  • Put both your fingers at the end of lips while smiling.
  • Try coming back to your normal position against the pressure of your fingers. Try making lip-contact in the middle
  • Now reverse this process. Close your lips and try to smile against the pressure of fingers
  • Reduce the pressure of fingers slowly and expand your smile.
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Lip exercise for face fat reduction

This exercise helps you to get a natural colour of fleshy part of the lip by increasing the blood flow.

  • Open your mouth wide apart. Don’t apply any pressure. Keep your upper and lower lips relaxed.
  • Bring the lower lip forward and gently close the lips
  • Turn both of your lips inside while exerting some pressure
  • Repeat this a few times

Facelift exercise to get rid of excess facial fat

It is a dual-focused exercise of the face. The first focus is on the angularis branch of face near the nose wings and front upper lip. While the second focus will be on orbicularis (muscle in the face that arises from the nasal part of the frontal bone). This exercise is mainly for a sagging face and toning the naso-labial fold. Daily application of this exercise can give results in just 3-5 months.

  • Slightly open your mouth and widen your nostrils
  • Pull your nose as up as possible
  • Relax your upper lip
  • Now, pull your upper lip upwards
  • Stay in the position for a few seconds and then bring it down
  • Slightly open your mouth
  • Place your finger under the eye on the cheekbones on both sides, while relaxing the upper lip
  • Curl your lip upwards slowly
  • Try curling as much as possible and stay in this position for a few minutes
  • Slowly return to the initial position and relax

Mandibular exercise to reduce face fat

This is a great exercise to tackle double chin and for prevention of ageing grooves. It involves movements that activate your temporalis, external pterygoid, digastric, mentalis, platysma, and the lower orbicularis muscles. It not only helps in strengthening muscles but also helps to improve muscle conditioning. 

  • Keep your lips and teeth in a closed position
  • While keeping your lips together, separate your teeth
  • Move your lower jaw forward
  • Pull your lower lip upward in this position.
  • Try holding this position for 5 seconds
  • Come back to the initial position and relax

Apart from exercises, you also need to adapt to healthy eating habits. A healthy and well-balanced diet not only aids your weight loss regime but also it helps you maintain your weight once you shed all those extra pounds. To begin with, it is imperative that you cut off unnecessary fat from your diet.

Cut your fat consumption

Although fat is an important macronutrient that helps in various body functions like absorption and transport of some vitamins ( fat-soluble vitamins - A, D and E) excess of this nutrient can do more harm than good for your body.
So, it is best that you avoid food that is too high in fat. However, you need to be a bit smart while cutting down fat. Fats can be classified into saturated fat and unsaturated fat.
Saturated fats are usually solid at room temperature and include butter, meat, and coconut oil.  Processed food items, deep fried food, and chocolates also contain saturated fat. These fat are not good for our body hence it is best to avoid them as much as possible. Apart from obesity, they also increase cholesterol levels, which can lead to many other issues in the body like cardiovascular disorders.
Unsaturated fat, on the other hand, is considered good fats. They can be further classified as monounsaturated or polyunsaturated. These are healthy fats but still should be taken in small amounts to maintain or reduce weight.  Some food items that are rich in unsaturated fat include fish, nuts, and vegetable oil (canola oil, olive oil, and sunflower oil). It is recommended to use vegetable oil for cooking purpose instead of butter or ghee. But still, try using the least amount of oil.

(Read more: Healthy food to lose weight)

Take a low carb diet

Foods that are low in carbohydrate i.e with low glycemic index (GI) value and are high in protein, with the least amount of calories. They can help you to reduce excess body fat. How does GI work? Well simply put, GI index is used to rank food according to the blood sugar level generated by it. Food with low GI is recommended as it takes time to digest and absorbed. This ensures that sugar levels with such foods do not increase and then decrease rapidly. According to the GI rating, food with GI up to 55, are considered low carb options. Some examples of food low in GI index include soy products, beans, fruit, milk, grainy bread, porridge, and lentils.
Foods with a GI rating above 70 should be avoided like Potato, white rice, and white bread. You better switch from potatoes to pulses! GI index is usually mentioned in the nutrient section of the packaging.
Check the GI symbol on packaged food before buying.
Furthermore, it is suggested to switch to fresh and healthy fruits rather than eating packaged foods. Try eating fruits and cereal-based oats in the morning for breakfast. If you want to have a slice of bread then try consuming bread with soy or grainy bread only. Add a vegetable salad to your lunch as well.

Consume protein rich food

Protein is yet another important macronutrient that needs to be added in your diet to promote weight loss. Apart from being a good source of energy, proteins help in building up and maintenance of muscles. So try taking a good amount of protein in your diet. Some food items rich in protein are beans, dairy products, eggs, nuts, seafood, meat any soy products.  Proteins from meat, egg, and seafood are said to be complete proteins as they have all the essential amino acids. If you are a non-vegetarian then try consuming these food. But don’t worry vegetarians also have several options for adding essential proteins in their diet. Consume ample amounts of peas, grains, and nuts to make your daily threshold. Normally, it is said that at least 50 gm of protein should be consumed per day ( for a 2000 calorie diet).

Nevertheless, eating in moderation is your best strategy with any type of foods. It is important to know that just switching to foods with low GI index or rich protein profile is not enough, you also need to consume food in a limited amount.

Apart from long term lifestyle changes here are some quick fixes for a toned looking face just in case you are in a jiffy:

  • Makeup: Makeup can be a temporary solution if you want to show off your weight loss regime before apparent results manifest. You just need to contour the fatty area in your face. By contouring your jaws or cheeks you can give them definition and make them look smaller. Make sure to blend your contour properly. You can also highlight the toned parts of the face to wrest attention from other fatty parts.
  • Surgery: Nowadays, surgery has evolved as a quick and permanent solution to remove facial fat. Surgical removal of wrinkles and double chin in really common these days. If money is not an issue, you can also change your facial structure using various surgical options like rhinoplasty. Though these may come with some side effects so it is important that you talk to a surgeon about the possible risks and proper care for your health before and after the surgery.
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As additional pointers, the following can be supplemented to the above alternatives:

  • Avoid high sugar and sodium containing drinks, these are nothing but empty calories, which just add to your daily calorie count without adding much at the nutritional front.
  • Use body wraps to reduce excess water in your body. These are specialised clothes (linen or plastic) which are plastered with specific herbs and are wrapped around certain parts of your body to make you sweat without much effort. Though they may not help you lose fat directly, these wraps help remove all the toxins from your body, making it easier to lose facial weight. 
  • Try chewing gums (sugarfree) as a form of facial exercise. It will tone and strengthen your facial muscles apart from helping you get rid of a double chin quickly.

References

  1. Raina D’souza et al. Enhancing Facial Aesthetics with Muscle Retraining Exercises-A Review. J Clin Diagn Res. 2014 Aug; 8(8): ZE09–ZE11. PMID: 25302289
  2. Fatemeh Azizi Soeliman,Leila Azadbakht. Weight loss maintenance: A review on dietary related strategies. J Res Med Sci. 2014 Mar; 19(3): 268–275. PMID: 24949037
  3. Venn BJ,Green TJ. Glycemic index and glycemic load: measurement issues and their effect on diet-disease relationships. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2007 Dec;61 Suppl 1:S122-31. PMID: 17992183
  4. Better health channel. Department of Health and Human Services [internet]. State government of Victoria; Carbohydrates and the glycaemic index.
  5. U. S Food and Drug Association. [Internet]. Protein.
  6. National Institutes of Health; [Internet]. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Weighing in on Dietary Fats.
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