How to Lose Face Fat? (9 Simple Tips You Need to Do)

You can lose fat in your face with a combination of careful diet control, plenty of cardio and strength training, and targeted facial exercises for a more defined look.

Let’s start with the diet part.

Dietitians and personal trainers would probably argue for all eternity about what percent of losing weight comes down to diet vs exercise.

But a reasonable assumption is to say that 70% of your success will depend on dieting [1].

And the same will be the case if you need to lose facial fat.

As for exercising for weight loss, you’ll want to have a combination of regular cardio and resistance training to achieve a higher calorie deficit [2].

But there are also some simple face exercises that won’t involve a dodgy facial muscle exercise device you saw on a late-night shopping channel.

Insulin resistance is one of the most common metabolic disorders, and it’s directly tied to higher obesity levels.

Some early studies have found that facial fat is also a good predictor of insulin resistance [4].

What’s important, though, is that there’s no clear evidence of what comes first.

Does insulin resistance cause the face fat to increase or the other way around?

What I would say is that underlying causes of a poor diet, lots of sugary treats, and processed foods generally contribute to metabolic disorders.

And the same things will also contribute to face fat and make it impossible to lose weight.

And that means that focusing on general weight loss is most likely the best way to handle such facial rejuvenation.

Is It the Same Alcohol Bloating?

No, facial fat is not the same as alcohol bloating, even though many people often have that misconception.

As mentioned above, facial fat is excess energy stored in fat cells. But generally, alcohol-related bloating is a very different thing. 

Because alcohol is a diuretic, it means that excessive intake will start to dehydrate you.

And as the body loses water, it will try to hold onto as much as possible, and that can cause that puffiness in the face [5].

At the same time, regular and non-excessive alcohol consumption can still create a barrier to effective weight loss because of all the empty calories [6].

You’ll see shortly that cutting out alcohol is one of our important tips to reduce facial fat for that reason.

Reliable scientific studies have proven that cardio for weight loss is still one of the best ways to deal with excess body fat [10].

What is more interesting, though, is that it seems like you can achieve more effective weight loss by regularly varying your cardio intensity.

So, if you go for the same run, at the same speed, and for the same distance and are struggling with losing weight around your face, then you’re taking the wrong approach to cardio exercise.

Either switch around the type of cardio you do or, ideally, start doing some high-intensity interval training to burn fat.

4. Cut Out Refined Carbs

If your diet is full of refined and simple carbs from highly processed food, then losing fat anywhere in your body will be more difficult [11].

Starting with your breakfast, make sure you switch those sugary cereals for whole grains. Those whole grains are slower to digest and will avoid blood sugar spikes [12].

And for lunch, try to get more calories from lean protein and healthy fat sources, like fish with an avocado salad.

Your healthy diet should also include the main evening meal that contains complex carbs from fresh green vegetables.

“Because of the fiber in whole grains, our body processes them more slowly, which means those units of glucose enter the bloodstream more gradually.”

- Eliza Sullivan, Food Writer at Mindbodygreen.com

It doesn’t take excessive alcohol intake to mess up your weight loss journey.

Even small regular amounts of alcoholic drinks add up to a lot more empty calories that will pile on extra body fat [13].

If you want to deal with excess fat and avoid puffy water retention in your face, then stop drinking any alcohol for a while and see for yourself how much of a difference this change can make to support weight management.

Related Articles:

• Does Alcohol Stop Fat Burning?
• Does Red Wine Help You Lose Weight?

6. Boost Your Fiber Intake

Fiber is one of the undervalued heroes of weight management, and studies have revealed two very interesting ways that it can help you lose weight [14].

Firstly, while you might be taking in more calories, fiber forms a gel-like substance in your stomach that passes through undigested. So it doesn’t boost your blood glucose or increase your fat storage.

Secondly, the study also revealed that soluble fiber helps people to stick with diets and not give up prematurely. You feel full for longer, eat less, and will experience more effective fat loss.

One research study, in particular, looked at people’s weight gain and fat reduction processes depending on their sleep quality [15].

The research revealed that improving sleep duration and quality doesn’t just boost your weight loss, but it can prevent weight gain in the first place.

Start by having a planned bedtime routine that doesn’t involve staring at your phone or tablet until midnight.

Turn off all devices early, read a book and make sure you get eight hours of high-quality sleep.

It has become part of every weight loss strategy that I put together for clients, and it can also help with toning and building up muscle mass.

8. Avoid Sugar

Sugar consumption is one of the main contributors to metabolic disease and obesity [16].

The main reason is that it’s very easy for the body to absorb, and boosting your calorie intake in this way will cause blood sugar spikes.

This will likely have a big effect on overall body fat, including your face.

Cutting out refined sugar altogether, and keeping fructose from fresh fruit down as well, should go a long way towards reducing facial fat.

And it will take you much closer to a healthy diet.

And finally, one of the ways to prevent excess facial fat is by making sure you don’t consume too much sodium.

of the most visible effects of excess sodium is that it not only increases your blood pressure but also causes water weight gain [17].

You’ll find that processed foods are typically full of sodium, and paying more attention to the nutritional labels of what you buy will help you avoid it altogether.