There’s a ton of information on the internet about losing face fat, ranging all the way from eliminating sugar and salt to chewing gum and performing jaw exercises.

It can be frustrating to know what’s right and what’s wrong if you are just interested in getting a lean and chiseled face.

I’m not going to beat around the bush in this article and we’re jumping straight to the questions!

Here’s what you need to know about getting rid of excess face fat once and for all.

Is Your Face Actually Fat?

Before we go further, you have to ask yourself if your face is actually fat or if you’re just always bloated?

As weird as it sounds, it is very much possible.

Here’s why this could happen;

One reason is that you eat out daily.

While there’s nothing inherently wrong with that as long as you hit your macro and micronutrient needs, there is no denying the fact that the majority of the processed food is high in sodium.

This just leads to water retention which can give your face a puffier look.

Another reason could be that you are constantly stressed out, which again, could lead to your body holding more water.

If this is the only problem you’re facing, you can try;

1. Reducing the consumption of “excess” sodium (I use the word excess because anything in excess is bad. You should NOT completely eliminate salt from your diet as that can be very dangerous.)

2. Staying well-hydrated at all times.

These can help you reduce the amount of water your body is holding and thus help you reduce the puffiness of your face if it was bloated in the first place.

But let’s be real, bloating isn’t the main issue for most of us.

Most of us have excess fat on our face which ends up giving us chubby cheeks and a double chin.

If you aspire to have a lean face with a chiseled jawline, you have to understand why your face is the way it is in the first place.

Why Is Your Face Fat And Round?

This can be because of one of two reasons:

1. Having a high body fat percentage.

This is pretty self-explanatory.

Your face is holding excess fat in the same way your stomach and thighs are holding excess fat.

If this is the case, you can get rid of the excess fat and get a lean and chiseled face! (continue reading to find out how)

2. Having A Genetically Round Face

What if you’re at single digit body fat (for men and sub20% for women) and you still have a round face relative to the rest of your body?

Well, in this case, it could just be that you are predisposed to having a round face.

This is similar to being predisposed to a 4 pack.

No matter how hard you diet and how much you train your abs, if you are genetically predisposed to a 4 pack, you can’t get a 6 pack! (Don’t believe me? Google a picture of Arnold’s core! He just had a 4 pack and the one thing we can all be sure about is that he wasn’t just lazy with his training!)

If this is the case, there isn’t much you can do to change the shape of your face.

That said, you can only confirm this is actually the case for you once you get very lean.

If you are at a higher body fat percentage or are skinny fat, you can’t jump to the conclusion that your genetics are to blame yet.

If you do end up getting ripped and having a round face, you won’t look half as bad as you think.

Now that you know this, if you wish to get a lean face and you are currently at a high body fat percentage (which is subjective and depends on your goals), here’s what you should do next.

Are Jawline Exercises Good For Losing Face Fat?

Sadly, the answer is NO.

You can’t chew your way to a chiseled jawline.

In fact, excessive jawline exercises could have side effects and can harm the jaw joint.

The entire logic of performing jaw exercises to lose face fat is flawed, especially now that we know that Spot Reduction isn’t possible.

Spot reduction simply means losing fat off a specific area.

The same way doing ab exercises doesn’t burn belly fat (sorry if this is how you found out), doing jaw exercises won’t burn face fat.

“But what if it can build my jaw muscle?”

If any hypertrophy (growth) of the jaw muscle does take place (which has a very small chance of happening), we can’t know if it will actually improve the way you look or make you look worse.

How To Lose Face Fat?

Well, the same way you would lose any other fat!

Here are 3 things you should focus on;

1. Eating in a calorie deficit with sufficient protein

Your nutrition plays a major role in how you look.

Consistently eat more calories than your burn and over time it’ll show on your face.

To get rid of excess face fat, you have to eat in a calorie deficit, i.e. eat lesser calories than you burn.

This doesn’t mean that you have to slash your calories in half or starve yourself.

Set a goal of eating 20-25% lesser than your maintenance calories (amount of calories you can eat while maintaining your weight).

If you don’t know what your maintenance is, a simple way to approximate it would be by multiplying your body weight in pounds by 15.

Keep in mind that this is just an estimation and you will need to adjust it going forward based on your weight fluctuations.

While eating in a calorie deficit is the key, your macronutrients have to be balanced as well, especially protein.

Not only does protein provide you with satiety which allows you to stay fuller for longer while dieting, but it also plays a huge role in retaining muscle while eating in a calorie deficit.

If you don’t eat sufficient protein, you will lose muscle and end up looking skinny fat.

A good place to be at is around 0.8-1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.

As for your fats, set them to around 30% of your calories and the remaining can be filled with carbs (Yes, you can eat carbs and satisfy your cravings while still losing weight).

I know these calculations feel overwhelming at first so feel free to check out my article on How Much You Should Eat To Lose Fat.

It even includes a link to a calculator that will do these calculations for you!

2. Performing some form of resistance training

The second thing you need to focus on is performing some form of resistance training.

The most preferred option would be to hit the gym, but don’t worry if you can’t as you can still make amazing progress from the comfort of your home (even better if you are willing to invest in a simple piece of equipment).

The key here is to focus on progressive overload.

Your goal is to get stronger (or at least try to, to the best of your ability).

This will improve your body composition and will impact the way you look on the whole.

Make sure that you lift a weight that is challenging enough and that you focus on what truly matters.

Avoid making these 5 common mistakes which will slow down your progress in the gym.

3. Not Going Overboard With Cardio

Most people associate fat loss with cardio and while cardio can be a great tool for losing fat, it is nothing more than a “tool”.

You can’t depend on cardio to compensate for your bad nutrition plan.

Do too much and it’ll interfere with your recovery.

What’s worse is that excessive cardio can end up giving your a soft skinny fat look.

The key here is to not become that person who spends all his time on the treadmill.

3-4 cardio sessions a week are sufficient to help you burn a few extra calories.

In fact, I will go as far as saying that you can even lose fat without any cardio whatsoever.

If you are interested in learning more about cardio, check out this article here - Cardio For Fat Loss.

Once you focus on these three things, you’ll be able to lose fat, not only from your face but even from the rest of your body.

People tend to overcomplicate this stuff but these are the 3 simple steps to get ripped.

Conclusion

Losing face fat is simple, but it isn’t about doing countless jaw exercises.

Instead, it comes down to eating in a calorie deficit and losing body fat.

Whether you are at a higher body fat percentage or you are just genetically predisposed to a round face, you should always focus on embracing how you look and work on improving what you can control.

If you are someone who feels insecure about the way you look, remember that being confident will always be a lot more attractive trait than having a slim face!

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