How to Lose Fat in Your Face as a Man

There's no magic bullet when it comes to losing fat in your face, but there are methods to decrease overall body weight. Eating healthy, exercising, avoiding alcohol and sleeping more are just a few ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle and keep the extra pounds at bay.

If you're gaining weight in your face, it may be a sign that you're not eating right. The first step to weight loss is eating a healthy, balanced diet. Victoria, Australia's Better Health Channel has a few recommendations for losing weight through a healthy approach to food and bucking unhealthy habits, such as crash dieting, also called "yo-yo" dieting and skipping meals. These alleged weight-loss methods will only make you gain more weight in the long run.

You should make sure you're eating a balanced diet with a variety of foods from every food group. Up your fruit and vegetable intake, while avoiding foods that are high in sugar, fat and salt.

An article published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) suggests changing unhealthy patterns by first reflecting on your eating habits. Are you eating too fast? Eating when you're not hungry? Are you always eating dessert? Once you've pinpointed these habits, you can identify cues that trigger your eating habits and then try to change them. For instance, if you eat too quickly, try putting your fork down between bites.

Changing your eating habits and improving your diet won't happen overnight. Rather, it's a process that, with enough discipline and self-reflection, builds over time and eventually results in weight loss in all areas of your body — that includes your face.

Read more: The Ultimate Guide to Fat Loss

A January 2012 review in Pflügers Archiv: European Journal of Physiology, found that sleep or lack thereof affects the metabolism, eventually leading to weight gain. In certain cases, "short sleep" has even been linked to obesity. You can count on your zzz's for regulating appetite and controlling hormones associated with hunger.

Something else that might be getting in the way of achieving a slimmer face: alcohol. A Better Health Channel article explains that alcohol can stop your body from burning fat and lead to greater hunger.

Certain factors, such as how much you drink, what you drink, how often you drink, your genetics and overall diet will determine how much or whether you'll gain weight from alcohol. Gender also plays a role in alcohol and weight gain, as it's been found that a positive association between alcohol consumption and weight gain is more likely in men than women.

According to an August 2013 study review in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, there's some evidence that water consumption can aid in weight loss. Conversely, according to a May 2017 article in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, sodium can increase fluid retention and cause bloating. The bottom line: more water, less salt.

Read more: How Weight Loss Really Works

As important as healthy eating when trying to lose weight is physical activity. According to CDC, more physical activity increases the number of calories you burn off. Physical activity paired with healthy eating can create what's called a "calorie deficit." The result: weight loss in all parts of your body, including your face.

To maintain your weight, the CDC recommends doing 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, such as walking briskly or biking at a relaxed pace, or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity, such as jogging, swimming or jumping rope, per week.

According to the Veterans Health Administration, a reasonable weight loss is about one to two pounds per week. Even if you don't see immediate facial weight-loss results, the lifestyle changes you've made to shed weight will last in the long term.

While there are an array of activities and sports you can take up to reach your weight loss goals, the Better Health Channel recommends a different approach: incorporating physical activity into your everyday activities, such as walking the dog, taking the stairs instead of the elevator or getting off the train one stop early to walk.