I hate my fat face!

March 27, 2015 9:43 AM

I've recently lost quite a bit of weight after a couple of decades of being overweight, but while the rest of my body is shrinking, my face is the same ol' big fat face. Can I expect it to deflate at some point? Is there anything I can do about it other than just continuing to lose weight? Or am I doomed to end up like Michael Palin in Brazil?
posted by Enemy of Joy to Health & Fitness (12 answers total)

While you can't target where you lose fat, I've experienced the opposite phenomenon - lost a lot of weight, and feel like I've disproportionately lost more fat in my face - and it sucks. It ages you faster. The fat-loss seems like it's made some faint lines on my forehead a little less faint. And oh dear god, where did that vein come from? Fat in your face is a GOOD thing. It keeps you looking more youthful and less sickly looking. That's why some people get fillers and botox and other stuff done to their face.
posted by raztaj at 9:56 AM on March 27, 2015

I would wait until you're at your target weight. Then if your face hasn't changed, your biggest option is liposuction.
posted by royalsong at 9:57 AM on March 27, 2015

My face is one of the last parts of me to thin out when I throw off weight. Getting - well, not cheekboney, but a little less podgefaced is one of the main things that pushes me the last mile when I get on a health kick. Bodies are weird and as you lose weight parts that have seemed utterly resistant to change may very suddenly deflate. Obviously don't starve yourself to death, but don't lose heart!
posted by ominous_paws at 10:05 AM on March 27, 2015

I'd wait until you've hit your target weight--and remained thereabouts for at least a year--to see how it all shakes out. (I've gone significantly down at a couple points in my life and some spots always thin out more than others.)

In the meantime, I'd recommend not stressing too much because you can't control it. (And yes, when my face gets thin quickly, it ages me pretty drastically, so a little chub in the cheeks is not a bad thing.) Congrats on your efforts paying off.
posted by kapers at 10:12 AM on March 27, 2015

Yeah, be careful what you wish for here, especially if you're over thirty. I lost a lot of weight a while back and my face is kind of haggard and droopy without the fat to fill it in.
posted by Metroid Baby at 10:23 AM on March 27, 2015

I doubt there's a dependable "true" answer to this question. The way we store/lose fat seems to really vary by individual. Most people would look at me and see me as being reasonably "slim," at least by American standards, but I carry enough fat around my middle and in my chest that I'm technically overweight. And when I've lost significant overall fat weight/built muscle, the proportion of fat at my waist changes very little. Regardless of regimen, I've had some degree of love handles since puberty.

I do noticeably lose/gain weight in my face, but it's a very slow process. I'm really only able to notice the difference after an extended period (e.g. I can see how much thinner my face was three years/15 pounds ago, in pictures, but no difference between now and when I had only gained 10 pounds last year). Try asking yourself what I ask myself: If I don't notice, does anyone else notice?

Also, some people just have fuller faces; I'm frequently surprised to see say, an actor, who looks to be fairly plump -- by facial measurement -- be revealed as extremely fit from the face down.

I'd agree with others that focusing on your improved experience of being healthier/happier in your body should take priority here. I fully understand the concern; I personally tend to be hyper-critical of bits of my appearance that literally no one else notices or cares about. But your takeaway here should be that you've accomplished some difficult goals, not that like, 10% of you hasn't caught up yet.
posted by credible hulk at 10:27 AM on March 27, 2015

A word of advice just in case you are anything like me: make sure that you are not just subconsciously picking another thing about your appearance to hate now that your weight isn't the locus of self-loathing.
posted by kapers at 10:32 AM on March 27, 2015

My whole life, I hated how wide my face is. UNTIL I met my now husband. My wide face was one of the reasons he was attracted to me. Being with him makes me happy. Therefore round, wide face lead to being happy. Just saying, somebody might love you because of your round face.

I've always gained weight on my face and barely lost weight on my face. UNTIL I found out I shouldn't eat certain foods. Same with Renee Zellweger. Her face seriously de-puffed once she changed her diet. Now, even when I put on 35lbs in 3 months (stupid prescription med!!!), my face fattening wasn't that bad compared to the rest of me. So there could be a mystery staple food contributing to inflammation and to your face puffiness.

I wholeheartedly agree with kapers.
posted by Neekee at 11:49 AM on March 27, 2015

Do you exercise? A possible solution may be to do some moderate strengthening of the neck, shoulders, and general upper body. I could picture this possibly broadening your shoulders and increasing your neck muscles ever so slightly to change the proportional makeup of your whole facial region.
posted by incolorinred at 12:38 PM on March 27, 2015

It might have more to do with facial structure than how fat your face is. For example even when I was a skinny teenager I still had a "fat" face. Basically I have a recessed/"weak" chin that makes it look like I have a lot of neck fat. I don't think anything can really fix that other than plastic surgery.
posted by pravit at 6:33 AM on March 28, 2015

Two things you can do immediately is to get really good at contouring and to get a really good hair cut. Both can make your face look a lot less rounded/a lot slimmer.
posted by koahiatamadl at 9:49 AM on March 28, 2015

Do you chew a lot of gum by any chance? As a fairly chubby-faced woman to begin with, my face looks noticeably more "full" after a period of chewing gum regularly. There's a visible difference once I've laid off the gum for a couple weeks. Might be completely coincidental on my behalf though.
posted by the ghost of so and so at 12:00 AM on April 1, 2015