Why the face still stays fat

Why does the face take longer than the rest of the body to shape up?

Face fat is the biggest weight loss nightmare, and what makes it worse is that you can't camouflage it with slimming clothes. Often, the face is the last to shape up, and the first to puff up.

 It doesn't help that your double chin is the first thing anyone notices about you, and by then your toned arms don't matter anymore. Everyone's body, say experts, follows a fat-storing order. The order is not the same for each individual. Usually, when you lose the fat, it comes off in the opposite order that it was stored. If your body tends to store fat in your face or belly first, these will be the last places where it would shed from.

Your facial make-up

The facial skeleton forms the foundation and shape of your face, and supports overlying soft tissues. The muscle layer overlying it is responsible for expressions, whether pouting, smiling or grimacing. Above the facial muscles lie pockets of fat that fill the overlying envelope of skin. They act as fillers, and are key to your face looking taut and young.

The chances of putting on weight on your face are high, more so, if you are a woman. "One of the most common complaints female clients approach me with is a chubby face," says Dr Sadhana Deshmukh, cosmetologist with a Mumbai aesthetics clinic. While Deshmukh puts the reason down to water retention caused by a high intake of refined sugar and salt, and consumption of packaged foods, dermatologist Dr Jaishree Sharad says, a high carbohydrate diet is to blame. "Ageing, alcohol intake and stress add to the problem, causing facial ligaments, whose job is to hold the fat pockets in place, to weaken. The fat relocates, causing prominent folds, and a double chin," she says.

Eat, and move right

Tweaking your diet and exercising can work wonders to change the shape of your face, say nutritionists. "A half-hour cardio workout, five times a week works well for the face," says Dr Sharad. It's safer than cosmetic procedures that could temporarily leave you looking like a nightmare. Eat fresh fruit, vegetables, sprouts, nuts and seeds. The raw nutrients in these foods help clean up your gut, detoxify the liver, metabolise excess fat and promote healthy sleep. To facilitate the detox process, also try sweating it out through exercise. Exercising unclogs the skin's pores and promotes blood circulation.

Nutritionist Anjali Peswani advocates one drink over another. Drink 10 glasses of water a day, and cut down on booze. "Alcohol causes water retention. Puffiness under the eyes is a dead giveaway," she says.

Rule of three

Don't smoke: Your body will be ensured of a regular supply of vitamin C to keep your skin elastic.

Cut salt: Sodium is nasty. It makes the body retain fluids rather than flush them out, leaving you bloated. Choose fresh foods over canned eats. Limit the number of times you eat out. Restaurant meals contain obscene amounts of salt.

Up calcium: Calcium-rich foods like spinach, broccoli and sesame seeds help reduce water retention.

Times of India

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