Countless guides on how to get rid of face fat festoon the internet. 

However, most are misleading.

For example, many claim the key to reducing facial fat is stretching your gob. Others say the “secret” to face slimming is exercising and massaging your jaw muscles. And still others believe the only way to reduce face fat is to strap a “jaw bra” to your chin and let the elastic automagically tighten your mug.

Here’s the truth: None of these methods work. But that doesn’t mean facial fat loss is impossible. 

You absolutely can lose neck and cheek fat.

I can’t promise you’ll ever get a superhero jawline or superheroine cheekbones. And if you’re looking for how to lose weight in your face in a week (or a day), this isn’t the place for you.

Losing face fat will take several weeks, if not months, and anyone who says otherwise is lying.

Related: Learn about Legion’s online fitness coaching service

What I can promise you, though, is that if you want to lose face and neck fat, you absolutely can if you follow the steps in this article.

How to Lose Face Fat Fast

The only way to lose face fat is to reduce your body fat percentage.

This goes against most guides on how to get rid of cheek fat, which typically claim “special” exercises, stretches, and massages are the “secret” to face weight loss.

But this approach won’t give you the results you want because you can’t “spot reduce” fat. That is, you can’t lose fat from a specific area by stimulating (with exercises, stretching, and so forth) that body part.

Exercising a muscle group causes your body to burn fat around it, but the effect is too insignificant to change your appearance. 

What you should do instead, is use diet and exercise to drive fat loss, and as you get leaner, your face, neck, chin, and cheek fat will wither away.

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5 Tips for Losing Face Fat

1. Use an aggressive (but not reckless) calorie deficit.

Studies show that creating a calorie deficit of 20-to-25% (eating 20-to-25% fewer calories than you burn every day) will help you lose fat (including face and neck fat) lickety-split without losing muscle or wrestling with excessive hunger, lethargy, and the other hobgoblins of low-calorie dieting.

To learn more about how many calories you should eat to lose cheek fat, check out the Legion Calorie Calculator here.

2. Eat a high-protein diet.

High-protein dieting beats low-protein in every way, especially when you’re dieting to lose fat.

To lose face fat, aim to eat 1-to-1.2 grams of protein per pound of body weight daily.

And if you’re very overweight (25%+ body fat in men and 30%+ in women), reduce this to around 40% of your total daily calories.

3. Do a lot of heavy, compound strength training.

To maximize the fat-burning effects of strength training, do the following:

4. Strategically use cardio to burn fat faster.

To use cardio to help you lose neck fat and flatten your cheeks as quickly as possible, here’s what you need to do:

  • Do at least two low- to moderate-intensity cardio workouts per week of 20-to-60 minutes each. 
  • Do one HIIT workout weekly if you enjoy it.
  • Limit total cardio to 2-to-3 hours weekly.
  • Do your cardio and weightlifting on separate days if possible, and if you have to do them on the same day, lift weights first and try to separate the two workouts by at least 6 hours.

5. Take fat loss supplements that actually work.

The best supplements to boost face fat loss are:

  • Caffeine: Taking 3-to-6 mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weight per day raises the number of calories you burn and increases strength, muscle endurance, and anaerobic performance. For a clean, delicious source of caffeine, try Pulse.
  • Yohimbine: Taking 0.1-to-0.2 milligrams of yohimbine per kilogram of body weight before fasted training increases fat loss and is particularly helpful with losing “stubborn” fat. For a 100% natural source of yohimbine, try Forge.
  • Phoenix Fat Burner: Phoenix speeds up your metabolism, enhances fat burning, and reduces hunger and cravings. You can also get Phoenix with caffeine or without.

(And if you’d like to learn more about what supplements you should take to reach all your health and fitness goals, take the Legion Supplement Finder Quiz.)

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How to Lose Facial Fat: FAQs

FAQ #1: Why do I have a double chin when I’m skinny?

If you’re skinny but have a double chin, it’s likely because of your genetics. That is, your genetics predispose you to storing fat in your face and neck rather than in another part of your body (your lower back, thighs, or belly, for example)

If this is the case for you, losing face fat completely can be tough—you’d have to reach a very low body fat percentage to see significant results. And that won’t suit everyone. 

A better solution for most is to slim your face and neck as much as possible by reducing your body fat percentage as low as you sustainably can. Then, learn to be okay with the results. When it gets to that point, chances are you’re the only one who notices your neck fat anyway. 🙂

FAQ #2: Does chewing gum help you lose face fat?

No, chewing gum doesn’t help you lose face fat because it burns too few calories (~11 per hour) to make a significant difference to overall weight loss. 

FAQ #3: Why is face fat so hard to lose?

Some people find face fat hard to lose because their genetics predispose them to storing fat around their cheeks and chin. That is, the face and neck are the first places some people store fat, and the last places fat clings to when they lose weight. 

The good news is that all fat quails in the face of a prolonged calorie deficit. As long as you eat correctly and exercise regularly over the long term, stubborn fat will disappear—it’ll just take longer than fat in other areas.

Scientific References +