Has your face gotten all chubby? How to lose weight so you don't look old

Some people worry that losing weight starts with their face, making them look older. In fact, there is even a saying that "losing weight resulted in looking older," but is there no way to prevent facial aging caused by weight loss?

The face is a body part that loses fat particularly easily. Fat is lost most readily in the following order: face, abdomen, chest, arms, buttocks, thighs, and calves. The upper body tends to lose weight faster than the lower body, and within the upper body, fat is lost first from the face and chest. This is because the face has a higher concentration of beta receptors, which aid in fat breakdown, compared to other parts of the body. Beta receptors are primarily found in the upper body, including the face, and they bind to the enzyme 'lipoprotein lipase,' which is involved in fat breakdown and storage, thereby facilitating fat decomposition. The smaller size of fat particles in the face is also a contributing factor. When fat particles are small, they burn quickly even with minimal exercise. Furthermore, dieting reduces not only fat but also muscle and ligaments. Consequently, facial elasticity decreases, which can make the body appear even thinner.

To prevent aging while dieting, you must lose weight slowly. Losing too much weight in a short period causes skin elasticity to fail to keep up with the rate of fat loss, resulting in a face that looks older. It is appropriate to aim for a weight loss of 2 to 3 kg per month. Exercising consistently for even just one or two hours a day helps maintain skin elasticity. Furthermore, even when following a diet plan, you must pay extra attention to protein and vitamin intake. This is because restricting your diet often leads to a deficiency in essential nutrients, causing the skin to become dry and dull easily. In particular, stress increases during dieting, and many people struggle to sleep at night due to hunger, which accelerates skin aging.

If your face has already become gaunt due to dieting and makes you look older, it is a good idea to build facial muscles. Just as your body shape changes depending on muscle mass, Facial muscles also determine whether one looks youthful or aged. Aerobics using a straw can be helpful. Start by doing warm-up exercises by holding a straw in your mouth and moving it slowly and widely while making sounds like "Ah, E, I, O, U." Repeating this just 3 to 5 times makes moving your facial muscles much easier. Next, hold the straw in your mouth and slowly protrude your lips while inhaling deeply. Then, as you exhale, bring your upper and lower lips together and slowly pull your mouth to the sides. You can do this by pulling the corners of your mouth to the left and right while keeping your lips slightly curled inward. Slowly return to the starting position while inhaling to regulate your breathing. You must move slowly, aiming to hold each movement for at least 5 seconds, to properly train your muscles.