Diet Face (aka Facial Volume Loss): What Can You Do?

Its an odd expression but very real – ‘diet face’. So what actually is diet face? A diet face means looking old after weight loss.  And it is the unexpected distressing ‘reward’ you might get for going on a successful diet. Sure!  You lost the weight around the tummy, butt and thighs -  all right but guess what – you also lost volume in your face only to showcase your sunken cheeks, hollow temples and an overall guant looking appearance.  And it's that guant appearance makes you look older after weight loss. 

What causes diet face?

Poor nutritional choices, excessive dieting and or more,  particularly yo yo dieting throughout the years is one of the biggest contributors to achieving this face diet phenomenon of sunken or hollow cheeks, a tell tail sign of a diet face.

So is the appearance of what would be considered a dropped face - one which gives the impression of the bottom half of the face - from the nose to the chin and below - to literally have "dropped". 

But I digress, so lets keep going on what casues Diet Face.

Ligaments in your face that once had strength and flexibility now offer very little support to keep the soft tissue in place. Sunken cheeks or hollows below the cheek area, drooping skin along the jaw line (jowls) combined with a cris-crossing of lines and wrinkles are fallout from years of unhealthy eating habits. Dr. Michael Nicole, founder and medical director of Cosmeticare in Corona del Mar, California agrees with this diet face theory:

“Excessive dieting plays havoc on the skin both inside and out. What men and women don’t realize is the damage done to ligaments and other structural elements underneath the skin. Ligaments eventually lose their ability to bounce back and add the support necessary to keep things lifted and in place and thus the face drops.”

 Uh oh. Looking older after weight loss does not sound attractive, does it?.

And when you were young that didn’t happen, did it? You might have gone up and down a few pounds in your youth but all that meant was, less weight, better look. Not so much now. 

When you think about it, the face we see in the mirror is actually a combination of the skin we have on the outside and the bones and joints and muscles and fat we have on the inside. The skin sits on top of a framework; the framework is made up of ‘stuff’. What is that stuff?

As it turns out, the whole body, including the skin and the bones (and other stuff) it sits on, relies on collagen, the most common protein in the body. It comes in three forms ranging from stiff stuff like bone, to flexible stuff as in tendons and muscles, with cartilage in between. Cartilage is flexible and cushions the joints, among other things. (That’s why when cartilage is depleted or damaged, our joints ache and we sometimes have to resort to surgery).

For the skin itself, the largest (and only visible) organ in our body, collagen fulfills an essential role – it literally holds the skin together and makes it supple and elastic.

So, when we diet, especially yo yo diet, several different things could be happening that cause the dreaded diet face:

1. We lose the fat that had previously smoothed out the spaces between bone and skin causing the skin to look sunken into the face;

2. We may have lost, either due to aging or diet or both, some collagen within our body and collagen in the skin itself, making the skin draw in around the bone due to loss of elasticity;

3. We may also be dehydrated, worsening all of the above.

4. Ligaments lose their strength and elasticity and are no longer able to do their job of helping our face maintain its youthful bounce and bloom.

What to do???

We went on a diet and got what we asked for (less fat) and what we did not (diet face!). What should we do?

This calls for a multifaceted plan:

Face Diet Strategy – DON’T! Don’t diet. Eat. Please eat. You are absolutely perfect, right now, the way you are.

Eat real food with real nutrients designed to boost collagen and promote long term health in your body. Eating this way means you will never have to diet again as these collagen boosting foods help to replenish what has been lost. No more dieting as these foods have built in fat burning power and hormone balancing abilities. You will discover a new satisfaction with yourself and your body. Plus your body will naturally, on it’s own, find it’s own happy place and perfect weight without you doing anything to make it happen.

However, if you feel the need to drop a few pounds, set your sights on gradual weight loss. The faster you lose the weight, the less time the body will have to catch up with the changes caused by fat depletion. And the less time you will have to take remedial steps. And the more likely you will be to regain the weight! So slow and steady is the way;

Hydration – depleting the body of water will only make the diet face look worse, and will have lots of other negative effects. Stay hydrated, stay hydrated, oh and, stay hydrated – ok?

Collagen Supplementation – aging is depleting our collagen anyway, and a diet may accelerate the visible effects of that. Supplementation with a high quality and pure, low calorie beverage like Triple K Drink is one of the best and most delicious ways to win the collagen battle.

We have gone too long denying ourselves food and the pleasure it brings. Worse, our denying ourselves has brought on something else – accelerated aging in mind body and spirit, leaving us looking and feeling way older before our time.

You are perfect right now, the way you are.

As for diet face – make sure it does not happen to you – and make your reverse aging eating plan a super happy and successful experience!

Until Next Time,

Kellie
Growing Younger Everyday