Why am I losing weight but my face is puffy?

Author: Prof. Maximo Monahan III  |  Last update: Sunday, November 9, 2025

Water retention causes swelling and puffiness in various parts of the body, including the face. This may give the illusion of excess facial fat. People who suspect they are sensitive to fluid retention should try to limit foods with high salt content. This includes most processed meals and snacks.

Why am I skinny but my face is puffy?

You may simply have a genetic pre-disposition to store more fat in your face and buccal fat pads. Additionally, many people are simply born with a naturally larger or thicker buccal fat pads. This fat storage isn't always evenly distributed either – you may have larger buccal fat pads but have a slim body.

What hormone imbalance causes a puffy face?

Thyroid hormone helps break down sugar molecules in your body. If you don't have enough thyroid hormone, the sugar molecules may build up in your skin. Sugar molecules attract water, which your body retains, causing your face to swell.

How do you keep your face full when losing weight?

Maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine is crucial for preventing or minimizing facial changes during weight loss. Here are some steps to follow: Eat a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains to support skin health and prevent loss of facial fat.

Why am I losing weight everywhere but my face?

Genetics, hormonal changes, and water retention can all make the face appear fuller, even if the rest of the body doesn't. Some individuals are predisposed to store fat more visibly in their face.

The #1 Reason for a PUFFY and BLOATED Face (How to Fix it)

How to restore facial volume after weight loss?

In-office treatments: There are a variety of in-office treatments that can be used to treat facial volume loss, including dermal fillers, microneedling, and laser therapy. These treatments can help to restore volume to the face and improve the appearance of wrinkles and folds.

What does a cortisol face look like?

Common symptoms of this include weight gain, decreased muscle mass, developing a round face that is sometimes called a “moon face,” and developing a hump that appears on the back of the neck, also called a “buffalo hump.”

How do you flush cortisol out of your body?

Stressed? 10 Ways To Lower Your Cortisol Levels
  1. Eat a whole-food, plant-based diet. ...
  2. If needed, add supplements. ...
  3. Take deep breaths. ...
  4. Reduce your caffeine intake. ...
  5. Get adequate sleep. ...
  6. Exercise regularly. ...
  7. Write in a journal. ...
  8. Indulge in hobbies.

How to slim out your face?

Ways to reduce facial fat include exercising regularly, eating a balanced diet rich in whole fruits and vegetables, limiting processed and sugary foods, and staying hydrated. Other certain lifestyle and diet changes can further help a person lose weight and achieve a slimmer-looking face.

What organ causes puffy face?

Your face can get a rounded, “moon-faced” swollen look from this rare condition. It happens when your adrenal glands make too much of the “stress hormone” cortisol for too long. You might also have more fat around your belly and neck, weaker muscles, and purplish bruises or stretch marks.

What does high estrogen face look like?

In women, feminine facial shape (e.g., small jaw, small nose, and reduced interocular distance) is linked to higher estrogen (see Law Smith et al., 2006) and superior immune function (Foo et al., 2020 While the face might be the center of our visual attention, the human body contains numerous morphological features - ...

How do I reset my hormones?

Regularly getting a full, undisturbed night's rest may help the body regulate hormone levels.
  1. Avoiding too much light at night. ...
  2. Managing stress. ...
  3. Exercising. ...
  4. Eating healthy fats. ...
  5. Eating lots of fiber. ...
  6. Eating plenty of fatty fish. ...
  7. Avoiding overeating. ...
  8. Quitting smoking.

When do you start seeing weight loss in your face?

For a weight change to show up on your face, you'd need to change your BMI by 1.33 points, the study found. That means a woman and man of average height would need to gain or lose eight pounds and nine pounds, respectively.

Why is my face so chubby but I'm slim?

If you have a slim body but still experience chubby cheeks, it could be due to large buccal fat pads in your cheeks. These are located between the facial muscles beneath the cheekbones and are often consistent in volume throughout life.

What does a cortisol belly look like?

Cortisol belly simply looks like abdominal fat, and there is no way to identify it by appearance. More important than its appearance is what cortisol belly can do to your health. Visceral fat is considered particularly dangerous because of its location near vital organs and its metabolic activity.

What is the cortisol cocktail for weight loss?

Made of a mixture of orange juice, coconut water, cream of tartar, and salt, many say they help with fatigue, weight loss, stress relief, and “adrenal fatigue.” But there are no known health benefits of adrenal cocktails—which are sometimes called cortisol cocktails because the adrenal glands secrete cortisol—according ...

Which vitamins lower cortisol?

For example, omega-3 fatty acids — healthy fats found in fatty fish like salmon, chia seeds and flaxseeds — have been shown to help reduce cortisol levels. You can get omega-3s from fish oil supplements. Vitamin D, which is also available as a supplement, has also been linked to lower cortisol levels.

How to lose a cortisol belly?

Treatment For Cortisol Belly
  1. Get more than six hours of sleep per night.
  2. Increase your physical activity, such as by walking or practicing yoga.
  3. Support your mental health.
  4. Practice mindfulness and meditation.
  5. Reduce your alcohol consumption.
  6. Avoid smoking.

What hormone causes a puffy face?

Although high cortisol levels are a factor in some cases of facial swelling and puffiness, the symptom is not as common as social media is making it out to be. In some cases, it's not cortisol but the foods you eat.

How can I check my own cortisol levels?

At-home cortisol tests

These cortisol tests, sometimes called at-home stress and sleep panels, involve buying a kit online or from a drugstore. You can use a blood, urine, or saliva sample depending on the type of test you buy. The test will include instructions on how to collect your sample.

Why is my face still chubby after losing weight?

Although losing weight can help you reduce excess fat in your cheeks, you cannot specifically target fat stored in your face. Hence, you may lose weight and still have full cheeks. The only way to directly target the fat deposits in your face to make the cheeks smaller is by getting plastic surgery.

What is the Ozempic face?

Ozempic face is a colloquial term, not a medically recognized condition. It describes the facial changes that can accompany rapid weight loss when using medications like Ozempic or another version of the same drug (generic name semaglutide) FDA-approved for weight-loss treatment.

How can I gain weight back in my face?

It is not possible to specifically target the face when gaining extra weight naturally. However, gaining weight overall can help people achieve a fuller facial appearance. Working out the facial muscles can make them stronger, which may make the face appear fuller.

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