You may have heard that if you try to stay slim as you age, your face will look gaunt.

But is this actually true?

Do you have to pack on extra pounds if you want to avoid looking gaunt?

Well, let me quickly explain what really causes someone’s face to look more gaunt.

One reason is loss of subcutaneous fat, which is the fat beneath your skin. Subcutaneous fat is what gives your face volume and plumpness. As we age, we naturally lose some of this fat, though there are other causes that we’ll get to in a minute.

The other reason your face can look gaunt is changes to the skin itself. For example, if your body makes less collagen and elastin, your skin will lose elasticity. This causes skin to sag, which makes your face look more gaunt.

Now, losing elasticity and subcutaneous fat in your face can be caused by lots of things. For example, eating disorders and digestive conditions. There are also lifestyle factors, such as:

• Not getting enough sleep
• Smoking
• Stress
• UV exposure

And of course, there’s the weight factor. So let’s talk more about that...

The truth is, if you start a new diet and lose a lot of weight, it’s very likely that it’ll show in your face. You just can’t control where the weight comes off.

And the same goes for excessive exercise. If you start a rigorous program, your face often thins out as well.

So instead, you want to set a weight goal that’s within the healthy range for you.

Then, maintain that weight with a balanced diet and a moderate amount of exercise. In other words, no extremes, fads, or yo-yo dieting.

It’s actually a lot easier than crash diets and crazy exercise schedules.

When you avoid extremes, along with taking care of your overall health and skin, you’re going to naturally look a lot younger in both your face and your body.

So the biggest key is to maintain balance in your diet and exercise regimen, and to take good care of your skin. Which really is great news, because no one enjoys crash diets anyway.

Alright, so try these tips out, and let me know how it goes!