# How to avoid a gaunt face?



## Darin (Nov 24, 2017)

Hi Guys,

It seems if I follow a strict keto diet by keeping the carbs low, my face becomes gaunt as the fat loss happens from face first then rest of the body. If I don't control my carb intake and have 150 - 200 grams of carb per day, my waist becomes 33 inches and my body fat hovers about 16-17%. I want to bring down my body fat to 14% and waist to 32 inches without rigorous exercise. Is it possible by following certain type of diet without making my face gaunt?

Thanks.


----------



## sjacks (Dec 10, 2017)

Darin said:


> Hi Guys,
> 
> It seems if I follow a strict keto diet by keeping the carbs low, my face becomes gaunt as the fat loss happens from face first then rest of the body. If I don't control my carb intake and have 150 - 200 grams of carb per day, my waist becomes 33 inches and my body fat hovers about 16-17%. I want to bring down my body fat to 14% and waist to 32 inches without rigorous exercise. Is it possible by following certain type of diet without making my face gaunt?
> 
> Thanks.


 From my own and the experience of others including the testimony of nutritionists, coaches and physiologists you can't pinpoint weight loss or weight gain so the gaunt face you mention means you didn't have much fat on your face to begin with and now you've lost some it's most noticeable in that area.


----------



## jwbs (Oct 1, 2014)

How old are you? That may be the answer. My face is looking more gaunt these days. At first I thought it was down to losing a bit of weight, but when I look at pics of myself in my early twenties, my face is very slim but also noticeably less gaunt. You might just be getting old mate.


----------



## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

It depends on your facial structure but generally the leaner you are, the gaunter your face gets, and there's not much you can do about it. My face gets quite badly gaunt when my body fat drops to somewhere around 10-11%, and I just hate how it looks when even leaner - so much so that, while my abs look their best at that point, I'd much rather sacrifice ever seeing them that good in order to not ever have the death face look either.


----------



## jwbs (Oct 1, 2014)

dtlv said:


> It depends on your facial structure but generally the leaner you are, the gaunter your face gets, and there's not much you can do about it. My face gets quite badly gaunt when my body fat drops to somewhere around 10-11%, and I just hate how it looks when even leaner - so much so that, while my abs look their best at that point, I'd much rather sacrifice ever seeing them that good in order to not ever have the death face look either.


 You might be going a bit hard on yourself. There's nothing inherently unattractive about the craggy looking face, especially in men, but since it's your own face and it's obviously changing, it can be a bit disturbing.


----------



## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

For people who have had a higher body fat for a long time I think this is partly a question of what you're used to. As in, for someone used to having a rounder face the point they feel they look 'gaunt' will happen a lot sooner than someone who is naturally leaner.

When getting properly lean this can become an issue for everyone though. In terms of dietary strategies if anything keto is likely to be worst, in that the glycogen depletion causes muscles to look more flat than a higher carb approach, which would have a small effect on the muscles in the face. Overwhelmingly this is an issue of reduced fat on the face though, which isn't something you can diet in a particular way to prevent.


----------



## JohhnyC (Mar 16, 2015)

i think Keto is not helping in this regard. As above the glycogen depletion can be quite noticeable. It's like when people too DNP and drive their glycogen right down. They look pretty ill while on it even as modest bf levels

I'd examine why you're doing Keto in the first place, it's a very misunderstood, misused diet and pointless in my view. The reasons for losing weight (doesn't equate 100% to fat) are not because you are in a state of ketosis or some other BS like that, it's because your in a calorie deficit and some loss of weight is due to water loss initially. Maybe it's why you look gaunt


----------



## iamyou (Oct 29, 2012)

I love my diet face. Cheek bones come out, more defined jaw, deeper eyes. Longer and more masculine face. Most importantly younger. I'd say I go up a whole 2 points in my leanest - 12/10


----------



## jwbs (Oct 1, 2014)

JohhnyC said:


> i think Keto is not helping in this regard. As above the glycogen depletion can be quite noticeable. It's like when people too DNP and drive their glycogen right down. They look pretty ill while on it even as modest bf levels
> 
> I'd examine why you're doing Keto in the first place, it's a very misunderstood, misused diet and pointless in my view. The reasons for losing weight (doesn't equate 100% to fat) are not because you are in a state of ketosis or some other BS like that, it's because your in a calorie deficit and some loss of weight is due to water loss initially. Maybe it's why you look gaunt


 Cutting out all carbs is a really easy way to massively decrease your calories without too much discomfort. Personally I never aim for keto, but any diet usually starts with me slashing my carbs to the bone. The water loss is a positve effect for some, but if you cut calories properly you quickly start losing fat too (as with any good calorie control diet)


----------



## dtlv (Jul 24, 2009)

jwbs said:


> You might be going a bit hard on yourself. There's nothing inherently unattractive about the craggy looking face, especially in men, but since it's your own face and it's obviously changing, it can be a bit disturbing.


 My happiness with my physique basically boils down to finding a mid point between not carrying so much extra that I hate my lovehandles (which are definitely my body's preferred fat storage site), or carrying so little I hate my sunken looking eyes and cheekbones, lol.

It is a bit of an over sensitivity of mine I admit, but I feel it nonetheless. I'm not a bodybuilder anyway, just a guy who trains, so continually maintaining a super conditioned physique doesn't feel like a requirement for me - even if it is fun to polish up once in a while just to enjoy the process of doing it!


----------



## jwbs (Oct 1, 2014)

dtlv said:


> My happiness with my physique basically boils down to finding a mid point between not carrying so much extra that I hate my lovehandles (which are definitely my body's preferred fat storage site), or carrying so little I hate my sunken looking eyes and cheekbones, lol.
> 
> It is a bit of an over sensitivity of mine I admit, but I feel it nonetheless. I'm not a bodybuilder anyway, just a guy who trains, so continually maintaining a super conditioned physique doesn't feel like a requirement for me - even if it is fun to polish up once in a while just to enjoy the process of doing it!


 Yeah I get you. I was playing devil's advocate a bit. People can tell me all they want how I look slimmer and better and good, and I just continue to think "I look old now man!". Just gotta accept it


----------



## Ultrasonic (Jul 13, 2004)

jwbs said:


> Cutting out all carbs is a really easy way to massively decrease your calories without too much discomfort.


 Right now I typically get about 55% of my calories from carbs, so if I followed that approach I'd be in much too big of a calorie deficit...

If keto works well for you, and doesn't negatively affect things like your gym performance, work performance or just generally how you feel, then it's fine. I think where @JohhnyC was coming from was many people are under the impression that keto offers significant advantages beyond the calorie deficit achieved. This may not have been your perspective but it's worth pointing out, particularly when in fact for many it could actually be worse than a higher carb diet.


----------



## bigmass (Oct 18, 2018)

im going through very similar so very interested and some good info on here


----------

