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"Diet Face" - should we choose face over body or vice versa?

SnifterPug
SnifterPug Posts: 746 Member
edited December 23 in Debate Club
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/jenni-murray-warns-of-diet-face-8k2pkd0h0

Dame Jeni Murray has lost four stone following bariatric surgery and diabetic symptoms have gone into remission. Good for her!

She has now announced she is happy to weigh 14 stone because she does not want to develop "diet face". At her height (6 foot) she's still overweight by BMI standards and she doesn't strike me as a gym bunny who is carrying the weight as muscle.

So long as she's happy how she is, that's great, of course.

But I'm interested to see how others view the issue of diet face. Would you prefer to have the physique you want, at the possible expense of your facial looks? Or would you compromise on the body in order to keep your face looking better? Would you prefer your significant other to have the perfect body or the perfect face (assuming they can't have both)?



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Replies

  • ku140
    ku140 Posts: 65 Member
    To answer your question, I would rather my face look healthy and my body look like it needs some toning. Same with my husband.

    I was essentially here at my ideal weight, which I sustained for about 8 years. I looked pretty strong and fit, even if I didn't have a 6 pack and my thighs touch.
  • gatamadriz
    gatamadriz Posts: 68 Member
    My face tends to even out when I am at a correct BMI and feel good. I also worked intensely with both a personal trainer and nutritionist for 3 years. I was trying to get down to my college weight and they said no. I was 16 pounds heavier due to muscle mass, which I gain very quickly. It all evens out, there are medical procedures if you develop sags on your neck for example, but that is inherent to my family.
  • watts6151
    watts6151 Posts: 905 Member
    When Deep In to a cut I’ve had customers
    Pull me to one side and ask if I’m terminal !!!

    Been very lean really doesn’t look great facially on me, I usually grow my facial hair to hide the sunken cheeks, just need to figure out how to hide the hole eyed look
  • Safari_Gal_
    Safari_Gal_ Posts: 1,461 Member
    Oh @SnifterPug - this is timely for me. I’d chose a more youthful face personally. Not sure how much of that is influenced by the fact that I come from a family of dermatologists though! Lol .

    I actually started my health quest primarily as a way to keep my skin more supple and stave off premature aging. Losing weight was a side note for me. 🤷🏼‍♀️
  • aokoye
    aokoye Posts: 3,495 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    what is diet face

    That was my question as well. The pay wall cut off any part of the article that may have explained what it is.
  • nooshi713
    nooshi713 Posts: 4,877 Member
    I felt I looked older when I was chubbier tbh. My face has always been round.

    If I had to choose, I would choose face over body.
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    Body over face for me
  • SnifterPug
    SnifterPug Posts: 746 Member
    Interesting. When I was younger and had no need to worry about it I would definitely have chosen face over body. Now it's the other way round.

    That said, I have no desire to get to a very low body fat level, and my interest in my body is functionality and fitness rather than looks. So I am unlikely to get the very gaunt look. I think what surprised me about Jenni Murray's view was that she is happy to be overweight in order to be happy with her face. Up to her, obviously, but having gone to the trouble of having bariatric surgery it seems to me a tad perverse not to get to a healthy weight. After all, as someone else has pointed out on this thread, there are any number of facial procedures available to improve a gaunt face, and they don't all cost a bomb.
  • Joanna2012B
    Joanna2012B Posts: 1,448 Member
    cwolfman13 wrote: »
    what is diet face

    Hahaha....my question exactly!!
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,740 Member
    Ok, the what is diet face.
    It’s the gaunt, sunken, wrinkled look you get when you initially lose weight.

    Here is an example.
    Left is mid 40’s pre weight gain, so same weight as I am now.
    Centre was a year or so ago with my mid 60’s face. Nicely settled into its lack of fat and multitude of wrinkles.
    Right is my mid 50’s face just after I had lost weight. Gaunt, angular, hollow eyed and wrinkled.

    x1pjrucqiw2l.jpeg


    Cheers, h.

    (I couldn’t get the whole article either. I did google her and found she is 3years older than me, just to give the aging face as well as weight loss context)

    Wow, that is a truly great example! Thank you for sharing.

    I'm up about 11 lb from my lowest weight in 2014, which is great with me as I'm pleased with my maintenance level...but I do think at that point I had a worse "diet face" with my eyes looking more hollow and teeth seemed crazily prominent. Apparently my face has settled a little bit, looking much more normal, fuller, and after seeing this example I think maybe it's time that has helped & not just from the extra 11 lb.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    I did not know this was a thing. I prefer my "diet face" to my "pre-diet face." Yes, I can see a few more wrinkles, but I couldn't stand the way I looked when I was overweight. Then again, I find angular faces more attractive than round ones. Personal preference, I guess.

    @middlehaitch I think you look beautiful in all three pictures!

    Me neither... learn something new and silly on this site every day :laugh:
  • ythannah
    ythannah Posts: 4,371 Member
    I did not know this was a thing. I prefer my "diet face" to my "pre-diet face." Yes, I can see a few more wrinkles, but I couldn't stand the way I looked when I was overweight. Then again, I find angular faces more attractive than round ones. Personal preference, I guess.

    @middlehaitch I think you look beautiful in all three pictures!

    Me neither... learn something new and silly on this site every day :laugh:

    Definitely. I've never dieted in my life and apparently I have diet face. In my case, it's a familial tendency to facial thinning with age. My grandmother had it and my dad had it. Although I've gained about 15 pounds since my early 20s, my face is considerably thinner.
  • Ninkasi
    Ninkasi Posts: 173 Member
    I still have a fat face anyway after losing 50 pounds so it hasn't been an issue. My face is less fat, but still fat. Just in case, though, I've been microneedling in case things start sagging.
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