How To Get Rid Of A Double Chin | Men's Health Magazine Australia

How To Get Rid Of A Double Chin

You'll need to be patient, but it will produce results - by Sandra Kane

Humans are born with two arms, two legs, two eyes and two ears – yet none of us have time for a second chin.

Double chins – also known as submental fat – are quite common and can cause people are great deal of embarrassment. One of the problems people face when wanting to lose their double chin is working out exactly how to go about losing it.

While double chins are often associated with weight gain, this isn’t always the cause – other factors that can cause a double chin include genetics and naturally looser skin due to ageing.

Related: How to Lose Your Man Boobs Once and For All

If your double chin is causing you grief, remember that it doesn’t have to be a life sentence. If you want to take the natural route, it’s important to be patient – your second chin isn’t going to disappear over night and it isn’t going to be easy.

But if you follow our guide, you’re off to the best possible start.

1. Exercises to Lose Your Double Chin

Before we start, it’s important to note there’s currently no scientific evidence that chin exercises work to remove your double chin. However, there is a mountain of anecdotal evidence (people who’ve tried the exercises and seen results themselves) suggesting they’re very effective.

HealthLine suggests these six simple exercises anyone can do that will help strengthen and tone the muscle and skin in your double chin zone.

Repeat each exercise 10-15 times daily. (Yep, that’s a lot – but we did say it won’t be easy.)

1. Straight Jaw Jut

  • Tilt your head back and look up
  • Push your lower jaw forward until you feel a stretch under the chin
  • Hold this position for a 10 seconds
  • Relax your jaw and return your head to its normal position

2. Ball Exercise

  • Place a 9-10 inch ball under your chin
  • Press your chin down so the ball is squeezed to your neck
  • Repeat this up to 25 times daily

3. Pucker Up

  • Tilt your head back so you’re looking toward the ceiling
  • Purse your lips as if you’re trying to kiss the ceiling (this should stretch the area of skin under your chin)
  • Relax your lips and bring your head back to a neutral position

4. Tongue Stretch

  • In a normal position, stick your tongue out as far as you can
  • Then lift your tongue up and try to touch your nose
  • Hold this position for 10 seconds before releasing

5. Neck Stretch

  • Tilt your head back and look toward the sky
  • Press your tongue against the roof of your mouth
  • Hold for 5-10 seconds and release

6. Bottom Jaw Jut

  • Tilt your head back and look toward the sky
  • Tilt head to the right
  • Slowly slide your bottom jaw forward
  • Hold for 5-10 seconds
  • Repeat process with your head turned to the left

Related: The Best Exercise and Diet Plan For Losing Weight While Gaining Muscle

2. Lose Your Double Chin Through Diet and Exercise

If you believe your second chin came to be solely because of weight gain, there’s absolutely no reason why losing weight won’t make it smaller or get rid of it completely.

If you’ve had your double chin for as long as you can remember or it runs in the family, you’re going to find it harder to lose simply through diet and exercise and would benefit more from the exercises in our last point.

But even if diet and exercise won’t help get rid of your second chin, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t diet and exercise. There’s more to health than losing a double chin!

Some healthy eating guidelines include:

  • Eat 4 servings of vegetables per day
  • Eat 3 servings of fruit per day
  • Avoid junk food
  • Don’t avoid fats, but make sure they’re healthy (avocado, nuts, olive oil)
  • Stack up on lean protein such as red meat and fish
  • Avoid fried foods
  • Cut down your sugar intake
  • Consume low-fat dairy products

As your weight on your scale drops, the hope is your face will also get thinner. While eating well is half the battle, the other half comes down to exercise. You WILL need to get off your ass if you want to see considerable results.

Here are a few of Men’s Health‘s ultimate fat burning workouts:

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3. Losing the Chin Through Medical Procedures

If genetics is the true reason you have a double chin, your doctor may recommend you undertake a medical procedure.

Lipolysis

Lipolysis uses liposuction or heat from a laser to melt away fat. All that’s needed for this procedure is local anaesthetic. It’s important to note that lipolysis only treats fat, and the procedure will have no effect on excess skin or increase your skin’s elasticity.

Mesotherapy

Mesotherapy is a procedure that delivers small amounts of fat-dissolving compounds through numerous injections.

Although be warned: it can take up to 20 or more injections of deoxycholic acid (the injectable drug used in mesotherapy) per session, and you can only have up to six treatments in total. You must also wait one month in between sessions.

Related: 5 Ways to Lose Weight While You Sleep

4. What Now?

Losing fat from any part of your body is hard work – we aren’t going to tell you it’s easy. As we said earlier in the article, patience is key especially when trying to lose weight from your chin, a body part that’s impossible to hit in the gym.

Before you undertake any diet plan, exercise or medical procedure, it’s vital you first seek the advice from your GP or a medical professional. They will be able to tell you what will work best for you, and address any health concerns you may have.

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