Incorporating essential oils into your daily routine is an excellent way to support your weight loss goals.
As with diet and exercise, you shouldn't expect to do only one or the other and lose a substantial amount of weight.
In order to lose weight, you must eat a nourishing diet and exercise regularly. In order to support and even slightly accelerate your weight loss progress, you can incorporate essential oils into your weight loss practice.
By setting realistic expectations, you can achieve realistic results!
The use of essential oils for dietary and medicinal purposes has increased in popularity. Relieving stress, anxiety, and headaches are popular uses for essential oil, but the benefits don't stop there.
13 Best Essential Oils For Weight Loss
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*The companies chosen above are based upon my personal opinion based upon me giving them a try and testing their quality.
Essential oils can be used for weight loss purposes too and can offer the following benefits:
Every essential oil has something unique to offer when it comes to supporting your weight loss journey. The key is knowing what areas you need support in and choosing the coinciding oil from there.
Citrus essential oils like grapefruit, bergamot, lime, and lemon are uplifting and energizing. Therefore, any oil in this family is an excellent choice for people who struggle with getting motivated to workout every day.
People who are emotional eaters will benefit from using a calming essential oil like lavender or peppermint. These scents will help ease the anxiety that is triggering the desire to eat.
Ultimately, you must be honest with yourself about what you're struggling with in order to choose an essential oil that can help.
Whether you need an energy boost for your workout or help with curbing your appetite, there is an essential oil that has you covered!
How to Use Essential Oils for Weight Loss
Incorporating essential oils into your weight loss practice is simple! The key to success is being consistent and keeping an essential oil nearby at home, in the office, or on your person.
There are several options for using essential oils, which include using a diffuser, adding oil to a bath, elixirs, and applying the oil topically.
Using oil diffusers or simply inhaling a few drops of essential oil from a cotton ball is a classic option that can be used to curb the appetite as determined by a study published by The National Center for Biotechnology Information. Other options like elixirs, which involve ingestion, are not advised for every oil. (source)
It is important to understand that essential oils contain a highly concentrated form of plant matter. Therefore, you have to be extremely careful when ingesting oils that are safe for consumption.
Essential oils can also be applied topically to the skin for benefits like increased circulation and uplifting your mood. You'll just need a carrier oil like coconut or jojoba to mix with the essential oil.
Essentially, you'll be infusing the carrier oil will the medicinal properties, as well as with the scent of the essential oil you choose to use.
Last, adding essential oils to your bath or shower is a great way to infuse the air with oil without using an actual diffuser.
Essential Oil Blends & Recipes You Can Make
When choosing how to pair essential oils, consider a few simple factors. What scents are you naturally drawn to, where do you need support in your weight loss journey, and how do you prefer to incorporate essential oils into your daily health regimen?
Once you've answered these questions you'll be able to choose from one of these wonderful essential weight loss blends.
Citrus Mix
Properties: Fat burning, energizing, uplifting, and mood elevating
Recipe: Mix 3 drops of bergamot, lime, and lemon essential oil with 1/2 a cup of coconut oil. Add more essential oil until the desired scent is achieved. Use this blend for massages, as a lotion, or a perfume!
Calming Peppermint and Lavender
Properties: Calming, relaxing, anxiety reducing, and appetite curbing
Recipe: Mix 5 drops of lavender and rosemary essential oil with 1/2 a cup of coconut oil. Apply this blend topically to the sternum to help curb cravings and reduce anxiety.
Invigorating Cinnamon and Sandalwood Diffuser Oil
Properties: Warming, energizing, and uplifting
Recipe: Mix 2 drops of cinnamon essential oil and 4 drops of sandalwood oil with a quarter cup of water and place into a diffuser.
This blend is excellent for colder months when you need some warming up in order to get motivated to hit the gym.
What Essential Oils are Good for an Appetite Suppressant?
Generally speaking, citrus essential oils are the best for suppressing appetite. These oils do several things that help burn fat including lifting your mood, giving you energy, and curbing your cravings.
Peppermint and lavender are also excellent appetite suppressants for individuals who stress eat, due to the oil's calming effects.
Many of us tend to gravitate towards carbs and sugary beverages when we are feeling low on energy.
Our brains send a signal to our stomachs telling us we need to eat in order to feel energized again.
However, you may not actually need those extra carbs to boost your energy levels. You may also be mistaking hunger for dehydration.
That's why it's best to grab a glass of water and try using a citrus blend for aromatherapy. Citrus is uplifting and energizing, helping you to naturally curb cravings.
Stress eating is not uncommon among modern Americans who lead busy lives. Instead of reaching for a snack next time you feel panicked, grab a bottle of lavender or peppermint oil.
Simply place a few drops on a cotton swab and inhale the scent or apply the oils with a carrier oil directly to your skin.
By reducing your stress levels you can avoid coping by eating.
Bust Fat with These Essentials Oils!
Grapefruit Oil
Grapefruit oil is one of the top choices for boosting metabolism, which is absolutely necessary for body sculpting and weight loss. Grapefruit oil actually helps to break down fat by activating enzyme activity within the body.
The scent of grapefruit is also highly uplifting, so if you're not feeling motivated to exercise it can give you a much-needed boost!
This mood enhancement is especially beneficial when you are beginning a weight loss program.
As your body is adjusting to changes in diet and an increase in physical activity, you may experience a mix of emotions, including moodiness. Grapefruit oil will help stabilize your mood.
Peppermint Oil
Peppermint is a "digestive herb" that affects appetite by reducing the caloric intake. In addition, as reported by Reader's Digest, numerous studies have found that inhaling the scent of peppermint oil curbs the appetite drastically, reducing the average person's caloric intake by 2,800 calories.
Cinnamon Oil
Cinnamon actually balances out your blood sugar levels which will lead to a reduction in sugar cravings.
When your blood sugar levels aren't stable you don't feel like yourself and may even experience a decrease in energy and an increase in weight gain.
If your sweet tooth is keeping you from achieving your goal weight then diffusing cinnamon oil in your home and at your office is a good way to ward off those unwanted cravings.
Fennel Oil
This is an excellent oil for cleansing and detoxifying due to fennel's inherent diuretic qualities.
If you're trying to kick poor eating habits and need a re-set then using fennel oil is a great way to quickly rid your body of toxic buildup. It'll also help reduce excess water weight and decrease the appearance of cellulite.
Lemon Oil
Lemon does more than just increase mood-boosting levels of norepinephrine in your brain, it actually helps dissolve fat. It contains limonene, which supports the break down of body fats.
In a study published by Sage Journals, it was found that combining lemon and grapefruit accelerates the break down of unwanted fat. (source)
Ginger Oil
According to a 2013 study published in the International Journal of Preventative Medicine, ginger has strong anti-inflammatory properties.
Inflammation can actually affect your ability to properly absorb nutrients like vitamins and minerals. (source)
Your body cannot function properly and your energy levels will be depleted if you aren't receiving an adequate amount of nutrients.
Furthermore, your body will experience more difficulty digesting food. This all leads to the inability to shed weight.
Bergamot Oil
Bergamot has been proven to lower cortisol levels according to a study conducted at the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine in Japan. Cortisol levels increase in the body when we feel anxious or stressed. (source)
Stress eaters can benefit immensely from bergamot's ability to stabilize the mood and fight stress. Bergamot also contains the same polyphenols found in green tea, giving it the similar fat burning properties.
Sandalwood Oil
Sandalwood is another great oil for promoting positive feelings. So if you're trying to break the habitat of emotional eating then add this oil to your list.
Relearning your approach to handling your emotions is challenging but doing something as simple as inhaling sandalwood essential oil when you feel stressed can take the edge off this challenge.
Lavender Oil
Multiple clinical studies including one published by International Clinical Pharmacology, have concluded that lavender oil has the capacity to reduce feelings of anxiety.
It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to be able to maintain a stable and positive mood when trying to lose weight.
One moment of anxiety or stress can be enough to make you reverse weeks worth of hard work by giving into that cheeseburger and milkshake craving.
Cardamom Oil
Cardamom can be used to help aid in digestion. Without a healthy gut, it can be difficult for your body to properly process food and absorb its nutrients.
Healthy digestion is one of the most important factors when it comes to successfully losing and keeping off unwanted weight.
Cumin Oil
Known for its anti-inflammatory properties, cumin is also a digestive essential oil. In fact, regular consumption of cumin, cardamom, and mint can help heal the gut from previous bad eating habits.
Add cumin to your diet plan if you need extra digestive support or have gut problems in the past. It is also excellent for detoxing and cleansing.
Lime Oil
Lime essential oil helps prevent weight gain and aid in weight loss. Like lemon, lime contains limonenes, which helps aid in speeding up the metabolism and burning fat.
Lime is a great choice for anyone who wants to accelerate the results of their diet and exercise plan.
Jasmine Oil
Jasmine has long been used to uplift the mood and relieve depression. This is an excellent oil to diffuse in your household during winter months. Seasonal Affective Depressive Disorder is not uncommon during these colder months.
SADD can really put people in a funk and prevent them from keeping up healthy habits like exercise. So, diffusing this scent in your household could really keep you focused.
You can also inhale jasmine prior to eating to prevent overheating if you're a stress eater.
10 proven Home Remedies for Weight Loss
Now that you know how each essential oil can help you lose weight, you can try some at home weight loss remedies using your favorite oils.
Here are a few to get started with!
Cleansing Lemon Elixir
Lemon oil detoxifies the body which will help you increase your activity levels and support healthy digestion.
You make the perfect lemon detox elixir by combining the ingredients below and drinking once daily.
Energizing Grapefruit Topical Balm
This is an excellent option for boosting your mood and energy levels during cooler months or when changing workout plans.
Simply mix 5 drops of grapefruit oil with a half cup of your favorite carrier oil. You can store this balm at room temperature for up to 6 months.
Soothing Peppermint Aromatherapy Shower
Next time you take a bath or shower drop a few drops of peppermint oil into the tub. The air will infuse with the minty scent and you'll reap all the weight loss benefits!
Healthy Digestion Ginger Lemonade
Now that you know ginger and lemon are both excellent for burning fat, you're probably looking for a way to incorporate both into your diet plan.
Try mixing the ingredients below and enjoying a glass per day.
Warming Cinnamon Stove Top Infusion
If you have an infuser then you can skip this DIY approach. Otherwise, bring a pot of 6 cups of water to a boil before adding in 10 drops of cinnamon oil.
Allow the water to simmer for 1 to 2 hours. The scent will hang in the air long after.
This is an excellent option for the cooler months during the holiday season. The cinnamon scent will help you avoid giving into those cravings for holiday baked goods and sweets.
Appetite Curbing Lavender Mist
You can pick up a travel sized spray bottle from your local pharmacy and fill it with water and a couple drops of lavender oil.
Spritz the mist in front of you whenever you are feeling stressed or like you may give into old stressing eating habits.
Uplifting Ginger Tea
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil before adding one small drop of ginger essential oil. You can add honey to slightly sweeten this hot beverage or enjoy it plain.
You can drink 1 cup a day before and after meals or as an afternoon snack to help aid your body in proper digestion.
The healthier your digestion track, the easier it will be to keep off any excess weight!
Fennel Thirst Quencher
Fill a water pitcher with 1 gallon of water and add 1 to 2 drops of fennel oil. This lightly infused water won't be overbearing and will be quite refreshing after a hard workout!
Cardamom Before Dinner Elixir
You can repeat the same recipe as used for the fennel infused water here, but instead, replace the oil with cardamom oil.
Cardamom is excellent for aiding in digestion so drink an 8-ounce cup of this mixture before your biggest meal, regardless of whether its dinner time.
By giving your body some extra digestion support, you can be sure that you've absorbed all the nutrients your body needs from the meal.
Energizing Citrus Blend Massage Oil and Balm
Making a DIY massage oil is a fun way to incorporate citrus oils into your weight loss practice. You can use this oil for a gentle self-massage at the beginning of your day to increase your energy levels.
Mix one cup of your favorite carrier oil with 5 to 10 drops of essential oils. You can also replace the citrus oil with peppermint or lavender for a nice nighttime foot rub balm.
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Final Thoughts About Essential Oils for Weight Loss
Incorporating essential oils into your daily health regimen can really help you lose weight faster!
There are no harmful side effects to using essential oils and these small bottles of concentrated oils are affordable and long-lasting.
Start with whichever oil resonates with your needs most. Choose whichever scent is calling you because you'll be more prone to using this oil. Over time, you can incorporate additional oils into your routine.
Eventually, you'll have an entire collection of essential oils to support your weight loss journey and needs.
You'll reap additional benefits other than weight loss from using essential oils, too. Remember, the first step to getting where you want begins with you!