If you’re trying to shed a few extra pounds, essential oils may be able to provide you with the support you need.
Let’s get one thing right: oils can’t burn calories for you. However, they can boost your metabolism, support your digestion, combat sugar cravings and more. If your goal is to lose weight, to reduce body fat, or start to maintain a healthy diet, adding essential oils to your routine can be the smartest move you make!
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In this article, I will show you the 5 best essential oils that can support your weight loss goals, and how to use them.
Can Essential Oils Really Help You Lose Weight?
Essential oils are becoming a staple in many American households. Many essential oils can support your weight loss efforts. Although they don’t directly burn calories for you, essential oils can add some complementary benefits to your day. They can be effective tools for detoxifying, reducing appetite, and preventing sugar cravings.
The oils can:
- Boost the metabolism
- Help drain fluid retention
- Nip feelings of “the munchies”
- Improve digestion
- Energize your workout
- Uplift your spirits
- Relieve tension and stress
- Ease aches and pains in the body
- Correct stretch marks or cellulite
Weight loss is almost always combined with healthy lifestyle choices, possible changes in diet, and changes in emotional eating behavior. The idea of supporting yourself with essential oils is that if you’re feeling mentally and physically well, you’re more likely to stick to your plan of losing weight.
Top 5 Best Essential Oils for Weight Loss
1. Grapefruit
The first thing you want to do when thinking about shedding a pound or two is making sure that you have a well-firing metabolism. Grapefruit essential oil (Citrus x paradisi) does just that! It is a tangy yet sweet citrus oil that carries a bright scent and uplifting energy. Grapefruit oil can increase your body’s metabolism, which in turns helps melt fat away. Whether you’re on a toning program, or a full-on weight reduction program, grapefruit essential oil should be the first oil you reach for.
Not only does Grapefruit boost the metabolism, it also aids in promoting mental balance and encouraging a joyful mood. Both are feelings that I’m certain you’d like to have while working towards reducing body weight.
2. Fennel
Fennel oil aids with fluid retention
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Sweet Fennel essential oil (Foeniculum vulgare var. dulce) is a diuretic, meaning it causes increased passing of urine. With that, it is detoxifying and aids with fluid retention, heavy legs, cellulite, flatulence and constipation. It promotes overall increased digestive well-being.
Fennel has a slight scent of licorice. If you don’t like licorice, use it sparingly or blend it well with other oils. This allows you to still get the benefits without too much of the aroma.
NOTE: Avoid Fennel essential oil during pregnancy and while breastfeeding.
3. Juniper Berry
Juniper berry essential oil has detoxifying effects
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Juniper Berry (Juniperus communis) is an incredible natural purifier. In aromatherapy, its properties are known as depurative, meaning it’s an herb considered to have purifying and detoxifying effects.
Detoxifying helps with fluid retention, abdominal bloating and cellulite. Not only that, Juniper Berry is also also nervine, meaning it is used to calm the nerves. Therefore it relieves mental tension and anxiety, which contributes to a healthy approach to weight loss.
Its sweet and grassy scent blends amazingly well with the citrus notes of grapefruit oil. I always mix Juniper Berry in with my weight loss essential oils blend. Just a few drops are enough!
NOTE: Avoid Juniper Berry during pregnancy, and if you have kidney disorders.
4. Lemon
Use Lemon oil to help fight food cravings
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If you’re looking for an essential oil weight loss powerhouse, look to Lemon essential oil (Citrus limon). It is actually one of those oils that you shouldn’t try to stock for too long in your oils cabinet, so use it liberally! Lemon is part of the citrus group of oils, all of which are top notes, meaning they evaporate quicker than middle or base notes. Every time the bottle of essential oil is opened, more air comes into contact with the oil, altering its components and affecting its shelf life.
Lemon essential oil further supports your weight loss goals by being uplifting to the mood, energizing to the body, and stopping food cravings or “the munchies” with its zesty aroma. There may be underlying emotional issues that have caused weight gain, so approaching each day with a happy mood will certainly help your weight loss program.
NOTE: Lemon oil may cause irritation on highly sensitive skin; it’s recommended you first do a skin patch test before adding it into your weight loss blend.
5. Ginger
Ginger oil helps you curb sugar cravings
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Ginger essential oil (Zingiber officinale), also known as Ginger Root, is a natural appetite suppressant. It helps you curb sugar cravings and reduce feelings of the “munchies”. Reduced food consumption is one of the best ways to promote weight loss. Ginger oil also fortifies and stimulates digestion, which helps in the absorption of vitamins and minerals contained in the foods you do eat. Sometimes, unwanted weight gain is a result of a digestion that isn’t functioning optimally.
Ginger has a warm, spicy, woody yet still lightly lemon-y scent. It blends amazingly well together with Lemon.
Bonus: Fit Essential Oil Blend
Another wonderful option for weight management is the “Fit” essential oil blend from Simply Earth. It is specifically formulated to help you resist snacking between meals. The scent is refreshing and uplifting at the same time. Fit blend gives you a boost of positivity and helps you make healthier choices rather than reaching for that afternoon snack for a pick me up. Less snacking not only helps you lose weight, it also prevents weight gain.
Fit Essential Oil Blend supports Weight Management
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Weight Loss Essential Oil Blend Recipe
Our bodies are extremely intricate, and often left in chaos when not getting the care they need. One of the easiest ways to support your body and enjoy the benefits of essential oils is through massage.
These topical aromatherapy treatments may help reduce body fat and improve overall feelings of well-being.
Ingredients
- 2 oz (60 ml) of carrier oil such as Jojoba or Sweet Almond oil
- 12 drops Grapefruit essential oil
- 8 drops Lemon essential oil
- 8 drops Fennel essential oil
- 4 drop Ginger essential oil
- 4 drop Juniper berry essential oil
This is a total of 36 drops of essential oils, which equals a dilution rate of 2% in the carrier oil. A rate of 2% is regarded as safe for the general adult population. If you are elderly, you’ll want to stay closer to a 1% dilution rate, which would be 18 drops total, in the 2 oz (60 ml) of carrier oil.
Directions
Get a 2 oz empty amber glass bottle, blend the recipe together, and rub the oils into your tummy 2-3 times daily.
I recommend to not only use a single oil, but use 3-5 oils in a blend as I have done above. This follows the principle of “the sum is greater than its parts”. Essential oils complement each other and have benefit-stacking effects when added together. Blending the right set of essential oils, for the right person, is at the heart of the practice of holistic aromatherapy.
Substitutions
If you don’t have all of these oils at home, you may substitute. For grapefruit: substitute with fennel, juniper berry, or black pepper. If you don’t have lemon: use lemongrass, citronella, bergamot essential oil, lemon verbena, or Melissa. Should ginger be missing: use peppermint essential oil, chamomile, spearmint, or mandarin. Fennel and juniper berry substitute each other, so you will need one of the two for an effective weight loss blend.
If you happen to not like the scent of your essential oil blend, add a drop or two of lavender essential oil, purely for aromatic reasons.
Shopping For Your Essential Oils
In my article, I have featured products from the REVIVE essential oils brand. If you have never bought from REVIVE before, you can use my coupon code ‘EOHAVEN’ to get 10% off your whole first order. Apologies to repeat customers, the code only works on your first purchase.
If you are an Amazon shopper, you may also find quality essential oil products there. Here is a table summarizing the oils I’d add to my cart:
My Best Weight Loss Tips
If I think back on times when I’ve decided to lose weight, I’ve always wanted results fast. I think anyone would like to see results fast. This may be especially on your mind if you have a significant event coming up, such as a holiday, birthday, or a wedding.
I would like to encourage you to please adjust your expectations. Healthy weight loss is a long-term investment. It’s very difficult to get rid of weight when you’re stressed out about its timeline. Most of the time, weight gain didn’t happen overnight. So please don’t expect your weight loss to happen so swiftly, either.
Losing weight in a healthy way may take some time. Keep going!
Based on my expertise with people attempting to shed weight, the main issue isn’t the diet or exercise. It’s the consistency. The perfect way to eliminate weight is to create small, realistic modifications that you can stick to.
By starting to incorporate essential oils into your daily routine, you’re off to a good start. If you follow the tips above, you’ll have a sensible and sustainable way to support you losing weight naturally. A supportive attitude towards your own goals can make it so much simpler for you to drop the weight.
Final Thoughts
Yes, essential oils can support your weight loss goals. While there is no “magic pill” for weight loss, aromatherapy creates a supportive environment for yourself and your fitness goals.
The next step is for you to assemble the essential oils you need, blend them together, and apply them to your body. Keep supporting yourself with aromatherapy at home, and then see how you feel in a few weeks’ time!
Isabella
I love essential oils, they help with everything. Great tips from weight loss.
Marty C
You hit all my favorites with this recipe, Emma! Thank you for this recipe – I’ll be mixing up a batch today! I discovered the benefits of using grapefruit eo in my body lotion this summer when I was riding my bike a couple times a day to take off some weight. The weight loss was pretty slow until I started using grapefruit oil – then my metabolism kicked in and the weight started coming off! I’m always amazed at how essential oils work.
Love your emails!
Lee
I’m curious on the adding it to lotion. Can you give more details on this for me please. I would love to try it
Ermelinda Garcia
Love to use your recipes cause you give substitute if you don’t have the one you use in the recipe. Thank you
Harvey Lee
Using these essential oils can be best to lose weight as these are safe and cheap and can provide real and lasting results. I like this article so much. Thanks and keep sharing.
Emma Carter
Thank you so much Harvey! So happy to be of help. 💖
Kirbie R.
Where on our body should we massage the blend, how much should we use, and how often? :)
Emma Carter
Hi Kirbie, thank you for your question! Massage the blend into the abdomen and thighs. You can also massage it into any pulse points, where the blood stream is closest to the surface of your skin. This would be wrists, neck (beside the lower jaw), and on the outer temples right along the hair line beside your eyes (though be careful not to get it INTO the eyes). The idea is for the oils to enter the blood stream of your whole body system. It will do that from any part of your skin, though of course, direct application to any problem areas is the preferred location.
How much to use depends on where you massage it into. I usually use about 1 tablespoon across the belly and buttocks combined. Use less if you’re doing pulse points only, more like 1 teaspoon.
As a normal, healthy adult, you can apply the blend 1-2 times daily. I would’t recommend more. Essential oils can take up to 24 hours to take full effect in our bodies, so there is no need to double up too much or apply too often.
The magic balance will be to find a routine and amount that works for you. Applying it right after a shower usually works well for me.
I hope this helps!