Are you on a mission to get back in shape? 

Transforming fat into muscle isn’t an overnight process. It takes time, effort, and continued dedication. You have to tailor a diet and exercise plan that fits your lifestyle and then stick to it.  

But did you know that essential oils can help you on this quest to burn fat? To be clear, they won’t directly cause you to shed weight on their own; however, by adding them to your weight loss journey, you can receive a ton of complementary benefits that will help keep you on track. 

What are the best essential oils for weight loss? 

Essential Oils For Weight Loss

While essential oils can’t directly promote weight loss by themselves, certain oils address some of the reasons why people experience weight gain. Additionally, they provide a number of health benefits that make it easier for you to stick to your workout routine and diet.

Burn Fat More Efficiently

From a biochemical perspective, an excess amount of body weight is marked by increased inflammation and oxidative stress, insulin resistance, fat cells accumulating in organs and excess insulin in the bloodstream. Our research will primarily look at essential oil’s ability to affect these different complications, which can lead to weight gain. 

Common "fat burning essential oils" include: 

Caraway

Historically, Caraway has been used for its beneficial properties, including weight loss. Researchers set out to prove Caraway’s efficacy in this area, using a triple-blinded clinical trial. Subjects classified as obese and overweight were given limonene and carvone-rich Caraway for three months, as a complement to daily exercise and a healthy diet. Compared to a placebo control group, the Caraway group showed significant loss of weight, BMI and body-fat percentage.

Oregano 

The major constituent of Oregano, carvacrol, was found to reduce weight when given to mice with a high-fat diet through its ability to reduce inflammation and fat-cell generation. 

Cinnamon Bark

To test its ability to protect the cardiovascular system, researchers reviewed the uses of Cinnamon Bark on a variety of metabolic syndrome complications, including obesity. Cinnamon Bark essential oil encouraged fat-breakdown and reduced the hunger-causing hormone ghrelin, as well as insulin resistance.

Lime

Over the course of a 45-day experiment, Lime was administered to mice. The result was reduced food intake and body weight. With limonene as the major constituent of Lime and Grapefruit, it is possible that other limonene-rich, citrus essential oils may have a similar effect.

Sleep Promotion 

Sleep plays an essential role in your physical recuperation, especially after a long day and a hard workout. While you’re resting, your body is recovering, conserving energy, and healing itself—your pituitary glands release growth hormones that help repair and build muscle and tissue. 

Similarly, a deep night’s rest is essential for maintaining your energy levels throughout the week. If you don’t get good sleep, you undermine your body’s ability to function properly. This is especially true as you get older and your body takes longer to restore itself.

There are several essential oils that can help with this, including:

Sleep Ease

The calming and soothing effects of Sleep Ease synergy blend can help your sleep quality. This ensures that you wake up in the morning feeling fit as a fiddle, filled with energy and ready to seize the day. The more sleep you get, the more energy you’ll have to capitalize on your workday and your workout. A 2015 study discovered that Lavender essential oil (which is found in our Sleep Ease blend) helped college students with their sleep initiation, sleep maintenance, daytime sleepiness and sleep quality. 

Valerian 

Like Lavender, Valerian has long been used as a holistic sleep aid, whether in the form of tea or essential oil. It has sedative properties that help you fall asleep faster and wake up without feeling groggy in the morning and throughout the day. 

Appetite Suppressant

Just ask any trainer, the most important aspect of body fat percentage and weight loss and muscle gain-particularly for adults-comes down to diet. You can exercise all you want, but if your carbohydrate intake is greater than the amount of carbohydrates you're burning, you won’t lose weight. 

Fortunately, there are essential oils that can help you curb food cravings so you’re not tempted to break your healthy diet. These include: 

Grapefruit Pink Pepper

With its fresh and uplifting aroma, Grapefruit Pink Pepper Synergy Blend has a number of properties that make it a fantastic addition to your essential oil routine. Grapefruit is just one of many citrus oils in this detoxifying blend and contains both a diuretic and lymphatic stimulant, which is why it’s often used in cellulite creams. In addition to this, it can improve your digestion and reduce appetite. A study on Grapefruit essential oil found that it helped stimulate fat breakdown and prevented hunger pangs, helping test subjects lose weight. 

Digest Ease

Digest Ease synergy blend contains Fennel oil which is also a diuretic that helps you eliminate toxins from your body. The essential oil contains anethole, a crucial organic compound that has been shown to promote good digestion and suppress appetite. Additionally, Fennel essential oil can help you sleep more soundly, which helps you prepare for the day ahead. 

Make Your Own Blend 

Wondering how to mix essential oils for weight loss? This recipe utilizes three crucial essential oils to help reduce hunger pangs and give you the fortitude to say no to snacking. To make it, simply blend the following ingredients:

• 8 drops Grapefruit oil

• 5 drops Lime oil

• 2 drops Cinnamon Bark oil

Diffuse this blend throughout the day and inhale to help you nip food cravings in the bud. 

Energy Boost

Steady exercise requires both willpower and motivation. Those are driven by your overall energy levels. When your body’s low on energy, it’s like a car running on empty. However, when your energy levels are high, you have the fuel you need to succeed. 

Aromatherapy essential oils that can give you the boost you crave include:

Stay Alert

Stay Alert essential oil blend contains powerful Peppermint essential oil which can help you clear your head, improve your moods and raise your energy levels. A 2013 study on Peppermint essential oil’s impact on athletic performance stated that “Our results strongly support the effectiveness of Peppermint oil on the exercise performance, respiratory function variables, systolic blood pressure, heart rate, and respiratory gas exchange parameters.”

Rosemary

Rosemary not only smells divine but is also a natural mood enhancer and energy booster. Just a few drops in the diffuser can give you that jumpstart you need to push through your workout, even if you’re not feeling like it. 

Reaching Your Weight Loss Goals

Once you reach your wellness goals, the work doesn’t stop. For lasting results and to achieve a healthy weight, you need to turn healthy eating and regular exercise into a lifestyle. Edens Garden aromatherapy options can support you in sticking to your diet and exercise plan (but we do not recommend ingesting essential oils). They can help you:

• Enhance your body’s natural fat burning activities

• Improve your sleep cycle

• Suppress your appetite

• Support your energy levels

• Tighten and tone skin

If you’re looking for skin tightening and toning support, try our Cellulite Synergy Blend. This blend contains Juniper Berry which is especially powerful when it comes to tightening and toning your skin. You can also consider essential oils such as Lemon oil, Ginger oil, Geranium oil, Lavender oil, Bergamot oil and Clary Sage oil. Start your aromatherapy for weight loss and wellness and journey today!

Sources:

1. NCBI. Antiobesity Effect of Caraway Extract on Overweight and Obese Women: A Randomized, Triple-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Clinical Trial. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3844184/

2. PubMed. Carvacrol prevents diet-induced obesity by modulating gene expressions involved in adipogenesis and inflammation in mice fed with high-fat diet. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21447440/

3. NCBI. Cinnamon effects on metabolic syndrome: a review based on its mechanisms. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5220230/

4.  NCBI. Effect of Inhaled Lavender and Sleep Hygiene on Self-Reported Sleep Issues: A Randomized Controlled Trial. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4505755/

5. NCBI. Valerian for Sleep: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4394901/

6. PubMed. Olfactory stimulation with scent of grapefruit oil affects autonomic nerves, lipolysis and appetite in rats. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15862904/

7. NCBI. Anethole, a Medicinal Plant Compound, Decreases the Production of Pro-Inflammatory TNF-α and IL-1β in a Rat Model of LPS-Induced Periodontitis. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4232798/

8. 8. NCBI. The Effects of Peppermint on Exercise Performance. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3607906/