With the holidays behind us, it’s time to start thinking about getting back to a healthy eating routine.

Unless, of course, you’re one of those people who manages to decline all of the delicious (yet terrible for you) foods that tend to get passed around during the holidays…

I’m just going to go ahead and assume that you’re a bit more like me and indulged maybe a little too much in the holiday goodness.

The Post-Holiday Lingering Sweet Tooth

To be honest, I consider myself fortunate in that I don’t have too much trouble avoiding pastries, candies, and other sweets throughout the year.

For the holidays, of course, all bets were off—and some years, this being one of them, I feel as though this awakens a beast inside me, hell-bent on eating more cookies.

Cookies for breakfast, lunch, and dinner are, of course, not terribly conducive to a healthy lifestyle.

The good news? Essential oils can really be your best friend when you want to get rid of your sugar cravings once and for all.

(Or at least until next year!)

What’s more, by using essential oils to beat your sugar cravings, you won’t actually feel like you’re going without. You’ll feel satiated, feelings of bloatedness will (quite literally) drain out of you, and your friends will be amazed when you offer them a cheery “No thanks!” when they try to pawn off that last surviving fruitcake on you.

Here’s how it works:

The Underlying Causes of Sugar Cravings & What Essential Oils Combat Them

Sugar cravings are usually the result of a handful of scenarios interacting with one another:

1. Out-of-whack blood sugar levels
2. Carb-craving and not feeling “full” after ingesting non-sweet foods
3. Plain old habit

#3 is an easier one to deal with than you might expect at first glance, and no essential oils are required to put an end to it.

Sorry, but you knew it was coming… you’ve got to remove the sugary treats from your kitchen. Toss the cookies and cakes, it’s time to detox.

Without the temptation within arm’s reach, you’re much more likely to avoid sweets. The essential oils will keep them off your mind—and after a few days you won’t even care.

The Best Essential Oils to Get Rid of Sugar Cravings

Let’s take a look at the most effective essential oils to beat sugar cravings and why they’re so good at it:

• Grapefruit essential oil. Grapefruit is basically the all-in-one sugar kicker. It reduces feelings of hunger, wards off carb and sugar cravings, helps balance your blood sugar, and induces feelings of positivity (which is handy when combating emotional eating). It may even have properties that prevent weight gain (here’s the science).
• Dill essential oil. Dill is a powerful essential oil for feeling “full” after a meal. The problem with sugars and carbs is that they make us feel more full compared to, say, a kale salad. Dill makes your healthy meals and snacks feel more satisfying.
• Peppermint essential oil. Peppermint also helps with feeling more full. This may just be personal preference on my part, but it also helps promote feelings of clarity and focus. If I’m sugar craving badly, I sometimes find it hard to concentrate, and peppermint helps a lot with that.
• Cinnamon Bark essential oil. Cinnamon does quite a lot, but in this context we want to use it for its blood sugar balancing  and appetite suppressing properties.

If you can only get your hands on one or two of these oils, I’d say get grapefruit first and cinnamon bark second. The others are excellent but those two are the big ones.

Putting It All Into Practice

As promised, here’s the step-by-step method to quickly and easily kicking your sugar cravings with essential oils:

Step 1: Get rid of as much of the sweets in your house as possible. If you live with family or roommates who aren’t quite as dedicated to healthy living as you are and thus it would be impossible to remove the sweets entirely, firmly request that they support you in your sugar-kicking quest. No “c’mon just one bite!” or “Wanna share?” statements allowed.

Step 2: Diffuse the right essential oils whenever possible. I’ve included a couple of recipes below. I’m talking about at your desk, in your car, and even on your person.

Step 3: Use one of the roller bottle recipes below and/or use the bonus recipe.

This should keep you covered until you kick the sugar.

Now let’s take a look at the recipes:

Essential Oil Sugar Craving Killer Recipes

For your diffuser:

“Sugar Shopper Stopper”

• 2 drops dill essential oil
• 2 drops grapefruit essential oil
• 1 drop peppermint essential oil

“Feeling Fine… Finally!”

• 3 drops cinnamon bark essential oil
• 2 drops grapefruit essential oil

For your roller bottles:

Quick but important note about using grapefruit essential oil in roller bottle blends—don’t put it on any skin that you expect to be exposed to direct sunlight. Many citrus oils like grapefruit will make your skin burn much easier.

“Drop the Sugar”

• 4 drops grapefruit essential oil
• 2 drops peppermint essential oil
• 2 drops dill essential oil

“Sugar Cravings Begone” (better if you find peppermint too strong)

• 4 drops cinnamon bark essential oil
• 2 drops grapefruit essential oil
• 2 drops dill essential oil

Bonus recipe: These diffuser and roller bottle recipes are excellent for quick-fixes. If you have a little more time on your hands, you can actually make very handy little flavored toothpicks to chew/suck on when you’re really having a tough time.

Grab a small glass mason jar and put two teaspoons of olive oil (or more if the jar is big, you basically want to coat the bottom of the jar). Add 10 drops of grapefruit essential oil and 10 drops of dill essential oil. Swirl the mixture around and then place a bunch of toothpicks in—50 to 100 again depending on the size of the jar—and then screw the lid on tight.

Wait two days, and you’ll have your own flavored sugar-busting toothpicks!

By The Way…

…Happy new year!

Good luck to you on your journey to beating your sugar cravings. If I can do it, I know you can!