Peppermint oil is one of my favorite oils with hundreds of uses.  In addition to being a safe appetite suppressant, it is a stimulating oil and can perk you up when you need it. It can also enhance memory and ease aches and pains.  If you are looking for therapeutic benefits, teas or peppermint candies won’t be as effective.  Some teachers will recommend students eat candy canes or peppermint candy before taking a test to help them be more alert.  While this will work for a brief time, the sugar in the candy will not only contribute to an energy letdown, it will also increase your appetite – definitely a disadvantage if you are looking to lose some weight.  So, for the holidays and beyond, skip the peppermint candies and use a drop of peppermint essential oil instead.

Essential oils are a great compliment to a healthy lifestyle and  not a substitute for poor choices in your diet or life.  You will naturally gain more balance in your life when you choose whole grains, fruits and vegetables in your diet and lessen exposure to toxic chemicals and synthetic fragrance found in many home and personal care products.

If you’d like to curb your appetite, simply take 1 drop of food grade peppermint oil and add it to a glass or stainless steel water bottle and fill with purified water.  Sip on this throughout the day to satisfy your hunger between meals and for a boost of energy.  One drop is potent, equal to drinking 28 cups of peppermint tea, and  can flavor up to a gallon of water!  If you are looking for a quick burst of energy, you can place the drop of peppermint oil on your tongue or in a spoonful of rice milk to drink.  This is powerful, so be prepared!  The best part is, this energy works with your body and will gradually soften, unlike caffeine which remains in your body for hours.  Artificial stimulants may work for the short term, but in long run they can affect your body’s natural rhythms.  Whether you are looking to curb your appetite or boost your energy, it is important to become aware of your body’s needs on a daily basis. Ideally you should be responding to what your body needs at any given point in the day, practicing moderation in all your choices. In the meantime, peppermint essential oil is a great choice to assist your body’s natural flow without ingredients that might contribute to problems you want to avoid.

In addition to peppermint oil, citrus oils like lemon, grapefruit, tangerine and orange are also invigorating.  You can add a drop of food grade citrus oils to your water as well to lift your spirits and energize.  Citrus oils should not be used on the skin before sun exposure as they increase photosensitivity.

These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not meant as a substitute for medical advice and not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.  If you need medical treatment see your doctor.

The foundation of the champagne is simply sparkling water, Soda Stream now makes it possible for you to add carbonation to your tap water if you choose.  I like San Pellegrino, partly because I love all things European, and  glass bottles. The “champagne goes together very quickly, you simply add 1 drop of  citrus essential oil to your glass champagne flute: tangerine, orange, lemon or grapefruit. Add garnishes like organic cranberries or twists of lime, lemon or orange.  Then pour in your sparkling water to mix it all together.  You could even add a couple drops of agave nectar to the glass bottom before adding the water to sweeten your drink for a pure, refreshing spritzer.

The options are endless and can suit your personal taste for the moment. You could even bring along a bottle of San Pellegrino or Perrier and a bottle of Young Living Therapeutic Grade  Tangerine, Orange or Lemon as a gift for your hosts this season. Whatever combination you choose, the citrus essential oils work to gently detoxify your system and will give your taste buds a boost.  Many citrus oils naturally have anti-depressant qualities versus alcohol which is a depressant, so you’ll be giving your psyche a lift too when you choose to go healthy this season.

1 drop of citrus oil will infuse 8-16 ounces of sparkling water~

Optional garnishes:

• fresh, organic cranberries
• lemon, lime, orange twist
• fresh pomegranate seeds

1 tsp agave nectar for a sweet drink (optional)

Cheers!

• Food, the good and the bad – This is a no-brainer and there are enough articles written on foods to banish belly fat to occupy you for years.  It’s also something many people are already doing.   Bottom line is there are best choices in foods and those I’d avoid at all times.  Whole foods, fruits &  veggies are best, blueberries, grapefruits and avocados among some superfoods (not slathered in sugary, fat laden sauces though).  Limit meats, balancing protein intake to include beans, legumes and grains like quinoa.  Learn the good and bad fats, my favorite is Coconut oil, I use it for sauteeing veggies, baking, and even as a moisturizer – it melts with your body temperature.  No No’s?   Anything in the traditional bakery/deli department, white bleached flour breads & pastries,  processed deli meats with nitrites and preservatives,  high fat pasta salads guaranteed to expand your waistline, packaged, processed frozen foods, chemical vitamin waters and diet drinks (more chemicals for the cells) and sugary sodas .  Ningxia Red is an excellent natural option instead of chemical energy drinks.
  
• Curb Your Appetite Naturally – Watch your portions.  Drink a cup of tea 30 minutes before eating.  Find healthy ways to deal with stress instead of eating to comfort your mood.  Prepare your own foods when you can,  rather than rely on take out or restaurant food where you may be inclined to eat more.
• Move It and You’ll Lose It  – As we get older our muscle mass diminishes.  When you build strength movements into every day you can fight your body’s tendency to accumulate fat as you age.  You can exercise and fit movement into every part of your day, not just a couple times a week.  Pilates is a great form of body strengthening and you can benefit from the principles in between regular exercise.  Make active movement a part of your everyday routine, whether you engage your backside as you stand in line at the grocery store or walk briskly to your car parked in the back of the lot.   If you slump in your chair or seat while you drive, your body’s muscles will support this posture, even more so if it’s done on the couch for hours at a time.  Research shows that those who watch TV more than an hour a day tend to gain weight more readily.
• Keep your Digestive System Healthy   – Slowed plumbing equals toxin build up.  Keep your body moving regularly to allow toxin removal and enhance nutrient absorption.   Enzymes help breakdown foods so vitamins and minerals  can be better assimilated.   Chew your foods slowly and completely to assist the body’s digestive process.  Drink 8-10 glasses of pure water and eat enough foods with fiber.
• Banish Chemical Laden Body Products That are Stored In Your Fat – I feel like I’m becoming a broken record on this subject matter, but this element is so critical.  I have experienced this firsthand, especially in my weight loss from pregnancy.  My weight loss was very tough my first couple of pregnancies because I was surrounded by toxins and didn’t know it.  I was applying chemicals to my skin in the form of “natural” body products,  cosmetics and scented home products.  It is proven that the synthetic fragrance in many of these products is affecting your ENDOCRINE system.  In brief, the endocrine system regulates metabolism, hunger, thyroid function, hormones, literally every body system is affected by the Endocrine!  Would you knowingly put something on your body that may disrupt this essential system?  Read your product labels and eliminate anything with the term FRAGRANCE in the ingredients.  This is just a combination of chemicals.  Would you put caramel syrup on your frisee?  Don’t put FRAGRANCED products on your skin, instead massage on some cellulite dissolving Therapeutic Grade essential oils like Grapefruit or Lemon (not before sun exposure though).  Check out www.EWG.org to see how your products rank for toxicity.
• Be realistic about your goals  Be honest with yourself about what your lifestyle is really like and what habits you are willing to change.  Losing some extra weight often involves letting go of emotional baggage and seeing what influences the food and lifestyle choices we make each day.  Healthier living is rewarding not just because your clothing will fit better, but because you’ll have more energy, you’ll sleep better and you’ll have a healthier perspective on life when you exchange poor habits for life-enhancing ones.

I’d like to challenge you this week to read your body product labels and comment back with what you are finding.   As a thanks for your input, I’ll send the first 5 comments back with what you found , a sample of the new Slique Tea from Young Living – an immune boosting, sugar stabilizing tea that can help curb your appetite.  This “weight loss tea” was introduced  in late September at the Young Living Convention in Florida and is already out of stock~   Limit 1 per address.

As with all my articles, I’m not a nutritionist or a doctor and these statements have not been evaluated by the FDA.  But I am a fitness instructor and a mom who has gained and lost about 240 pounds over the past 15 years.  I’ve been at my current weight for 2+ years and look forward to maintaining my weight for many more.

One place to start cleansing your body is to eliminate any chemical laden household cleaners,  air fresheners, unnecessary over the counter drugs and health and beauty products containing “fragrance” in the ingredients.  Use only therapeutic grade essential oils like Young Living to scent  your body and home.  Next,  assess your food intake.  Try and eliminate as many processed foods as possible and replace them with whole fruits and vegetables and whole grain products.   Simply drinking lemon essential oil or peppermint essential oil in your water is gently detoxifying your body.  The 5 day cleanse is a gentle way to start cleansing your digestive system.   Sulfurzyme will help keep the bowels regular so toxins can be eliminated quickly and comfortably.

Citrus oils like lemon and grapefruit are especially beneficial to cleansing the body.  These citrus oils can be applied directly to the skin and massaged into areas with  cellulite.  Combine 2-3 drops of essential oil with a teaspoon of V-6 carrier oil and massage directly to area.  The essential oils will help to increase circulation and gently detoxify the tissues. Citrus oils can cause photosensitivity, so avoid direct sunlight 12 hours after applying citrus oils to exposed skin.   Ingesting food grade essential oils like grapefruit in particular can help to combat cellulite as well.  The natural limonene in citrus oils will also help to boost the immune system as it gently detoxifies and may help decrease fat stores when combined with regular exercise and a diet based on whole foods.  Drinking 6-8 glasses of purified water with citrus essential oils each day will help move toxins out of tissue and boost your energy.    Simply add 1 drop of citrus oil of choice to an 8 ounce glass of pure water.  You can refill this glass several times without adding more oil.  You could also add 4-5 drops of lemon or orange oil to a 64 ounce glass pitcher and keep this in the refrigerator to drink throughout the day.   Just 1 drop of peppermint essential oil can infuse a large pitcher of pure water as well.  Make sure to use only glass for oil infused water, many of the oils will dissolve plastics into your water.